Mid Week Series 3, Race 2

Published 18:53 on 27 Jul 2023

Wednesday's Midweek Series 3 Race 2 took place despite heavy rain, with ten boats bravely lining up at the start. The Watch House Balcony displayed the numbers 1-3-2-3-2-3 as the race team prepared to get proceedings underway.

The fleet, comprising Yawls and Solos, encountered a challenging and shifty breeze from the South-ish direction. The slack tide meant that the first beat demanded skillful navigation of wind shifts and staying in pressure rather than favouring a particular shoreline.

 
John Burn and Tristan Stone in Yawl 170 had seen that the wind shift coming in from Blackstone favoured port tack, so with 10 seconds to go, they opted to sail down the line on port, resulting in them having to duck half the fleet, who were now steaming towards them on starboard.
 
Their quick thinking and risky strategy had paid off and they were in the lead and subsequently arrived at Blackstone first, followed by Mike Knowles and Nicky Bass in Yawl 15.

 
The upwind leg from Crossways saw John and Tristan extend their advantage, while Dan Bridger, reunited with his old Yawl Sandpiper, along with his brother crewing, fought their way past Mike and Nicky.
 
Ultimately, John and Tristan claimed line honours, but Dan and his brother secured the overall victory on corrected time, with Mike and Nicky finishing in third place.
 
In an unexpected twist, the usual dominance of Solo sailors in the top spots on Wednesday evenings was disrupted. Robin Hodges skillfully won the battle against fellow Solo sailor David Greening, earning himself fourth place, with David coming home a close fifth.