Hastings and Bexhill sailors make most of conditions for thrilling racing

A Dart 16, a Tasar and 12 Lasers raced in a handicap competition at the Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club.
Weekend action involving Hastings & St Leonards SC membersWeekend action involving Hastings & St Leonards SC members
Weekend action involving Hastings & St Leonards SC members

Many of the Laser sailors chose full rigs to capitalise on the light westerly winds that were blowing at the start of the morning.

However, the better decision was made by those opting for the smaller Radial rig as winds increased significantly during the racing, reaching force four from the south west by the third and final race, and with sea state to match.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The first race went to Said Toubi in a Laser with a full sail but by the second race it was the Radial rigged Lasers that were managing the conditions better.

Autumn Series racing at Bexhill SCAutumn Series racing at Bexhill SC
Autumn Series racing at Bexhill SC

Line honours went to Maurice and Janey Nash in the Dart 16 but when handicaps were applied, it was Philip Blurton and Morgan Jeffries in a Tasar who were first and Steve Clark in a Laser Radial second.

By the third race the wind was really up.

Line honours again went to the Dart 16 but with handicaps applied, Steve Clark in a Laser Radial won, ahead of the Tasar in second.

With a one race discard allowed, Clark and the Tasar each had three points from a second and a first.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In accordance with the racing rules, victory goes to the boat with the best position in the last race.

This meant the overall winner of the competition was Steve Clark in a Laser Radial and Blurton and Morgan in the Tasar were second.

Third place went to Melanie Clark in a Laser, who had done extremely well to keep going throughout the changing conditions in a full Laser rig.

For those sailors who had stayed the course of all three races, the competition had tested their abilities across a range of conditions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

To find out more about sailing opportunities at the club go to www.hastingssc.org

BEXHILL

Another four races take place at Bexhill Sailing Club to complete this year’s Autumn Series.

A total of 22 boats took to the water on Saturday in deceptively hard conditions.

The wind was very gusty and frequently shifted in direction, so all of the sailors had to keep a very keen eye on the trim of their boats to make sure they were on the best course.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There were a few capsizes along the way (Christine doing her utmost to secure this year’s Capsize Trophy!) and a few boats came in early to leave 14 boats out for the second race.

In the Asymmetric fleet, the two RS400s of Paul Miller/Andy Bullen and Nicola Palmer/Mike Copeman had a very close race all the way round, with first position changing on almost every leg.

The Commodores eventually claimed line honours after overtaking their rivals in the last few hundred metres of the race. Paul and Andy took first in the second race to redress the balance.

In the Fast Fleet, Colin Coard’s Taser took first from Tony Witham’s Supernova, and they reversed this for the second race. The Slow Fleet was won by Bob and Barbara Palmer’s Miracle with Malcolm Brookes’ Comet close behind, and the second race saw Richard Eagleton in his Europe push the Palmers into second. Sunday gave a more steady wind, but certainly stronger, with a heavy swell to the waves. Only five boats went out, three Catamarans and two Europes, with some very fast lap times posted.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lee Roberts and Neil Smith in their Europes gave some of the closest racing ever seen, with Lee winning the first race by only one second. Neil took first in the next race by the comparatively wider margin of 30 seconds.

The Cats had a bit more daylight between them, and Flo Wright won the first race from Dan Harwood and Simon Firmin. The second race went to Simon North, with Flo second. There’s still plenty of racing ahead this year.

Related topics: