John and David Prentice’s Northshore 27 Hum has not been a regular starter in Division 4 so far in the Spring Series, but when she has raced she certainly has done well. Last Saturday was no exception with Hum sailing an excellent race to win on corrected time, to give her a 2-3-1 result in the three races she has contested so far this Spring.
Hum on Saturday's first work.
Saturday could only be described as a perfect day to be on the water although, unfortunately for the heavier boats in the division, the forecast of a 15-20 knot nor’easter did not eventuate.
The Squadron set an Easterly course for all divisions, which provided a challenging long beat to windward from the start line off Kirribilli to the first mark at Steel Point. In Division 4, this leg proved the critical factor in the end result.
Appreciating the lighter breeze after three weeks of fresh to strong breeze, Richard Staines Hood 23 Esquisse 2 quickly established a handy lead and, working the northern side of the Harbour and Bradley’s Head, was well clear of the fleet at the Steel Point mark.
Peter Campbell’s Bonbridge 27 Hornblower and Lyndsay Brown and Jim Littlefield’s Folkboat Dreamtime went looking for stronger breeze towards Clark Island but neither fared well in the light breeze.
Manhatten Transfer, Ian Lacey’s Seaway 25, also did well in the lighter breeze and, although eventually overtaken by the Hood 25 Kirsten II (John Bowman, Ken Chase and John Goldie) she sailed well throughout the 10.5 nautical mile course to finish 3rd across the line astern of Esquisse 2 and Kirsten II, with Hum a close 4th.
On corrected time, Hum took first place by 7 seconds from Esquisse 2 with another 50 seconds to Manhatten Transfer.
For Esquisse 2 it was an important place as, going into this 7th race of the Spring Series, she had been equal on points with Hornblower, both boats having an eight-point margin over the rest of the fleet in Division 4.
Provisionally, Esquisse 2 now moves again to a clear points lead from placings of 1-1-1-DNC-DNF-4-2 to be on 26 points without a discard. Hornblower, whose scorecard now reads 4-6-DNC-2-1-1-5, is on 29 points, with Kirsten II closing the gap to be on 36 points and Manhatten Transfer on 37 points after seven races.
Four more races remain to be sailed in the Spring Series, which also allows for three discard races.
Division 4 currently has nine boats racing regularly in the Spring Series, with the Short Inshore Series attracting up to 13 starters, with very close competition in most races. While the fleet was spread out on Saturday because of the early light and variable early breeze, in the constant fresher wind of the previous Saturday, only seven minutes separated the first seven boats to finish.
Hopefully, the Summer Series will attract more entries from similar types of small cruiser/racers such as Hood 23s, Folkboats, Bonbridge 27s, Hood 25s, Seaway 25s, Holland 25s and Catalina 28s. – Peter Campbell
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