Battle of Britain Regatta
XOD Class
29th & 30th September 2012
Due to a prior commitment the Hamble Division of the XOD
Class were unable to take part in the RAF YC’s main Battle of Britain regatta
that was held at the beginning of September. The re-arranged weekend was
combined with the Richard Donald Trophy and held over the last weekend in
September.
Saturday’s two races could not have been sailed in better
conditions. The 8 – 10 kt NW’erly breeze blowing down Southampton Water allowed
the Race Officer to set a good windward / leeward course in the morning without
too much influence from the tidal flow. Elliot Motherwell helming ‘Dux’ and
Nick Brebner’s ‘Lark’ gradually pulled away from the rest of the fleet to take
the top two spots with Hamish & Diana Wilson’s ‘Mischief’ 3rd.
The afternoon race was sailed around the cans and after the beat to the Sposa
buoy the building ebb tide took the fleet swiftly down to the Royal Southern
buoy before they had to work their way back against the tide to a finish at
Hamble Point. Again it was ‘Dux’ and ‘Lark’ that showed at the front of the
fleet. ‘Lark’ took the lead on the 2nd beat but failed to cover and
‘Dux’ sailed the better line to the next windward mark to regain the lead. The
final beat was a slow affair with most of the fleet choosing to head towards
shore to escape the tide. However David Oddie took ‘Magic Dragon’ out into the
tide early, picked up extra pressure and gained several places to finish 2nd
to ‘Dux’ with ‘Lark’ 3rd.
The forecast for Sunday was not promising with SW’erly Force
7 and rain on the cards for the afternoon. The start time of the first race was
brought forward to 11:00 but at 10:25 it looked as if the caution had been
premature. The light SW’erly breeze was barely enough for a fair windward / leeward
course to be set across the flooding tide. However, 20 minutes later the breeze
was up to 8 kts and continued to build during the morning until it was over
20kts on the final beat of the 2nd race. ‘Lark’ made the best start and held the
lead on the first lap but ‘Dux’ slowly hauled her in and then took the lead on
the last lap. Gerry Goulding sailing ‘Pepper’ with only one crew finished a
creditable 3rd. The final race of the weekend was a sharp dash
around the buoys near the entrance to Southampton Water. ‘Lark’ started best,
again, but this time she managed to keep the lead to the gun. ‘Dux’ finished 2nd
and ‘Pepper’ was 3rd.
Everyone was safely back in the clubhouse for reviving brew
and a 14:00 prizegiving where the club’s Rear-Commodore (Sailing) Marc Donohue
presented double winner Elliot Motherwell with both his prizes.
Overall Results: Top 5 Battle of Britain Regatta Richard
Donald Trophy
1st Elliot
Motherwell, 159, Dux Elliot
Motherwell, 159, Dux
2nd Nick
Brebner, 54, Lark Nick
Brebner, 54, Lark
3rd Gerry
Goulding, 150, Pepper Gerry
Goulding, 150, Pepper
4th Diana
Wilson, 13, Mischief Diana
Wilson, 13, Mischief
5th David
Oddie, 82, Magic Dragon John
Sparshatt, 118, Xavia
