Jeanneau Class Regatta starts with brighter and lighter conditions

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

With only five to six kts of easterly on offer, Race Officer Simon Boyde wasted no time in getting the first race underway, setting Course 1, the shortest course available for both fleets. Even with these precautions in place, the race took nearly 45 minutes for the fastest boats. First boat in the Long Course fleet to get a bullet was Steve Bourne, whose Magic 25 Merlin laid down a marker for the rest of the fleet. In the Short Course fleet, Impala Gnu, helmed by Frank Tsui, made a similar impression.

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

With the wind increasing to 8kts, but with the historical threat of a mid-afternoon lull in the breeze hanging over him, Boyde took no risks and again set Course 1 for both fleets. This time it was Gareth Willams’ turn on Sidewinder to triumph in the Long Course fleet, while Paddy B, skippererd by Herman Wong, took the honours in the Short Course division.

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

Sunday welcomed the fleet with brighter, but lighter, conditions. Finding 5 to 6kts out towards Shelter Island, Boyde stuck with his game plan, offering Course 1 with a windward leg of 0.6nm for the Long Course boats and 0.45nm for the Short Course fleet. Steve Bourne finished after just 33 minutes, recording his second win of the series, while in the Short Course fleet Karl Grebstad’s Dragon Fei Chi recorded her first win.

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

With less than a 10 minute turn-around, the RO set the fleets off on Race 4, lengthening the course by 0.2nm to allow for an increase to 8kts of breeze. The leading boats took 40 minutes to finish, with the wind all but vanishing as the tail end boats were coming on for their finish. For the first time an Etchells, 1364 helmed by Frank van Kempen, took first place on the Long Course, while Gnu recorded her second win in the Short Course division.

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

Boyde elected to up anchor and take the fleets in search of more promising conditions, moving out to the top of Shelter Island, towards Table Island. This move paid off, presenting around 7 to 8kts and allowing him to complete the regatta with the scheduled five races and accompanying discard. Merlin rounded out her regatta with another win, taking the Long Course division with a total of 6 points after discard, ahead of Etchells Jezebel (Anthony Day) and Dream On (Greg Farrell) on 14.5 and 15.5 points respectively. In the Short Course fleet, Fei Chi scored 1,2,1 for the day to overhaul Gnu by just one point with 6 after discard. Third in division was Paddy B with 13 points after discard.

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

RHKYC - Jeanneau Class Regatta 2015 © RHKYC/Guy Nowell http://www.guynowell.com/

The prizegiving for the 2015 Jeanneau Class Regatta will take place at RHKYC Kellett Island at 1900hrs on Monday 9 March.

Top six long course fleet