Series: Westmacott Regatta
01 | X84 Nanette
02 | X150 Pepper
03 | X36 Dolphin
04 | X21 Sartu
05 | X96 Fantasy
With a contingent of three Hamble X-boats turning out for the Westmacott Regatta, in Portsmouth Harbour, it was a welcome first race of the year for X96 Fantasy to make it up to the 5 boats racing from Hamble. A tricky northerly breeze kept twisting and turning all afternoon, providing opportunities to pick up or slide down 2 or 3 places in a matter of a minute. All boats admitted afterwards it was more dependent on luck than good judgement. Pockets of breeze appeared to lift and drop on to the water with no predictability – the one saving grace was the lack of ‘Solent chop’! Tide was also a large factor with a split in the fleet from Cutter to East Knoll (which amazingly bore no fruit for either side) and an interesting tide quandary from Hill Head back to Cutter – when to tack into it and fight up to the mark?
Overall, Nannette had etched out a bit of a lead but by the time the end of the race was called at Deck (Rule 4!), all boats had been bunched up by a runaway ebb tide. The only way home was on the end of kind tows from one of the many passing Hamble bound yachts as XODs bobbed backwards past Reach.
