Scarborough Yacht Club Winter Series Race 1
by Chris Clark 27 Jan 2020 08:00 PST
19 January 2020
Leeds University Sailing Club students in race 1 of the Scarborough Yacht Club Winter Series © SYC
The first race of the Yacht Club's 2020 Winter racing season saw a good turnout of 21 yachts with no less than 79 sailors participating. Scarborough is one of the few clubs in the U.K. to race throughout winter.
The turnout illustrates the Club's engaged and competitive spirit. Sunday was a bright cool day, though usually low temperature, strong and variable wind and frequent heavy seas test enthusiasm.
Today's race saw our SYC and IRC classes competing, with the 707 class running their own race in the same waters at the same time. Race Officer Commodore Roger Buxton selected Course N (buoys 3, 6, and 8), turning points round buoys were to starboard. Because of reducing and variable wind near the shore after the start, the Race Station reduced the course to one lap.
The Club has sixteen possible course/buoy combinations of South Bay, with the course set by the Race Officer observing the weather, wind, and tide, a few minutes before race start. Sailing was tricky on occasions as the 707 race often crossed into the path of the other racers, and crew needed to maintain a careful lookout.
Towards the end of the race, the wind died away, making it difficult for the later yachts leaving the No. 8 buoy (near to the Grand Hotel) to get over the finishing line at the Lighthouse.
Congratulations go to Revenge in the IRC Class and Sundance in the SYC Class.
IRC fleet:
1. Revenge, a Sigma 33 owned by Alan Smith, Steve Martin & Paul Coopland
2. Vado, an Aphrodite 291 owned by Win and Steve Russell
3. Vision, an SJ320 owned by Jon Livesey
SYC fleet:
1. Sundance, a Folkboat owned by Thomas Hill
2. Takaza, an Etap 28i owned by Kevin Chatt
3. Dash, a Sadler 34 owned by Martin Donnelly