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Hyde success in Sussex Regatta
Thursday, 29 April 2010
The Hyde-powered J-92S 'Neilson Redeye' takes overall victory for the second year in succession, while two Hyde Sonars found success in Class 2.The Sussex Regatta is traditionally the first of the season, taking place over Easter weekend and this year the event was hosted by Brighton Marina Yacht Club. The fleet was split into four fleets, two IRC fleets and two PY, based on a Sussex handicap system. Neilson Redeye was in IRC2. Racing was abandoned on Friday due to the bad weather, but the fleet of 44 yachts took to the water on Saturday in more moderate conditions. The PRO squeezed in four races on Saturday, with racing run from the harbour wall as the seas were too rough to launch the BMYC committee boat. All fleets had some tough sailing in big, cold seas and winds ranging from 15-25 knots.
Saturday's challenge
Pete Tyler shares his account of the day's racing... "With a good start we lead the fleet, sailed carefully and conservatively, and no-one seemed to get near us, even the faster boats in the fleet stayed in our wake and we finished first on the water and first on corrected time after handicap adjustments - the game was on! The next two races were close, and without accurate timings and a calculator we would have to wait to see the corrected results ashore. On the final race of the day, again we showed a clean pair of heels to the fleet, but a wrong course decision by our navigator (me!) meant we sailed the wrong way for a leg and then had to windward launch the spinnaker, difficult in 20 knots on a reach! We caught up some ground, but back in the Club the results showed we had dropped to third place on this race, by just 13 seconds! On the positive side we had won races two and three by very close margins, so were leading the regatta on day one with three firsts and a third."
Flatter seas and sunshine
Sunday morning brought better weather, sunshine and a cross-offshore breeze that flattened the seas. The committee boat set some short triangle/sausage courses and squeezed in three races for the four fleets in the day. Pete Tyler explains: "Again it was close, and race five seemed a cert for us to take a win - finishing well ahead of the fleet, races 6 & 7 were too close to call and the corrected times would be close, very close - with Neilson Redeye taking three wins out of three on the day, with one race only a three-second margin."
Reflecting on the weekend's racing Pete sums up: "Some good starts, good boat handling and a well prepared yacht seemed to do the trick. Our new Ultra-Sonic antifouling is keeping our hull clear, coupled with our new hull paint from Flag paints, we had a great boat speed. Our new spinnaker from Hyde's was kept in the bag, and our old sails were aired, so look for some more speed when we hoist the new shaped spinnaker and our H5 mainsail and jib. The Hyde- DPcarbon sails are now into their third season were perfect for the conditions."
Meanwhile, also sporting Hyde Sails, the Shoreham Yacht Club Sailability boats (Sonars) 'Josh' and 'Geronimo' formed an unbeatable double-act to take a clean-sweep in the Sussex Clubs Combined Handicap Class 2.
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:05
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Squib success for Hyde's sails
Monday, 12 April 2010
Hyde Sails' hard work developing its Squib sail design over the winter has paid
off, with Hyde's sails dominating the opening regatta of the season, the Mike Flint
Trophy…
The first regatta of the Squib season took place at Burnham on Crouch over the Easter Weekend, with the fleet competing for the Mike Flint Trophy. The event had a sailmaking subplot as Hyde Sails' former Squib agent, White Marine had defected to Lonton and Grey with both teams eager to see whose new designs would prove to be fastest…
Good Friday saw the opening contest for the Champagne Race with a strong breeze and low water restricting the course laying options, Nigel and Jack Grogan from Hyde in 'Helmut Shoeing' pulled away from Dave White and Mel Titmus in 'Easy' for a comfortable win, with Malcolm Hutchins and partner Jacqui ('Lady Penelope') in the other boat
sporting new Hyde sails third.
Saturday morning saw light variable breezes and a monster 2.5-hour struggle against the elements, Nigel and Jack's lead at the first mark was eliminated when the race turned inside out and Malcolm astutely went up the opposite bank to get well ahead with Paul Buckley ('Electra') just astern before he ran aground. Micky Wright ('Spoof') then planed up the middle of the river in his own jetstream to win, with the Grogans second and Malcolm unhappily OCS. Saturday afternoon saw the fleet racing up the Roach and a close tussle between Malcom and the Grogans well ahead of the rest with the race being decided when the Grogans managed to carry their spinnaker on the reach back to the finish. Micky Wright took a good third with Sarah Hastwell making a guest appearance on Dave White's boat for fourth.
Sunday saw Malcolm build a big lead with massive upwind speed, unfortunately for him the wind filled in from behind and in the long run downriver Paul Buckley, Robert Coyle ('Humphrey') and the Grogans all caught up. With clever balancing of tide versus breeze Robert just edged ahead for a final mark white knuckle ride, but the Grogan's sailed over them on the fetch to the finish with Malcolm second. The afternoon saw fresh conditions and Malcolm over the line again. But Simon Sanders (What's the Story') put his foot down and flew up the first beat. The Grogans managed to wriggle ahead and stay there to win from Malcolm by a boat length, Simon hung onto a well deserved third with Paul Buckley fourth.
With the event won the Grogan's sat out the final race with Lonton and Grey fielding their third guest helmsman of the event. Dave's brother Pete White pulled off a win from Malcolm as for the second time they were out spinnaker reached. Paul Buckley took third to also finish third overall, beating 'Spoof', the first placed Lonton and Grey boat into fourth. Simon and crew excelled with fifth overall, ahead 'Easy' in sixth. A comprehensive win for Hyde in 'the battle of the sailmakers'.
The event was blessed with a good mix of courses and breezes and leaves the fleet itching to get to grips again at the Gold Cup in a few weeks' time.
off, with Hyde's sails dominating the opening regatta of the season, the Mike Flint
Trophy…
The first regatta of the Squib season took place at Burnham on Crouch over the Easter Weekend, with the fleet competing for the Mike Flint Trophy. The event had a sailmaking subplot as Hyde Sails' former Squib agent, White Marine had defected to Lonton and Grey with both teams eager to see whose new designs would prove to be fastest…
Good Friday saw the opening contest for the Champagne Race with a strong breeze and low water restricting the course laying options, Nigel and Jack Grogan from Hyde in 'Helmut Shoeing' pulled away from Dave White and Mel Titmus in 'Easy' for a comfortable win, with Malcolm Hutchins and partner Jacqui ('Lady Penelope') in the other boat
sporting new Hyde sails third.
Saturday morning saw light variable breezes and a monster 2.5-hour struggle against the elements, Nigel and Jack's lead at the first mark was eliminated when the race turned inside out and Malcolm astutely went up the opposite bank to get well ahead with Paul Buckley ('Electra') just astern before he ran aground. Micky Wright ('Spoof') then planed up the middle of the river in his own jetstream to win, with the Grogans second and Malcolm unhappily OCS. Saturday afternoon saw the fleet racing up the Roach and a close tussle between Malcom and the Grogans well ahead of the rest with the race being decided when the Grogans managed to carry their spinnaker on the reach back to the finish. Micky Wright took a good third with Sarah Hastwell making a guest appearance on Dave White's boat for fourth.
Sunday saw Malcolm build a big lead with massive upwind speed, unfortunately for him the wind filled in from behind and in the long run downriver Paul Buckley, Robert Coyle ('Humphrey') and the Grogans all caught up. With clever balancing of tide versus breeze Robert just edged ahead for a final mark white knuckle ride, but the Grogan's sailed over them on the fetch to the finish with Malcolm second. The afternoon saw fresh conditions and Malcolm over the line again. But Simon Sanders (What's the Story') put his foot down and flew up the first beat. The Grogans managed to wriggle ahead and stay there to win from Malcolm by a boat length, Simon hung onto a well deserved third with Paul Buckley fourth.
With the event won the Grogan's sat out the final race with Lonton and Grey fielding their third guest helmsman of the event. Dave's brother Pete White pulled off a win from Malcolm as for the second time they were out spinnaker reached. Paul Buckley took third to also finish third overall, beating 'Spoof', the first placed Lonton and Grey boat into fourth. Simon and crew excelled with fifth overall, ahead 'Easy' in sixth. A comprehensive win for Hyde in 'the battle of the sailmakers'.
The event was blessed with a good mix of courses and breezes and leaves the fleet itching to get to grips again at the Gold Cup in a few weeks' time.
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:46
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