Please select your home edition
Edition
Lloyd Stevenson - AC Alinghi 1456x180px TOP

Garmin Hamble Winter Series 2015 - Day 5

by Ben Meakins 9 Nov 2015 11:02 PST 8 November 2015

Competitors in the Garmin Hamble Winter Series on Sunday could have been forgiven for thinking that the weather gods would have their revenge for the balmy first half of the series. After a week's break, the event resumed this weekend, along with an ominous forecast that predicted a building and veering southerly breeze.

And so it was with cautious sail plans that many boats ventured out to the racing area, where the committee boat was on station at Wilson Covers buoy. An eerily black cloud gave the impression that the wind was shortly to increase, but with wind instruments reading only 10 knots at start time, the bolder sailors changed to a full rig before their starts.

The wind held off until the later starters were at the top of their first beat, whereupon it began to increase, reaching 22+ knots in some gusts.

This uncertainty, along with some crafty windshifts, led to upsets in some classes. Cornel Riklin and crew on J/111 Jitterbug had their hitherto perfect score of 1st places in IRC0 spoiled by Chris Body and crew on their J/111 Icarus, who pipped Jitterbug by 29 seconds on corrected time. Third this week was Christopher Daniel's Juno.

Things were equally mixed in IRC 1, where Rupert Morgan's Xinska, on their first outing this series, recorded a convincing win, ahead of Playing Around, Ian McMellin's First 40.7 in second, and overall leader Fast-Tack Puma, sailed by James Wilkie and crew, in third.

In IRC2, Mike Moxley's HOD 35 Malice and Mike Bridges' Elan 37 Elaine have been battling it out throughout the series, and this weekend it was the turn of Elaine to top the fleet, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Malice on corrected time. Robbie and Lis Robinson took third on their First 35, Hot Rats.

J/92s Upstart has been getting better and better results throughout the series, and continued her recent run of form to take another bullet in IRC3. Sigma 38 Persephone put in a good performance to finish second, crossing the line only 17 seconds ahead of fellow Sigma, With Alacrity, who completed the day's podium.

Persephone and With Alacrity were 1st and 2nd respectively in the Sigma 38 class' extracted results, with Brian Skeet's Marta 3rd on the water.

The J/109s, also racing in IRC 3, were topped by Simon Perry's Jiraffe, who finished ahead of Designstar 2 and Red Arrow top maintain their position atop the class leaderboard overall.

In IRC4, Impala 28 Polly narrowly finished first on corrected time, beating current class leader, Stan the Boat to narrow the overall gap to two points. Class stalwart Erik the Red finished third, with H-Boat Bert putting in a solid result to take fourth.

The 8-strong Impala class is racing in IRC4, and was won by Polly, with Oliver Love and Sam Flint in Two Frank second and Barney Smith in Imptish third.

Crews were ashore by early afternoon as the wind began to howl, with most enjoying food and drink at the HRSC clubhouse, where day prizes provided by generous day sponsor Hudson Wight, were distributed to the highest-placed competitors present from each class.

Next Sunday sees the series continue, with One Sails providing day prizes. Should the current crop of Autumn gales blow themselves out in the meantime, we should enjoy some good sailing conditions!

www.hamblewinterseries.com

Related Articles

2025 29er Europeans at Lake Garda Day 1
Five teams tied at the top Ikke Huber / Liam Berger (Switzerland) lead the charge after sweeping all 3 races in the Green fleet — an impressive perfect score of 2 points. Lucas & Moritz Hamm, the dynamic twin duo from Germany, matched their Swiss rivals with consistency and pace. Posted on 3 Jul
Onboard reporters in the Course des Caps
Enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life In the Course des Caps - Boulogne sur Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, the Onboard Reporters, or OBRs, are back doing a wonderful job of bringing IMOCA racing to life with pictures, videos, interviews and reports from the boats. Posted on 3 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais Day 2
Consistent American Magic Quantum Racing move clear ahead American Magic Quantum Racing stepped three points clear at the top of the 2025 Rolex TP52 World Championship leaderboard today in Cascais, Portugal on the strength of a first and third from two breezy races. Posted on 3 Jul
505 UK Nationals at Weymouth
Michael Sims and Carl Gibbon hold back Howie Hamlin and Andy Zinn Apart from one 'stumble' in Race 7, the two leading boats were almost invisibly tied together to the point that after 8 races, they were tied on points. Posted on 3 Jul
Robert H. Tiedemann Classics Regatta concludes
A triumphant start to the Classic Yacht Challenge Series The 2025 Robert H. Tiedemann Classics Regatta, hosted by the New York Yacht Club, delivered a spectacular start to this year's Classic Yacht Challenge Series. Posted on 3 Jul
Unforgettable Transatlantic Race 2025 finish
First to arrive was Ocean Fifty Calamity, co-skippered by Timo Tavio and Kimo Nordström. It was rush hour in Cowes on Day 15 of the west-to-east Transatlantic Race 2025, as boats crossed the finish line in Cowes within minutes of each other after an epic 3,000-mile battle for top honors in IRC 1. Posted on 3 Jul
iQFOiL World Championships set to open in Aarhus
Olympic medalists and world-class riders gather in Denmark for the biggest iQFOiL event of the year. The stage is set in Aarhus for a spectacular week of high-speed sailing as the iQFOiL World Championships 2025 kick off on 4 July, bringing together over 200 of the world's best windsurfers from more than 40 nations. Posted on 3 Jul
The Ocean Race Europe to showcase new race tracker
Developed with PredictWind to revolutionise race coverage The Ocean Race, often described as the toughest test of a team in sport and widely recognised as a leader in impactful ocean health initiatives, and PredictWind, a global leader in marine weather forecasting, are collaborating on a new race tracker. Posted on 3 Jul
Oliver Heer confirms 2028 Vendée Globe ambition
The Swiss skipper aims to return for the 2028 edition of the legendary solo race with a newer boat After completing the Vendée Globe 2024 on his first attempt, Oliver Heer, the Swiss-German skipper of Tut gut Sailing, has confirmed his intention to return for the 2028 edition of the legendary solo race. Posted on 3 Jul
SailingFast to provide unrivalled event support
During the WASZP Games at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy SailingFast UK is set to land in Weymouth on the 8th of July and will be on-site until the 26th of July to provide the GOLD STANDARD in event support. Posted on 3 Jul
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeC-Tech 2020 Battens 2 728x90 BOTTOMAllen Dynamic 40 Footer