Its a whopper

Reports, results and photographs from the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series and Spring Championship

J/80 report from Stephen Chiverton

The first weekend of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Championship saw two days that were as alike as chalk and cheese. Saturday was forecast to be wet and breezy and did not fail to live up to its billing. Twelve boats braved the weather and the first race was held in a breezy twenty knot North Easterly with rain adding to the chill.

A port biased line for the first race had most heading towards the shore in the West going tide. Rose and Thistle (Marcus Stone) was one of those making a good start with Bjorn Slippy (Julian Bates) showing well at the windward mark. Boats.com (Ian Atkins) carved out a good lead which was to be a feature of the races on the Saturday. Unfortunately Bjorn Slippy’s great upwind speed was not matched by their down wind ability not keeping the boat under the rig costing them dearly. Not timing a spinnaker drop with the gusts cost Just Chilling (Stephen Chiverton) a second place with Liz Savage helming Savage Sailing took a good second with Just Chilling third, only just pipping Jamari (Simon Read) by dint of a starboard tack approach to the line.

The second race was held in slightly less wind and was notable for Jamari’s speed downwind without a kite which combined with some blistering upwind speed saw them take a good third place behind Boats.com and Savage Sailing.

The third race was held again in still lighter breeze and although the first two places were the same Jevan (Rob and Jonathon Fox) this time coming through to take third but not without a tussle with Just Do It (Terry Palmer) and Bjorn Slippy.

The fourth race I think found everybody pleased that it was the final race of the day although it had at least stopped raining. Boats.com and Savage Sailing both got away but very close racing with Joker Wild (Mike Livingstone) and Strumpet (Andy Phelps) both showing until Just Chilling managed to get into third by the finish. Getting the mark rounding right allowed some boats to make gains, though failure meant big losses when everyone was so close.

The wind holding steady helped the race committee but to get four good length races in by 2.30 (ish) was a great achievement and there was remarkably little hanging around between races.

Sunday saw some fresh faces and some absentees from the day before but thirteen boats was a good turnout. The weather was much kinder with sun! The downside was that the conditions were much more difficult with big shifts and changes in wind strength. The first race was aborted just before the start with a huge shift not that the fleet noted everybody having set off and it was not until boats had gone round a new windward mark that the penny dropped!

At the second attempt a port biased line saw an individual recall but the fleet away, Savage Sailing with Chris Savage back on the stick got a good lead but with Loudwater (Charles Somerset) showing strongly to finish strongly with Boats.com not having the second day all their own way in third.

Thomson helps John Merricks II sail to BB2 top three

World renowned Vendee Globe skipper Alex Thomson used all his experience and expertise to help the Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme clinch an impressive third place at the Raymarine Warsash Big Boat Spring Championship this weekend (19 – 20 April).

Thomson, a long-time supporter of the Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme, acted as strategist for the Programme crew in what was only their third weekend of competitive action on the newly-acquired TP52, John Merricks II.

The sailors went into BB2 determined to reach the same levels of performance that had seen them lead the Series after the first four races two weeks ago.

And with Thomson assisting every step of the way, John Merricks II produced a steady display over the course of the two days to claim a hard-fought third overall in the 22-strong IRC Big Boat fleet.

Last weekend the sailors prepared for BB2 with Programme mentor Andy Clark, Simon Eatwell, Design Engineering Manager at Formula Yacht Spars and Tom McWilliam, former sail co-ordinator onboard the TP52 Red, all on-hand to help with training and coaching.

Pit man Tim Jestico admitted the Programme members were delighted with their show over the two Big Boat weekends.

He said: “Having Alex Thomson on the boat doing strategy was really good for the ‘brain trust’ - tactician, navigator and helm - at the back of the boat who learnt a lot from his massive amount of experience. Alex gave us great encouragement during the weekend which really lifted our confidence on the boat.

“It was a really good weekend and our training the weekend before paid dividends. We are working really well as a team and although we still have some things to fine tune we have definitely made our presence in the Solent known and are looking forward to the Vice Admirals Cup and IRC Nationals later in the year.”

With a further six races contested this weekend, John Merricks II got off to an impeccable start in murky visibility and 25 knots of breeze leading for most of race one to take the opening BB2victory.

As the fog lifted and rain relented, the Programme sailors suffered mixed fortunes in races two and three, posting a sixth and 14 th respectively while having pushed another TP52, Henri Lloyd - Cutting Edge, hard during the mid-section of race four, a suspect gybe on the final leg cost John Merricks II vital seconds and they finished ninth.

With day two throwing up much lighter winds than the Programme crew had ever raced in on the TP52, the sailors’ boat speed and handling skills underwent a different sort of test and the crew posted two eighth places to clinch their Championship third with 59 points.

The Nick and Anne Haigh-owned Dark and Steamy won the Series overall with 45 points, ahead of John Dean’s Poppy of Portland Marina on 51.5.

J/109 report by Kirsty Apthorp

Sunday 20th April saw race 5 of the 2008 Raymarine Warsash Spring Series. With light winds, sunshine and a relatively slack tide at the time of starting, a course was set to take the fleet of 17 J/109svaround Bramble Bank and then away from IRC2 towards the East.

Surprisingly the top boats of the series, Zelda (Michael Ewart-Smith), Shiva (Matt Boyle) and Jahmali (Mike Wallis) were caught out by the conditions and were all OCS, with only Jahmali returning to restart. Zelda and Shiva scored OCS and frustratingly only found out when they arrived to enjoy the hospitality of Warsash Sailing Club.

The first leg was a beat to RYA Yachtmaster in 9knots of breeze which saw Firestorm (Jon Perry) take an early lead from the remainder of the fleet. A slick spinnaker hoist from Jahmali gave them the advantage over J-Dream (David & Kirsty Apthorp). Just So (David McGough) was unfortunate with the timing at the gybe mark, East Knoll, and rounded the leeward mark, Prince Consort on the outside of the fleet losing the distance which they had gained on the run.

By the time of the second beat, the tide was slack in the channel north of Ryde Bank and J-Dream and Red Arrow (RAFSA) took this advantage enabling them to close the distance to the Firestorm who was leading from Jahmali. A spinnaker run back to Norris was misjudged by many in the increasing tide which again gave Red Arrow and J-Dream the opportunity to close the distance on Jahmali who had by now passed Firestorm. The beat from Norris to Mackley Construction saw many changes of places with Designstar 2 (Roger Phillips) and Newton’s Wonder (Simon Boadle) coming out better than the majority of the fleet. Meanwhile Jahmali and Firestorm continued to trade places on the final beat to the finish at Burges Salmon with Firestorm crossing the line 1 second ahead. The remainder of the fleet had seen Just So, Designstar 2, and Joyride (Michael Jones) tack to the mainland shore where they benefited from the wind shift, finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.

The final race of the series takes place on Sunday 27th April and there is still room to change places on the podium, whilst 4th to 9th is only separated by 7 points.

An excellent course which enabled the J/109s to enjoy close tactical racing, for which it is famous was complimented by a very pleasant afternoon in the sunshine at Warsash Sailing Club.

More photos on the following pages from Paul Wyeth