2015 Hamble Winter Series

[Judders]

It all starts this Sunday. Normally I'm a bit 'meh' about it but with eight Impala's entered with extracted results from IRC 4, I'm actually looking forward to it this year. Last year we were running third in the Impala class when we pulled out. Its a better atandard this year but hopefully we can be back among the chocolates there.

Who else is partaking?

Presumably Flaming will be on Elaine again?

 

[TallBuoy]

Presumably Flaming will be on Elaine again?

.... or maybe he will go sailing instead !

The Solent Circuit will be starting in Lymington on 11th. Once upon a time this was the only autumn/winter series with well over 100 boats involved, until the Hamble Series started up.

We usually get 55-60 anyway.


http://ltsc.co.uk/index.php/newsandevents/club-calendar/324-default/332-yacht-racing-open-events/7106-solent-circuit-race-1.

 

[flaming]

.... or maybe he will go sailing instead !

Boom Tish...!

Yep, we'll be there. Doing the whole series this year. Entries look a bit light, several "stalwarts" missing. But then the website hadn't changed in ages so I'm not sure how up to date it is.

 

[Judders]

I don't know how much the entry list reflects the actual turn out but at the moment the Impala us the biggest OOD fleet with eight. Only six Sigma 38s is disappointing. Currently we are scoring on extracted results from IRC 4 with the Sigmas having their own start. That said, I dare say the Sigmas all turn up with their OD sailplan which we don't.

 

[flaming]

6 109s can't be right... Can it?

 

[Judders]

Maybe. Perhaps the second generation of owners have taken them to sailing offshore and thus IRC maxed them and in doing so no longer want to race OD. I think a similiar thing happened in Impalas many years ago. Perhaps losing a class start would actually benefit the class at this stage.

 

[flaming]

Maybe. Perhaps the second generation of owners have taken them to sailing offshore and thus IRC maxed them and in doing so no longer want to race OD. I think a similiar thing happened in Impalas many years ago. Perhaps losing a class start would actually benefit the class at this stage.

It would benefit us, as we used to have great racing with them until they got a start!

 

[Jamesuk]

Anyone need crew? Im here all winter! Well Cheltenham but have place to stay in southampton.

 

[Judders]

Anyone need crew? Im here all winter! Well Cheltenham but have place to stay in southampton.

We're oversubscribed for each day but there will certainly be plenty of boats who are looking for crew. I note that the GHWS website no longer has a crew page and instead directs you to HRSC's Facebook page. Most of the Yacht Clubs websites will also have a page.

 

[flaming]

These 2 facebook groups are fast becoming the way to get rides / crew in the Solent.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/807735232653760/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/838050656242885/

 

[flaming]

Fun start to the series. Though yesterday's weather seems like a distant memory this morning!

 

[Judders]

That was all the fun of the fair!

An impromptu J109 class association AGM on channel 77 was entertaining to the rest of us I'm sure.

I think the fact that we haven't done much shortcourse racing this year showed at the start of the first race where we had a nice lane off the line but no pace. The second start was perfect though. Third & second are better results than we expected, especially with a forced chineese gybe in the second race.

 

[flaming]

especially with a forced chineese gybe in the second race.

Was that about 20 feet from our stern, caused by an errant Dufour by any chance?

And the 109 class meeting does seem to have produced a result that could be protested out tout-suite if anyone could be bothered. Namely that it's against IRC rules to modify any boat's TTC. So simply using the TCC of the only one rated in OD setup to score them all is, technically, against IRC rules. Especially as that's one of the lowest TCCs I've ever seen for an OD rated 109. That would be a pretty mean spirited protest though.

 

[Judders]

It was indeed. I was going to get in touch and ask if you had any witnesses for us but the people from the Dufour have been nothing but gentlemanly in their response, despite the fact that I was far less of a credit to the sport in my reaction at the time.

 

[flaming]

It was indeed. I was going to get in touch and ask if you had any witnesses for us but the people from the Dufour have been nothing but gentlemanly in their response, despite the fact that I was far less of a credit to the sport in my reaction at the time.

Good to hear.

 

[TallBuoy]

I hear its a bit quiet in your neck of the woods on Sunday mornings. Our turn out is lower than we would like but still plenty to make for a successful series.

 

[flaming]

I hear its a bit quiet in your neck of the woods on Sunday mornings. Our turn out is lower than we would like but still plenty to make for a successful series.

There's enough in most classes for a decent series. The big boats are notable for their absence however.

Still nothing like what it was a few years ago when just about every class had at least one works team showing off a new model.

According to this interview http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/185642/Interview-with-Sam-Pearson-aboard-the-new-Ker-33 there was supposed to be a Ker 33 out, but no sign yet...

 

[Judders]

I think the big boats and the sports boats are absent (although some sports boats are entered for the Doyle Sails OD Championships which forms part of the series) but in the middle, many of the usual suspects are there.

I think what is really sad is to see the OD classes shrinking. The Sigma 38s and J109s now can't manage their own start and whilst the Impala's have eight entries in IRC4 with extracted results, there is no one class that has it's own start.

All in we're about sixty to seventy boats I think, which is certainly healthy but well down on what it once was.

 

[flaming]

I think what is really sad is to see the OD classes shrinking. The Sigma 38s and J109s now can't manage their own start and whilst the Impala's have eight entries in IRC4 with extracted results, there is no one class that has it's own start.

Sigmas haven't had their own start in years. 109s are worrying. It's only about 4 years ago that I did a nationals in that class of over 30 boats, the vast majority of which were Solent / Hamble based.

 

[TallBuoy]

That's interesting because our IRC fleets have reduced to the extent that we had to merge them into one. Others have gone into our variant of the NHC. However, the smaller cheaper boats continue to thrive, i.e. Folk boats, J80's and RS Elites.

I thinks it because folk don't want to spend money on competing to IRC level, i.e. keeping the boat quick enough, and with a slick consistent crew, for Sunday morning round the cans.