Crouch Yacht Club Autumn Series - Race 5
by Sally Harbott 6 Nov 2018 17:01 AEDT
4 November 2018
Mantra, the Aphrodite 101 owned by Phillip Harbott, was away first and fast at the start of the fifth race in the Crouch Yacht Club Autumn Series hosted by the Burnham Sailing Club. The up river course meant a foul tide spinnaker start in a lightish south-easterly breeze with Grace and Danger starting on the South Shore at the start of the ebb and Mantra on the North Shore.
The pack were in just behind with Andy Heel's Bella Vela tucked right in under the Club house out of the tide to leeward and ahead of the higher rated Elan E3 Misled who also set her spinnaker after the gun. On the South Shore John Saunders in Jeannie overhauled Grace and Danger, the SJ27, quite quickly being much higher rated, but Mantra was by this time clear ahead of them.
Traigh, Dan Tribe's UFO 31 were in the middle of the river with their masthead kite up and pulling well along with Fidelio, the Contessa 35. Paul Trueman in Exile the X37 sailing non spinnaker were also towards the middle of the river just behind Ophelia, another non spinnaker competitor.
The fleet all managed to hold kites to Cliff, despite the wind dropping right off. Some competitors climbed towards the South Shore to keep in the wind and had a brief advantage over those who remained on the North Shore.
A couple of the boats held onto their spinnakers longer beyond Cliff, but did not gain an advantage from doing so. The leg from Bridgemarsh to Glaze was a short but tricky cross tide leg, with some who stood on for long enough being able to do it in one, others losing out by having to put in extra tacks.
Mantra was still leading the fleet on the fast down tide leg to 13, opting not to set a spinnaker down to Black Point then beating from Black Point to 13. Misled, owned by Richard Oram did set their spinnaker but carried it on past Black Point and had to bear away to keep it pulling, taking them further away from the mark and allowing others in the fleet to sail over them. The course was then a sausage to Cliff Reach back to 13 and back up to Cliff Reach before finishing at the Club line.
The wind was much consistent for the latter part of the race and the fleet enjoyed the last part of the race. There was a gybe set at Number 13 with a fast run up to Cliff Reach. The second time around the fleet beat for home, with Mantra leading the way, followed by Fidelio, Malcolm Hawkes' Contessa 35.
Behind these two, Skullduggery and Exile were on opposite shores with Exile ahead on the water at Essex marina. However, Don Rawling on a faster point of sail headed for the South Shore and took the gun ahead of the X37.
Jeannie was next to finish after this group, a good 10 minutes ahead of Stephen Gosling and Andrew Courts' Grace and Danger. Misled was a further minute behind them, having to put in more tacks than the leading pack, with Traigh helmed by Dylan McPherson next to finish. Ophelia, owned by Richard Moore, an MG27C were next with Bella Vela the lowest rated boat came in afterwards.
On corrected time Mantra took the win, six minutes ahead of Malcolm Fawkes in Fidelio. Jeannie was third with Skullduggery just 7 seconds behind in fourth. Mantra leads the series counting four firsts ahead of John Saunders in Jeannie who is on 10 points and Grace and Danger on 18. Next week is the Peter Cashel Memorial Trophy, and the later start allows the fleet to moor off Burnham War Memorial to observe the silence. Prize giving for this trophy, presented by Brenda Cashel, will be at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club after racing.