Yachting Monthly Triangle Race - Leg 3 Preview
by John Roberson 21 Jun 2016 19:50 BST
12-24 June 2016
Yachting Monthly Triangle Race leg 2 prize winners © Jan Rayment
Can Heward & Hawkins hang on?
It's going to be a tense and testing last leg of the Yachting Monthly Triangle Race from Treguier in Brittany to Devon's Torquay. Gary Heward and Russell Hawkins in Amylou, are just one point ahead of Chris and Corky Rhodes sailing Footloose II, and the forecast is for light and variable winds.
Because of the predicted light winds the start time for the final dash across the Channel has been bought forward from 19:00 to 13:00 BST, on Wednesday, (22nd) though the dash looks likely to be more of a stroll.
Heward and Hawkins from Southampton's Marchwood Yacht Club won the first leg from Torquay to Kinsale in Ireland, battling through some of the toughest conditions in the history of the race. The second leg was a more gentlemanly downwind slide from Kinsale to Treguier and the Amylou team slipped to fourth.
Meanwhile father and son duo Chris and Corky Rhodes from Exmouth's Exe Sailing Club have been the consistent performers of the fleet, crossing the finishing line first on both the previous legs, and taking third place on handicap both times.
Only two points behind the Rhodes family are another father and son pair, Mark and Walter Hipgrave from Australia's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron sailing Mr Luck, which is almost identical to the Rhodes' Footloose II.
The leg from Treguier to Torquay is 110 nautical miles, and the wind is expected to be a light southerly at the start, but after that it seems that anything could happen, with some weather models predicting it will swing to the north, and others forecasting it to disappear altogether.
As well as the battle for overall honours, there will also be secondary skirmishes to establish results within the three classes. Currently the Rhodes and Hipgrave pairs are level on points at the top of Class 1, in Class 2 Heward and Hawkins have a one point lead over Rick Newcombe and George Melbourne sailing eXebitionist.
In Class 3 the results are less in doubt, with James Moore and Philip Pryor sailing Katisha a healthy four points in the lead over John and Kevin Stallard in Siboney.
See results at trianglerace.co.uk