PYC 2018 Yacht Haven Friday Evening Series 1 Race 1 18th April 2018
A glorious sunny evening for the first race of the season by the Plym Yacht Club starting their first Summer Evening Series. With High Water a couple of hours after the start and Spring Tides meant that there would not be too much tidal influence to contend with but light winds from the North West of about 6 to 8 knots would test the fleets throughout.
Race Officer Paddy O’Connor set two different courses for the two fleets with the longer course for the A Group starting with a beat out to Duke Rock before running down to the north of Drakes Island to North Drake Buoy and thence reaching over to West Mallard and South Mallard. A second lap would start beating out to F Buoy and returning via Asia to the finish at South Mallard.
All went well at first with all 16 boats heading out into the Sound at a steady pace with boats tacking from Port to starboard as required. The first yachts to reach Duke Rock made the most of tacking early and Robert Fletcher in I Say Ding Dong just beat Joyride to the mark first with Mischief going somewhat wide to take third place. Several boats seemed to be having more trouble out in the centre of the Sound and the last 7 found the wind dropping just before the buoy. The Last of the incoming tide held them back for ages and it took them a long time to reach and round whilst the rest of the fleet were well down and reaching for the North Drake Buoy.
Joyride with Sean Koehler finished the first lap in the lead ahead of I Say Ding Dong and went on to lead and win the race to the finish with Curly Wurly in third place.
Whilst all the first fleet was struggling to make good progress out to Duke Rock, the B Fleet of 6 boats started well and were soon making good progress to their first mark, F Buoy, with Janie Smallridge surging ahead in Duchess with Poppin second and Calvados third at this first mark.
The A fleet managed two laps on their longer course but the B Fleet completed 3 full laps with their beat out to F Buoy followed by running down to Asia, then home through the Mallards and then repeating that for a second lap with a short last lap through Dunstone Rock and North West Winter. Duchess led throughout with Poppin and Tim Burne taking second place and Keith Woodgate in Calvados retaining third place.
The last of the A Fleet completed soon after the B Fleet had finished having made much improvement once they had put the Duke Rock problems behind them.
Final Results were as follows.
A Fleet. IRC. 1st Italian Job, John Gorman. 2nd Mischief, Ashley Crawford. 3rd Joyride, Sean Koehler.
ORC. 1st Seascape 24 Demo, Peter Wanstall. 2nd Soundbite, Robin Butterworth. 3rd Marks And, Hugh Spencer.
NHC. 1st Joyride, Sean Koehler. 2nd I Say Ding Dong, Robert Fletcher. 3rd Mischief, Ashley Crawford.
B Fleet. NHC 1st Duchess, Janie Smallridge. 2nd Calvados Keith Woodgate. 3rd Poppin, Tim Burne