(Hamble, England)- The final weekend of the Doyle Sails Hamble One
Design Championships didn't come with a promising forecast, but the race
team, headed by Dermot O'Malley, got all races away on Saturday and
Sunday in an oscillating N/NEly wind. The series featured racing for
J/70, J/80, and mixed sportsboat classes.There has been some close and exciting racing, and competitor feedback has been very positive for the four days of racing, in which 10 short, sharp races were sailed with a quick turnaround between races. This weekend in particular saw boats splitting tacks up the beat to take advantage of the numerous shifts, some reaping their rewards and others losing out as they neared the windward marks.
Points-wise, no boat had it all their own way in the J/70 class, but it was Tom Forrester-Coles' HARLEQUIN that took home the trophy, finishing the series with 18 points, six points clear of second-placed JUGADOR, belonging to Jack Davies. The podium was completed by Greg Hall's RTYC 742, with 32 points. The rest of the top five included Patrick Liardet’s COSMIC in 4th place and David McLeman’s OFFFBEAT in fifth overall.
Things
were extremely close at the top of the J/80 class, where it came down
to the final race to decide the winner. Phil Taylor's J.A.T and Yannig
Loyer's J out of the box finished tied on 13 points apiece, but it was
J.A.T that squeezed ahead on countback with one more first place.
Michael Lewis' Jester had a late run of success, taking first place in
the final three races which brought her to within three points of the
two leaders and clear of Jumblesail in fourth place overall.In the IRC mixed sportsboat class the J/92S WIZARD finished up in second place overall.
And with that, the 2015 Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships conclude after some close racing in tricky conditions. We look forward to seeing entries from as many classes as possible next autumn, and would like to thank all competitors and Doyle Sails for their support of the event. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com and Hamo Thornycroft. For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
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