A sizeable fleet of 22 yachts from Poole Yacht Racing Association (PYRA) entered the Stoneways VPRS Two Handed series, kindly organised by the Royal Motor Yacht Club and forming part of their annual regatta on Saturday 3rd June.
With three back-to-back races planned in the Poole Bay area, entrants were treated to a stunning day of sunshine, calling for suntan lotion from the off. A light and variable South Easterly breeze put the pressure on Andrew Pearce, the day’s race officer to set the first course. However, his vast experience meant the five-minute warning sounded on time with a windward leeward course set for all classes across the Bay.
Combined classes Three and Four were started first, with the MGC 27 ‘Minstral’ quickly breaking away, leaving the rest of the pack in hot pursuit. Classes Zero, One and Two followed with Elan 333 ‘Esprit III’ making a break for the lead.
The second race saw a 30-degree wind shift, to keep the race management team on their toes. With most of the fleet almost becalmed at the windward mark, the fickle conditions suddenly switched again with the wind filling back in to 10 knots plus. The lighter conditions seemed to favour the Beneteau First 21.7 ‘Piccolo’ over the much larger Dehler 36 ‘ Ceres’ who had until then dominated Class Four. Once again, ‘Esprit III’ and ‘Minstral’ dominated their respective classes.
With the wind building the third and final race was run, taking all fleets South out to sea on a windward leg, then back towards the Poole Swash Channel.
In Classes Three and Four it was the Ecume de Mer ‘QT’ that broke away, enjoying the increased pressure, closely followed by ‘Ceres’. ‘Esprit III’ was to repeat their performance in Class One ending with three bullets as was the Impala ‘Parallel Universe’ in Class Two.
Following a challenging day of fantastic close racing in changeable conditions, competitors made their way back to the sun-drenched terrace at Poole’s Royal Motor Yacht Club for a well-earned beer sponsored by ourselves and more to take home courtesy of local brewers; the Sandbank Brewery.
Thank you to David Harding of Sailing Scenes for providing a small selection of images of the days racing.
A wider gallery of the event can be found at: http://www.sailingscenes.co.uk/-/galleries/regattas-and-racing-events/cruisers-larger-keelboats/pyra-two-handed-series-may-2023
Full Two Handed Mini Series results:
0 Class
Sailed: 3, Discards: 1, To count: 2, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 1, Scoring system: Appendix A
1 Class
Sailed: 3, Discards: 1, To count: 2, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 4, Scoring system: Appendix A
2 Class
Sailed: 3, Discards: 1, To count: 2, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 2, Scoring system: Appendix A
3 Class
Sailed: 3, Discards: 1, To count: 2, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 4, Scoring system: Appendix A
4 Class
Sailed: 3, Discards: 1, To count: 2, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 7, Scoring system: Appendix A
Click on the gallery below to view more exciting event images
