PRESS RELEASE 3RD DECEMBER 2001.

The very competitive and successful Hamble Winter Series, run by Hamble River Sailing Club, ended on 2nd December with a last day of racing that had shifty light winds from the NE, later veering towards the E. The battle in the Race1 sponsored IRM class, with the high performing grand prix racing boats, was very close and it was a hard fight for the final overall positions.

There was a good turnout, even without Yeoman and the IC45 Bounder that had usually sailed, with 6 Race1 Ker 11.3s and 2 Farr 40s, plus the addition of the Ker designed Roaring Meg, with the designer sailing as part of the crew.

The fight for top spot was between the 11.3 I-Site (Robbie Cameron-Davies with Dave Lenz helming) and the Farr 40 Too Steamy (Nick Haig), with I-Site going into the final day one point ahead. There was an equally close fight for third overall between the 11.3s El Gringo (Nick Hartshorn) and Basic Cat (alias Kerisma) on charter to Michael Cover and his team.

I-Site went straight into battle in the first race and covered Too Steamy up the first leg, followed by the two having a private duel down the first run. Roaring Meg, the smallest boat, found the right route to lead at the weather mark while everybody else overstood when the wind shifted hard left. Meg held this until the second windward leg when the 11.3 Cracker took the lead. I-Site had pulled through very well and took over second position on the second run while Too Steamy could not extricate herself from lower down the fleet.

At the finish at the end of the third windward leg, Cracker held on to the lead to win from I-Site. This was a remarkable result by Cracker as she had three guest helmsmen having their first sail the tactics on an 11.3, all of whom helmed at different times during the race. This included Edward Wylleman, who had already won IRC Class 3 with his X332, Alex Whatley and Jason Owen, while Race1’s Philip Crebbin handled the tactics. The next three places were also taken by 11.3s, El Gringo, Fair Do’s V (John Shepherd) and Basic Cat. Too Steamy was 7th which left her with a lot to do in the final race.

El Gringo took the lead early in the final race and was never seriously challenged. At the beginning of the second windward leg, the Farr 40 Warlord was second followed by Cracker, Too Steamy and another 11.3 Minnie the Moocher (being sailed for the first time by Ian Gould and his team from his Mumm 36 Monsoon). Too Steamy found the best route to get clear in second place and with I-Site well down, the battle for the series was not yet over. At the finish at the end of the third windward leg, El Gringo won from Too Steamy, with Minnie third and Fair Do’s fourth. I-Site did well to get back to 6th behind Meg in 5th, which was enough to secure the overall series win by one point from Too Steamy. El Gringo’s 3rd and 1st on the last day put her securely in third overall followed by Basic Cat, Fair Do’s V and Cracker.




		PRESS RELEASE - 2 DECEMBER, 2001. I-SITE TOPS THE RACE1 SPONSORED IRM CLASS IN THE HAMBLE WINTER SERIES 2001 The very competitive and successful Hamble Winter Series, run by Hamble River Sailing Club, ended on 2nd December with a last day of racing that had shifty light winds from the NE, later veering towards the E. The battle in the Race1 sponsored IRM class, with the high performing grand prix racing boats, was very close and it was a hard fight for the final overall positions. There was a good turnout, even without Yeoman and the IC45 Bounder that had usually sailed, with 6 Race1 Ker 11.3s and 2 Farr 40s, plus the addition of the Ker designed Roaring Meg, with the designer sailing as part of the crew. The fight for top spot was between the 11.3 I-Site (Robbie Cameron-Davies with Dave Lenz helming) and the Farr 40 Too Steamy (Nick Haig), with I-Site going into the final day one point ahead. There was an equally close fight for third overall between the 11.3s El Gringo (Nick Hartshorn) and Basic Cat (alias Kerisma) on charter to Michael Cover and his team. I-Site went straight into battle in the first race and covered Too Steamy up the first leg, followed by the two having a private duel down the first run. Roaring Meg, the smallest boat, found the right route to lead at the weather mark while everybody else overstood when the wind shifted hard left. Meg held this until the second windward leg when the 11.3 Cracker took the lead. I-Site had pulled through very well and took over second position on the second run while Too Steamy could not extricate herself from lower down the fleet. At the finish at the end of the third windward leg, Cracker held on to the lead to win from I-Site. This was a remarkable result by Cracker as she had three guest helmsmen having their first sail the tactics on an 11.3, all of whom helmed at different times during the race. This included Edward Wylleman, who had already won IRC Class 3 with his X332, Alex Whatley and Jason Owen, while Race1’s Philip Crebbin handled the tactics. The next three places were also taken by 11.3s, El Gringo, Fair Do’s V (John Shepherd) and Basic Cat. Too Steamy was 7th which left her with a lot to do in the final race. El Gringo took the lead early in the final race and was never seriously challenged. At the beginning of the second windward leg, the Farr 40 Warlord was second followed by Cracker, Too Steamy and another 11.3 Minnie the Moocher (being sailed for the first time by Ian Gould and his team from his Mumm 36 Monsoon). Too Steamy found the best route to get clear in second place and with I-Site well down, the battle for the series was not yet over. At the finish at the end of the third windward leg, El Gringo won from Too Steamy, with Minnie third and Fair Do’s fourth. I-Site did well to get back to 6th behind Meg in 5th, which was enough to secure the overall series win by one point from Too Steamy. El Gringo’s 3rd and 1st on the last day put her securely in third overall followed by Basic Cat, Fair Do’s V and Cracker. CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS TABLE ON THE HRSC WEBSITE.