Lymington Town Sailing Club Solent Circuit - Race 2
by Robin Milledge 25 Oct 2021 05:29 PDT
24 October 2021
Harry Ellen's BTC 22 Last Fling racing IRC 2 in the LTSC Solent Circuit © Lou Johnson
The second weekend of the LTSC Solent Circuit took place in almost identical conditions to Race 1 with a southerly breeze of 12 to 18 knots, flat water and occasional sunshine greeting competitors on the western Solent on Sunday 24th October.
The Race Committee were on station in good time to set the course and start line for racing to get under way on time. With only one race scheduled for the J80's all classes were set a series of windward / leeward legs across the Solent, cascading down tide to the east with a final reach back to a moveable mark set inshore, followed by a short beat to the finish.
With the target time of two hours running down the race officer shortened the Lymington Handicap and Folkboat classes at Mark J (Sowley), other wise all classes completed a full lap of the western Solent.
Andy Roberts sailing J105 Jin Tonic repeated his Race One result with another first place, followed by J105 Jelly Baby (William Newton) and J97 Jaywalker (Bob Baker).
The depleted J80 fleet was won by Toby Collier's Traffic Jam, with Jim White (Emoji) second and Dave Herrod (Just in Time) a well-deserved third place.
In the Lymington Adjusted Handicap Class Geoff & Mandy Stock's Custom 33 Jungle pulled out a commanding lead on the water only to see their race end in retirement due to a navigational error. Stuart Duffin's Elan 310 Flying Boat took the win on corrected time, with Dehler 29 Dynamic (John Turner) in second and Denis Bates Beneteau Oceanis 32s5 Roller Coaster in third.
The hotly contested IRC 2 fleet saw Andy Hind's Hanse 29 White Mischief take first place on corrected time from Allan Hills J30 Colleen and Harry Hutchinson's Swan 36 Anna Mai.
The Folkboat fleet enjoyed another close race, with the leading boats exchanging positions throughout. John Cooper and Becki Wigley took the win by a few boat lengths ahead of Simon Flack (Stralende) and Julian Sowry (Mistral).
Bottle Prizes courtesy of event sponsor Ringwood Brewery were presented to first second and third placed boats in each class.
The series continues on Sunday 31st October. A reminder to all competitors, the clocks go back at 02:00 on Sunday morning and the Fawley Power Station Chimney comes down at 07:00!
Entry is still open for individual races on line at www.ltsc.co.uk/solent-circuit