(Warsash, England)- The final gathering for the Brooks Macdonald Warsash
Spring Series and Spring Championship took place over 27th/28th April
2013. Having had no cancellations due to gales and flat calms, the event
has been a great success all round. Over the eight race days race
officers have run over 170 separate races and even if the early spring
was unseasonably cold, there was a warm and convivial atmosphere in the
clubhouse for post-race banter and where the weekly class winners
received their champagne and one lucky winner each week a SLAM jacket.Saturday: White Group raced near the North Channel with the tide pushing boats along the line. Starts went generally to plan with a couple of general recalls. For the J/80s the start line was moved and a large fender marked the anchor chain! The wind here coming from the north was shifty and sometimes reaching 25 knots. It was during one such gust in the last race of the day that an SB20 became caught on one of the buoys forming the leeward gate, reducing the gap just as the J/80 class arrived. Those in the lead were sufficiently spread out to negotiate the reduced space, but a bunch came as the race committee RIB was trying to lift the mark. The race had to be abandoned but was quickly re-sailed. The strong tide had an impact on the runs, particularly in the gusts, with many boats from all classes being seen to white sail to the gate having been carried too deep. Stewart Hawthorn in J’ai Deux Amours posted two firsts in the J/80s with Betty (Jon Powell) and Aqua-J (Patrick Liardet) taking one each.
Sunday: On White Group there was a total lack of wind when the committee boat set up station by the Meon shore but just before the start time a gentle breeze began to fill in from the south-west to give enough pressure for the first race to get underway after a short postponement. The wind continued to build through the three races to reach 15 knots by the end of the third race, causing a few broaches and “wineglasses”. In the J/80s Betty (Jon Powell), Aqua-J (Patrick Liardet) and Juicy (Allan Higgs and Cressida Robson) shared the honours.
Summary results:
As a result of the weekend sailing, the winners of the Spring Series and the Spring Championship have finally been determined. The big dogs in the J/80's in terms of performance and consistency were Jon Powell's BETTY and Allan Higgs' JUICY, both finishing in the top three in each event with BETTY getting the upper-hand on JUICY both times. For the Spring Series, Powell's BETTY won by a good margin by virtue of the fact they were sailing strong in the beginning of the series. Like a freight train rolling down the hill, Higgs' JUICY had a tough go initially, but finally got the wheels back on their shopping trolley to collect some silverware for second overall! Following them in third for the Series was Gillian Ross' ROCK & ROLL. For the Spring Championship, it was Stew Hawthorn's J'AI DEXU AMOURS that convincingly won the event, displacing his other colleagues one spot down the ladder. As a result, BETTY took 2nd and JUICY 3rd. Sailing photo credits- Iain McLuckie For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information
