Dart 18 GP Round 6 at Mumbles Yacht Club

Prizewinners at the Dart 18 GP Round 6 at Mumbles © Mark Stones

Prizewinners at the Dart 18 GP Round 6 at Mumbles © Mark Stones

Prizewinners at the Dart 18 GP Round 6 at Mumbles © Mark Stones

UKIDA returned to Mumbles YC for GP6 of the 2018 calendar. As usual it seems for Mumbles the forecast was wet and windy which may have kept some travellers away, but eight visitors arrived to join the six local boats for what was to be a great and very tightly contested event.

First start on Saturday was 11am so there were a few with sore heads rigging their boats early for a 10am briefing. RO with agreement from the fleet decided due to heavy forecast Sunday we would do 4 races today. The wind was 13-18knots SW so perfect for relieving those hangovers.

Race 1: Locals Tony Rees and Jo Mullet got away first with a port flyer and led but were chased down by the RYYC boats of Des/Fi Barnes and Joe Franks/Ellis Stonehouse, followed by the ever improving Debs Waters/Barry Peters. The Barnes got through to win with Waters/Peters 2nd and Franks/Stonehouse 3rd.

Race 2: The Barnes tried a port flyer but got to the line way early which ruined their race. In a complete turnaround NDYC boat Gary & Ben Jennings led the fleet after finishing 2nd last in R1. They held on for the win with Tom Parker 2nd and Andy Robinson/Isobel Crichton-Smith 3rd.

Race 3: It was the turn of IYC boat Darren & Tracey-ann Wood to lead off the line, a lead they would hold until the final downwind leg, when bad decisions allowed the Barnes, Parker and Franks/Stonehouse to get passed and take the 123.

Race 4: The Barnes again showed their consistency in the last race with another bullet, their downwind speed being the difference, followed by Franks/Stonehouse and Parker who both had 3 top 3 finishes. So overnight the top 3 was Barnes, Parker, Franks.

The fleet returned to the MYC bar for some well deserved beer and waited for the Curry to be served and be entertained by a 'guy with a guitar' who turned out to be awesome, with a large part of the fleet bopping away to his tunes. With the forecast of 30knots for tomorrow most decided a late night was the best option and tried to drink the bar dry.

Sunday arrived with plenty of rain, the wind on shore was light but the race area was looking rather fierce and racing didn't look possible, but after a trip out from the race team, a breeze of 13-17 knots was reported and the RO said we are go.

The wind was stronger than Saturday and the swell larger, it was getting towards the top limit and a few boats decided it was too much and returned to shore.

Race 5: Rees/Mullet got an absolute flyer off the start and were clear ahead after lap 1, with Waters/Peters in 2nd flying with Big Barry on the wire, and the Woods in 3rd. It stayed that way until Lap 3 when the leaders jib downhaul decided to untie and they had to stop for a fix, allowing Wood and Waters through. The Woods held on for the win, with Waters/Peters 2nd and Franks/Stonehouse 3rd. The Barnes team could only manage 6th which meant the overall was all to play for in the last race.

Race 6: Waters/Peters led off the line and held the lead for Lap 1 followed by the Woods and Franks/Stonehouse. Lap 2 Waters tacked early for the mark and under called it (well Barry did) which allowed the Woods to get passed at the mark. On the downwind leg Franks passed Waters into 2nd which meant he would win overall if positions stayed the same. The RO shortened the course at Lap 2, so the Woods took their second bullet, Franks held on for 2nd, but then the Waters/Peters crew got completely fazed and missed the finish line, allowing Charlie Hillier/Lucy Mayhew to grab 3rd, and most importantly Team Barnes to nab 4th and retain overall first.

Congratulations to Des and Fionnuala on their first ever GP win, and thanks to MYC for another memorable event.

Prizewinners at the Dart 18 GP Round 6 at Mumbles - photo © Mark Stones

Overall Results: