XOD Lymington Fleet Long Race East

The combination of Cowes Week and cancelled races had led to an atypically quiet start to August for the Lymington fleet. The long race east was suitable motivation then, for the fleet to return to start line for what would be their longest race of the 2024 season so far.

14 boats were in attendance, including X91 Astralita visiting from Itchenor, fresh from yet another resounding Cowes Week victory at the hands of her legendary helmsman, John Tremlett and his crew Fraser Graham and Tim Copsey.

Race officer Mike Cowan set a course befitting the 16-20 knot SW conditions; 2R to starboard, across to 3P on the Gurnard shore, back to Quinnell off Lepe and a long upwind back up to Z to finish. X91 was seen with her mainsail lowered shortly before the start, seemingly struggling with gear failure - could this be the day the Lymington fleet got one back over the serial winners?

The starboard end of the start-line allowed a straight run on the inside line to the first mark and it was X117 X-Ray, helmed by Ben Paton, who got the best of the starts at the favoured end, with X119 Lone Star, sailed by Paul Woodman, Ollie James and ex-Olympian Phil Lawrence, following shortly behind. These two boats rounded 2R clear ahead of a tightly packed bunch and X72 Venus (Nik Froud, Robby Boyd & Chris Harris) were able to leapfrog several boats to climb to 3rd as the fleet made their way over to the island. Little had changed by the next mark, the top three rounded in an unchanged order, followed by X18 Nefertiti sailed by Mike & Sian Hobby, who had sailed an excellent reach on the direct line to the mark, and X161 Mayfly sailed by Rory & Amanda Paton and David King.

Other than Mayfly slipping past Nefertiti, positions stayed constant on the subsequent reach. At this stage X91 was still languishing at the back of the fleet, the question remained though - how long would she stay there?

Upon heading upwind, the race at the front of the fleet sprung into life. X-Ray was doing a fantastic job of defending against Lone Star, with Venus not much further behind. X33 Claire De Lune sailed by Simon McCarthy, Jeremy Baker and Mike had nailed their mark rounding and were showing typically impressive speed to quickly join up to the lead bunch. Further back, X91 was beginning to pick her way through the fleet and looked increasingly ominous. X9 Zests attempt to out hike the big boys was particularly valiant - perhaps the outcome would have been different had the breeze been a few clicks lighter!

Working up the mainland shore, the lead boats were slowly working out a gap to the rest of the fleet. The starboard advantage coming off the shore made overtaking lanes difficult, but not too difficult for Claire De Lune and Astralita, who had worked their way up to 3rd and 4th respectively by the race had made it to Sowley Boom. An overstood lay-line from X-Ray compressed matters further, and gave Astralita the opportunity to lead the bunch back into the beach once around the boom. The impressive pace with which Tremlett and crewed had scythed their way through the fleet didn't relent now they had their pick of the tacking lanes and little by little, they moved away from the chasing pack.

Behind, the race remained close - X Ray was still defending hard against Claire De Lune and Lone Star, with Venus still hanging onto that group of boats. A journey offshore to try and catch the turn of the ebb tide bought her back into contention further and it was only the starboard advantage of Claire de Lune and Lone Star that prevented her reclaiming 3rd place on the line. Instead, X Ray defended to the last to secure 2nd place and keep Claire de Lune and Lone Star at bay in 3rd and 4th. Astralita by this point, after an incredibly impressive performance, had finished a good minute ahead.

Thanks must go to Mike Cowan and his team for setting a fantastic, long course.

Overall Results:

1st - Astralita - John Tremlett, Fraser Graham & Tim Copsey
2nd - X Ray - Ben Paton & David Bedford
3rd - Claire De Lune - Simon McCarthy, Jeremy Baker & Mike Crowe
4th - Lone Star - Paul Woodman, Ollie James and Phil Lawrence
5th - Venus - Nik Froud, Robby Boyd & Chris Harris

Overall results can be found at rlymyc.org.uk/afloat/results/XOD-results