2012 Parhelion Autumn Series

Skippers, crew and club officers -- your contributions are needed, reports, GPS tracks and photos

The Parhelion yacht racing series is run by the Portsmouth Sailing Club, with races in the Eastern Solent, off Portsmouth and in Hayling bay.

One More Knot's skipper reports each race in the series, blow by blow. Some of the other crews and skippers contribute too ... just to give a balanced view!

Autumn Parhelion 2012 dates are:


2012 Autumn Parhelion Series - Club Fleet Standings

Official results table from the PSC

Rank Boat Name Class Sail No Helm TCF R1
29 Sep		 R2
29 Sep		 R3
6 Oct		 R4
6 Oct		 R5
13 Oct		 R6
13 Oct		 R7
20 Oct		 R8
27 Oct		 R9
27 Oct		 R10
3 Nov		 R11
3 Nov		 Total
Club Fleet - Sailed: 11    Discards: 4
1 Muscadet de Havelet Contessa 32 5500 Peter Sanderson 0.895 2 1 3 7 4 2 3 1 1 1 2 10
2 One More Knot Elan 333 7563T Phil Duff 0.965 1 4 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 3 11
3 Widgeon Halberg-Rassy 31 5513 Nick Fletcher 0.860 4 3 6 5 1 1 6 3 2 3 1 14
4 Crazy Horse Mustang 30 5187 Derek Budden 0.910 3 5 8 4 4 5 5 DNC DNC 4 4 29
5 Scallywag GK 24 215 Ellis Ruddick 0.780 7 6 1 2 RAF 8 2 DNC DNC 6 6 30
6 Just In Time Omega 36 4230T Tony Barnett 0.960 5 8 4 6 5 6 4 DNC DNC 5 5 34
7 Maggie May MG 27 1148 Andrew Taylor 0.890 6 7 5 3 6 4 DNC RET DNC 7 8 38
8 Easy Tiger II Beneteau First 33.7 6655 Chris Fife-Shaw 0.910 RAF 9 7 8 9 10 7 4 DNC 8 7 50
9 Mistress Folkboat 461 Colin Eales 0.960 8 2 DNC DNC 7 7 DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 57
10 Hobo Hanse 301 2996 Alan Long 0.900 9 RET DNC DNC 8 9 DNF DNC DNC RET 9 68

Results courtesy of Portsmouth Sailing Club

Race Results

Race Date Class Pos No in Class TCF OTW Time OTW gap to 1st/2nd Corrected gap to 1st/2nd Crew
Parhelion race 1 29/9/2012 1 10 0.965 1:00:15 -6:00 -1:10 Phil, Norman, Martin P, Andy S, Bill
Parhelion race 2 29/9/2012 4 10 0.965 1:20:14 -1:54 +3:55 Phil, Norman, Martin P, Andy S, Bill
Parhelion race 3 6/10/2012 2 8 0.965 1:20:25 -15:02 +3:09 Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Glenn
Parhelion race 4 6/10/2012 1 8 0.965 1.27.22 -23:36 -2:14 Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Glenn
Parhelion race 5 13/10/2012 2 10 0.965 1:20:37 -8:59 +0:45 Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Andy S, Phil B
Parhelion race 6 13/10/2012 3 10 0.965 1:16:24 -6:59 +2:01 Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Andy S, Phil B
Parhelion race 7 20/10/2012 1 8 0.965 2:21:09 -38:09 -3:39 Phil, Drew, Norman, Glenn, Martin P, Andy S, Phil B
Parhelion race 8 27/10/2012 2 4 0.965 1:37:34 -3:17 +3:53 Phil, Drew, Norman, Glenn, Andy S, Jim
Parhelion race 9 27/10/2012 3 3 0.965 0:42:28 +0:58 +3:50 Phil, Drew, Norman, Glenn, Andy S, Jim
Parhelion race 10 3/11/2012 2 9 0.965 0:59:46 -3:17 +1:16 Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Richard T, Robin F
Parhelion race 11 3/11/2012 3 9 0.965 1:29:04 -6:08 +4:05 Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Richard T, Robin F

Race Reports

Appeal to skippers, crews and race officials, spectators, etc.

Please help me out with:

Autumn Races 1 and 2

Phil, Norman, Martin P, Andy S, Bill

New season, scores all level again! With an old mate (Bill) on board, we had drunk too much beer the night before. When combined with an early start to get the boat ready for the first race meant it was all a bit rushed, particularly when the breakfast plans started to fall to pieces. However, we did get brekky and were untying the strings by 10 past 9, At least the boat was squeaky clean underneath and the weather was glorious.

We were a bit short of the regular crew, so this was Andrew's first go on the foredeck on his own. On leaving the harbour we fetched along the Halsar wall before hoisting the kite on a run down to the committee boat at Gleeds. We practiced our gybes, which got better as we progressed.

Waiting for the start we became aware that it was quite busy, a fleet of 10 in club class. We checked out the line and thought the port end was favoured. After the IRC boats all started at the starboard end, we checked the line again. It seemed pretty even, the wind was shifty which proved to be a bit of a pattern as the day progressed.

Race 1

Wind : NE F3/4
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to Naomi (half way along the Haslar wall), beam reach to RNCRAYC, fetch to Darling Associates, run to North Sturbridge, gybe and run to Outer Spit, beat to line.

The fleet seemed to try to squeeze onto the committee boat while we stayed clear and were happy to start midway along the line. We started with good speed and were as close to the line as anyone else at the gun.

One the first beat we were the left hand boat, the fleet stacked above us so we couldn't have tacked onto port even if we wanted to. Within the first couple of minutes half the fleet tacked away, leaving One More Knot, followed by Muscadet and Just In Time staying on starboard. We were in front of Muscadet, but on a lower line. Eventually Just In Time and Muscadet tacked. We hung on for another minute before tacking towards the Naomi House buoy near the wall. As we approached the wind was noticeably fading. Being further out on the left hand side allowed us free off slightly and the relatively small lead rapidly increased, as we made a nice rounding. All of the other boats struggled in the lee of the buildings and lighter airs, which allowed us to open up a 2 minute gap over Muscadet.

Reaching along the Haslar wall, Muscadet gave chase but it was Just In Time who really got it together, flying past Muscadet, their new sails working well.

At the windward mark, Darling Associates, Bill took over mainsheet duties, while Norman and Andrew hoisted the kite. Martin sheeted in and we were away. Looking back, we could see the rest of the fleet, which slightly distracted us from looking ahead! We soon noticed a large ship coming between the forts at some speed. Decision time, go in front ... or behind. If we went behind, then we might need to drop the kite to get around the gybe mark. If we went in front, we could go a bit more reachy to improve our speed, before going deeper to resume the course. In front it was .... we thought we'd be well clear and the rest of the fleet would have to wait. As it happened we did pass in front but it left us with quite a deep run down to North Sturbridge where we gybed. In hindsight, the ship affected us more than the others. We developed a good lead so decided to play safe and drop early at Outer Spit. The kite came down safely, but we were still a bit short of the mark. If left us goose winged for 2 minutes at about 4.5 knots, instead of our previous 6 knots against the tide.

On the final leg, we slotted in front of White Cloud, from the IRC fleet who had been sailing a longer course. Initially it looked like we could fetch the line, but another shift meant that we needed a late tack to finish.

Having crossed the line, we were able to watch as Just In Time and then Muscadet de Havelet crossed the line. We thought Muscadet would have been quite close.

Once the handicaps unwound, One More Knot took the first win of the series, Muscadet de Havelet in 2nd, Crazy Horse in 3rd. Bill should have retired from yacht racing at this point, 1 race, 1 win!

Race 2

Wind : NE F4/5
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to Naomi (half way along the Haslar wall), run to Vail Williams (half way along harbour entrance channel), run to Outer Spit, beat to RNCRAYC, run back to Outer Spit before a final beat to the line.

Hmmmm, this race looked interesting, 2 spinnaker legs. There was debate on board about which spinnakers to use and when. The wind was up a bit, and pre start had gone around to 270. Andy didn't want to use the asymmetric, probably because it bit him in the Round the Island race. However, with the wind in the west, the leg from Vail Williams to Outer Spit looked quite shy, particularly given the wind had increased to 16-18 kts. If we went to the A2, we would be able to use Big Blue for the final spinnaker leg, without worrying about repacking.

So the skipper overruled and it was to be the asymmetric for the first set followed by Big Blue for the second hoist. By the time the debate was done, we were well into the start sequence. With some twirling of the wheel, with several gybes and tacks, to position ourselves for the run into the line, I think we must have been quite dizzy when we got there, Once again we started with good speed and mid-way along the line. We were a couple of boat lengths shy of the line at the gun.

On the first beat, we struggled to find nice speed, trailing behind Muscadet. With the wind still west, the fleet quickly tacked onto port and we were the last because of our position on the right hand side. As we approached the wall, the wind went back to the NE, heading us all. However, as we had been last to tack we were hung out to dry.

We rounded the Naomi House a few boat lengths behind Muscadet and hoisted the asymmetric. But now with the wind veered to NE, the leg was very deep. So we gybed the main off the kite to run dead downwind, or maybe slightly by the lee goose winged. It was tricky to keep the spinnaker inflated all the way, and when it collapsed, it took some effort to get it flying again. As we approached the mark, we need to make sure we didn't get done by the tide. It was a bit messy, but we made it.

Having gybed at Vail Williams, the next leg was cleaner and easier. At the drop, Andrew snuffed the kite .... and then hung onto like it was life and death. We wanted to get the genoa out before dropping the 'snake', but it got stuck. Eventually things sorted themselves out and we were off on the beat towards RNCRAYC, still following Muscadet.

Ahead, Muscadet need to double tack to get around the mark, caught out by the tide. We had a nice rounding, gybing on the way, closing the gap to a couple of boat lengths. As both crews raced to hoist spinnakers, One More Knot crossed Muscadet's transom, to offer her shelter from the breeze! There was a hint of a luffing battle before One More Knot managed to pop the kite and were away.

From there it was a procession to the line to claim line honours, but only a 4th place this time. Muscadet de Havelet (Contessa 32) won, followed by Mistress (Folkboat) and Widgeon (Halberg-Rassy 31).

A good day sailing, back to the bar for more beer ... and whiskey ... Rick, my head thanked you on Sunday morning! The race results were published in turbo quick time using the PSC's new technology.

Autumn Races 3 and 4

Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Glenn

We had been watching the weather forecast all week, initially the forecast was for 2 knots, then 4, then 6 then 14. Kevan unable to join us, still unwell, we wish him a speedy recovery, then he can return to help us! So this week we were down to 5 crew again.

Out on the water, we left Portsmouth 40 minutes after low water and squeaked our way slowly and carefully through the shallows of the inner Swashway. Guessing that the committee boat would be down at Bob Kemp ... err sorry, that's old money ... Kemp's Quay, we hoisted the spinnaker and set off. On the way, we heard on the VHF that our guess was right and the start would be delayed to allow the fleet time to assemble.

Race 3

Wind : NE F3/2
Course: Start at Kemp's Quay (formerly Bob Kemp), beat to Darling Associates to port, broad/beam reach to Browndown, run to the shortened finish at Motherbank. The course originally included a return to Darling Associates and another run back to the line.

Pre start we assessed the start line, the committee boat was to windward and up tide. We had also assessed our ground tracks, working out what we could make against the east going tide. In the light airs, our speed would be slow and therefore the tidal effects relatively strong. We wanted maximum lee bow effect, so after some discussion we elected to start at the port, pin end of the line, downwind and down tide! The fleet split, with some at the pin end and some at the upwind committee boat end. One More Knot neatly manoeuvred to be on the pin at the gun, with clear air. Next along the line was Widgeon. Just In Time followed us over the line, before putting in an immediate tack.

Widgeon started with a bit more boat speed than One More Knot and managed to stay on our leeward bow for a while. A few puffs of breeze allowed One More Knot to slowly close the gap and pull alongside. Gliding 2 boat lengths to windward of them, we could earwig on their discussion over the next leg. They were agonising about whether to use the asymmetric. Slowly we rolled over the top of Widgeon and opened enough of a gap to have our own discussion on the same topic, hopefully in secret! We hatched a cunning plan, with a lot of help from the lee bow effect it looked like we might just be able to fetch the mark. We elected to go with Big Blue, in full knowledge that the pole would probably be on the forestay all they way. However we wouldn't rush into the kite set, we would stay high on the wind for a while after rounding to get a more windward position, increasing our options.

At the windward mark One More Knot rounded 2 minutes ahead of the Muscadet, Just In Time and then the rest of the fleet. It had taken 29 minutes of slow (2.5 knots) and painful sailing to windward. Easing the sheets onto the reach saw the speed increase marginally, tipping over 3 knots! The pole was raised and the kite hoisted. It took quite some bear away to get the kite to inflate properly, but then we moved the pole forward and pulled it down hard. Of the others, only Muscadet and Just In time went for a hoist immediately after they rounded. The breeze filled in a little and after tweaking the sheets we saw a respectable 6 knots, 4-5kts over the ground, along the leg, speeding away from those still getting around. Those without spinnakers were quickly left trailing and soon realised that they needed theirs too.

With the true wind marginally behind the beam and apparent well in front we managed to keep the kite flying most of the way. At times, our highest track was too low to get to Browndown, so it was touch and go all the way. On the shifts, we allowed ourselves to be lifted as much as possible, trying to bank any extra height. It was slow going against the tide. We could see the IRC boats ahead, also struggling. Looking back we could see that we had extended our lead and it looked good.

On the approach to the mark, we dared to bear away, but in the light airs the boat slowed down dramatically. The intention was to go around the mark, then drop into a run in preparation for a gybe. We were struggling to make headway against the tide on the approach to Browndown. Eventually we got to the mark, holding the course and hopefully the speed until we had fully crossed up tide. There was a real risk of being pushed back onto the big green can. Once clear, we bore away onto a run, squared off the pole and all but stopped! Our track showed 1.8 knots over the ground. All of a sudden, our big lead didn't look so good, especially when we saw Just In Time and their bright pink kite charging up towards Browndown.

As we struggled to get One More Knot moving, we gybed and then came up onto a broad reach to increase the boat speed. At least we were getting across the main Solent channel, even if we were heading down tide of the next mark, Motherbank. The VHF down below had inadvertently been changed to the wrong channel so we hadn't picked up any messages about a shortened course, until another competitor was asking for clarification. By then we were close enough for it to pop through on the handheld VHF. So this was the last leg. A long slow last leg! At least the view was inspiring, the Jubilee Sailing Trust's TS Tenacious had crew on the yard arms of the square rigger and Amelie Rose, a very pretty Bristol pilot cutter had plenty of sails up.

Looking back, we could see that Muscadet had passed Browndown and were continuing along the mainland shore. Obviously they had assessed our predicament and gone for a different option, trying to get up tide first. Just In Time stayed on the original tack in an attempt to stay up tide. Oh ... and coming past Cowes, in our direction was a bright red tanker! Ahead, the IRC fleet were down tide of Browndown and struggling to get back, Gypsy Moth IV was also progressing very slowly. We kept an eye on the tanker, we were mid channel and the tanker was getting closer. Asking the crew about the situation, it became clear that there was a bit of a gap behind us, and if we could progress a little further the tanker driver would surely elect to go behind us.

Slowly we crossed the tanker's bows, we were very relieved to be able to see along the far side. Now the attention turned to how to get to the finish. We were down tide, so we elected to pull the pole back square and run into the mark the best we could. It was a struggle ... and we were losing, making just 1.7 knots over the ground again.

We were 5 boat lengths down tide of the mark, so sailing in quite close we gybed, which left us a beam-broad reach to finish. With the pole forward the boat speed increased rapidly ... double what we just had to a dizzy 3-4 knots.!!! We were able to make headway against the tide, bear away slightly to cross the line and then sail clear before releasing a huge sigh of relief. Looking back, there was a big gap. Just In Time had done a better job of staying up tide, but they too were starting to get a little down tide. Muscadet seemed to be charging across the channel at an alarming (to us) speed.

In the end One More Knot took line honours, over 4 minutes ahead of Just In Time, with another couple of minutes to Muscadet de Havelet. After the corrections were applied, Scallywag took the win, One More Knot in 2nd and Muscadet de Havelet in 3rd.

Race 4

Wind : NE F2
Course: Start at Craft Insure, beat leaving Darling Associates to port, RNCRAYC to starboard to the finish at KB Boatparks.

The tide at the start was almost slack, so we elected to start at (northerly) pin end. We gybed underneath Scallywag who was leading the rest of the fleet along the line, but then we struggled to get One More Knot back up to speed in time, so Scallywag rolled over the top of us. The gun went and while our start wasn't a bad start, it was a bit 2nd row of the grid. Scallywag's momentum carried her over the top of us and Phil was keen to get into clearer air. As soon as our bow was clear of their transom, with Drew on the foredeck checking it out, we started the slow process of trying to sail a higher line. Maggie May also had a good start and sailed over the top of us too.

As soon as we were clear of both boats, a gap opened up and allowed us to tack onto port to get out of the dirty air. We had a few boat lengths of clear air before ducking under Muscadet's transom. Most of the rest of the fleet had split onto port early to sail along the island shore, including Just In Time and Crazy Horse. Once we had a higher line than Muscadet and were sure to be in clear air we tacked back onto starboard out into the channel. Progress was slow, anything over 3 knots was good!

On our line above Muscadet we could easily see their progress. In the shifty light winds, the two boats would catch the lifts and headers at slightly different times. Eventually we managed to pull alongside and then slightly in front. Sometimes, it was difficult to tell whether we had just been headed, our whether the wind had weakened so much that it was our own headway that was causing the sails to back. Meanwhile, ScallyWag and Maggie May sailed a much lower line, sailing faster.

Eventually, on a big shift, we tacked and fortunately the shift continued to lift us. So much so, that we found ourselves pointing at the mark, Darling Associates, so we eased the sheets to bank as much distance as we could. In the shifty winds, going higher didn't appear to serve any purpose. Looking back, with all the other boats on the other tack we thought this was our breakaway chance. Sadly, it didn't last for long, the wind shifted back, but we had opened up a 200m gap.

Feeling much better about our position, we sailed on. Then the fleet converged on the approach to the mark. Crazy Horse crossed in front from the Island side. Phil teased "Don't blow it now ...!", acknowledging their excellent performance in the tricky airs. Just In Time, who had been following Crazy Horse tacked to track us some 200m downwind. Coming along the mainland side, Maggie May was going quite well and also passed some 200m astern. Scallywag was further back, but the smaller GK24 was obviously doing well. Muscadet had dropped back into the fleet.

Approaching the Gilkicker headland, the wind became very shifty. The crew climbed into action and the remainder of the race proved to be very active, despite the very light winds. We tacked on headers and struggled to follow the lifts. With our sails set with a very fine entry, our groove was only a couple of degrees wide. Phil, helming was concentrating on the tell tales and making small adjustments. Norman, concentrating on the main could also see the Windex. When the wind lifted us by say 20 or 40 degrees, it was difficult to pickup from the tell tales alone. So Norman was talking through the lifts which allowed us to pick up on the shifts more quickly. We tacked on another big header, which many of the rest missed, it let us break free again.

At Darling Associates, we elected to sail into towards the headland making the most of the current wind direction, before tacking back out. With more shifts, and playing the tide the best we could we approached the finish, only to discover that the Victory fleet were about to use the KB Boatparks buoy as their started at exactly the same time that we were about to finish. As we crossed the line, we then had to evade the Victories without hindering them on their gate start. Looking back down the course, we could see that we had opened a considerable gap. It looked like Crazy Horse got the better of Just In Time in a finish line port/starboard incident, some 10 minutes behind us, they were shortly followed by Maggie May.

This time, the corrected results had One More Knot as the winner, Scallywag in 2nd for a great pair of results and Maggie May in 3rd.

Back in the club house, we waited anxiously for the results. One More Knot led the series with 8 points, from Muscadet de Havelet on 13 and storming into 3rd place was Scallywag with 16.

Autumn Races 5 and 6

Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Andy S, Phil B

Phil rolled over 50 on Friday, so it was a quiet couple of pints in the Castle with Andy to make sure we woke up with a clear head on Saturday morning. Kevan couldn't make it again having just restarted his Chemo treatment, but hopefully he will be with us next week.

The crew met up for breakfast, Drew with his usual enormous fry-up. Hungry work on the bow. Phil B had flown down from Newcastle to be on board!

On board, we untied the strings and nearly set off without Norman, who turned out to be chinwagging with the crew of Hobo down the pontoon! Out on the water, it was blowing 10-14 knots, we sailed a fine reach along the Halsar wall before hoisting the kite and running back down to the Committee boat at Gleeds. The strings were like knitting, knots all over the place as One More Knot lived up to her name. The crew were initially on another planet but soon kicked into action, rethreading and sorting things out. A few practice gybes weren't great either, but there was a marked improvement through the sequence. It's a good job we weren't under race conditions, but that's why we get out early. It was cool, but the overcast sky was soon to clear to leave glorius October sunshine.

Race 5

Wind : WNW F3/4, tide building to the West
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to Darling Associates, just past Gilkicker, run back to the leeward laid mark, through the line to repeat for a second lap.

Before the start, we checked out the line. A slight wind bias to the committee boat (starboard) end, but stronger favourable tide out beyond the pin end. We concluded the line was very fair, so we wanted to avoid a tangle, find a bit of space and hit the line at speed. We went up past Gleeds to look back through the line to pick up a shore based transit.

At the start, the fleet spread along the line, although apparently there was a scuffle at the committee boat end. On One More Knot, we gybed underneath the approaching fleet at the 1 minute gun and slotted in to a gap. With 20 seconds to go, everything was sheeted in as we hardened up onto the line, confident that we wouldn't be over; the transit turned out to be very useful. The fleet hit the line with the best whole fleet start seen in Club Class for years! "Line Clear" was the shout on the VHF.

Having sheeted in early, we had managed to get One More Knot up to speed and after only a minute or so we were clear in front of the fleet. Sure, some boats started to windward of us, but our intention was to sail our best VMG, getting out into the tide. In these mid range conditions, we knew we could get OMK to point high, so whilst managing to keep pace with the fleet, were were able to climb up over everyone.

Leading the fleet, we planned our tactics for rounding Gilkicker, we elected to go into the headland. The hope was that it woould allow us a decent fetch from the roghthand layline into the mark, which was to be left to port. We would be able to raise the pole early, ready for a quick bear away set, before gybing onto our prefered course, out of the tide. We were the first to tack to the mainland, other than a couple of boats, including Just In Time, that had taken the inshore route. The rest of the offshore side of the fleet hung on a little longer before tacking in towards the mark. On the way back out from Gilkicker we weren't quite on the lay line so we needed a double tack to get around the mark. This prevented us from raising the pole early hoist. Phil attempt to persuade Drew to change to a gybe set, but Drew firmly and rightfully stood his ground. We had a quick hoist and then followed by a gybe, which got a bit busy as the rest of the fleet were just arriving.

Looking back at the others rounding, we could see that our lead wasn;t quite as big as it had felt on the beat. Having said that, we were now running against the tide, which tends to compress distances.

Having gybed, our path took us reasonably close to the lay line. When the wind eased to less than 10 knots, we changed mode, coming up onto the wind a little, playing the angles. At 14 knots, we were running deep, trying to get any lost ground back.

Behind, the fleet had split away from us and had gone out into deeper water. We couldn't quite figure out why? Surely there was more adverse tide out there. Maybe there was a little more breeze, but whilst we had a few lulls, I don't think we were too close to the wall to be severely screened.

Looking back up the fleet, we could see Muscadet and Widgeon chasing us. We were opening up the distance, but it was obvious that Widgeon were having a good race. We were also concerned about the smaller boats, Scallywag and Mistress. There were too far back for us to track, but we were well aware of the effect of the time corrections to come later.

At the end of run, we deployed the #2 again, dropped the kite, rounded close to the leeward mark before beating back to the line. The second lap was much like the first. The crew working well together on the gybes. We knew we needed to keep stretching the lead, so there was communication up and down the boat, tweaking pole angles and steering angles trying to make the best of the shifts, lulls and gusts.

As we approached the finish, the wind freshened a little which help us cross the line quickly. However, it also help the fleet charge down to the leeward mark and have a brisk beat back to the line. Just what we didn't want!

It was easy to work out that we had beaten some of the regular close competitors, Muscadet and Just In Time. However, we were really concerned by Widgeon, and we couldn't rember her handicap and the time differences.

Our concerns were justified,Widgeon won by 45 seconds on corrected time, from One More Knot, 2nd and then Scallywag 3rd.

Race 6

Wind : NW F4, tide to the West, easing, starting to turn at Gilkicker later
Course: Same as the previous race, but with additional line gates on the downwind legs too. Start at Gleeds, beat to Darling Associates, just past Gilkicker, run back to the line and then to the leeward laid mark, through the line to repeat for a second lap. The race was shortened to end on the 2nd run.

The wind had picked up a bit for the second race, and the sky had gone overcast again. Once again, for the start, we were looking for a clear slot. At the one minute gun we tacked underneath the fleet to set off towards the line. Apparently again there were more shanigans up at the committee boat end, but we were in the middle and not involved. This time, we didn't get away. It took a while to realise that with the extra breeze, we need to drop the jib car back a bit to open the head and let One More Knot stand up a bit with a fight.

It took whole of first beat to get clear in front, but the other boats were quite close behind. On the approach to Gilkicker, we sttod a little more offshore this time, just in case the tide had already started to turn, The wind had veered by about 20 degrees, so this time we elected to gybe set at the windward mark. We approached the mark on the port lay line, which meant a tack and instance gybe at the mark, to sail straight into the on coming fleet whilst trying to sort out the pole and kite.

Having rounded, we got the kite up and got away, sailing across Widgeons bows. The rest of the fleet appeared to perform bear away sets and go back out into the adverse tide. Sailing downwind we opened up a good lead, but we could see that Just In Time and Widgeon were doing the best at giving chase. It was obvious that we had enough of a lead over Just In Time, but again we were worried by Widgeon. Muscadet appeared to be getting in on the act too.

On the run we were managing to getting OMK over 7 knots at times. The team were working well through the gusts and lulls. By the leeward mark, the gap was repectable but still off concern. What was needed was a really good beat.

On the beat, we were going well but then seemed to loose a knot of boat speed. We tried a few things but couldn't get it back. Then we came to tack towards the mark. Half way through the tack, the genoa got stuck and wouldn't come across the foredeck. Phil could see that something had caught on the 1st spreader. The helm was thrown back onto the original tack and our boat speed had all but disappeared. The leech line and tape had torn off the sail and caught on the spreader. After a confusing start the team hatched cunning plans for careful tacks. We got the boat moving enough to tack and then completed the beat with another 3 tacks, including the tack and gybe procedure at the mark for another gybe set.

Please to have completed the leg, we kite was hoisted and then it started to rain. There was a quick reorganise to allow a couple of crew without jackets to get below and find them. By the time the were back on deck the worst of the shower was over ..... good move lads! Cunning tactics ... must remember that one.

We then heard the VHF crackle into life to declare a shortened race, so it was a sprint to get over the line. We felt that this could be a tricky one because we didn't pull away in the first leg, plus we had problem with the #2. Behind, we couldn't work out who was in front, Muscadet or Just In Time, but Widgeon wasn't far behind.

We crossed the line and headed straight back into the marina without waiting to see how the finish went. We wanted to get the Genoa off the boat and ready for the doctors ASAP, so that with luck we'll be sorted for next week.

When the result were published, they revealed that Widgeon had sailed another blinder to claim the win. Muscadet de Havelet was 2nd, pipping One More Knot by just 4 seconds. One More Knot still leads the series, with 9 points, but the gap has been closed and Muscadet is on 12. Widgeon's two victories have moved her into 3rd place on 14. So far in the first 6 races, 4 different boats have a win to their names.

Back in the club

After a wait for the RIB, she had to tow a boat in, the crew went across to the club house. On entering the bar everybody burst into "Happy Birthday To You". Phil had well and truly been 'had', a total surprise. It was great fun and as usual in these events a little too much of the liquid nectars were consumed. Many thanks all, and especially to Lynn, Emma and Liz. It's great to be part of such a welcoming and accommodating club.

Autumn Race 7

Phil, Drew, Norman, Glenn, Martin P, Andy S, Phil B

Sadly, Kev is back in hospital and won't be able to make the rest of the series. So it's down to us to get some good results for him to read up on.

We gathered in Harry's cafe, to find the crew of Easy Tiger II already in situ. There was much jesting about there being no racing at all. The morning was misty, and not a breath of wind. Phil was trying to make notes about bringing his RC powerboat to entertain whilst if the fleet were sat at anchor waiting for a breeze.

The #2, our largest headsail had been returned from the doctors at North. We put it back on the forestay to check out the repair and ensure that there weren't any complications. We left the berth a bit later than normal before motoring out to Gleeds via the main channel because of the low tide. We didn't put the main up but we did find the anchor ball!

Outside the harbour there was a slight breeze, nearly 3 knots! The committee boat, Mary Siobhan, was on station at Gleeds as expected, and with a hint of breeze we hoisted the main and the jib to see what we could do. Going upwind was plausible, off the wind was harder. As the fleet assembled, we thought we'd try the kite to see what happened, If we played the angles, sailing downwind was just about viable. The committee boat had hinted that there might be a postponement then said that they would go for a race start at the normal time. OOD, Rick had long wanted to have a downwind start, this was his chance to achieve his ambition.

Autumn Race 7 : Long race

Wind : E F2, tide initially to the East, then slack finally building to the West
Course: Start at Gleeds, run to Darling Associates, just past Gilkicker, beat back to the Outerspit, through the line, repeated for 3 laps, although this became shortened to finish at Outerspit on the 2nd lap.

Pre-start we loitered at the pin end (port) of the line, gybing and tacking in circles along with the other boats at the top of the table, Muscadet and Widgeon, each conscious of not getting too far from the line in the light conditions. Each loop took about 2 minutes, so with 2 minutes to go,we finished our final loop, and set off along the line on starboard. It was only then that we realised we were a bit out of sync and need to slow the boat down. Ideally another we would have performed another quick loop, but with the fleet converging the space was tight. Sailing down the line on starboard, we tried to slow One More Knot down so that we didn't get to the committee boat too early. At least we couldn't be pushed over the line, all the other boats were to windward!

As the clock ran down to the start we bore away and set the kite, with a starboard pole.

Just In Time was between us and the committee boat, looking back across the fleet, Muscadet got a good start and hoisted their kite early. We got our kite pulling much earlier than Just In Time and playing the angles as our courses converged.

Once we got underneath their spinnaker, our kite collapsed, so we needed to bear away to stay in what little breeze there was.

Slowly, we managed to pull out in front of the fleet, but it was marginal. The fleet were heading for the Halsar wall to hide from the tide. There was also the possibility of a convergent effect off the wall. As usual in light airs it all seemed very slow and painful.

We opened a small gap out in front of the fleet, we needed to make a decision. Go all the way to the wall, or gybe and go for the headland. With about 1.6m depth of tide, we needed to be wary of getting too close to Gilkicker.

We elected to gybe, the new angle was better, with the pole a bit further forward. At last a hint of boat speed, previously 3 knots over the ground had increased to 5 knots. Looking back we could see the gap opening as we sped away from the fleet. It didn't take them long to realise that we could already sail a faster and shorter course. They gybed in turn to pursue us, but the damage was done.

Feeling rather smug, we skirted around the Gilkicker headland, setting off the depth alarm on a couple of occasions. As we emerged from the tidal shelter offered by the headland into the adverse tide we could see the gap visibly closing again, just like F1 cars into a hairpin. It was quite worrying, and the team came together to try to optimise the passage along the short but difficult leg. When we got to the headland, we were just making the mark. We knew the next leg was a beat, but didn't drop the kite until we had crossed up tide of the mark. We needed the power to keep the transom clear of the buoy, in over 2 knots of adverse tide. As soon as the risk of being washed back onto the can had passed, we tripped the kite and turned the boat to head upwind. With the boat headed upwind, + 2 knots of tidal assistance, gave a respectable 8 knots of breeze over the deck. The kite was still flailing from the top of the mast ands it was a difficult drop, but at least we were going the right way.

Once tidied up, we crossed with Just In Time making their own approach to the mark, ahead of Muscadet.

On the beat, the apparent breeze was much stronger. We were able to stretch out a considerable lead. About a third of the way along the beat, we discussed tacking. We didn't want to give away our lead by overstanding the mark, so we elected to tack, with the possibility of a couple more tacks later. We were surprised by the strength of the tide when we found that we could already lay the mark. We had already marginally beyond the lay line, we held our course and speed initially, but later we were able to crack the sheets for a bit more boat speed. Once we were sure that we were getting around, Drew and Andrew readied the pole for the hoist. As soon as we were at the mark, the kite was hoisted, set and pulling. The transom was only 2 boat lengths off the buoy.

Whilst on the straight forward leg to Gleeds, we were looking ahead at the IRC class boats. They had all gone inshore to hide from the tide again, however we were visibly closing. It looked as though the wind was dropping significantly near the shore. Offshore had more adverse tide, but at least there was a breeze, between 5 and 7 knots. Crossing through the line, we had a good lead and were well clear of Just In Time, Muscadet and Widgeon. We were having tactical discussions, if we went inshore and the breeze failed, there was no way out, if we stayed offshore we still had the option to go in; we elected to gybe and stay offshore. We didn't know about the slower boats in the fleet, apparently Scallywag crossed through the line in 1st place on corrected time. Sadly for them, this was only the first lap!

Behind, Just In Time passed through the line and continued to hide from the tide under the Haslar wall. She was followed by Muscadet de Havelet. As soon as both yachts had showed their hand, we gybed again to cover as all of the boats went for the wall. We were already much closer to the headland and therefore the distance to the shoreline was much less. Approaching the headland we gybed again and our speed over the ground suffered dramatically. Clearing the headland we found ourselves once again in the adverse tide, but the breeze was much lighter. It was very difficult to make headway and with the tide on the bow, we were being washed downtide of the Darling Associates leeward mark. It took 2 gybes before we were able to drop the kite and start our beat back upwind.

On the beat, the wind was a bit more gusty than on the previous occasion. Our speed rose and fell accordingly. We still had some tidal assistance, but it was weakening. On the VHF, there was an announcment to the IRC fleet that their race would be shortened and ended at Darling Associates on the 3rd lap. We speculated that our race would be curtailed at the end of the 2nd lap.

However, during the beat, the wind dropped further. Having overstood marginally on the first lap, we had tacked earlier on the 2nd lap. Approaching short of the Outerspit layline we had tacked off again.

The last IRC boat crossed the line and then the Committee Boat started to move towards Outerspit. The VHF announcement came that our race would finish at Outerspit. We were looking to tack on the layline and we jested that we would get to the mark before the committee boat. We made the call, tacked and saw that it might be possible! On the committee boat they had seen how fast we were approaching now we were on the lay line and sailing towards the mark. There was a considerable bow wave .... the race was on.

We reasoned that if we got there first, we would keep going around the mark to ensure that they could see that we had transited the finish, In the event, they sneaked in front of our bows to setup the finish line. After 2 hours and 20 minutes, the gaps were going to be large, so we didn't wait to see how the rest finished,

On the water, One More Knot took line honours from Just In Time, then on the line Muscadet de havelet sneaked in front of Crazy Horse. One More Knot took 1st place, followed by Scallywag in 2nd and Muscadet de Havelet in 3rd.

Back in the club

As is traditional after our long race, there is food. It wasn't well advertised this year, so the turnout was down. However, those that were there enjoyed the hospitality of the club, some good food, a pint and a chance to talk about the ifs and buts of the days racing.

Autumn Races 8 and 9

Phil, Drew, Norman, Glenn, Andy S, Jim

Most of the crew met in Harry's cafe, including OMK newcomer Jim. The chat was about the wind that Jim had brought with him, N F6/7. We had already decided that "Big Blue" would be staying in the bag, and the asymmetric might get an airing, but we would wait an see. With decent results in the early part of the series there was some banter about what we needed to do to get the series out of reach for anyone else. It seemed only a double win would be good enough. This series is more open than many of the last few. Back to the wind, there was discussion about whether there would be any racing at all. There was no doubt that it would be more testing on the smaller boats.

A prompt departure from the cafe to get back on board for a sail change, #2 off, #3 on. The #2 didn't want to go in the bag tidily, so in the end we bundled it away so that we could leave the berth. We also put the #2 reefing line back in which had been removed for the previous light airs racing, what a contrast this week.

Out on the water we initally tried with 2 reefs in the main and the number 3, both upwind and downwind. Downwind seemed a bit painful, so we shook the reefs out, to a full main which was much better, But upwind it was too much of a handful. We know we can shake a reef out quickly, but putting one in takes a bit longer, so we elected to compromise on the #1 reef.

Race 8

Wind : N F6/7, Strong tide to the west, initially flowing north into the harbour
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to BAE Systems, near Portsmouth Harbour entrance, a broad reach along the Haslar wall to RNCRAYC near Gilkicker, Gybe and beam reach to Outerspit before beat back through the line to repeat for a second lap.

In the strong wind the pre-start speeds were high so it was important to keep a good watch for the other boats. It was a joint start, with IRC and both fleets had reduced numbers, many boats taking the more sensible option of staying safe in their berths. We had set our clocks from the 10 mins, at the 4 minute prep signal we seemed to be 10 seconds out, but at least we were aware of it. Into the final minute and we tacked to approach the line in clear air. We were a little early and needed to go down the line towards the downtide pin end to avoid being over. We hit the line soon after the gun to discover that our start was cracking, only one other boat was with us and everyone else was already further back. The VHF crackled into life, but it's message was garbled by the wind noise. Jim was sent below to discover what was going on. "General recall", apparanetly due to a procedural issue on the committee boat, so we turned back for the restart.

Second time around, more of the fleet were on the line at the gun, We found ourselves early at the pin end again, but this time we struggled to get the boat up to speed. As the fleet rolled over the top of us, we could have continued in their dirty air. Instead, we elected to tack onto port and go for the favourable tide in the main harbour channel. We crossed behind all but Maggie May.

We were out on our own. The fleet was being led, on starboard, by the IRC boats. Muscadet looked to be going well. We had had a poor start and had put everything on the block with different tactics. As we approached the main channel, the west going tide turned towards the north, helping us upwind. We were right on highwater. As we approached the channel, the wind was funneling out of the harbour entrance, giving us sustained blasts of F7.

The fleet converged at the windward mark, BAE Systems. The IRC boats were in front but we had recovered well rounding at the head of the club class fleet, after a double tack near the mark due to the surprising amount of tide running along the wall. The other club boats had all sailed to the towards Haslar wall before tacking. Whilst they then had the benefit of flat water, they were also punching the strong tide running along the wall. One More Knot rounded first, looking back we felt our lead over Muscadet was not quite enough, but we were pleased with our recovery, time to press on.

We had a good white sail blast down the wall toward the gybe mark. The wind was mostly low 20's, so we were concerned that maybe we should have had a spinnaker up. It then blew through at 32 knots, so we were quite glad we didn't. Behind, Muscadet had hoisted their spinnaker.

Things were now going to plan. A fast approach to RNCRAYC and tidy gybe well ahead on the water. We could see Muscadet's yellow spinnaker making their approach in the distance.

A beam reach downto RNCRAYC followed, which was pretty hairy at times in the gusts. We rounded Outerspit and suddenly the character on the boat changed. Sailing to windward was completely different. A glance back showed that Muscadet was still very much in contention, so it was pedal to the metal time!

Crossing through the line, we felt that we were probably in the lead by about 10%. We needed 8%, so it was going well as we continued our beat towards the Spinnaker tower at the start of the second lap.

After rounding the winward mark, we white sailed down the Halsar wall again. It seemed a bit too comfortable without a spinnaker, but we had a good lead. We approached the RNCRAYC gybe mark as before. A nice tidy gybe and we pointed the boat at Ourterspit. Except this time, a glance up revealed the main was torn in half, from luff to leech, just below the 3rd reefing point. Phil's first reaction was to save what was left of the sail, so we turned to windward. We a heavy heart, he declared we'll have to retire. Drew suggested trying setting the 3rd reef. With a deep breath, there was a nod from the skipper, we might be able to salavge some valuable points. The crew initially started to try to free of the 2nd reefing line, but it was proving to time consuming and dangerous in the conditions. "Get some sail ties", which were duly rigged as a makeshift 3rd reef.

Once the first one was in place, we got back underway. Drew persevered with making enhancements to the rig as we beam reached at speed. It was quite distracting and we lost some time allowing Muscadet to close on us.

On completion of the leg, we rounded Outerspit and knew that the true test was about to happen. We came hard onto the wind, the sails were sheeted in and ..... unbelivably, we took off at a rate of knots, 6 of them or more. Wow, what a lesson. The sail, and the ties held. The third reef had never been rigged, but now we were zipping to windward at 5.5 knots VMG. Muscadet had clearly closed the gap on us and by the time they had crossed the line we knew that our time wasn't good enough.

The final analyis, had Muscadet de Havelet with the win, not entirely a surprise anyway given that Contessa 32's seem to love a blow. We we pleased to escape with 2nd place on One More Knot, followed by Widgeon in 3rd and Easy Tiger II in 4th. Maggie May had retired sometime after the start.

Race 9

Wind : NNW F6/7, Strong tide to the west
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to BAE Systems, near Portsmouth Harbour entrance, a broad reach along the Haslar wall to RNCRAYC near Gilkicker, Gybe and beam reach to Mary Rose before run beat through the line.

Following completion of the first race, Easy Tiger II retired leaving only the 3 leaders in the class to do battle. There was some debate about whether we should retire too. In the end, we thought that we would give the #3 reef another go!

At the start, the boats all hit the line on the gun. On One More Knot, we were just underneath Widgeon but pointing higher and faster. She soon dropped behind and below struggling in the enormour amount of dirty air. Unsurprisingly she tacked off. Muscadet had claimed the right hand side again.

We pulled out a lead and tacked across Muscadet's bows and led the class around the windward mark. We set off on the reach as before, under white sails. The wind had shifted by about 20 degrees west from previous race, to the reach was quite beamy. Muscadet rounded and set about hoisting their spinnaker. We made a late call to get the asymmetric out, having sailed into a hole, less than 20 knots of breeze was very underpowered with the #3 reef! It took a while to get the kite up onto deck and rigged before being hoisted as Muscadet closed down on us fast. We hoisted and bore away to get the kite to open properly, before luffing back to stop Muscadet from shielding us. On the higher line we were able to accelerate away from Muscadet towards the gybe mark.

On the approach to the mark, Muscadet dropped her kite. We on the other hand went for a different tactic, a gybe. The plan was than now the wind had come around to the west by 20 degrees, we stood a chance of carrying the asymmetric down the next leg. Even if we couldn't carry on the course we wanted, we ought to be able to go faster and then finish off under whites.

We approached the gybe at speed, dumped the working sheet to let the clew fly forward before turning the boat. The spinnaker flogged and the new sheet's shackle opened .... letting go of the spinnaker. On the new gybe, we couldn't sheet in ...... it was all going horribly wrong at this corner today.

It took numerous attempts to re-attached the sheet. We flipped back onto the original gybe, going off in an unwanted direction. Sheeting in didn't work, it just tipped the boat up. Running didn't work, the wind was so strong it just blew the clew away. In the end, after turning the air blue, the spinnaker was snuffed and the sheet re-attached before proceeding. We had lost a lot of time and Muscadet had managed to overtake us on the water.

We gave it a good go to get to the finish line before Muscadet, but in the end Muscadet de Havelet took both line honours and the win. Widgeon claimed 2nd spot, and One More Knot was 3rd.

It was a bad day for One More Knot. The sail is off to the doctors to see what can be done. All credit to Muscadet and her crew who made a much tidier effort of sailing around the courses in testing conditions. The series has now come to a nail biter of a finish, with One More Knot still leading, but only by a single point from Muscadet de Havelet, both boats with 3 race wins. Next weeks races offer the last chances, the momentum this week swung to Muscadet. Widgeon has an outside chance. Can One More Knot defend the lead? Will the mainsail get repaired in time? Come back next week!!!!

Autumn Races 10 and 11

Phil, Drew, Norman, Martin P, Richard T, Robin F

The crew assembled on board at 7am and the newly repaired main went back on without fuss before going to breakfast. We were a couple of regulars down, no Glenn or Andy, but with Richard T (imported from France for the event, on his birthday) and Robin F (borrowed from Wild Blue, another Elan 333) we had at least made up the numbers. They weren't short of skills or knowledge, just the OMK routines would be a little unfamiliar.

In the cafe, there was banter between the crews of One More Knot and Easy Tiger II. They hinted they would be staying well clear of One More Knot, Muscadet and Widgeon, because the series had come down to a thrilling decider. Today was the day, One More Knot leading the table by a single point, but with another discard the series was wide open to the contenders. It would need a good showing to win the series.

Out on the water we put 2 reefs in the main and headed out of the protection of the harbour, to see solid white horses in the westerly F6/7. The repair from North looked very tidy, but the new clean bit showed up the rest of the sail. With 2 reefs, the boat went quite well and was balanced on the beat. We thought we'd try with the asymmetric for the return trip. Drew and Richard prepping on the foredeck had gotten soaked as every wave exploded in a huge plume of spray over the bow. Eventually, the kite was ready so we bore away and hoisted. An immediate broach and we couldn't bear away in the 25 knots of breeze, even with all the sheets dumped, so we snuffed it. Better to learn at this stage we thought.

Autumn Race 10

Wind : WNW F5/6, Slack tide
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to RNCRAYC near Gilkicker, a broad reach along the Haslar wall to Naomi House, a run to Vail Williams, a beat to KB Boat Parks, a short broad reach to Naomi, a fetch back to RNCRAYC,and the final run to the line at Gleeds.

It was to be a joint start, both classes starting together. The fleet was whizzing around in the breeze, so it was difficult to slow down and find time to get our bearings. It was difficult to hear the VHF with the wind noise, and difficult to get close enough for long enough to read the course from the committee boat.

The count down was well underway when we made an assessment of the line. There was a massive bias to the port pin end. The IRC boats had worked this out, but the club class boats were out beyond the starboard committee boat end. The bias was so strong that they would have trouble getting across the line on Starboard. Fortunately, we were at the pin end with 2 minutes to go. We did a quick loop and made our run in just underneath Electron V on port.

Our speed was good and we had trouble assessing how close we were to the line, so we eased the sheets to make sure we wouldn't go over. The club fleet were level with the committee boat, if they got up to the pin end before the gun we could get into trouble. With 20 seconds to go, we went for the line. Fortunately for us, it was apparent the rest of the club fleet would be nowhere near the pin end by the start.

Our speed built and we slid in front of Electron V to cross the start line first. We were surprised by how late we were, probably 10 or 15 seconds, but a lot better than the rest! On port, easily we sailed across the whole of the approaching fleet on starboard, a great start.

On the first beat we managed to stay in touch with the IRC boats, opening up a gap on the rest of the fleet. Looking at the positions on the water, Muscadet was ahead, so it looked like we weren't going to get help from anyone else. It was going well, but we knew we needed to keep on it.

At the windmark, RNCRAYC, we bore away for a white sail broad reach along the wall. We were already half way down the leg when Muscadet rounded behind and hoisted their kite. The wind had eased a bit, so we decided to go for the asymmetric as soon as we rounded Naomi House for the run down to Vail Williams. We should have picked the opportunity up earlier, so whilst we probably didn't lose ground on the water, but we lost the opportunity to extend the gap. A tidy gybe at Naomi and hoist led to a brisk run to Vail Williams. We dropped the kite safely and in good time before rounding onto the next beat.

We slightly overstood a tack to KB Boatparks as we struggled to remember the course. Our course crib sheet was getting erased with all of the activity on board. The guys on the fordeck rigged the asymmetric in preparation for the final leg, getting soaked again in the process. Approaching KB Boatparks we cracked the sheets before tacking and rounding onto a short and brisk beam reach. Behind, Muscadet went even further inshore than us, so gave us a bit of time back.

On the fetch back to the windward RNCRAYC we shook out the reef in readiness for the broad reach. It was a deep course and it made it difficult to keep the kite flying, so we elected to play the angles. On the run, we sailed a course that took us well outside the finishing line, before gybing to sneak inside Gleeds at well over 7 knots.

Line honours, but looking back we could see it wasn't enough. There was a good chance that Muscadet that won the race, so we knew we would need to win the last race. There was still a slim chance that one of the smaller boats might yet sneak a win, but it didn't happen. Muscadet won, just over a minute ahead of One More Knot in second and Widgeon in third.

Autumn Race 11

Wind : W F5, Building and pushing west, wind against tide
Course: Start at Gleeds, beat to RNCRAYC near Gilkicker, a run to Vail Williams, a beat to KB Boat Parks, a short broad reach to Naomi, a fetch back to RNCRAYC,and long run to Outerspit before a return beat to RNCRAYC and then a final broad reach along the Haslar wall to the finish at Naomi.

The wind had eased a bit so we elected to stay with the full main and #3, but we didn't really pick up on the full extent. Muscadet had their full main and #3 in the first race, changed to a #2, as bit of breeze doesn't bother a Contessa 32!

Another port tack start, but this time the fleet was wise to it. It wasn't our greatest and we found ourselves with decent air but in amongst the others. Slowly we managed to pull out in front, but Muscadet stayed with us. On the beat One More Knot was sailing nicely and fast, but lower than we were used to.

We were keeping a a close eye on Muscadet de Havelet. She wasn't far away, going well, after all, it was Contessa weather. Initially, she was to windward and slightly behind, level on the wind. Muscadet tacked off, while we continued hoping to find flatter faster water inshore. When we made our tack, we converged and then passed just astern of her. We tacked off again to find some clear air, going inshore towards Gilkicker again.

We tacked back onto starboard to sail up to the port layline, where Muscadet was already charging into the mark. Looking ahead, we couldn't believe it ... a very well reefed Widgeon was already rounding the RNCRAYC. We approached the layline, converging with Muscadet again. This time, we were in front and a slick tack left Muscadet following 2 boat lengths behind, in our wake.

The short approach didn't allow any time to rig the pole, so we were well into the next leg by the time our spinnaker was hoisted. There was a problem, a big twist which was very tight, so the spinnaker needed to be partially dropped before hoisting again, Apparently, Muscadet had a similar problem and took longer to fix it. Once underway, we slipped past Widgeon and out in front. Robin taught us a new trick, get the weight back in big winds to make the boat more stable and easier to steer. A gybe took us to the leeward mark where we dropped without fuss.

Rounding Vail Williams onto the beat to KB Boatparks. We didn't want to overstand again. Speed was good, but we were pointing a bit low, the wind had dropped to the lower end of F5, top end of F4. We were a little underpowered as we approached the wall, wiggling around KB Boatparks, Naomi House and upto the windward mark at RNCRAYC.

On the run to Outerspit, the GPS was saying nearly 8 knots over the ground, and that was into the tide! Robin was calling firmly for all the weight to be brought back to help with the steering. Phil, helming didn't dare to take his eyes off the matter in hand. Not a glance over his shoulder, but was asking for a report from the crew on what was happening behind. Apparently we had a lead!

We rounded Outerspit and started our beat back to RNCRAYC. Robin advised the best tide was in the deeper water, so we went out until the depth increased before tacking back onto the making tack. We were short of the line so we made another tack out into deeper water while we still could. Behind we could see that Muscadet and Widgeon had both gone further out into the tide than us.

At RNCRAYC, we had initially thought that it would be a white sail reach, but we made another late call to go for the asymmetric. We were half way down the leg by the time it was flying. Muscadet behind hoisted their spinnaker as soon as they rounded the mark.

We sprinted to the nearer pin end of the finish line at Naomi and didn't loiter around to see what was happeing behind. We couldn't change it.

Widgeon won the final race of the series, followed by Muscadet and then One More Knot, Crazy Horse, Just In Time, Scallywag, Easy Tiger II, Maggie May and Hobo.

Back in the club house

Back in the club house, it was the usual roast beef rolls for all. The club was busy with tales of the days sport. It had been a lively one. At the presentation, Norman accepted the 2nd place trophy for One More Knot.

In the end, One More Knot had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A very well sailed Muscadet de Havelet won the series by a single point from One More Knot, leading for the first time on the only day that mattered! Widgeon gave a solid performance for 3rd spot only 3 points further behind. Further back Crazy Horse sneaked 4th, a point in front of Scallywag. This was the closest series for a while, with 3 boats getting 3 wins or more.

In the beer and post race analysis, we worked out that we had probably frightened ourselves a bit in the early morning conditions. We did need to go out, to find out how the repaired main would set, but the wind was touching 34 knots at times. This then caused us to sail conservatively, not making early kite calls and not putting the #2 up in the second race. We failed to pick up on how much wind had dropped, with the 2nd race being sailed in mostly 14-20 knots. A lost opportunity maybe? Lessons to learn. On the day, Muscadet did it right and got her reward.