SALCOMBE Yacht Club’s Sailing Club Series got underway on Saturday, April 25, and what better conditions for the 18-strong Yawl fleet than a Force Three easterly, high tide, and wall-to-wall sunshine, writes John Burn.

Numbers on the start line aren’t always this high, but they were boosted by the annual Salcombe Yawl training weekend—something the Fast Handicap fleet, who share the 14:00 start time with the Yawls, were less than happy about.

Nevertheless, they all set off on their merry way to Mark Four, with plenty of shiny new paint jobs on display and, in some cases, boats new to their crews.

Olly Turner and Chris Skelhorn in 186 edged into the lead as they entered South Pool Creek, just ahead of John Burn and Ross Borne in 170. This pair quickly managed to put a little breathing room between themselves and the marauding pack—just as well, as all that could be heard behind them were endless calls for Room! and Starboard!

Turner and Skelhorn remained in front, rounding the mark first just ahead of Burn and Borne, while John and Katy Meadowcroft led the main pack, which included the rocket ship Blinkie, Y17—aptly named, when you blink you'll definitely miss it.

The long downwind leg to Blackstone was relatively unremarkable at the front. 170 closed the gap on 186, but not enough to overhaul them. In fact, this pair continued their close duel throughout the afternoon: 186 would extend, only to be reeled back in by 170, but never quite enough for a pass.

Further back, it was a game of snakes and ladders—particularly in the Red Fleet. Y17, sailed by Tim Fells and Phil Maggee, was the first Blue Fleet Yawl and, remarkably (though now not entirely unexpectedly), led the chasing group of Red Fleet Yawls around Blackstone. They were what can only be described as miles ahead of the next Blue Fleet boat.

The Red Fleet battle included Y174, although they made the cardinal error of sailing into the Fairway pre-start and were therefore excluded. That left Y172 (Graham Cranford-Smith with Dan Bridger aboard), Y175 (the Meadowcrofts), and Y145 (Greg and Clare Hoar) battling it out for the minor placings.

As the afternoon progressed, the breeze faded—bad news for everyone except, you guessed it, Y17. As if it wasn't fast enough already, sub-8 knots is when this Yawl really fires up the burners.

Theres no doubt that one more leg would have seen Tim and Phil overhaul Y170 and Y186, but those ahead were spared the embarrassment as they completed the course just in time. However, Yawl racing is handicapped, and on corrected time Y17 comfortably took victory, with Y186 second and Y170 third.

Y172 won the battle behind, coming home in fourth ahead of Y145 and Y175 respectively. The remaining Blue Fleet boats were led home by Andrew and Izzy Wood in 126, with Mark Waterhouse and Nicola Bass in 74 just 33 seconds behind.

Saturday delivered again. High water, a warm April sun, and a steady F3 Easterly made for near-perfect conditions on the ria — flat enough to reward good boat-speed, breezy enough to keep everyone honest.

Seven ILCA 6s and three ILCA 4s made it out for the first race of the Club Series, and notably the first race of the season where the ILCA fleet got their own start. Course set was 4-2-3-2-3.

It was Steve Walter who made the pick of the starts — the cleanest getaway on what proved to be a fast beat up to mark 4 — and he led the fleet towards the entrance to Southpool Creek. A boom-over-buoyancy-aid moment during a tack led to a capsize, ending his charge there, and the fleet rolled on.

George Reynolds — who won both the Commissioning Race and the Festive Series with characteristic authority — led the fleet round mark 4, with Allan Willcox and Andrew Groves tucked in within a few boat lengths. George gradually extended, rounding 4 first, Allan second, Andrew third, Emily Hoar in fourth, and the rest of the fleet still working upwind.

The racing that followed had plenty of tactical interest. On the run from 4 to 2, George and Allan took the central line while Andrew went shore side; George led at 2, then Allan, then Andrew.

The tactical split that developed afterwards proved decisive: Andrew went town side, George and Allan took Portlemouth. Andrew came through to lead, with George holding second and Allan third — order confirmed again at mark 3.

Second time through to mark 2 the order held, but Allan peeled away to the Portlemouth shore while Andrew and George — well clear of the fleet — went town side. It paid. All three crossed the finish line within a few tens of seconds of each other after an hour of racing on the ria — a genuinely close conclusion that the racing deserved.

Andrew Groves took the win on corrected time — and first on the water — with George Reynolds second and Allan Willcox third.

Elsewhere, Steve Walter and Emily Hoar conducted a spirited battle through the mid-fleet — Steve adding a second capsize to his earlier one but getting round regardless. Jane Walker was out in her new laser for the first time — teething troubles aside, she seemed to enjoy every minute.

Suzy Andrews showed admirable resourcefulness, fixing a gear failure on Mill Bay beach mid-race before carrying on to finish. A warm welcome to Julia Mawdesley-Thomas on her first outing of the season, and good to see Karen Ballantine out again.

With thanks to Race Officer Simon Dobson and the safety boat teams.

A force three easterly and a high tide allowed Race Officer Simon Dobson to set a course into Yalton Creek returning to Blackstone, followed by two laps of the harbour, under a bright blue sky.

Thirteen Solo sailors made the start, and it was Chris Cleaves, Tim Law, Adrian Griffin, David Greening and Mark Sanken who held their lanes to clear the northern Fairway mark into the main anchorage ahead of the pursuing pack.

As the fleet turned into a shifty Yalton Creek, three boats pulled clear, with Cleaves rounding the windward mark ahead of Greening and Law, a close formation that was maintained down the run all the way to the Blackstone mark, where Law, being third to round was able to tack into Crab Pots, to be first to get some protection from the ebb tide, and took the lead on the beat up the Salcombe shore to Crossways.

Cleaves fell back while short tacking, which allowed Bill Jago and James Greenhill to move up into third and fourth.

This order was maintained despite some tactical choices regarding where to cross from Snapes to lay the Crossways mark, but the effect was to allow the fleet to spread out more by the time the fleet reached Blackstone.

With the breeze softening on the beat back from Blackstone, the Race Officer wisely raised the S flag, giving Law the win from Greening and Jago.