Cox seizes victory in Pursuit Series

Plenty of sun and a decent amount of wind greeted the competitors for Sunday’s final two races in the pursuit series at Welland Yacht Club.

In pursuit racing the class handicaps are applied at the start to give each class a different start time based on a duration (in this case 50 minutes), the theory being that at the end of the race all boats should roughly be at the same position on the water.
First away was Eric Murray in a Mirror, followed by Sean Agar in a RS Feva who soon would retire with a detached rudder, then Richard Stedman’s Comet XL, Helen Boyd in a Solo, followed by a pair of Laser Radials of Alan Cox and Sandor Kecskemeti, with a trio of full Lasers, Keiron Powell, Alistair Mitchell and Mark Holland completing the line up.
The remaining boats completed the relatively short distance to buoy one the windward mark.
Once around it was a run all the way up river to buoy four.
Kecskemeti then found himself in the water following a capsize.
First around buoy four was Powell who had made his way to the front, followed by Cox, with Mitchell managing to pass Cox once around the buoy, with places swapping as the fleet tacked its way back to the windward mark.
Powell then became the first real victim of the ever increasing weed and ended up being pulled into the bank slipping down the fleet considerably.
Mitchell was now in the lead followed by Cox as they rounded the winded mark for the second time.
With five minutes to go the order was Mitchell, Cox, Holland, Powell, Boyd, Murray, Stedman and Kecskemeti.
As time ticked on the lead boats had rounded the lee mark and Powell managed to pass Holland and take third before the race ended.
Stedman decided to forgo the final race but Geri van Haren joined the fleet, making still for an eight boat line up.
van Haren’s Phantom being the fastest class meant he would be last to set off.
With Murray and Agar getting away cleanly at their allotted start times, all was looking well until the unfortunate coming together of Cox and Boyd, resulting in both retiring.
This left Kecskemeti to start next, followed by the trio of Lasers led by Powell, then Mitchell, followed by Holland, with van Haren completing the start sequence.
Holland managed to pass Mitchell on the lead up to rounding the windward mark.
Once all around the mark the run up river allowed the last to start to rein in the leaders but the lead boats held onto their lead for much longer this time.
However once around buoy four Powell managed to take the lead and by halfway back to the windward mark Holland had moved up to second, Mitchell would get third on rounding the windward mark.
van Haren being the second victim of the weed had to get out of his boat to get free.
At the end of the 50 minutes Powell took the win from Mitchell second, Holland third, Murray forth, Agar fifth, Kecskemeti sixth and van Haren seventh.
Overall victory in the series went to Cox with Powell second and van Haren third.
qAnyone wanting to find out more about sailing should contact the club via email secretary@wellandyachtclub.co.uk