Dolphin Sails sponsored Early Autumn series

by Richard Baldwin on 9 Oct 2008 The fifth race of Liverpool Yacht Club’s Dolphin Sails sponsored Early Autumn series was held on Sunday 5 October. Sixteen yachts formed up on the start line in sunny conditions but with only a fitful northerly wind.

Race Officer Nick Ogden set two challenging courses one for the class 1 yachts which saw them sailing upriver before embarking on a long beat into the tide to Dukes buoy before returning upriver by which time the tide had turned and the course had to be shortened.

The second course sent both the class 2 & 3 fleets up the Garston channel where the wind virtually disappeared but excellent seamanship enabled all the fleet to inch across the channel and scrape past G3 before crossing to the Eastham channel and E4. This again proved to be a long leg and before anyone reached the mark Nick Ogden decided to shorten the course and after rounding the mark to return to the finish line.

In the fitful drifting conditions the fleet were still close together at E4. However the 'Weather Gods' must have been listening as no sooner had the fleet rounded E4 but the wind picked up to a good F4. and so it largely became a sprint to the finish although there was the occasional wind hole which changed the fleet order.

Class 1 line honours were taken by Richard Booth’s Another Nods followed by Keith Lord’s 'A Crewed Interest'. However the light wind favoured the lower handicapped yachts with Andy Farrell’s 'The f word' coming in first 29 secs ahead of LYC Treasurer Mark Blanchard in Jenevieve with Stan Edge a further 41 secs behind in Rebel.

In class 2 Steve Harrison won the class 27 secs ahead of another Sigma 33 Paul Hampson’s Magic Moments with Andy Freeney third in Mistoffelees.

All 5 of the class 3 yachts, who had sailed the same course as class 2, beat all the class 2 yachts on handicap. Warwick Telfer in Clarevouyant was first with Andy Napper’s Di –Rich second followed by Jeanette and Dave Hardy’s Hocus Pocus.

Results:

Class 1:
1st. Andy Farrell’s Projection762 'The f word'
2nd. Mark & Helen Blanchard’s J92 Jenevieve.
3rd. Stan Edge’s Prima 38 Rebel

Class 2:
1st. Steve Harrison’s Sigma 33 Quattro.
2nd. Paul Hampson’s Sigma 33 Magic Moments.
3rd. Andy Freeney’s Hunter HB31 Mistoffelees.

Class 3:
1st. Warwick Telfer’s Achilles 24 Clarevouyant.
2nd. Andy Napper’s GK24 Di-Rich
3rd. Jeanette and Dave Hardy’s Int H boat Hocus Pocus