Sailing Club Series, R4 - Short Race Handicap

Published 19:30 on 17 May 2026

Saturday brought a fair F3-4 from the WSW, good visibility, and a low tide. Five ILCA 6s made it to the start, with the Solo Open Meeting sharing the water. Race Officer John Burn set a course of 1-5-2-3-2-3, later shortened to 1-5-2-3.

The start was close, the fleet bunched tightly off the line before spreading onto a fast, gusty beat to mark 1. Andrew Groves rounded first with Allan Willcox close on his transom. George Reynolds and Adam Ryan-Carter were briefly caught in a lull approaching the mark and lost a little ground, with Janet Hawkins fifth.

The run back through the Solo open start line saw George, closing fast on Allan, throw in a dramatic death roll and capsize that echoed around the ria. He rejoined, somewhat wetter, and the fleet pressed on.

Mark 5 at the Saltstone brought a shifty close reach through the bag, with larger gusts rolling through Widegates - Janet showing real pace on the return leg to claw back significant time on the fleet.

The beat up the Portlemouth side to mark 2 was physically demanding - quick tacks in strong gusts close to a shallow shore on a weakly flooding tide. By this stage Andrew had pulled clear at the front, with Allan second, George third, Adam fourth, and Janet fifth. The port rounding at 2 required some timing to know when to leave the tidal shelter of the shore and commit to the mark.

The run back to 3 maintained the order, but George was now firmly in pursuit of Allan. After rounding 3 they beat back along the Portlemouth shore in a lively exchange of water calls and tack-for-tack covering, George showing the class that keeps him firmly at the sharp end of the fleet, pulling clear to cross the line tens of seconds ahead.

Janet seemed to develop an inexplicable wobble whenever Fran Gifford's Merlin Rocket hove into view, capsizing twice in its vicinity, and Adam chipped in with one of his own for good measure.

All in all a highly enjoyable race.

With thanks to Race Officer John Burn for setting a great course, and to Paul Emery (SalcombeSkyShots) for the photos.

By Allan Willcox