Hamble Winter Series 2015 winners
With the final weekend of racing cancelled, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series 2015 finished a week early.
December 10, 2015
With racing cancelled on the final weekend due to high winds, the final results of the 2015 Garmin Hamble Winter Series were decided a week early.
Hamble Winter Series 2015. Photo Paull Wyeth.
The penultimate weekend of racing saw light winds, winter sunshine and very cold temperatures. Nonetheless, the race team, headed by Kathy Smalley, got all classes away after a short postponement. Their task was a tricky one, with a big right shift forecast, a strong tide running across the race course, and a patchy breeze.
These conditions turned most fleets on their heads, with many of the overall leaders scoring their worst results yet as discards, and others taking advantage of the windshifts to make big gains both on the water and overall. In IRC 0, it was Christopher Daniel's Juno that won the race, under a minute ahead of class leader, Cornel Riklin's Jitterbug.
In IRC1, Philip Farrands' Old Mother Gun beat overall leader, James Wilkie's Fast Tack Puma into second, which narrowed the overall points gap to two points. Sadly they were to be robbed of their chance to challenge that overall lead.
A trio of J/88s topped IRC 2, with Gavin Howe's Tigris winning the class, ahead of Richard Cooper's Jongleur in second and Paul Ward's Eat Sleep J Repeat in third. A number of close battles were lining up for the final race weekend in this class, with a number of boats only a point apart throughout the fleet.
IRC 3 saw Simon Miller's Hooligan win the race, ahead of Robin Stevenson's Upstart and overall leader, Annie Kelly and Andy Howe's Blackjack II in third.
Garmin Hamble Winter Series 2015. Photo Paull Wyeth.
The J/109s, also racing in IRC 3, were topped by Simon Perry's Jiraffe, with Roger Phillips' Designstar 2 in second place, reflecting the overall standings. The Sigma 38s were won by Nigel Goodhew's Persephone, ahead of Richard Kern's Light and Rob Lee's Kindred Spirit.
In IRC4 it was Bernard Fyans' Erik the Red that spotted the shift on the first beat and held an unassailable lead to the finish. Barney Smith's Impala 28 Imptish was close behind, with fellow Impala Two Frank finishing third. Overall leader Stan the Boat was fourth, and sits two points ahead of second placed Polly.
These two Impalas were joined on the Impala podium by Nigel Palmer and crew on Uproar, which was the third Impala this week. Day sponsor One Sails handed out prizes at the HRSC clubhouse after racing, where competitors warmed up after what felt like the first real day of winter they've seen in the series so far.
Garmin Hamble Winter Series 2015 Final Results: IRC 0: 1st Jitterbug (J/111) Cornel Riklin, 2nd JourneyMaker 11 (J/111) Louise Makin, 3rd Juno (J/122) Christopher Daniel; IRC 1: 1st Fast-Track Puma (reflex 38) James Wilkie, 2nd Old Mother Gun (Humphreys 40) Philip Farrands, 3rd Playing Around (Beneteau 40.7) Ian Mcmellin; Impala: 1st Polly Ben Meakins, 2nd Impish Barnaby Smith, 3rd Two Frank Oliver Frank; IRC2: 1st Malice (HOD35) Mike Moxley, 2nd Elaine (Elan 37) Mike Bridges, 3rd Eat Sleep J Repeat (J/88) Paul Ward; IRC3: 1st Blackjack II (J/97) Annie Kelly & Andy Howe, 2nd Upstart (J/92s) Robin Stevenson, 3rd Persephone (Sigma 38) Nigel Goodhew; IRC4: 1st Stan the Boat (Sigma33) Toby Gorman, 2Polly (Impala) Ben Meakins, Respect (Mustang 30) Stuart Danby; J/109: Jiraffe Simon Perry, Designstar 2 Roger Philips, Jolly Jack Tar Joe Henry; Sigma 38: 1st Persephone Nigel Goodhew, 2nd With Alacrity Chris & Vanessa Choules, 3rd Light Richard Kern; J/70: 1st Harlequin Tom Forrester-Coles, 2nd Jugador Jack Davies, 3rd RTYC 742 Greg Hall; J/80 1st J.A.T. Phil Taylor, 2nd J out of the box Yannig Loyer, 3rd Jester Michael Lewis; SB20:1st Here Comes Bod Richard McAdam, 2nd 3-SOME Niall Peelo, 3rd 6a Vision Homes Peter Noe; Sportsboat: 1st Midnight Cowboy (1720) Stephanie Merry, 2nd Wizard (J/92s) John Greenaway, 3rd AYBE (Farr 280) Glynn Locke.
