Nab Tower at the double

The bleak and rusty concrete Nab Tower east of the Solent is not a beautiful edifice but it is certainly a useful and popular turning mark for racing.

On Saturday (July 5th) the Royal Southampton Yacht Club's Nab Tower Double attracted over 70 entries, all sailing two up from a line off Hill Head.

Conditions at the start were very light with the breeze hovering around 6 knots, but competitors later enjoyed a down-tide run through the forts off Portsmouth, where some skippers elected to head off to starboard into deeper water and hopefully a stronger tide.

Nearing the Nab the fleet was hit by a massive wind shift, with the breeze strengthening and moving 60 degrees forward. Several boats found themselves in danger of broaching and altered course radically to give time to drop the spinnaker and hoist a headsail. Once round, a beam reach took competitors on their way for the return leg, although there were still windless patches to be avoided.

Tacking into the Solent, the next mark was Royal Albert buoy in its new position off Gilkicker Point. Sadly H2eau were using an old chart and headed for the previous co-ordinates nearer Portsmouth.

First to finish was Sheik Yerbouti, the new Farrier F25C sailed by Simon Burt and Spencer Harrison. They were 28 minutes ahead of the next boat, despite starting 25 minutes late!

A down-tide race often favours smaller, lower-handicapped yachts and it was Winchester sailor Edward Donald with crew Dan Rigden who took IRC2 in the Folkboat Madelaine. The Nordic Folkboat So! (Simon Osgood/ Stuart Becker) also took the RSYC Handicap section with J/109 Judgement Day (Nigel Brooke/Suzie Spencer) first in IRC1.

The following day, the race management team were back in action for the RSYC Ladies' Regatta. Crews could be mixed or all-girl; the requirement being for a female helm at all times. Again there was a slow start and the kedging practice during a postponement came in handy for the first race, when a stubborn patch of calm made the first windward leg taxing.

Two further races were held as the breeze built and in perfect conditions. Software Mistress (Sigma 362 - Heidi Horton) was the overall winner with Starspray (First 31.7 - Stephanie Bateson) second. Starspray also won the Northlands Trophy as best all-female crew.