Lymington Town Sailing Club Perisher Series - Day 1
by Simon Ward 8 Jan 2019 12:28 PST
6 January 2019
The first Sunday of the new year dawned to a grey and chilly morning for the opening race of the Lymington Town Sailing Club's Perisher series. The light north-westerly breeze which was predicted to freshen slightly, but actually did precisely the opposite, causing the race management team to signal separate starts for single and double handers.
Forty-six boats signed on to face the tricky light conditions and although the start coincided with high water, space on the line was limited and called for sharp boat handling. All eventually got off to a clean start and made their journey down the river.
The first mark was Sanders to the east of the platform which was likely to be a difficult rounding given the now increasing ebb tide. However, all boats made the rounding without incident and set off to Baverstock, which being down tide would have been a relatively quick leg.
After factoring in the strength of the tide and lack of puff, the fleet were signalled to return to the Club line. The beat back up the river saw losses and gains throughout the fleet, but in the final analysis the Merlin Rocket of David and Vicky Lenz came out on top, with another Merlin sailed by Rob and Jan Martin in second. Third was the Seafly of John Claridge with Clare Sleigh crewing.