Junior Sailing Club Series, Race 6.

Published 17:05 on 29 May 2023

Junior Race - 

Another stunning Salcombe day, blue skies, a keen NNE breeze and what looked like perfect sailing conditions. 
Two juniors turned up on the start line for the 4th race in the Sailing Club series. 

This week they both started pretty close to the line, still not close enough, but a significant improvement on last week. They were neck and neck up the first beat, a challenging short tacking session up to Crossways. Lewis Groves in his RS Tera pulled away as they reached Ditch End and was first around the windward mark with Charlotte Simmonds not far behind in her Topper. 
As the pair headed to Blackstone the wind began to fall away, the gap between the pair remained in place so Lewis was first to start the trip back to Crossways with Charlotte close behind. 

This small lead turned out to be a significant advantage and with the Salcombe side a non-starter, due the fairway still being in play for the Yawls start, the pair had no choice but to go up the Portlemouth side, which meant there were always going to be three key sectors on the  beat back to Crossways. The first obstacle was Biddlehead Point, which in a strong tide is never easy to navigate. Lewis got past with a reasonable breeze supporting him, Charlotte was not so lucky and found herself losing height with each tack back to shore. Lewis was past Millbay, just ahead of the shifting wind, and approaching the second tough spot, a small but not insignificant Point on the seaward side of Smalls Cove. Here the tide whips out of Small's and flows strongly down to Millbay. Again Lewis had enough wind to make progress but Charlotte was now being twarted by the wind with almost every tack, and Lewis was able to build a good sized lead. 
The wind was now very much more easterly than northerly and the tide was at full flood. Lewis again found himself just ahead of the changing wind and so the third tough spot, Ditch End, although challenging, was navigable. 

Lewis now had a commanding lead as poor Charlotte struggled with the vagaries that sailing in Salcombe often presents, however, to her credit she kept her cool and ploughed on.

Lewis, once around Crossways had a simple run back to the line to take the honours. Both sailed very well in really challenging conditions. It's days like this where you learn a lot, but how much enjoyment it provided I could not say..


Andrew Groves