Moving to Ramsgate

The next UK regatta week fires up with a mini coastal series for the IRC classes

Ramsgate Week began with a mini coastal series for the IRC classes, running from Monday to Wednesday with one race per day and two gentleman's classes which will run from Monday to Saturday. The first day saw plenty of changeable winds and calm seas.

There was a close battle to the first mark in Class 1 with the Belgium boat, Alegria rounding just ahead of Xwaves and Richochet. The two lead boats continued a their fight for first place to the Elbow. Alegria extended their lead and took line honours.

Class 2 saw a close start between A Boen and Jazz, with Upstart benefiting from their battle. A Boen led at the first mark with Jazz and Upstart contesting for second and third place. Finally, A Boen crossed the line first with an appreciable lead from the rest of the fleet.

Antix led from the start in Class 3, reaching the South Brake first followed by Moist Definitely and Cheeky Monkey. They furthered their lead during the six mile spinnaker leg and finished in first place with a convincing victory.

In Class 4 there were four Impalas, as well as Andromeda, a Starlight 30. Volante led to the first mark, but was overtaken by Scallywag on the long spinnaker run to the Elbow. Scallywag managed the changing wind conditions well and stretched out a commanding lead to finish first. The remaining three Impala's enjoyed close racing, exchanging positions until Volante broke away again to finish second.

There were two gentleman classes; Class 5 with spinnakers prohibited and Class 6 with no sail restrictions. Both classes were sent on a short beat to B2 and then a run past North Quern to a short reach to East Brake and a long run down to the Elbow. At this point Sunbird was in the lead in Class 5 with Havoc second on handicap. Half the fleet elected to tack inshore, the rest taking offshore towards East Break. The inshore leg paid off and Sunbird held its lead around East Brake to finish ahead of Havoc, Sydney II and Bravado. Mallard finished first in Class 6, with Peridot, Rush and Dos Mescalito crossing the line respectively.