Royal Southampton Yacht Club
Island Double Handed Race
16/7/05
Race Start: - RORC Start Line - Cowes
Co-skipper: Mark Hammond
The overwhelming memory of this race will be the fact that we started the race with masthead spinnaker up and didn’t take it down until we had reached the forts some ¾ of the way around the course! Minis are much more comfortable to sail down wind so this made the day very pleasant especially as we had light to moderate winds and sunshine.
After a false start the four minis (and the rest of class three) were off down the Solent towards the Needles. We were in forth position but slowly overhauled a few boats and at the Needles were in second place. I opted not to sail too close to the lighthouse but stayed safe. This gave the other boats the chance to overtake me and in fact they were soon well gone and Crean was left stuck in a wind hole with Mark and I wondering if we would ever get around. (Our main concern at this stage was whether we had enough suntan lotion!).
Eventually the wind filled in and we were off again chasing the fleet. This we did quite well, keeping well into the coast. At St.Catherine’s Point we had lost sight of the other minis and as is often the way concluded that we must be well last. As we rounded the Island and approached the forts we spotted Rattle and Hum having a few problems with their kite and we overtook them. This cheered us up and we were even happier as we approached the forts to see all three minis very close to us and in fact all behind us! It didn’t last long as Mad Dog and Atomic chose to take a Northerly route across the Solent (strictly against the book) and by the time we beat up the channel past Ryde they had overtaken us.
We ended in third place having had a thoroughly good sail followed by a few beers in Cowes.
Many thanks to Mark for co-skippering and to the RSYC for organising the race.
Result:
1st: Atomic #56 - Nicholas Cutter/Lindsay Court
2nd: Mad Dog #242 - Jake Jefferis/Georgina Eggleton
3rd: Crean #449 - Richard Smurthwaite/Mark Hammond
4th: Rattle & Hum #440 - Carol Sear/Paul Burns
