Bucket and spade Series, Race 1
Published 11:54 on 21 Aug 2023
The first installment of The Bucket and Spade Series saw the sailors treated to a solid 15 knot south westerly with an ebb tide in its final stages.
Junior Race
Charlotte Simmonds, once again for the second week in a row, was the only junior to brave the conditions. Charlotte made her way through the 2-3-2-3 course with ease, showing that all her hard work and practise are definitely paying off.
Slow Handicap Race
There were two entrants in the Slow Handicap Venetia Andrew in a Laser Radial and Edward Alexander in a Laser 4.7.
Venetia like Charlotte also made light work of the conditions and sailed on to a well-earned victory, while Edward unfortunately retired from the race.
Fast Handicap Race
The Fast Handicap also saw two arrive at the start line, Mark Waterhouse and Frances Gifford in a Merlin Rocket, and Mark Savage in his K1.
Mark and Frances had a relatively trouble-free race as they blasted their way around the estuary. Perhaps their only real test was attempting to find safe passage through the Solo Start, which had just gotten underway. The sensible decision to drop the spinnaker was made, which allowed them to take some speed off before skillfully picking their way through the seventeen starboard tack solos, thus averting any disasters.
Unfortunately, Mark Savage found the conditions a little too much and retired from the race.
Yawl Race
The Yawl contingent was made up of 4 red fleet and 6 blue fleet boats who, although starting together, were in fact only competing against their respective fleet.
In the red fleet, John Burn and Mark Alexander in Y170 led to the first mark and managed to create a small but useful lead over the small chasing group. Will Henderson, with first-time Yawl sailor Rick Bright crewing in Y168, quickly set about closing down Y170, and as they reached Crossways, they rounded right on their transom.
On the beat back to Blackstone, Will and Rick had worked their way ahead of John and Mark, and as they both started to pull away from the fleet, they would remain in position for the rest of the race, with Paul and Julie Rayson finishing in third. There was a notable performance from Rob Allen, who had his partner Em Ellis crewing. It was only Ems second time in a Yawl, and with less than ten sails under her belt, she can be extremely proud. The conditions were tough for seasoned Yawlies, let alone second-timers.
The front of the blue fleet was dominated by Simon Dawes and Steve Walter in Y150. They led the blue fleet around the course and managed to hold pace with the red fleet boat of Y178, managing to pimp them to the finish.
It was a little closer behind for the remaining podium positions, but it was Anthony Lofts with Andrew Stirling crewing in 161 that claimed second place, leaving Stephen Galvin with Dan Bridger crewing Y99 in third.
Thank you to race officer Andrew Squire, who produced smiles all around by setting superb courses, and thank you to the rest of the team and safety boat crews for their efforts.
The next and final stage in the Bucket and Spade Series will be the eagerly awaited Sea Races on Saturday, the 26th (weather permitting). There will be a separate NOR published, so please keep an eye out on the Club Racing WhatsApp group and website for more details.
Solo Race
Seventeen Solo sailors came to the starting line for the first Bucket and Spade Race enthused by the prospect of racing in a Force 4 South Westerly and an ebb tide. Race officer AJ Squire set a course comprising four laps of the harbour, offering little respite to recover during the race. The fleet lined up for a solid beat, with Tim Law rounding Blackstone ahead of Paul Ellis and David Greening.
Law and Ellis made distance away from the fleet, allowing them to engage in a tactical downwind leg, with Ellis eventually breaking past Law after an excursion into Yalton Creek, positions that were then maintained for the rest of the race.
There was a tight battle for the minor placings between Greening, Mike Hicks and Robin Hodges. Robin fluffed a tack while rounding Crossways which allowed Greening and Hicks to break out from the pack, with Hicks eventually powering over Greening as he ran out of track at the shortened finish, with Tim Fells securing fifth place.
