(Warsash, England)- The final gathering for the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series and Spring Championship took place over 27th/28th April 2013. Having had no cancellations due to gales and flat calms, the event has been a great success all round. Over the eight race days race officers have run over 170 separate races and even if the early spring was unseasonably cold, there was a warm and convivial atmosphere in the clubhouse for post-race banter and where the weekly class winners received their champagne and one lucky winner each week a SLAM jacket.
Saturday:
White Group raced near the North Channel with the tide pushing boats along the line. Starts went generally to plan with a couple of general recalls. The J/70s got away cleanly. For the J/80s the start line was moved and a large fender marked the anchor chain! The wind here coming from the north was shifty and sometimes reaching 25 knots. It was during one such gust in the last race of the day that an SB20 became caught on one of the buoys forming the leeward gate, reducing the gap just as the J/80 class arrived. Those in the lead were sufficiently spread out to negotiate the reduced space, but a bunch came as the race committee RIB was trying to lift the mark. The race had to be abandoned but was quickly re-sailed. The strong tide had an impact on the runs, particularly in the gusts, with many boats from all classes being seen to white sail to the gate having been carried too deep. North Sails (Ruairidh Scott) took three wins in the J/70s, with Boats.com taking one race.
Sunday:
On White Group there was a total lack of wind when the committee boat set up station by the Meon shore but just before the start time a gentle breeze began to fill in from the south-west to give enough pressure for the first race to get underway after a short postponement. The wind continued to build through the three races to reach 15 knots by the end of the third race, causing a few broaches and “wineglasses”. North Sails continued in fine form in the J/70s taking all three races.
Summary results:
As a result of the weekend sailing, the winners of the Spring Series and the Spring Championship have finally been determined. For the J/70s the story of the day was simply the fact that Ruairidh Scott sailed NORTH SAILS very fast onto the comeback trail after a slow start to the season. Trailing BOATS.COM at the beginning of the Spring Series, NORTH SAILS climbed their way back into contention to ultimately take the series sailing to six straight firsts in the last six races to take Spring Series as well as the Spring Championship. Blasting off to a fast start for the Spring Series, Ian Atkins' BOATS.COM sailed consistently well to finish second in both the month's long Spring Series as well as snag second in the Spring Championships. The battle for third was different for each event. In the Spring Series, it was Malcolm Jacques' DJANGO that took the bronze. And, in the Spring Championships, it was Simon Ling's SPITFIRE POWERED BY SLAM that took the third spot. Sailing photo credits- Iain McLuckie For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information
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