A massive fleet of 25 boats took to the startline for Race Day 9 of the popular Wednesday Night Sailing series, producing a tactical battle where the handicap system completely rearranged the line honours order.
Hamilton Harbour served up challenging conditions for the mid-week fleet, meaning sheer, raw boat speed at the front was not enough to guarantee a spot on the podium.
The evening was initially defined by the blistering pace of Crossfire. The crew flew through the course to become the first boat to physically cross the finish line, stopping the clock at an impressive elapsed time of 55:01. However, once the PHRF handicap calculations were applied, their corrected time of 1:00:41 relegated them down to fifth place overall.
Nasty Medicine was the next boat to physically conquer the course, crossing the line shortly after the frontrunner in 56:20. The penalty of the handicap system proved even more severe for them, as a corrected time of 1:01:47 knocked them down to ninth in the final standings.
The ultimate beneficiary of the handicap shake-up was Encore. Executing a remarkably disciplined race, they maximized their rating to post a corrected time of 58:25, enough to be declared the outright winners on the night.
It was a victory decided by the absolute slimmest of margins. Encore held onto the top spot by a mere four seconds over a relentless Vrengen, who had to settle for a superb second place on a corrected 58:29.
Menace safely secured the final step on the podium, locking down third place with a corrected time of 59:17, while Airforce continued their consistent season form to complete the top four finishers just 24 seconds further back.
Wednesday Night Sailing Race Day 9
0:58:25 Encore
0:58:29 Vrengen
0:59:17 Menace
0:59:41 Airforce
1:00:41 Crossfire
1:00:46 Fat Tuesday
1:01:13 Thrash
1:01:20 Privateer
1:01:47 Nasty Medicine
1:01:48 Solna II
1:01:52 Tiburon
1:02:05 Celerity
1:02:41 Back in Black
1:02:52 Jitterbug
1:02:56 Shadow
1:03:57 Lix
1:04:10 Shogun
1:05:06 Falcon
1:05:49 RS 21 5 FRANK
1:06:20 Scatteraction
1:07:02 RS 21 4 REID
1:07:08 RS 21 2 REDBURN
1:07:37 RS 21 1 NEAME
1:08:23 RS 21 3 LEACH
1:08:56 Critter
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