Hurricane 5.9 SX TT at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club

Thorpe Bay YC hosted the second of the Hurricane 5.9 SX open meetings on the 2nd and 3rd of July 2022. 25 boats were greeted with a mixed forecast and strong onshore winds on the first day.

Race 1 got underway with local sailors Julian Reichert & Jeremy Sandford excelling in the breeze to hold off Stone SCs Trevor Bawden & Tom Wass. Alex Farrall & 15 year old Miles Mawditt had a great start and came in third.

Hurricane 5.9 SX TT at Thorpe Bay - photo © Struan Wallace

Race 2, after a slight delay and a change in tide, saw a big bunch of boats at the committee boat all pushing to get the best start. Too many went early and the fleet were called back for a general recall. The second start was smoother however and this time it was Stone SCs Richie Hanmore & Kev Bawden taking the win from Trevor & Tom, with Stokes Bay SCs Adam Charlesworth & Rich Robinson taking third.

Race 3 saw Julian and Jeremy back at the front being chased hard by returnee to 5.9 sailing John Tuckwell & Luke Furber from Bala Lake and Ben & Kez Cutler-Sharp from Starcross YC who for the weekend had dusted off ‘Flying Colours’ of Dart and Hurricane hero, the late Robin Smith. With lots of place swapping it was small mistakes after a long day in the breeze that made the difference. Julian & Jeremy took the win, with Trevor & Tom taking their third second of the day, followed by John & Luke after Ben & Kez fowled the windward mark and capsized.

Hurricane 5.9 SX TT at Thorpe Bay - photo © Struan Wallace

Sunday brought a much more relaxed day. Racing wasn’t until later in the afternoon once the tide had come in and so the morning was spent relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and catching up with the rest of the Hurricane family. Race 4 started in twin trapeze weather which eased quickly down. The lighter breezes perfectly suited father/daughter team Doug & Eloise Smith from Starcross YC with them stretching out a small lead from Julian & Jeremy with Trevor & Tom coming in third.

Race 5 saw marginal winds which eased to just drifting on the tide at times. Doug & Eloise were chasing Tom & Trevor until the wind switched off. When it came back, the fleet had bunched up and Thorpe Bays Robert Palmer, who had managed to persuade class Guru Andy Webb to crew for the weekend, popped out in front and took the win from Geoff & Jack Tindale from Stone SC with Doug & Eloise holding on to 3rd. With the wind staying very light and many long trips home ahead, race 6 was abandoned.

Hurricane 5.9 SX TT at Thorpe Bay - photo © Struan Wallace

Overall Trevor & Tom showed that consistency is key and took the well deserved win edging Julian & Jeremy by a point. The fleet showed its strength and depth of competitiveness with close fights and battles throughout the fleet. The class is going from strength to strength showing it’s versatility and low cost competitive cat racing with new faces of all ages joining the fleet. Two more events await the fleet in 2022 with Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club hosting the next TT on the 23rd/24th of July and finally the national championships at Stone SC on the 19th/20th/23rd of August.

Overall Results: