Peroni Summer Saturday Series 2018 at Hebe Haven Yacht Club Race 3
by Rob Allen 20 Jun 2018 04:02 PDT
16 June 2018
Sportsboat start during Peroni Summer Saturday Series 2018 Race 3 © Rob Allen
On Saturday, the 16th of June 2018, Port Shelter was looking at its best for Race 3 of the Peroni Summer Saturday Series 2018. Blue skies, clear visibility, a 14-knot easterly, gusting 18, white caps and shimmering seas indicated a great afternoon's island racing... and so it proved.
Volunteering for race officer duties was Joseph Chan and his colourful Temujin crew who worked efficiently to ensure a good experience for at least 35 of the 36 boats on the water, with Brace! Brace!! Brace!!! retiring.
Taking into account that conditions were expected to be windier out around the islands, the RO opted for three relatively straightforward courses, varying from 8nm for the Dragons to 16nm for IRC.
After the committee vessel had dropped anchor near the University of Science & Technology, a windward Club Mark was laid at 90 degrees and 0.8nm distant.
Having taken the Club Mark to starboard, in the case of the eight IRC boats and six Sportsboats, they completed two sausages around Bluff and Table Islands finishing at Little Palm Beach (LPB). The nine-boat HKPN fleet and three J-80s, after the Club Mark, headed for Trio, Bluff and Table Islands also finishing at LPB. Last off were the 10n Dragons which, after Table, circumnavigated Bay Island, returned to Table and finished at LPB.
Unfortunately both Blue Star and It's My Pleasure arrived late and missed their starts.
Even with reefed sails, conditions proved challenging, particularly in the vicinity of Bluff and Basalt with steep rollers and fluctuating wind angles causing some thrilling moments for skippers and crews. Those undermanned (like Juggerknot and RB) found conditions particularly challenging.
In IRC, Lighthorse Alpha+ relished the conditions and galloped around the course to take both line and handicap honours, with Arcturus 2nd followed by Outrageous.
Hotwired set the pace in Sportsboats finishing ahead of Merlin and Green Magic.
In HKPN, the two Beneteau First 405s, Ichiban and Zam-Zammah, had a close race, the former finishing 41 seconds ahead across the line. Bits & Pieces took line honours and 4th place, but all lost out on handicap to LoTech.
Jelik 7 continued to dominate the J-80 fleet with Jelik 6 getting the better of Jive.
A strong turnout of 10 Dragons saw Nattigheid (D57) finish 3rd while, in a thrilling finish just one second separated 1st Elfje and 2nd Wyuna.
With no protests it was a relatively early prize-giving, with several awardees arriving later missing out on the ever popular sponsored Peroni beer.