The last two races of Rye Harbour Sailing Club’s Autumn Series were contested last weekend October 25-26. On the Saturday, in a very light wind under an overcast sky, nine cruisers competed. With the light wind from the west it seemed to take forever to round the westward mark, in fact one boat didn’t manage to cross the start line! Then on the downwind leg it was all spinnakers as the photograph depicts. Unsurprisingly the smallest and lightest boat, Limbo Girl, won the race.
Some 30 participants finished off the day by commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar in Phillip’s workshop [aka Rock Channel Marine] in Rock Channel with paella followed by apple turnover and cream.
Sunday was very different with a strong south westerly wind and a sea to match. The start had to be delayed to allow a ship to enter the port and we then had an exciting race with boat speeds hovering about 7–8 knots. The three leading boats in the series, Limbo Girl, Mallard and Mystic Sky were all in close contention but honours went to Mallard who won the race being 29 seconds ahead of Mystic Sky on corrected time. The full results can be seen on the club’s website.
* Richard Hopper is to receive the Royal Yachting Association’s Lifetime Commitment Award – see Princess to honour Rye yachtsman
Photo taken by the crew of the committee boat Lady Jane