Catch-up day at Garmin Hamble Winter Series

by Peter Danby on 26 Nov 2007
Sparkling conditions in the Solent brought smiles to the faces of competitors and officials alike, when a 15 knot north westerly breeze allowed extra races to be sailed to make up for those lost earlier in the series when winds were either too light or too heavy.

The White Fleet boats were able to sail three races instead of their usual two, while the bigger yachts of the Black Fleet raced twice instead of just once. There was an added bonus in the form of constant sunshine, which not only brightened things up, but also raised the temperature to a comfortable level.

Several teams were so inspired by the sailing conditions that they got into the groove successfully in the first race of the day, and then went on to do the same in the following races. No fewer than four Black Fleet boats achieved doubles - Lucy Macgregor's 'Premier Flair' in IRC 1, Mike Brough's 'Steady Barker' in IRC 2, Colin Byrne's 'Xtravagance' in IRC 3, and Alex Christie's 'ASAP' in IRC 4.

Two White Fleet boats were able to go one better and score hat tricks - Liz Savage's 'Savage Racing Team' in the J/80 class, and Paul Curtis's 'Sparkle' in the Hunter 707s.

The cut and thrust racing in the highly competitive Laser SB3 class was unlikely to allow any such clean sweeps, and it was Geoff Carveth's 'Earls Court Boat Show' that won the first race, while Craig Burlton ran away with the second, and Marshall King's 'Sponge Bob' won the third.

With just one more race day scheduled to take place on Sunday 2 December, the final outcome is impossible to predict in most of the classes, especially as the discard situation will be complicated by the fact that further 'lost' races might or might not be sailed. There is still a great deal to sail for, which will add plenty of excitement to the final day of racing.

Results:

Garmin Hamble Winter Series, Day 7, White Fleet Race Winners:

Laser SB3 Race 1, 'Earls Court Boat Show' Geoff Carveth. Race 2, 'Team Touareg' Craig Burlton. Race 3, 'Sponge Bob' Marshall King.
J/80 Races 1, 2 and 3, 'Savage Sailing Team' Liz Savage.
Hunter 707 Races 1, 2 and 3, 'Sparkle' Paul Curtis.
Sportsboat Race 1, 'Backbeat' Richard Scarff. Races 2 and 3, 'Finn M'Coul' Tom Clay

Garmin Hamble Winter Series, Day 7, Black Fleet Race Winners:

IRC 0 Race 1, 'Jellina' Mark Lloyd.
IRC 1 Races 1 and 2, 'Premier Flair' Lucy Macgregor.
IRC 2 Races 1 and 2, 'Steady Barker' Mike Brough.
IRC 3 Races 1 and 2, 'Xtravagance' Colin Byrne.
IRC 4 Races 1 and 2, 'ASAP' Alex Christie.
J/105 Race 1, 'Voador' Simon Curwen. Race 2 'Jolene' Geoff Payne.
J/109 Race, 'Jambo' Kate Buckingham & Geoff Fry. Race 2 'Jalapeno' Nigel & Suzie Brooke.
Sigma 38 Race 1, 'Festina Lente' Meakins Family, Race 2, 'With Alacrity' Chris & Vanessa Choules.