Lymington XOD Class Autumn Series - Race 5

Wednesday's XOD race was started in a blustery westerly wind with a low tide making ideal flat water sailing conditions.

Starting from the committee boat to a laid mark just off Pennington outfall post meant a long starboard tack to windward with a short port hitch to round the mark. Ibex helmed by Paul Woodman rounded with a twenty metre lead followed by Venus sailed by Nik Froud. Madcap with Chris Torrens steering, and Crumpet sailed by Barry Dunning were third and fourth.

With spinnakers flying along with the spray, these four surged away on the easterly incoming flow, down to the Berthon mark, where they all had to get their spinnakers down, and gybe to make their way back up tide to the Colton mark just to the west of the Lymington river entrance.

With the wind now approaching thirty knots, the race officer prudently decided to shorten the course at this mark by moving the committee boat to form the finishing line.

Ibex tried to lay the finish, staying in the tide but Venus and Madcap took a further hitch into less current, and this proved to be the winning move. Venus drove over the top of Ibex, crossed the line first followed by Madcap. Ibex crossed in third position with Crumpet coming in fourth. Just a few seconds had separated the first three.

Commenting after, back in a warm clubhouse with a cold beer in hand, most agreed it was an exciting race in conditions ideal for these 108 year old twenty foot day-boats.

Full results can be found here.