2nd Musto ISORA Welsh Coastal Race at Pwllheli Sailing Club
by Vicky Cox 16 Apr 18:11 NZST
13-14 April 2024
Saturday saw the 2nd of the Musto ISORA Welsh coastal races. As always, boats are tracked using YellowBrick trackers - just as well as it was difficult to see any of the boats from onshore in the miserable weather.
The course took the fleet west along the shore to mark no 2 at the west end of Pwllheli beach before heading offshore through the St. Tudwall Sound and south to the cardinal buoy at the end of St Patricks causeway. The fleet were split into two starts, 30 minutes apart but with only one boat in class 2, the remaining fleet of class 1&0 boats were left to witness Mark Thompson's J97, Jac y Do, disappear into the mist.
Conditions were tough in the large waves and spray, whipped up in the 25kt breeze. Many of the fleet were struggling to hoist sails in the sea state. As a result, Brian Dixon's Gelert was forced to retire before crossing the start and Peter Dunlop&Victoria Cox's J122e, Mojito, crossed the line 3 minutes behind the rest of the fleet, forced to swap out a faulty jib last minute.
Andrew & Sam Hall's J125 Jackknife and Ashley Field's Sunfast 3600 Panache got off to great starts followed by Robert Temple's X40 Excession and Paul & Sam Kitteringham's Elan 350 Finally. Once round the first Mark, it was a matter of playing the tides, back eddies and wind shifts with some deciding to stay close inshore as long as possible before tacking out towards the islands. By Llanbedrog head, Mojito had overtaken Finally, Panache and Excession and although Jackknife were still holding onto their lead, Mojito seemed to have more speed upwind, almost catching Jackknife as they went through the St. Tudwall sound.
Once through the sound, Jackknife settled into the leg down to the Causeway buoy, overtaking Jac y Do before arrival. Only Mojito and Finally made the mark in one, whereas the rest of the fleet had to tack to make the rounding.
Downwind and kites were tentatively hoisted as winds reached high twenties and the sea state offshore suitably obliged. Mojito had a halyard snap and were left trawling their kite. A second attempt and they were trawling their kite a second time, leaving Jackknife a clear passage to an easy win. As Panache caught up with Mojito they decided to have a third go, seeing them approach the finish line at almost 16kts and taking 2nd place. Meanwhile, having to put in a gybe for the finish saw Panache wrap their kite, diminishing their gain, and they had to settle for third place behind Mojito.
Full results at isora.org
Sunday's club racing around the bay saw similar wind strengths with wind swinging round to a more westerly direction, slightly sheltered by the Llyn.
In contrast to Saturday, glorious sunshine met the fleet and provided good views for the many spectators along the beach.
The first course was selected to give onlookers the best views as the fleet headed along from Gimblet rock to the west end before heading out around the rest of the course.
The second race around the Tremadog Triangle (Start, 2, 8, 10, Finish) provided yet another opportunity for photos as the fleet sailed along the beach before heading out to no 8 and then down wind to Penychain.
Mojito won both races with Stephen Williams XP33, Darling xx, challenging Paul & Sam Kitteringham's Finally to 2nd place.
2nd in class 0 was Paul Sutton's Farr X2, Lightning.
Crews are now starting to gear up for the IRC Welsh National Championships in Pwllheli 17th-19th May (IRCWelshChamps.com) with another practice weekend and coastal race in two weeks time (27th & 28th April). Skippers are always looking for crew and anyone interested can email Racing@PwllheliSailingClub.Co.UK and we'll try and hooked you up with a skipper/boat. All you need is enthusiasm for being on the water, be nimble enough to manoeuvre around the boat and be available for racing at weekends.
Full results and more information at pwllhelisailingclub.co.uk