2024 YachtsandYachting.com Racing Series - Round 4

2024 YachtsandYachting.com Racing Series Round 4 © Terry Hunt

Light winds dominated Round 4 of the YachtsandYachting.com Racing Series organised by Prometheus Sailing and held over the weekend of July 13th and 14th. Of the seven races were scheduled, six were started with the last race being abandoned due to the softening breeze.

Day 1 saw 6 Sunsail 41.0 yachts in the start area held under AP until a sailable Southerly breeze filled in after midday. A short windward/leeward course for Race 1 saw Yachtmarket.com take first place from Sunsail Helios and Red Penguin. For Race 2 the breeze had veered to the southwest and a triangular course was set with the first 3 yachts finishing in the same order.

With the wind becoming slightly more westerly, a windward/leeward course with an upwind gate was set. The breeze had picked up to F3/4 which gave plenty of power for the spinnaker run against the tide. Once again the finishing order was the same so the overnight leader was Yachtmarket.com from Sunsail Helios and Red Penguin.

Day 2 started very much like the previous morning with the fleet under AP. Eventually a light westerly breeze established and a windward/leeward course was set for Race 4.

Red Penguin aced the start at the pin end with a wind shift, enabled a port tack flyer. Sunsail Helios made a mid-line start on port but did not seem to have had the same shift and was sailing much lower than Red Penguin. Meanwhile Yachtmarket.com had started at the Committee Boat end on starboard and had all the power knocked from their sails by the wash from a ship which had passed by some minutes before. The breeze was very shifty but Red Penguin rounded the windward mark first, closely followed by a fast recovered Yachtmarket.com. On the downwind leg, Yachtmarket.com went high in an attempt to catch Red Penguin but fell foul of the light breeze and tide and was slow to come down to the leeward mark, which allowed Sunsail Helios to round in second place. However by the end of the second round the finishing result was an almost predictable Yachtmarket.com from Sunsail Helios with Red Penguin in third.

Race 5 was set as an old fashioned triangle and sausage course. The breeze was still light and the boats struggled to get to the windward mark. The course was shortened at the end of the triangle with Sunsail Helios winning by a comfortable margin from Red Penguin and BVI's in third. With the breeze down below 3 knots and the tide building, Race 6, the final race of the day was abandoned.

Round 5 of the series is scheduled for 12/13th October.

Overall Results: