Race Report for the Last Blast 27 Dec 2025

Eight Fifteens made it out for a very aptly named Last Blast – albeit a very chilly last blast….   The forecast was pretty much spot on – NE with an average 15/16 knots and gusts up to 23 knots.  We had blue skies and sunshine throughout the race, but it was cold and the wind chill meant it felt like 2-3 degrees.  But weren’t we lucky to get to 27 December before having what I think was our first properly cold race of the season.

Fi was Race Officer for one last time this season, ably assisted by her family on the Box, and setting a course of Solomons Solicitors (aka Bay Post or Z), Webley Heating (aka Wilkes) and Rebbecks (Sausage/Triangle), all marks to port, of which we were to manage 3 laps.

Ian Linder was guest helming in 3936 having taken his boat home for the winter.  He did offer to crew but once he saw all the string at the front end of our twin poled boat, we decided it would be better with him at the back.  And I had crewed for him before – albeit in one Poole Week race in 1994 in a fireball.

With only eight boats and a generous length line, there seemed to be plenty of space at the start.   The Platform end was favoured slightly and, having looked hard at the beat before the start, we had decided to start there and go right up the short beat to Z.  Having started below Richard and Jack in 4114, who didn’t look like tacking any time soon, we revised this to left up the beat…..  

As we came in from the left it looked as though those who went right seemed to have benefited, with Dick and Pete in particular looking strongly placed.  But fate threw in a few shifts close to the mark and it probably ended up pretty evenly balanced between those who went left and those who went right.  Ah, the joys of sailing to Z with the wind coming off the shore….

Richard and Jack rounded in first place followed by Crispin and Steve in 4101, Dick and Pete in 4036, Ian and Mike in 3922 and then us in 3936.  Geof and Wolfie were snapping at our heels in 4088 and the remaining boats were very close behind.  Most of us bore away, hoisted and then decided to gybe, although 4036 and 3922 were smart enough to gybe at the mark and then hoist.  3936 is the FFFS’ twin pole boat and I realised later that I hadn’t crewed in it since Poole Week – anyway we gybed and I failed to retract the pole – a fatal error that can only be remediated by gybing back again.  Somehow, we managed to survive that and maintain our fifth place at Rebbecks, where the rounding order was unchanged from Z.

With a sense of déjà vu we agreed that right looked good for the beat, but were promptly forced to tack rather than slog along in Ian and Mike’s dirty air.  The right certainly was good and Ian and Mike moved up to second place by the end of the first lap, probably helped by making their way up tide over the shallows of Middle Mud, while almost everybody else went for the sailing against the tide in the Main Channel option.   Having tacked off left very early after Rebbecks, Dick and Pete seemed to suffer with some unfortunate shifts and we managed to overtake them, although Geof and Wolfie overtook us having gone further right before tacking.  

Richard and Jack in 4114 continued to extend their lead over the rest of the fleet as the race progressed.  By the time we got to Z the second time we were still in fifth, trailing 4114, 3922, 4101 and 4088.  The first three had opened up quite a gap on Geof and Wolfie in fourth, although this was to close on the two reaches to come as we set off on the triangle via Webley Heating.   The first reach was fairly broad but the second reach to Rebbecks was close and fast with lots of planing.  This was F15 sailing at its best and Richard Ledger’s camera recorded 10 knots at one point.  Having pressed Geof and Wolfie hard all the way down the first reach we managed to slip inside them at the gybe mark, taking us up to fourth.

Behind us there was lots of place-changing going on, with Richard and Alan in 3966 (the camera boat) leading Mike and Paul in 4027 and Dick and Pete in 4036 down the two reaches.  However, at some point on the third beat back to Z, both boats moved past, with Dick and Pete coming through to sixth.

The rounding order for the first five boats was unchanged the second time at Rebbecks and the final rounding of Z. On the final run to Rebbecks Crispin and Steve had a spinnaker problem and spent the first half of the leg unravelling an hourglass twist, allowing us to catch up.  We sailed through to leeward, only to see Crispin come back through us on a gust before the zone to take an inside overlap at the mark.  We pushed up the final beat neck and neck with Crispin and Steve, eventually tacking off, while they pushed on for some distance to make sure they could lay the finishing line.  We had some good fortune and managed to make the line in one tack, meaning we were ahead of Crispin and Steve (and in report writing position).  We even seemed to close on Ian and Mike as we approached the line but they maintained a comfortable second. 

Congratulations to Richard and Jack, who won the race by some distance.  And many thanks to Fi and family for a superb end to the season.
 
Overall results

1. 4114 Richard W and Jack
2. 3922 Ian Z and Mike
3. 3936 Ian L and Andrew
4. 4101 Crispin and Steve
5. 4088 Geof and Wolfie
6. 4036 Dick and Pete
7. 4027 Mike and Paul
8. 3966 Richard L and Alan