WINTER SERIES FINALE
The 2023/24 Winter Series reached it's conclusion on Sunday 25th February with the final race being a replacement for the Christmas Eve race which was cancelled due to stormy weather. This cancelled race was the only race of the whole series which wasn't favourable. Most Sunday's apart from being chilly was sunny and light winds.
There was a record entry this year with 35 boats entered and more than 24 boats turning out consistently for every race. The Fleet was split into 2 classes dependant on rating and ranged from SB20s to a 24ft H Boat. The races were all around 90 minutes duration with separate courses for each class to try to finish both within the same time frame. This did result in chaotic starts and finishes with a nightmare in the identification of boats as they crowded the finish line.
At the beginning it looked as if the SB20s were going to steal all the honours but as the series continued and there were more longer legs to the courses the bigger boats came back into it. Several new boats did well considering the skippers were sailing unfamiliar boats but experience won out.
In Class 1 the series winner was the Corby 25 skippered by Graeme Edmundson of SYC with a points total of 13, second was our own THYC Hooligan "the boat" skippered by Phil Hope with a points total of 16 and then third Still Game skippered by Dave Addison of SYC also with a points total of 16 but with a 3rd place last race as opposed to Hooligan's 1st place.
In Class 2 the class winner was INXS a Albin Express skippered by Gordon Spence of SYC with a point total of 8. A great result considering this was a new boat for Gordon. Second place went to Tiger Rag a Sonata from WYC skippered by Nathanial Drake with 10 points. Another great result with this being one of the slowest boats but very competitively sailed to achieve 3 x 1st places, 2 x 2nd and a third on corrected time. Third place was also a great result for High Spirits a Sigma 33 of THYC skippered by Ken Anderson in his first ever competitive series.
A super series of races complemented by a social, eating and prize giving at the club after every race. Thanks to the Anthony Cooper of THYC for the organisers, Natalie Sadler who did the catering, the various OODs who put their lives on the line and a special thanks to Alan Henderson of Hartlepool Marina without whose help with moorings and organisation we couldn't run the event.
