Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 M600 LEADERBOARD

Pwllheli Autumn Challenge Series - Week 5

by Vicky Cox 20 Nov 2023 10:07 UTC 21-22 October 2023
Panache - Pwllheli Autumn Challenge Series week 5 © Andrew Hall

Results at the very top of the table were already taking shape with Mojito firmly at the top followed by J70 Sgrech Bach, Mojito Bach and Honey bee.

However the battle for 2nd and 3rd place in Class 1 was still very much up in the air with Ashley Field's Sunfast 3600 Panache and Paul&Sam Kitteringham's Elan 350 'Finally' on very close points. With one more discard coming into play Panache had the chance to discard a DNC so Finally would need to work hard to keep their position.

Rain and a south westerly 20-25kts met the fleet out in the bay and winds continued to build to 32Kts by the end of the last race.

A great start by the bigger boats saw Finally in clear air, Mojito below them and Panache suffering in their air. By the windward mark Mojito had worked up some height but Finally were desperate to stop them getting past and both boats ended up feathering too much and losing speed, leaving Panache to pull ahead. Mojito decided to bail out and tack away making slow progress across the waves.

Kites up and Nigel Ingram's Farr 30, wild haggis and the two J70s were loving the conditions and gaining on Mojito. Wild haggis were planing at some impressive speeds. However the challenging conditions forced them to retire just moments before the course was shortened, in a hope to make repairs and rejoin later racing.

Peter Dunlop and Victoria Cox's J109 Mojito crossed the line first followed by Paul&Sam Kitteringham's Elan 350 Finally. Stephen Tudor & Mark Thompson's J70 Sgrech Bach then crossed the line with the kite up at tremendous speed, disappearing past Gimblet rock and heading towards the Fairway buoy before they got the kite down.

The second race and conditions had deteriorated with winds up to the 30s and rain and spray making it difficult to pinpoint racing marks. Another great start with everyone on the start line at the gun.

Downwind and Mojito were exercising caution, whereas Sgrech Bach wanting to make use of the J70s planing abilities again, hoisted their kite, only to end up on a prolonged broach allowing the rest of the fleet to pass them. Mojito finished first with another comfortable lead.

Then came a very close battle between Finally, Panache and Mojito Bach skippered by Chris Jones. After handicaps were applied Mojito Bach took 2nd. And with just 1 second splitting Panache and Finally, Panache took 3rd place, moving them up the final standings to 2nd overall in class 1.

The results were close and that one second meant that Finally had to settle for 3rd overall in class 1 with just half a point difference between them.

Crews are looking forward to the next racing weekend in two weeks time which includes the Santa special race before crews don their posh frocks and black ties for the club Christmas party. And what better than a blast round the St. Tudwall islands and back to clear the heads the morning after.

Full results, racing and party information can be found on the club website at www.PwllheliSailingClub.co.uk

Related Articles

Pwllheli Regatta 2024
Welcoming the return of the RNLI ALB The weekend saw the return of the Shannon class all weather lifeboat to Pwllheli and to mark the occasion Pwllheli Sailing Club, joined by a fleet from sister sailing club South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club (SCYC), formed a welcoming partyl Posted on 2 Jul
Musto ISORA race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire
Pwllheli Sailing Club yachts make up 9 of the 13 entries This weekend saw the ISORA (Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association) return race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire with a commendable entry list from Pwllheli Sailing Club making up 9 of the 13 entries. Posted on 27 May
IRC Welsh Nationals at Pwllheli
Glorious sailing weather for the event, which included the Sonata Welsh Championship It almost seems a certainty that the Welsh IRCs in Pwllheli brings glorious champagne sailing weather and this year conformed as usual. Posted on 23 May
3rd Musto ISORA Welsh Coastal Race at Pwllheli
With the IRC Welsh Nationals in Pwllheli quickly approaching Saturday's Musto ISORA coastal in Pwllheli was again split into two starts. Class 2 got off together heading west downwind along the beach, towards the first mark giving spectators a chance for photos. Posted on 29 Apr
2nd Musto ISORA Welsh Coastal Race at Pwllheli
Difficult to see any of the boats from onshore in the miserable weather Saturday saw the 2nd of the Musto ISORA Welsh coastal races. As always, boats are tracked using YellowBrick trackers - just as well as it was difficult to see any of the boats from onshore in the miserable weather. Posted on 16 Apr
Pwllheli Easter Racing
Run in conjunction with Musto ISORA Glorious sunshine welcomed the fleet at the start line for the first coastal race out of Pwllheli on Sunday run in conjunction with Musto ISORA. Posted on 2 Apr
Victory for young Welsh sailors at Celtic Cup
Youth and junior sailors battle at Pwllheli Welsh youth and junior sailors claimed the Celtic Cup on home waters at Pwllheli over a weekend of close competition with teams from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Posted on 13 Feb
Pwllheli Santa Special
Clear the ice, mull the wine, and don your hats An icy cold and wet day didn't deter the fleet for the popular Pwllheli Santa Special race on Saturday ahead of their black tie Christmas party and annual prize-giving. Santa hats were donned together with extra layers and residual ice was cleared. Posted on 5 Dec 2023
Pwllheli Autumn Challenge Series week 4
Weather window after Storm Ciarán doesn't make it easy Weekend 4, the penultimate weekend of the Pwllheli autumn challenge series made use of a weather window after storm Ciarán. Saturday started in rain and storm clouds with chilly winds around 20-23kts from the northeast. Posted on 6 Nov 2023
Pwllheli Autumn Challenge Series week 3
Glorious sunshine and flat glossy seas to start with Pwllheli was expecting strong gusty winds and rain showers from the tail end of storm Babet but the fleet woke to glorious sunshine and flat glossy seas for the start of the third weekend of the Autumn Series. Posted on 23 Oct 2023
Savvy Navvy 2024Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTER