Hamble Winter Series VI Report

(Hamble, Great Britain)- The Hamble Winter Series continues and the hardy souls taking a swing out into cool Solent waters were able to get in their 10th race of the series in six weekends of sailing on the incredibly capricious waters of the Solent.  Last weekend was marked by ultra-high tides, causing insane currents and tide lines moving swiftly around the Brambles Bank and the Southampton Water.

IRC 1 saw Christopher Daniel's J/122 JUNO sail another good race to take fourth in class.  And, Simon Bamford’s J/111 KESTREL managed a 6th place.  As a result, with just two races left in the series, these two boats are literally neck-and-neck in the standings, with KESTREL sitting in 6th overall and JUNO in 7th position.  With two good races left, there is still a good mathematical possibility for Bamford’s KESTREL to crack the top five, sitting just five points back from fourth position.

The “J/109 division”, e.g. IRC 2 class, has seen very close racing between the top boats. After posting yet another third last weekend, Simon Perry's J/109 JIRAFFE still lies in second overall, still three points back from the lead. The second J/109 is Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN and the third is Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN, respectively.

Robin Stevenson’s J/92S UPSTART continues to sail brilliantly in IRC 3 class.  Their 3rd place this past weekend kept them in the overall lead, 3.5 pts clear of the next boat.  Still lying in fourth place is David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO with 27 pts.  However, just a half-point back sitting in fifth overall is Annie & Andy Howe’s J/97 GBR 97X- BLACKJACK II! A lot can happen with the top five in the next two races if the crews are not careful about their race strategies!

Finally, the three musketeers that have been leading the J/88 class continue to got at it hammer-and-tong!  Making their bid for the top of the leaderboard was Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, winning the race in convincing fashion. They are now 3 pts back from the series leaders- Kirsty and David Apthorp's J-DREAM.  Gavin Howe's TIGRIS scored a third, so they are now three points back from Ward’s ESJR.  Who will be the spoiler next weekend?  Stay tuned.

It is still all to play for with two races left to sail in the series in these four classes!   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ pwpictures.com and Hamo Thornycroft  For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information