Report thanks to Mick Kneale. Photos from Moe Hal

The postponed 2007 Hamblin Round Race took place on Saturday 21^st July. A disappointing six entries, including two from England, set off to race around the Island anti-clockwise from Port St Mary at 0900. There were 3 boats in each class, IRC and PY. The forecast was light North-Easterlies for the day. This is how it was at the start, but before the leading boats even reached the Carrick the fickle and fading breeze had veered 8 points into the SE. It took an hour to round Langness, then the wind died completely, so the boats went nowhere for another hour, sails flapping uselessly and not even any tide to propel them along at slack water.

At 1100, the forecast NE breeze filled in and the beat to the Point of Ayre began, with the favourable new flood strengthening. The first boat to get the breeze was the Hamble based J.109 Jumunu, sailed by Iain Fenna and crew. Followed a couple of minutes later by the other J.109 in the race, local yacht, Stanley’s Banjo, owned by IOMYC Commodore Andy Roy, sailed on this occasion by Mick Kneale and crew. A few minutes later the third IRC yacht got the breeze but the boats had telescoped apart on the course and Bobby Moore’s Dehler 36, Quantum, from Douglas, never had a chance to reduce the gap.

In the PY class, Bill Cochran’s Shamrock 30, Cavalier, from Douglas, was not far behind the bigger boats at this stage, followed by the Eyghtene 24, Wild Thyme, from Ribble Cruising Club and John Dowling’s Westerly Cirrus, Popard a long way back. This was not to be a race for the slower boats, Wild Thyme only reached Ramsey by 2100 and retired. Popard got the Point of Ayre by midnight. With the tidal gates now against them, neither could have finished within the 30-hour time limit, so it was donk home. (To donk: a yachting verb, for those unfamiliar with maritime terminology, meaning put the engine on!)

The remaining four boats raced on, the two matched J.109s had a cracking boat for boat tussle every inch of the way through many very frustrating calm patches, the lead swapping several times. After the long beat, the crews were looking forward to flying spinnakers down the west coast but the wind backed almost into the west as the 109s rounded the Point, so it was hard on the wind again to weather Jurby, where it then backed into the SW and made it a proper beat past Peel all the way to the Calf. It was 2300 when the leaders rounded under the three redundant Calf lighthouses less than a boat-length apart, sailing into a completely flat calm patch, which extended to Caigher. Slack water again and it took half an hour to drift this quarter mile. A SSW breeze filled in at the Burroo, so at last the spinnakers appeared for the final leg into Port St Mary. Jumunu finished at 9 minutes after midnight, followed a minute and a half later by Stanley’s Banjo.

Quantum trickled over the finish line at 0146 and Cavalier at 0258. It had been a hard day’s fighting to get some (or any) speed out of the boats in fickle and variable airs. The level of concentration and care required from all crew is extremely tiring in the light stuff. Although everyone enjoyed the race in retrospect, it’s perhaps not something you would choose to do every weekend – you’d end up doo-lally.

On behalf of the IOMYC and the competitors - many thanks to Frank Newton and Hamblin (celebrating 20 years in the recruitment business) for sponsoring the event, for the sixth time. After the prize presentation at the IOMYC on Sunday afternoon, everyone went home tired out but superbly catered for, and with this year’s crop of T-shirts, hats, pens and fading memories of a day on the rack.

Overall results

IRC class

1. Jumunu, J.109, Iain Fenna, RORC;
2. Stanley’s Banjo, J109, Mick Kneale, IOMYC
3. Quantum, Dehler 36, Bobby Moore, DBYC.

PY class

1. Cavalier, Shamrock 30, Bill Cochran, DBYC. (One finisher)

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Race News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.