Salcombe Yacht Club Summer Series - Race 6
by John Burn 30 Jul 04:31 NZST
23 June 2024
A superyacht, a broken mast, and a committee boat start — race 6 of the summer series certainly provided plenty of excitement for both spectators and competitors.
Course 1-7-1-3-2
Five red fleet and six blue fleet arrived at the start line, which had been located just off Mill Bay.
Pin End was the place to be, and with most of the fleet picking up on this, getting away cleanly was going to be tricky. John Meadowcroft, with a guest crew, and National Twelve legend Bim Daser in 172 won the start, closely followed by John Burn and James Stockdale in 170.
Unfortunately for Mike Knowles and Nicky Bass, a catastrophic rig failure saw their mast tumbling into the clear waters off the beach, seeing their race over before it had really gotten started.
Back to the action, 172 and 170 rounded Blackstone and went about trying to break free from the chasing pack headed up by David Stone and Mark Hazlewood in 184 and Phil King with John Sleep in 183.
170 edged into the lead on reaching the ferry landing, and as the front pair reached Snapes Point, they were joined by 183, who had managed to gap the main bunch.
183 opted for a lower line through the notoriously difficult Halwell Woods, which saw them take the lead from 172, who had rolled 170 at Toss Noss.
183 led the group back through The Bag and reached the main harbour, where the breeze had freshened nicely. 170 had worked back past 172 by taking a higher line on the return leg and began to pull clear and catch 183 on the beat back to Blackstone.
Will and Mandy Henderson, who had been victims of start-line shenanigans, spent the race playing catch-up, and as they returned to the harbour, they were very much back in play. They quickly dispatched 172 and set about catching the front pair.
Despite their blistering speed, 183 had a comfortable lead and claimed victory, while Burn and Stockdale covered them to the line, ensuring second place, with Will and Mandy seeing out the podium in third.