Hornet National Championship 2024 at Dabchicks Yacht Club - Day 3

Hornet Nationals at Dabchicks day 3 © Will Russell

Hornet Nationals at Dabchicks day 3 © Will Russell

This morning's excitement in the dinghy park was AP over 1 and with sunshine and no breeze, chat erupted and extra breakfasts were squeezed in. Boat bimbling on the overnight leaders was an activity for everyone!

The extra breakfasts proved useful once the fleet cleared the creek and were met with a force 3-4.

The course was set and primed by the time the last boat arrived and the sequence began.

Race 5 was started with a committee boat end bias and with Jones being the gentleman, took a dip to avoid giving Curtis 2 hornets for the price of 1, right proved to be right and the fleet tracked off in procession towards the windward mark.

As usual, McNamara popped out first, followed by Coombe, Curtis and Jones/Anderson rounded 4th and acquainted themselves with the mark again, unfortunately the second attempt was enough to remove the centreboard screws and that was the end of their racing for the day.

Strangler, who had a solid first beat, tried to catch everyone's supper and after the trawling method proved unsuccessful, dipped in to try the hands approach instead.

With the wind significantly more consistent than the previous 2 days, place changes were a little less frequent and the surprise shifts were a distant memory. Today reaches were one tight one broad and with the tide pushing everyone down, overtaking proved a challenge. When it came to the run, McNamara had gone, Curtis had pushed his way into second, Skudder had wiggled into third and Coombe had been relegated to 4th. Garry charged down the run to pop into 5th with a fairly close rounding and these places, although gaps got bigger and smaller, stayed to the finish.

Race 6 was a similar state of affairs, although the wind had dropped enough to turn flat wiring into the toilet pose. All boats were again clear and there was the occasional small shift which provided marginal gains if you got them right. At this point, I couldn't probably just copy and paste, but McNamara got it right again!

Coombe had a cracker to round second, Curtis third only to roll straight over Coombe during the hoist. Garry rounded ahead of Skudder but struggled on the hoist and couldn't get it up, so with the spinnaker at half mast, Skudder flew over the top and the procession continued to the leeward mark.

McNamara spent the rest of the race letting Curtis think that he might catch him and the real competition for the Starcross Hornet Nationals continued behind. Skudder, Coombe and Garry tussled and swapped around like someone had thrown their keys into a bowl, until The Guy Boys sailing 2163 banged a left and popped into third place at the top of the third beat and a point their fun. Sadly for them and thankfully for the Starcross Mafia, a minor spinnaker issue let the 3 through again to continue their dance.

By the final run, 1 and 2 were decided although Garry showing exceptional downwind speed again, was closing on Curtis but ran out of tarmac. Skudder and Coombe match raced behind to finish in 4th and 5th.

While the championship is almost in McNamaras hands, 2nd to 5th is separated by 7 points and with the discard already in, it's all to play for.

Breeze is forecast for tomorrow and with Curry Night tonight in the club, it's looking a little fruity!

2 races, 2 results and we will be decided!

A special thanks to Will Russell for the photos from the on board camera! Particularly the one where his foot missed the gunwhale!

Results after Day 3: