The fleet is now well and truly back in Pollensa, with 3 regattas to report this month.
May 23 – Class race
Hot on the heels of the coastal race, we had a special class race and five boats turned up. We managed to sail 3 races, with short courses and interesting sailing amongst the moored boats in the bay. Michael Beecken and Steve Parry took first place in Dragonfly, closely followed by Stephen and Christopher in fuego fatuo, with Tim and Spike 3rd in Gekko. Michael won the second race, with Scott and Andy moving up to 2nd in ffiel Good. Michael Clough, crewed by Christopher’s father Janosh, put an end to dragonfly’s dominance, with a first in the final race, followed by ffiel Good in second place.
3600 Dragonfly (Michael Beecken & Steve Parry)
3763 ffiel Good (Scott Walker & Andrew Harvey)
3804 Speedy Gonzales (Michael Clough & Janosh)
June 7 – Trofeo Formentor
We almost hit double digits for this weekend, with 9 boats battling it out. Before the Sunday racing, on Saturday Ken Dumpleton organised a series of (very) short course races to allow crews to practice their starts. All this from an anchored – or at least not drifting too fast! – flying fifteen. In total, 9 races were sailed, mostly one time round, but a few two laps as well. Many thanks Ken!
Sunday saw good breezes, and we managed to get 4 races in. Michael Clough and Gianga won the first race, with Viviana and David Miles (Stormtrooper III) close on their heels and ffiel Good third. Visitors Teo Matheu and Jan Kiel had borrowed Extrasensory Perception from Michael C, and were getting familiar with the boat, finishing 5th.
This changed in the next race, ESP with a first place, Viviana second, and ffiel Good third. Race 3 saw another bullet for ESP, with Michael now up to 2nd and Tim 3rd in Gekko. This put Speedy Gonzales and ESP neck and neck on 7 points going into the final race, with Viviana only one point behind – having just finished 4th.
John Leaf pulled off a 3rd in the final race, behind Michael Clough in Speedy Gonzales, and ESP first again! This gave them 3 points after discarding their 5th place, Michael 5 after dropping a 4th, and Viviana 8 – dropping her 5th place in the last race.
3432 ESP (Teo Matheu & Jan Kiel)
3804 Speedy Gonzales (Michael Clough & Gianga)
3610 Stormtrooper III (Viviana Giulano & David Miles)
June 13 – Lligilla Prima Vera
Only 3 flying fifteens turned out for this race, but that was still a better turnout than the two cruisers who made it to the start line. Sixth boat was a Hobie singlehander – the only time we saw him was at the start!
First leg was a very short beat to a spreader mark, with all 3 flying fifteens arriving together. Next a long tight reach across the bay to Bon Aire. fuego fatuo stayed a little higher, and was first monohull to reach the mark, with the other two flying fifteens just behind. Next, another long fetch to Formentor Bay; Gekko – with Ken crewing for Tim, passed dragonfly midway, and started closing on fuego fatuo – but not enough. Rounding the mark in the bay, the blue spinnaker was up in no time, and away they went into the developing thunderstorm. About halfway down the leg, a crew meeting agreed that, with fading winds and nasty weather, a second leg wasn’t a great idea so arriving at the mark couple of minutes ahead, they dropped the kite and waited for the others. Tim and Ken also decided to call it a day, and we went home; moral victory to fuego fatuo, dragonfly second and Gekko third. Dragonfly liked the idea of another lap, so off they went. In the event, the wind didn’t drop to nothing, and they finished – notching up a first place, with the other two boats listed as retired.
Coming up
Next up, the Hugh Wilson Trophy – a truly fun race around the bay, with a lunch stop at Bon Aire – report on the next month. On the Saturday before we’re planning some training sessions, followed by a beach party at El Roque – including live music from The Hustlers and friends. And then the Balearics – hope to see you there!
We’ll be racing at least twice a month from now until the end of summer, if you’d like to join us, visit http://flyingfifteen.mallorcaservice.de , we have a club boat available, and are always keen to bring new crews into the fleet. Or just turn up at the next event:
June 21: Hugh Wilson Trophy
July 3-5: Balearic Championships
July 19: Scandy Cup
August 1-2: Michael Clough Trophy
August 8-9: Trofeo Cormorán
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