Day 3 of the ROK Flying Fifteen European Championship at Hayling Island SC yesterday turned out to be the best conditions of the week so far. However, it looked at one point as if the wind wasn’t going to play ball as the 7-8 knot westerly backed right round to the south and dropped to virtually zero before settling in from the South West under a clear blue sky.

After one abandoned race when the wind dropped to nothing and shifted 40 degrees, followed by three general recalls, the over eager fleet finally got going in 12 knots, which rose to 16 knots by the end of the race.

With the wind finally steady, it was all about getting off the start line clean. After a hard one and half mile beat it was championship leaders, Barry Parkin and Mark Darling who rounded first, ahead of Jeremy Davy and Simon Childs then Steve Goacher and Phil Evans.

These three dominated the race, but it was nip and tuck all the way, with Davy and Childs getting through Parkin and Darling on the second run and taking what looked like a winning lead. However, Goacher and Evans were having none of it and their superior upwind speed saw them sneak past Parkin and Darling on the final beat.

With just two reaches to go, it looked like Davy and Childs would get their first win, but Goacher and Evans ground them down. With just a hundred metres to go, both boats were so far above the finish line that they had to gybe to get down to it and Goacher and Evans just managed to scrape past to take their second win of the week.

Just to add insult to injury, Davy and Childs were black flagged, so Parkin and Darling took second and Charles Apthorp and David Richards took third having worked their way steadily up the leader board.

Results

1. Parkin / Darling 9 pts
2. Goacher / Evans 12 pts
3. Apthorp / Richards 17pts
4. Hart / Rigg 23 pts
5. Vials / Weatherspoon 35 pts