2019 FAST40+ Race Circuit Round 6 at Royal Southern Yacht Club - Day 1
by Louay Habib 13 Oct 2019 05:16 UTC
11-13 October 2019
The final regatta of the 2019 FAST40+ Season eventually got under way with two windward leeward races in the Solent in super-light conditions. The pewter grey conditions did not dull the racing one iota with close battles right through the fleet. Peter Morton's Girls on Film scored a 5-1 to lead the regatta on countback from Filip Engelbert's Elvis, which scored a 2-4. Christian Hamilton & Guy Gallon's 42 South won the first race of the day and is second by virtue of countback from Niklas Zennstrom's Rán. Niall and Olivia Dowling's Arabella is fifth, but just two points off the lead.
The big picture is that the overall winner of the 2019 FAST40+ season will be decided on the very last day of the circuit. Rán is just two points ahead of Girls on Film with both teams maxed out on discards. The battle for the final podium spot looks likely to be decided between Steve Cowie's Zephyr and Elvis. Zephyr is just a point ahead of Elvis with three races scheduled for the final day.
"Really tricky conditions today, we had one snake and one ladder," commented Girls on Film's Peter Morton. "The first race we got away well but we didn't find the breeze towards the end and got pegged back. In the second race, we were OCS but got back quickly to restart and to be honest got our share of luck. Tomorrow looks like we will have very different conditions with strong wind forecast. It is an exciting finish to the season."
"The Elvis team sailed well today and we are happy with our speed," commented Elvis' Anders Lewander. "Tomorrow we will perform to our best and hope to get the results. It is great that we have such a close battle with Zephyr for third overall, as we have been boat-on-boat with them so many times during the season."
"That was the first win in the FAST40+ Class for this team, which was very satisfying, but we didn't dwell on it as we just got our heads down to concentrate on the next race." commented 42 South main sheet trimmer Luke Cross. "Today we got two good starts which are always important but especially in light wind. This is only our second regatta and the whole team are really enjoying the challenges."
After racing the FAST40+ sailors enjoyed a crew dinner at the Royal Southern Yacht Club. After a wet and cold day on the water, what better way to warm up than a curry and a few drinks amongst friends. The 2019 FAST40+ Season will come to a conclusion tomorrow, Sunday 13 October.
Stay up to date with all the action through the FAST40+ Class Facebook page and the official website.