Crouch Yacht Club Centenary Sword Race
by Phillip Harbott 14 Jun 2015 22:52 BST
14 June 2015
Three boats raced in this, the 5th race in the Crouch Yacht Club Victory Cup Series. The wind was between 5 and 10 knots and shifty throughout the race, and with the tide coming on to springs, the race officer sent the boats up river on the flood, so that they could finish on the ebb if the wind shut off.
Duncan Haley helming Double Trouble had an excellent start, fully powered up and bang on the line, with Inn Spirit owned by Alan Bartlett just behind. Martin and Kirsty Brooks' Dehler Sapphire were a little off the line on the gun, but gaining momentum. The boats turned up river, with Double Trouble, the SJ320 and lowest rated boat in the race being overhauled by Inn Spirit at the wharf. The crew of Double Trouble were the only ones to set a spinnaker between Bridgemarsh and Glaze and pulled back to Inn Spirit. After the boats rounded Canewdon, there was a spinnaker reach and run to Number 9. Inn Spirit, helmed by Ian Hart, lost out further to Double Trouble and Sapphire on this leg, when their spinnaker went up sideways; the time taken to peel to another spinnaker gave the others a chance to pull up to Inn Spirit. When the boats came into sight of the race box, Inn Spirit were leading, with Double Trouble and Sapphire enjoying close racing between each other just behind. The ebb had started when the fleet rounded Number 9 to return up river to Cliff Reach, and Inn Spirit pulled ahead on the foul tide beat, taking the South Shore; Double Trouble and Sapphire both went North Shore, before reaching over to Number 15.
Inn Spirit appeared first, and the other two boats took a while to pop out from behind the corner; however, on the strengthening ebb, and increasing wind, they managed to claw back a little.
On corrected time, Double Trouble won, with Sapphire second and Inn Spirit third. In the Club, Nick Poole presented the Centenary Sword, which he donated in the Club's centenary year in 2007, to Duncan Haley. Inn Spirit lead the series, with three more races to go.
Next week is the Raffles Trophy, which is the ladies race, starting at 10.30 am.