ST CATHERINE’S Sailing Club hosted its annual Commodore’s and Double Handed Regatta on Sunday with some fantastic westerly winds.
Starting with a simple windward-leeward course, 22 boats took to the start line with quite a short beat up to the first mark and shifty winds saw lots of action at the mark rounding.
Marc Haslam in a Laser Standard was leading the fleet after the first lap, closely followed by David Carter and Ian Simpson in a RS200, with Laser Radial sailors Jamie Washington and Ollie Haslam also getting good starts and sailing well.
Some strong gusts during the second lap of the course caught many sailors out with capsizes aplenty and resulting changes in position.
The smaller sail dinghies managed to stay upright and gain time on the Laser standards who crossed the line first but after handicap adjustments, it was Henry Lucas and Jamie Washington who claimed first and second places in their Laser Radials, followed by Charlie Hewgill in a Laser 4.7 and Lottie Ohlsson in a Optimist.
Race Officer Donald Forbes laid a third mark for the next two races, to provide sailors with a triangular course and some exciting reaches.
Justin and Alison Horton in a 420 had a terrific start in the second race and led the fleet for the first lap, with some very close racing between Laser standard sailors Morgan Surcouf and Marc Haslam.
Lottie Ohlsson showed her ability to cope with the challenging conditions and scored a handicap adjusted bullet in the second race, followed by Morgan Surcouf and Henry Lucas. Richie Forbes and Liv Sherrington were the first double-handed boat in this race.
After two 30-40 minutes races, requiring a lot of hiking to keep the boats flat, the wind began to subside for the final race. David Carter led from the start and stayed in this position to claim a win in the third race.
The ongoing battle between Morgan Surcouf and Marc Haslam continued through this race and was almost a photo finish with Marc just pipping Morgan on the line.
George Edwards was the lead Optimist in this race, followed by Lottie Ohlsson and her sister, Izzy, and Luke Haydon, who completed all three races on a day when more experienced sailors retired.
Trophy winners were determined from results of all three of the day’s races, with no discard. The Commodore’s Cup went to Henry Lucas as the overall winner of the Regatta, and the Commodore’s Plate was won by Lottie Ohlsson, in second place. Third place went the way of another impressive youngster, Charlie Hewgill.
The experienced team of David Carter and Ian Simpson sailing claim the Louise Perkins Double Handed Trophy.
Full results can be seen on the club website scsc.org.je.
