Saturday- Spring Championship- Day 3
Again a high pressure system hung over the Solent – wonderful sunshine but the water resembled a mill pond. The postponement flag was raised at 0950 with race officers constantly checking for wind in the area. As the day wore on, there had been no change or likelihood of a breeze filling in by soon after midday and there was no choice but to cancel all racing for the day. This proved to be a wise move since although a 6 knot breeze did perk up in the afternoon, it vanished again within half an hour.
Sunday- Warsash Spring Series- Day 6 & Spring Champs- Day 4
The forecast promised slightly better conditions for Sunday but as the Black Group fleet gathered near East Knoll, it looked unlikely. When the first signal was due to be sounded, visibility was obscured by a veil of haze from which emerged a stream of commercial traffic inbound for Southampton. The postponement flag was hoisted and race officers made the first of several radio announcements to keep competitors aware of their intentions. Shortly after noon, everyone’s patience was rewarded. A south-easterly breeze filled in and, whilst never more than 8 knots, was sufficient to allow racing. Courses were set with Flying Fish the first windward mark, followed by runs and beats in the area of Hill Head and Universal Marina. With some classes combined, the first start consisted of IRC1, Big Boat and Farr 45s. With a strong adverse tide, some skippers were slow to reach the line and AP was flown again to allow these boats to clear the line. This also coincided with a brief wind shift and when it had steadied again came the turn of IRC2 and J/109 classes with a slightly shorter course. The ODM end of the line was favored.
Spring Championship Final Results
The Spring Championship does not allow discards and six races were finally counted to decide the overall standings. In the Black Championship BB2 Class, Ian Matthew's J/122 JINJA sailed to a 2-8-2-3-4-7 to finish third, only 2 points out of second.
Spring Series Final Results
In the Spring Series, IRC1 Overall results, Neil Kipling's J/122 JOOPSTER also sailed nicely to win two of the six races sailed to get 6th, only 1 pt from 5th overall IRC despite counting a DNS in Race 1 and tossing a DNS in Race 5-- had they gotten one more race under their belts, the J/122 JOOPSTER would certainly have had a shot at 1-2-3 overall in IRC.
In the breakout IRC1-B Class, third was the J/122 JOOPSTER sailed by Neil Kipling, sailing to a DNS(13)-1-1-1-DNS(20)-4 score for 20 pts.
In challenging light conditions the fact that the vast majority of races were completed is a credit to the patience of the race management team and the competitors in equal measure. The prize-giving will be held on Friday 20th May when all competitors and crews will be welcome at Warsash Sailing Club’s Shore House to join club members in celebrating a very successful event. The 2012 Warsash Spring Series starts on Sunday 11th March. Sailing Photo Credits- Eddie Mays. For more Warsash Spring Series sailing results.
