Lymington XOD Saturday Series Week 2
by Michael Hobby 5 May 10:53 BST
4 May 2024
Lymington XOD Saturday Series Week 2 © Michael Hobby
A rare occasion, the sun was shining and there were light airs from the SE, but an unpredictable sea breeze was about to make things tricky, as 12 XOD's set off in neutral current with a flood tide building.
The scene was set for a race planning challenge, for Chris Knox and Mike Cowen on the committee vessel, the first mark being a beat to E (Pylewell) heading east with an intended run down to Pennington.
With a good start, in 10 knots of breeze, Rory Paton in Mayfly rounded the first mark ahead of the fleet. As the group headed west towards Pennington with kites up, James Markby in X-Ray took the lead, closely pursued by Barry Dunning in Crumpet and Jeremy Baker in Clair De Lune.
The sea breeze now played its card, with combined adverse tide and the wind swinging round to the west at the RLymYC starting platform. X-Ray was able to take advantage of the shift and lead the fleet rounding both Pennington marks, closely pursued by Paul Woodman in Lone Star and Jonathan Clark in Tortoise.
Downwind to Tanners in blue skies and flat water, with kites struggling to hold onto the dying breeze, flood tide took the wind from the sails, the race committee announced a shortened course. This created further twists and frustration for many, as one or two back markers sailed through to gain positions. With 8 XOD's crossing the line within 40 seconds of each other, this made for a nail biting finish, demonstrating again why the XOD fleet has some of the best competitive sailing in Lymington.
Race 2 Results: (top five)
1st X117 - X-Ray, James Markby, David Bedford
2nd X119 - Lone Star, Paul Woodman, Oliver James, Phil Lawrence
3rd X176 - Crumpet, Barry Dunning, Carrol Dunning, Colin Merrett
4th X18 - Nefertiti, Mike Hobby, Sian Hobby, Adrian Thomson
5th X170 - Oyster, Fenella Lees, Peter Halliwell
Full Lymington XOD series results can be found at rlymyc.org.uk/afloat/results/XOD-results