Double dose Sunday

Peter Danby reports on the penultimate day of racing at the Garmin Hamble Winter Series

Sparkling conditions in the Solent on Sunday brought smiles to the faces of competitors and officials alike at the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, when a 15 knot north westerly breeze allowed extra races to be sailed to make up for those lost earlier in the series when winds were either too light or too heavy.

The White Fleet boats were able to sail three races instead of their usual two, while the bigger yachts of the Black Fleet raced twice instead of just once. There was an added bonus in the form of constant sunshine, which not only brightened things up, but also raised the temperature to a comfortable level.

Several teams were so inspired by the sailing conditions that they got into the groove successfully in the first race of the day, and then went on to do the same in the following races. No fewer than four Black Fleet boats achieved doubles - Lucy Macgregor's Premier Flair in IRC 1, Mike Brough's Steady Barker in IRC 2, Colin Byrne's Xtravagance in IRC 3, and Alex Christie's ASAP in IRC 4. Two White Fleet boats were able to go one better and score hat tricks - Liz Savage's Savage Racing Team in the J/80 class, and Paul Curtis's Sparkle in the Hunter 707s.

The cut and thrust racing in the highly competitive Laser SB3 class was unlikely to allow any such clean sweeps, and it was Geoff Carveth's Earls Court Boat Show that won the first race, while Craig Burlton ran away with the second, and Marshall King's Sponge Bob won the third.

With just one more race day scheduled to take place on Sunday 2nd December, the final outcome is impossible to predict in most of the classes, especially as the discard situation will be complicated by the fact that further "lost" races might or might not be sailed. There is still a great deal to sail for, which will add plenty of excitement to the final day of racing.

Results:

Garmin Hamble Winter Series, Day 7, White Fleet Race Winners:

Laser SB3 Race 1, 'Earls Court Boat Show' Geoff Carveth. Race 2, 'Team Touareg' Craig Burlton. Race 3, 'Sponge Bob' Marshall King.
J/80 Races 1, 2 and 3, 'Savage Sailing Team' Liz Savage.
Hunter 707 Races 1, 2 and 3, 'Sparkle' Paul Curtis.
Sportsboat Race 1, 'Backbeat' Richard Scarff. Races 2 and 3, 'Finn M'Coul' Tom Clay

Garmin Hamble Winter Series, Day 7, Black Fleet Race Winners:

IRC 0 Race 1, 'Jellina' Mark Lloyd.
IRC 1 Races 1 and 2, 'Premier Flair' Lucy Macgregor.
IRC 2 Races 1 and 2, 'Steady Barker' Mike Brough.
IRC 3 Races 1 and 2, 'Xtravagance' Colin Byrne.
IRC 4 Races 1 and 2, 'ASAP' Alex Christie.
J/105 Race 1, 'Voador' Simon Curwen. Race 2 'Jolene' Geoff Payne.
J/109 Race, 'Jambo' Kate Buckingham & Nick Fry. Race 2 'Jalapeno' Nigel & Suzie Brooke.
Sigma 38 Race 1, 'Festina Lente' Meakins Family, Race 2, 'With Alacrity' Chris & Vanessa Choules.

For full results see the event website here.

More pictures on the following pages.