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Ladies Day in Belfast…..
Another great day of sailing on Belfast Lough run and well organised by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, saw two more races completed in light to medium shifting winds predominantly from the south. Both of the races were won by top Lady helms. In race 1 (which was race 4 of the series), GBR 720 “Aimee” helmed by Julia Bailey and crewed by her Husband Graham, with Dylan Potter & 10yr old William Heritage, made easy work of staying on the most favourable shift’s throughout the 2 upwinds and 2 downwind legs. They had to pay close attention to GBR 758 “Fever” helmed by Klaus Diederichs, crewed by Jamie Lea and America’s Cup helmsman Andy Beadsworth, on the final beat, but they held on to take the gun.
In race 2 of the day (race 5 of the series), it was fellow Solent Lady skipper Gavia Wilkinson-Cox who helmed her Petticrow “Jerboa” GBR 761 beautifully around the challenging course. After taking the lead on the first downwind leg, Gavia and her International crew of Rui Boia and Martin Payne chose to round the left-hand gate, which proved crucial as they were able to “Lee-Bow” the ebbing tide from Belfast Harbour, which helped to carry Jerboa away from the pursuing fleet…. As Gavia extended her lead, Julia Bailey was having the race of her life as she surged through the fleet despite rounding the first upwind mark in 28th position ! This fantastic recovery to finish 2nd behind Gavia, gives Julia and her 4 person team the overall lead after 5 races.
Second overall is yesterday’s leader Chris Hunt GBR 768 in “Dark & Stormy” who despite a 14th in race four, battled back to take a deserved 3rd place in race 5. With Klaus Diederichs right behind the leading two and Gavia hot in pursuit, tomorrow is set for a fanastic final day, with another 3 races planned.. Only 5 pts separate the leading 4 boats so everything is up for “Grabs” …. Will it be a Lady Helm who wins the Championship ? Or can the “Fever” run high and fast ? Or will it be a “Dark & Stormy” Day!!! 🙂
Higher, Faster, Longer………… Stavros. (GBR 761).