Scarlet Oyster triumphs in Royal Lymington Yacht Club's Thursday series

THE Spencers Estate Agents-sponsored Royal Lymington Yacht Club Thursday Evening Race last week saw Scarlet Oyster take first place in the IRC Class one fleet.

Windy conditions

Of the six boats that entered the IRC class one race, Jelly Baby was the only yacht to elect for a port tack start, but it was Scarlet Oyster, in her first race of the series, who relished the windy conditions to lead around the top mark and the whole way to the finish.

She maintained her lead to win by 3:30 minutes. The two J105s, Jelly Baby and Jin Tonic took second and third respectively.

Five yachts entered the IRC class two race. The strong breeze suited Rory Heron and Dan Snow’s classic Swan 37 Mojitabel which punched her way to the top mark first. White Mischief weaved her way through the fleet to take the win by a little over a minute, followed by Colleen and Gravity split by six seconds.

Controversial infringement

In the J80s, No Regrets elected for an ambitious port tack start, only to be protested by Wild Cat who felt she had been infringed. At the finish, it was a win for No Regrets, followed by Traffic Jam who had made a good recovery.

Twenty Nordic Folkboats participated in the next race and Bonnie came out best on the first short beat and held Crackerjack in second place to the downwind mark.

However, Crackerjack’s better boat speed proved superior and she took her fifth win in six races to dominate the series. Bonnie held on for second with Padfoot taking third.

Michael Carrington’s Sweden 45 Susimi continued to show the Lymington handicap fleet the way, recording a third win in the series, this time by 6:30 minutes. Red Kite and Crinian fought a close battle around the eight-mile course to take second and third place respectively.