Congratulations to Willem Wester and his formidable team on board the Grand Soleil 46 Antilope!

A convincing win at Key West Race Week deserves much credit!

IRC 3 (Shared start with High Performance)

1. Antilope, GBR46N, Willem Wester – 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, ; 14

2. Vitesse, USA4240, Jon Halbert – 5, 6/DNF, 1, 3, 3, 4, 3, 1, 4, 3, ; 33

3. Cool Breeze, USA60432, John Cooper – 3, 2, 3, 4, 2, 5, 4, 5, 3, 2, ; 33

4. White Gold, USA4994, James D. Bishop Sr. – 4, 3, 4, 2, 5, 3, 5, 2, 2, 4, ; 34

5. Sarah, USA52756, Greg Manning – 2, 4, 5, 5, 4, 2, 1, 4, 5, 5, ; 37

Great Work Willem!

Yikes! We’re already half way through the 2012 Tullett Prebon London Boat Show and it feels like we’ve barely started. The Key Yachting team are all fighting fit and as fresh as proverbial daisies; astonishing really, given the rapid pace of business here this year.

Before you ask or leap to peculiar conclusions, I can categorically state that our mental and physical wellbeing is not down to a new found interest in Ashtanga Yoga, a fat-buster exercise routine or organic health-food products. On the contrary, our renewed energy and enthusiasm is due in part to the recent expansion of the Key Yachting team (more on that later in this email) and largely because of the simple fact that we are thrilled with the quality of the product we are selling. All five of the shiny new ships that we have on exhibit here at the show are being displayed on The Boardwalk in the South Hall at London ExCel. And yes, we have already sold five new boats whilst we’ve been at the show.

We always knew that the Grand Soleil 39 would be a crowd-puller for us here in London. After all, she is the first of her kind here in the UK. Having watched her progress whilst she was in design, then through her build and finally the launch at the Genoa Boat Show we were always confident that she would be well received in the UK. What we had not anticipated was just how hungry the UK market is for a performance cruiser of this class. The GS39 is the smallest boat in the range by Grand Soleil, the perfect entry-level yacht for Grand Soleil and by crikey she’s a stunner!

The J/111 is without question the raciest boat at the show, and as such, she has pulled an eager buying crowd on to The Boardwalk. You may recall that the first J/111 in the UK was on show here just one year ago: that was hull number 6. Just twelve months down the line and the next order for a J/111 will list hull number 69 on the paperwork. She’s an absolute diamond and she continues to deliver the race results which will keep her at the top of the racing sailor’s wish list for 2012 and beyond.

Next door to the J/111 on The Boardwalk is the J/80. Nineteen years old and still looking foxy, the J/80 remains the Sportsboat of choice for the discerning (speed-junky, adrenaline hungry) yachtsman.  The fact that the 2012 J/80 World Championship will take place in Dartmouth, Devon in June is obviously appealing to sailors from a variety of other classes but the interest in her is as diverse and varied as ever and we are delighted to say that we will have new owners to welcome to the class once the boat show is over.

What’s 35 foot, races in forty boat one-design fleets and puts mile wide smiles on the faces of all who sail her? Well. I hardly need to clarify really, but for those of you who have been asleep on the start-line for the last ten years I’m talking about the J/109, of course. The popularity of the J/109 never ceases to astound me. Everyone who comes by the stand seems to have a J/109 story to tell. ‘I crew on one of these’, ‘My son races one of these’, ‘My mate would love to buy one of these’, ‘My daughter married a man she met on one of these’ (!) are all common anecdotes relating to the inimitable J/109. But still my personal favourite and the most frequent comment remains ‘We were passed by one of these…’

MJM Yachts (a range of high-tech, fuel efficient motorboats from the J Boats family) is a new brand for the Key Yachting portfolio and a welcome addition to the fleet. The MJM 29z is the smallest model in the range but foot for foot I suspect that she has accrued more attention here than any other motorboat on exhibit. The ladies and gentlemen of the motor-boating press have been paying their respects to the MJM 29 virtually incessantly since the show opened and so I am confident that you will read all about it throughout the spring editions of the magazines! Should you wish to size her up for yourself now is the time to do it; she’s resplendent on The Boardwalk and we look forward to showing you around.

If you do decide to make a trip to the show there is plenty here to see. The Outdoor Show which runs concurrently with the main event opens tomorrow and so your boat show ticket will deliver more bangs for your buck from here on in. Tomorrow night (Thursday) is late opening night and so if you are London based you should be able to get here after work and stay until 9pm should the mood take you. You will also have the opportunity to meet Annabel Shove, who joined our sales team just before Christmas and also Kim Vasey of Plymouth Yacht Brokers who will now be acting as a sub dealer for Key Yachting in the Westcountry.

Annabel joins us to work primarily with the Grand Soleil brand. She knows the industry well and has proved her sales ability and customer focus elsewhere in the industry. An active cruising sailor and boat owner, Annabel has accrued her Grand Soleil product knowledge as fast as a GS39 downwind in a blow. We’re delighted to have her as part of our team.

Kim has been selling boats since 1988 and sailing for much, much longer! He moved from Hamble to Plymouth to set up Plymouth Yacht Brokers and his extensive racing experience includes huge amounts of one-design racing and more recently a hugely successful double-handed offshore campaign in a J/105. Kim is really excited about our product range and it’s great to have him on board just as the Westcountry gears itself up for a full-on sailing year.

That’s a wrap from me for now. We really hope to see you here at the show. Happy new year to you all.

Southampton University Student Wins Prestigious Sailing Trophy

Will McGough (age 22), whilst studying for his finals in Aeronautical Engineering, also achieved sailing success with JOG (Junior Offshore Group) this year. Will was awarded the “Youth Challenge Trophy” when JOG held its prize-giving recently in Southampton. The prize is awarded to a participant under 25, for sailing ability, commitment to offshore racing and Corinthian spirit.

Will races aboard Just So, a J109, 36ft yacht with his Mum and Dad, Mary and David. During the summer Just So won races from Cowes to Dartmouth and St Peter Port as well as from Cherbourg to Cowes and was second overall in the series. Furthermore she was placed 2nd in JOG’s 60th anniversary regatta in Falmouth.

Will is clearly on a winning streak and he has also found himself a job, albeit he hopes this will not interfere with his sailing in 2012! Mary and David, on the other hand, are looking forward to Will’s pending financial contributions towards Just So’s running costs!

INNOVATIONS INTRODUCED FOR WARSASH SPRING SERIES 2012

Warsash Spring Series is now in its 29^th year and the 2012 event gets underway from Sunday 18^th March. Again the Spring Series and Spring Championship will follow the popular tried and tested formula but the race management team at Warsash Sailing Club has also taken on board feedback from competitors with a view to improving the event still further.

• New for the 2012 Spring Series will be a J-Sprit class for J/105, J/100, J/97, J/95 and J/92 designs, racing together under IRC ratings. Spring Series Chairman Peter Bateson commented: “We feel this addition will benefit those boats with very similar sailing characteristics and competitors can enjoy courses designed for them, rather than sharing with conventionally rigged boats.”

• The Spring Championship weekends, with racing on Saturday and Sunday, are being held on 21^st/22^nd and 28^th/29^th April. Classes for 2012 can include the whole of IRC1 and IRC2, rather than being limited to the light displacement “big boats” of previous years. Racing will also be arranged for triallists aiming at selection for the Brewin Dolphin Commodore’s Cup.

• A text messaging system is being tried for 2012 which will improve pre-race communications with competitors.

Sports boats (up to 8.5m LOA and DLR 160 or less) are welcome to enter under IRC and if at least eight are entered by 9^th March, then a separate sports boat class can be provided.

Lower-rated IRC4 boats are especially welcome in the Series and will again have a 1000 start from their own line closer to the mainland shore off Hill Head.

The Spring Series will include four IRC classes plus J/109, Sigma 38, Laser SB3 and J/80 in addition to the new J-Sprit division. Spring Championship weekends will cater for IRC1 and IRC2 boats as well as J/109, J/80, Farr 45, Laser SB3  and Quarter Ton classes plus triallists for the Brewin Dolphin Commodore’s Cup.

The provisional Notice of Race is now published on www.warsashspringseries.org.uk and competitors will be pleased to know that entry fees have been kept at their 2011 rates.

Winter finally came to the Garmin Hamble Winter Series in time for the final race, to show crews just how lucky they’ve been throughout the unseasonably warm event.

A brisk, cold westerly wind that fluctuated between 10 and 25 knots gave the assembled sailors a challenge when it came to choosing a sailplan, not to mention working out how to make their boat go quickly upwind in a nasty chop. The regular finishing positions in many classes were turned on their head as boats came from behind after a windy series’ practice to beat the top-placed boats.

In many classes, the overall series winner has been obvious for some weeks now – and in these classes the real battles were for the remaining podium places, especially in the Sigma 38 class, where Persephone of London and Pavlova III were tied neck-and-neck for second place, and in IRC 4, where Peter Slimming’s Anne Louise and Allan Fraser’s Sigma 33 Prospero of Hamble have been fighting tooth and nail for third place overall. Pavlova III pulled out all the stops and won their race to take second overall, behind Chris and Vanessa Choules’ With Alacrity. Anne Louise beat Prospero of Hamble in IRC 4 to take third overall, behind Impala 28’s Polly and Trudi.

In IRC 0, Andrew Howard’s Grand Soleil 46 Belladonna carried on her run of firsts to take the top spot, but having only sailed three races this series, this could only take her up to 6^th overall – leaving Paul and Julia Aisher’s ultra-consistent Tangent Minus One to win overall. Similarly, in IRC1, Jim MacGregor’s Premier Flair crossed the line first, but it was the consistent Visit Malta Puma that takes the overall prize with the J/111 Jenga taking second overall.

Despite electrical and engine problems on the way to the startline, Mike Bridges’ Elan 37 Elaine won IRC2. That puts them equal on points with overall winner Steady Barker, who retired from the race after a navigational error but wins overall on countback.

In the J/109 class, David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish won, with overall winner, Richard and Valerie Griffith’s OutraJeous finishing sixth. In IRC3, ImaDjinn beat J/97 Jika-Jika, but this wasn’t enough to stop Jika-Jika taking the overall prize. And, as ever it was a match between J/80 Jester and Hunter 707 Turbulence in the Mixed Sportsboat class, with Jester taking the day’s race, but Turbulence taking the overall class prize.

Day prizes were provided by MDL, and that rounds off the 2011 Garmin Hamble Winter Series nicely. All that’s left is the prizegiving next Saturday, at 1800 in the HRSC clubhouse. Now winter has finally set in, we’ll see you there for some much-needed warmth!

Next year’s series will be run from the 7^th October – 2^nd December – see the website for full programme and final results.

www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk

The race team faced a dilemma this week in the penultimate race day of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series. An approaching front early on Sunday morning saw the forecast predicting gusts of 32 knots at start time, reducing to 10 knots by late afternoon. PRO Jamie Wilkinson made a good call with a 2 hour postponement that proved popular with crews, giving time for a leisurely breakfast or lie-in as the wind shrieked in the rigging.

The gusts were still hitting 27 knots as the fleet headed out, and many boats sported reefs and small sails. A strong weather-going spring tide created a sharp chop with the consistency of concrete, making upwind progress tricky. But the wind gradually decreased as the day went on, and by 1500 crews were scrambling to power their boats up and enjoying some flat water and a steady breeze as they beat home.

Belladonna continued her winning form in IRC 0, winning by a large margin. In IRC 1, Jim MacGregor’s Premier Flair beat rival Visit Malta Puma by 22 seconds to take the top spot. Close rivals Elaine and Steady Barker had a close race in IRC 2, with Elaine taking the win. Past form continued in the J/109 class. Where Richard and Valerie Griffith in OutraJeous took a stonking lead over second-placed Offbeat. J/97 Jika-Jika had similar success in IRC 3, ahead of Archambault 31 ImaDjinn.

As has been the case throughout the series, the Sigma 38 class hosted some of the closest racing in the fleet. Chris and Vanessa Choules in With Alacrity kept ahead of Persephone in second and Pavlova III in third to cement their first-placed series placing.

IRC 4 also had some close racing this week, with positions changing throughout the race. Impala 28 Polly won on handicap ahead of Sigma 33 Prospero of Hamble. In the mixed sportsboat class, sponsored by Rib Shop, J/80 Jester beat Hunter 707 Turbulence by 30 seconds to take the top prize.

After a chilly day’s racing, as winter finally moves in after a seriously warm series, a packed clubhouse provided some welcome warmth as crews piled in for the prizegiving, with prizes this week from Yachts and Yachting and, for Sportsboats, from Rib Shop.

Next weekend is the final race of the 2011 Garmin Hamble Winter Series. While the long-term forecast is for some serious breeze, here’s hoping for a gentle end to the series!

Full results: www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk

The Grand Soleil 39

I thought that you might be interested to see the most recent sailing shots of the new Grand Soleil 39. I think it’s fair to say that she is an extremely pretty yacht. She enjoys interior volume which more than matches other high performance 40 footers and everyone who has sailed her so far has been impressed.

Launched at the recent Genoa Boat Show and making her UK debut with Key Yachting at the London Boat Show in January, the success of the Grand Soleil 39 has taken us all by storm: the twenty-four boats which are scheduled to be built between now and the end of next year have all been sold and of three have been ordered by Key Yachting by clients based in the UK and one of these boats is still available for Spring 2012 delivery. If you would like to find out more, please just give us a call.

Grand Soleil Brokerage

And it’s not just the Grand Soleil 39 which has been selling fast: Key Yachting has recently sold so many pre-owned Grand Soleils that our Brokerage list is looking sadly depleted. No matter what you may read about the global economy in the press at the moment, please take it from us, that our little corner of Hamble High Street is currently a hot-spot for sales of new and pre-owned Grand Soleils.

Key Yachting is the only Grand Soleil dealer in the UK and Ireland and our dedication to the brand, extensive product knowledge and close working relationship with the building yard, Cantiere del Pardo clearly pays dividends.

If you are considering selling or trading in your Grand Soleil, we would welcome the opportunity to assist. Please remember that we offer extremely advantageous brokerage terms to owners who are selling boats from our own portfolio: Grand Soleil, J Boats and MJM Yachts. Do please contact us if you thing we might be able to help you change boats for the 2012 season.

Grand Soleil Brokerage – Featured Boat – GS50 Sidney II

Designed by Judel and Vrolik, Sidney II is a fabulous Grand Soleil 50. A fast, safe and comfortable cruiser, fitted with the popular three cabin layout and electric opening transom.

Built in the winter of 2007 and commissioned in March 2008, Sidney was then displayed at the Southampton Boat Show 2008. She is maintained to the highest standard and available for viewing in the UK immediately.

• Teak decks
• Sails by North and Doyle
• Raymarine electronics
• Upgraded electric winches
• Bow thruster
• Eberspacher cabin heater

If you’re looking for a luxury, go-anywhere boat that’s easy to handle short-handed and yet delivers stunning performance, the Grand Soleil 50 is exactly what you need.

Sidney II is priced at £329,500, tax paid.

A suitably eerie mist  descended to finish off the Halloween weekend, and with it the latest instalments in the Garmin Hamble Winter Series and Rule 26 Hamble Big Boat Series.

Marine Yacht Graphics & Corporate Clothing Company Rule 26 sponsored the Hamble Big Boat Series, with racing on both days for a large fleet of 15 boats in IRC 0 and four Farr 45’s. Saturday’s steady 8-12 knots tracked slowly right during the day to get four races in by 1500. In IRC0, Tokoloshe won the day’s first two races, but Neil Martin’s  J/133 Jammy Dodger took the second half’s top spot. Her sistership, the J/133 Jeronimo (owned by Robert and Jackie Dobson) put in a solid performance with two podium positions, as did the Swan 42 Brevity, who took two seconds. In the Farr 45 class, Niklas Zennstrom’s Ran won 3 out of the day’s four races, with Alice II second overall after a 2, 2, 1, 3 scoreline.

With the end of BST and an hour’s extra sleep, Sunday dawned with 12-18 knots from the WSW, which let the race team squeeze two races in for all classes in the Rule 26 Big Boat Series and Garmin Hamble Winter Series, which this week was supported by One Sails GBR. With windward-leeward courses for all classes, the race area became a little congested at times, but courses of different lengths kept classes apart in a fine drizzle that gave way to a damp mist.

Peter Rutter’s Grand Soleil 43OT Quokka 8 won both races in IRC 0, ahead of Bob in race 1 and Tokoloshe in race 2, but it wasn’t enough to stop Tokoloshe taking the series overall. Ran won both her races to complete her near-perfect weekend scoreline in the Farr 45 class, but it was Simon Henning’s Alice II that sailed consistently well to take first overall in the Rule 26 Hamble Big Boat Series.

In IRC 1, Jim MacGregor’s Premier Flair won both races convincingly – but the racing was close in the whole fleet, with only 39 seconds separating 5^th and 8^th place. Match 38 Steady Barker continued her run of form in IRC 2, ahead of Elan 37 Elaine, who scored two second places.

J/97 Jika Jika, sailed by Mike and Jamie Holmes, topped IRC 3 in both races. In the J/109s, Just So won the first race, while OutraJeous took the second. Thanks go to the J/109 class who managed to finish their own race after a communications mixup with the finish-line boats led to a brief but conspicuous absence of committee boats at the finishing line.

Some of the closest racing of the day was seen in the evergreen Sigma 38 class. Chris and Vanessa Choules’ With Alacrity took the first race, with many a needle match throughout the fleet. Max and Rebecca Walker won the second race in Pavlova III, giving them a 2 point lead overall in this competitive fleet.

Impala 28 Polly headed the IRC 4 class, pursued hotly by Peter Slimming’s Hunter 30 Anne Louise, and Graham Edwards’ beautifully varnished self-built My Dream not far behind. The mixed sportsboat fleet had a mix of classes this week, and saw J/80 Jester and Hunter 707 Turbulence taking a race each.

In the club after racing, Rule 26 and One Sails GBR handed out prizes for the top boats present in all classes.

So after four weekends, where competitors have experienced everything from big breezes to calms, fog and drizzle, next weekend sees a mid-series break. The fifth weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series returns in a fortnight, with day sponsor Southern Ropes. The end result of the series is far from certain, with some tantalizing battles lining themselves up in each class. See you then!

Full Results: www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk

Robert and Jackie Dobson’s J/133 Round Cleanly – Photo by Hamo Thornycroft

David Ballantine’s J/133 Jings – Photo by Hamo Thornycroft

Richard and Hilary Barnes Comet 41 on the pace! – Photo by Hamo Thornycroft

Two New Models for Key Yachting at the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show 2012

Key Yachting Ltd will be exhibiting four stunning boats on the Boardwalk from the 6th to 15th of January 2012 at the London Boat Show . From Italy, the beautiful new and much heralded Grand Soleil 39 makes her UK debut at the show this year.  New to Europe, the impressive and elegant MJM 29z Motorboat will also be on exhibit at the London Show, and this is a motorboat that sailors absolutely must see. From J Boats there will be the International J/111, fresh from her 2011 Class wins at Cowes Week and the Round the Island Race. The inimitable J/80 Sportsboat will also be on show before the whole fleet heads west for the J/80 World Championship in Dartmouth, Devon, in June 2012.

The Grand Soleil 39

The Grand Soleil 39 is extraordinarily sleek and stylish performance cruiser-racer. She features flush decks and hatches along with recessed roller furling for the non-overlapping headsail. She has an open transom, a large, ergonomic cockpit and twin wheel steering. This is a design feature which has proven practical and popular with both cruising and racing sailors alike on other successful Grand Soleils. Below decks the GS39 offers the same interior volume as the GS40: eight berths in three cabins and the saloon, a classic ‘L’ shaped galley and an option for a second heads. She has a highly efficient hull shape designed to ensure minimum wetted surface under sail and a T-shaped keel to drive upwind speed. The high ballast ratio means that the Grand Soleil 39 can easily support her powerful sail plan whilst remaining extremely well mannered and manageable even with just a small crew.

The MJM 29z

MJM Yachts are high-tech, fuel efficient powerboats which have been designed with sailors in mind. Founded in 2002 by Bob Johnstone, who 25 years earlier had co-founded J Boats, Inc, the leading brand of performance sailboats worldwide. Bob Johnstone’s focus these key deign credentials have been carried over into MJM Yachts. MJM Yachts unique selling point is their extremely high tech design and construction. This delivers outstanding, sea-keeping performance, fuel economy and resale value. Equipped with a Volvo 300 hp diesel the MJM 29 peaks at 34 knots and yet in cruise mode she produces class-topping fuel economy.

The MJM 29z ‘Downeast’ version comes equipped with living-room style comfort for ten people in the cockpit, protected from sun or rain under a hardtop and optional bimini. Below decks you can expect satin-finished cherry woodwork, six foot headroom and living space which rivals some of her far larger contemporaries. The MJM 29z is available with two or four berths.

The J/111

Launched at the end of 2010, the 36 foot J/111 from J Boats was designed as an International One-Design race-boat. The fact that she has had such an astonishingly successful first year on race-tracks around the world (IRC and PHRF) is more than an added bonus; in fact, the J/111 has set the precedent for her market and she has been nominated as European Performance Yacht of the Year for 2011/2012.

The J/111 is a purposeful-looking, thoroughly performance-orientated boat. Overhangs are minimal, effective waterline is maximised with a vertical plumb bow and transom and all the way through the boat the emphasis is on keeping the centre of gravity low and on keeping the weight down. She is a long, slender boat with a low freeboard for her length. The Hall Spars carbon rig uses a proprietary nanotechnology to maximise stiffness for the given light weight and the powerful high aspect twin spreader rig uses a non-overlapping jib and a 130sq m kite for max downwind horsepower. Notwithstanding, she is balanced and easily driven as her third place in the 2011 double handed Fastnet Race proves.

Put simply, there is nothing like the J/111 on the market at the moment: her race results speak for themselves and she has proved herself time and time again across a variety of conditions both inshore and offshore.  ISAF is due to ratify the International Class Rules in January 2012 and the International One-Design Circuit for the next three years has been published.

The J/80 Sportsboat

Sportsboat classes come and go but at the ISAF J/80 Sportsboat (now in her eighteenth year) has truly come of age. By way of celebration the J/80 Class is bringing the 2012 World Championship to Dartmouth in June.

Fast, fun and extremely exciting to sail the J/80 is a long-term winner. Strict one-design class rules for racing and a crew weight limit ensures close competition and superb, tactical racing. This is one of the reasons why the J/80 has proved so popular over the years. The fact the Worlds are coming to the UK (and to the beautiful Dartmouth to boot) is of course a major draw at the current point in time. Over 1400 J/80s have been sold worldwide and the class is still growing fast. J/80s are raced competitively by men and women of all ages and that’s another reason that the Class is so dynamic.

Delightfully easy to sail, yet capable of 18 knots on a breezy day, the J/80 has its own class for the Round the Island Race and at Cowes Week and at many other regattas around the UK.

Grand Soleil 39

MJM 29z

J/80 by Peter Newton

J/111 by Onne van de Wal

This weekend HRSC hosted some close racing and some epic on-water battles in the Hamble Autumn Championships and Garmin Hamble Winter Series, in conditions that ranged from gusty to exciting. There was some masterful sailing – and the odd impressive wipeout – across the fleet.

Saturday was the start of the second Hamble Autumn Championships weekend, with racing on two courses for J/80, Laser SB3, J/109, Quarter Ton and Impala 28 classes. The wind, a gusty and shifty SSE’ly of 14-18 knots, provided some useful shifts for competitors, allowing some to make big gains. Race officers Jamie Wilkinson and Ian Sumner set good windward-leeward courses, and all classes enjoyed some extremely close combat over the day’s four races.

In the J/80 class, Phil Taylor had a perfect scoreline of four firsts in J.A.T, while J2X had three second places. In the J/109’s each race had a different winner, with OutraJeous, Velvet Elvis, Stalker and AudaJious taking a bullet each. Special mention here to David Jobson and his crew on Audajious for notching up their first ever win and in extremely tricky conditions too. In the Quarter Ton class, Ian Southworth and Liz Rushall’s Whiskers continued her run of form, scoring four firsts. In the Impala 28 class, Polly went home with four wins, with Trudi second.

Saturday night’s Crew Party, in aid of “Toe in the Water”, caused a few sore heads on Sunday morning. Sunday’s forecast was for more wind than Saturday, and predicted it would build in the afternoon. The J/109s and Impalas raced with the Garmin Hamble Winter Series fleet from a start near Fastnet Insurance buoy, while the smaller Hamble Autumn Championship boats had their own course nearer to Hamble. For both, the SE’ly wind built through the day to reach 26 knots by mid-afternoon, with large waves cascading down the Eastern Solent.

The J/80s, SB3s and Quarter Tonners sailed 3 races on Sunday. In the J/80 class  J2X edged past J.A.T to take the first two races, and John Cooper’s Oi! beat both of them in the final race of the series, but it wasn’t enough to keep J.A.T off the top spot overall. IWhiskers won the Quarter Tonners overall, 16 points ahead of Bullet in second.

In the Spinlock sponsored main fleet racing of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, the race team made a popular early call to run only one race.  In the Autumn Championships fleet, John McQuillan’s Happy won the Impala class, while Richard and Valerie Griffiths’ OutraJeous won the J/109s. In IRC 0, Brevity continued her winning form, while in IRC 1, Visit Malta Puma won convincingly. Michael Brough’s Steady Barker won the IRC 2 class, and ImadJinn took IRC 3. In the Sigma 38s, Max and Rebecca Walker pipped Nigel Goodhew’s Persephone over the line to take the top spot after a close-fought battle around the course, while in IRC 4, Impala 28 Trudi was first in class. In the mixed sportsboat class, depleted this week due to the Autumn Championships, Paul French’s Hunter 707 Turbulence was the only finisher, but revelled in the strong winds and big waves downwind.

Back at the clubhouse, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series day sponsor Spinlock provided prize vouchers, champagne and Spinlock products for the highest-placed boats present from each class.

There are now some promising battles lining up for the rest of the series, particularly in the Sigma 38 class, where Pavlova and Persephone are tied for the top spot and in IRC4, where first and second place currently have equal points and an identical scorecard. That means that next weekend, where competitors get an extra hour in bed thanks to the clocks going back, should witness some close and unmissable racing.

Next weekend sees the return of the Rule 26 Hamble Big Boat Series on both days, as well as the fourth weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, with day sponsor OneSails GBR.

Full results: www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk