After a slight delay waiting for the wind to fill in, the British Classic Week fleet enjoyed champagne sailing for the Long Inshore Race sponsored by Classic Boat magazine on day five of the regatta.
The fleet set off on the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) combined line in 10-12 knots with a westerly running tide. There was some close tacking upwind off the line as the yachts began the long first leg up to Solent Bank in the West.
Rounding the mark to port, spinnakers were hoisted in Solent sunshine as the fleet steered towards the Isle of Wight shore to get in out of the tide. Gybing before the mark and rounding to port, it was a tight reach to Craft Insure. Some opted to drop kites at the mark, others held code zeros or spinnakers (just!), making sure the strong westerly tide in the middle of the Solent didn’t carry them down too far.
Tacking around Craft Insure to port, it was a beat with the tide to Cowes Radio and back downwind under spinnakers to The Boss. The fleet created quite a spectacle in the Solent sunshine gliding down under a rainbow of coloured kites.
With the afternoon drawing to a close, the Race Officer shortened course for Class 3 at The Boss. Classes 1 and 2 continued from The Boss on a westerly leg upwind to Hampstead Lodge. Rounding the mark to port and hoisting spinnakers as they went, the fleet tucked close inshore out of the tide down to the RYS finish, passing Gurnard to port on their way.
With a shortened course for Class 3, there was no overall race winner. Spirit 52 Happy Forever won Class 1, Whooper continued her winning streak in Class 2, and Cereste won in Class 3.
Over in the north of the Solent near Hamble Yacht Services, the 6mR classes had two races in glorious conditions. In the Classic Division, Abu took two race wins and in the Open Division Oiva won Race 6 and Battlecry won Race 7. Abu and Oiva are currently winning their respective divisions with one day’s racing left.
