The Aveva Royal Southern September Regatta was combined with Bart's Bash on Sunday 21st.
Race 1 - Bart's Bash It was amazing to line up on an enormous start line (albeit one with a 30 degree starboard bias!) with around 50 other yachts ranging from 20 to 45 foot! With 5 minutes we to go we agreed on our plan; not focus on our position relative to the committee boat, just ensure we get clean air. With 30 seconds to go we were fully buried under a 45 footer, with not dirty air, but no wind at all, sat bolt upright! Not the best start to the day. After finally finding some space, sailing well, we were fully aware we were never going to get back with the pack. We didn't really care though, it was just a privilege to take part in creating a new record for the largest participation sailing regatta in honour of the late Andrew (Bart) Simpson. Race 2 and 3 - Aveva September Regatta In stark contrast, race 2 was epic. Now on a square start line with boats resembling more closely our own, we won the favoured pin end, instantly putting us out in front of the whole fleet. We then stayed perfectly in phase with the shifts up the first beat. By the first mark we had a very comfortable lead. By the finish line we had opened up a lead of 5m39s over second place. Race 3 wasn't such a brilliant start but we still in the right place. Sailing well again both in terms of boat handling and tactics, we opened up a huge lead of 6m53s by the finish. These two results meant that we comfortably took the prize for the winner of IRC Class 3 overall! Thank you to the Royal Southern for organising some great racing, to our crew for their great efforts and skill, and most importantly to Helen Hofmann for welcoming us onboard her beautiful yacht Jaslan! I hope to be back again next year. Olly
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I am very excited to be taking part in Bart's Bash onboard Helen Hofmann's J/97 Jaslan, racing with the Royal Southern Yacht Club. If you are unfamiliar with the event, see the extract below from the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation. "Andrew Simpson was a gold and silver Olympic medallist, an America’s Cup professional and an all round fantastic man who was tragically killed in a training accident on San Francisco Bay in May 2013. Andrew, or ‘Bart’ to his friends, was the person that everyone turned to for guidance, from beginners to people at the top of their game. Supporting the next generation was something he was extremely passionate about.Founded by Sir Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy OBE, Andrew’s wife Leah and his sister Amanda, the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation will work to honour Andrew’s life and legacy by encouraging youngsters into sailing. The Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation is planning a monster sized attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for 'The Largest Dinghy Sailing Race' in the World Ever, which we are calling 'Bart's Bash'!The idea is to have a mass participation club race simultaneously across the whole country. We know that pretty much every club in the country has a race on Sunday morning, with all kinds of boats taking part, the goal is to get everyone participating together to create one big race." The Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation For this special event, we needed a world class crew. Unfortunately, this is all we could manage.. I'm being kept out of harm's way behind the wheel with the infamous Jacko calling the shots (i.e. guessing which way to go up the beat). Helen, Richard, Pav, and Mason will be trying to make the boat go quickly to make up for dodgy driving and shaky tactics, whilst Ruth will make sure we have the right sail up at the front. What could possibly go wrong? Keep tuned in to Facebook and Twitter, to see how we get on!
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