Monsoon Winter Series 2021, Races 4 & 5

Bits & Pieces heads upwind as Scrumpy closes on the C mark (Monsoon Winter Series 2021, Race 4)

MONSOON WINTER SERIES

2021, RACES 4 & 5 冬季系列賽第四及第五場

Day 3 of the Monsoon Winter Series 2021 was held on 20 November 2021. Conditions were ideal as the committee boat, Hebe One, dropped anchor in Port Shelter for the two scheduled geometric races.

在2021年11月20日（星期六）舉行了2021年度冬季系列賽的第三天賽事。當天環境非常理想， 會船HEBE ONE在牛尾海拋錨，為即將進行的兩場幾何競賽作準備。

The outer windward mark (A1) for the IRC boats was laid at an angle of 110 degrees and at a distance of 0.8 nautical miles, while the inner A2 mark, for the J/80s and HKPN fleet, was dropped at 0.6 nautical miles. The C mark was also used as the outer distance marker for the finish line.

A relatively long start line of 300 metres was laid to cater for the combined start of the J/80s and HKPN boats.

First off on schedule at 1400, in the 9- to 12-knot breeze, were the five IRC boats with Quest opting for the pin and Outrageous bringing up the rear at the committee boat end.

在2021年11月20日（星期六）舉行了2021年度冬季系列 賽的第三天賽事。當天環境非常理想，會船 HEBE ONE 在牛尾海拋錨，為即將進行的兩場幾何競賽作準備。

IRC船隊的外迎風標A1在距離0.8海哩外以110度角鋪設， 而J/80s和HKPN船隊的內迎風標A2則座落在0.6海哩 外。另外，風標C亦被用作終點線的外則距離標記。

為了迎合J/80和HKPN的船隻能同時開始比賽，會方鋪 設了一條相對較長的300米起跑線。

The combined 8 HKPN boats and 3 J/80s started five minutes later however, Bucephalus, Bits & Pieces and the J/80 Baring Asia 2 were all on course side (OCS) and obliged to restart.

Quest soon opened up a commanding lead in IRC to take line and handicap honours in Race 4. Talkinghead beat Goddess to the line by 17 seconds but was relegated to 3rd behind Goddess on handicap. Outrageous, with just eight on board, chose not to fly its spinnaker and brought up the rear behind Ricochet and opted not to start Race 5.

Alex Chan’s Jazz claimed line honours among the J/80s with Eliza Yeung’s Jelik 7 2nd and Edmond Yew’s Baring Asia 2 3rd, having been delayed by its OCS.

Lazy Piggy took HKPN line and handicap honours in Race 4 after their two laps with Scrumpy 2nd followed by Ichiban 3rd.

Race Officer, Rob Allen, realizing that the breeze had eased, adjusted the course by bringing the A1 and A2 marks in by 0.1 nautical miles.

Race 5 for IRC began at 1520, with Quest leading around the course to again take line honours, however, on handicap, they dropped to 3rd with Talkinghead 1st and Goddess 2nd.

In the J/80s, Baring Asia 2 made amends for its OCS in Race 4 and claimed the win with Jazz 2nd and Jelik 7 3rd.

Noting that the pin end was heavily biased, Bits & Pieces started Race 5 at 1525 on port tack and fortunately, managed to clear the line ahead of the rest of the HKPN and J/80s pack.

Lazy Piggy again took line and handicap honours after their two laps with Scrumpy 2nd and Bucephalus 3rd in HKPN.

“Race 4 was a shocker with our OCS and the wrong headsail but Race 5 was good,” said Simon Lynch, Skipper of Bucephalus.

After five races in the Series, Talkinghead leads IRC ahead of Ricochet with Quest and Goddess tied for 3rd.

Alex Chan’s Jive leads the J/80 fleet ahead of Eliza Yeung’s Jelik 7 with Edmond Yew’s Baring Asia 2 3rd.

Lazy Piggy tops the overall table in HKPN with Ichiban 2nd and Bucephalus 3rd.

COVID-19 restrictions still prevent prize-givings but the crews soon got stuck into the sponsored San Miguel. There were no protests to be heard.

Two race days remain in the Monsoon Winter Series 2021 – the first, On 4 December 2021, will feature an Islands Race, and the finale, on 12 December 2021, will feature two geometric races.

會方預定開始時間為下午二時，在伴隨着9到12節的微風中，五艘IRC船隻首先出 發，Quest選擇了梢，而Outrageous則從會船的船尾跟上來。而8艘HKPN船隻和3艘 J/80船隻在五分鐘後一同開始，然而 Bucephalus，Bits & Piece 和J/80船隻Baring Asia 2 卻均在航線外（OCS），不得不重新開始。

霎眼間，Quest很快便在IRC線路中取得了絕對的領先優勢，並在第四場比賽中獲得了線 路賽和障礙賽的第一名。而Talkinghead在線路賽中以領先17秒的優勢擊敗了Goddess， 可是在障礙賽中則降至第三名，名次在Goddess之後。而只有八名船員的Outrageous則 選擇了不懸掛起它的三角帆，並跟在Ricochet後面，不參與第五場的賽事。

Alex Chan掌舵的Jazz獲得了J/80s船隻中的線路賽冠軍，而由Eliza Yeung掌舵的Jelik 7和由Edmond Yew掌舵的Baring Asia 2由於OCS的緣故而延遲，分別獲得第二和第 三名。在第四場比賽中，經過兩輪競賽後，Lazy Piggy在HKPN中線路賽和障礙賽的 取得冠軍，Scrumpy和Ichiban則分別獲得了第二和第三名。

與此同時，賽事主任Rob Allen意識到微風已經減弱，於是調整了航線，將A1和A2標 誌的距離拉近了0.1海哩。

IRC船隻的第五場賽事於下午三時二十分開始，首當其衝的是領先的Quest，並再次 在線路賽中獲得了冠軍，然而在障礙賽中則跌至第三名，由Goddess和Talkinghead 分別獲得了第一和第二名。

在J/80s中，Baring Asia 2 在第四場比賽中彌補了它OCS的錯失並獲得冠軍，Jazz和 Jelik 7則分別獲得了第二和第三名。

在下午三時二十五分開始的第五場比賽中，由於注意到梢的末端嚴重偏斜，Bits & Pieces 決定從左舷出發，幸運的是，它成功地在其他HKPN和J/80s的隊伍中脫穎而出。而再一 次地，Lazy Piggy 在 HKPN 的線路賽和障礙賽中獲得了冠軍，Scrumpy和Bucephalus則 分別獲得了第二和第三名。Bucephalus 的船長 Simon Lynch 則說道：「第四場比賽中因 為OCS和放置錯誤的頭帆而令人十分震驚，然而第五場比賽中卻很好。」

經過五場系列賽後，IRC船中Talkinghead領先於Ricochet並取得第一名，而Quest和 Goddess則並列第三。而J/80的船隻中，由Alex Chan掌舵的Jive領先於Eliza Yeung的 Jelik 7並取得第一，而由Edmond Yew掌舵的Baring Asia 2則獲得第三名。

在HKPN中，Lazy Piggy在總積分榜上排名第一，而Ichiban和Bucephalus則分別獲得了 第二和第三名。雖然礙於疫情的防疫政策而未能進行頒獎典禮，但大家很快便拿著贊 助商的生力啤酒狂歡，並沒有抗議的聲音。

而2021年度的冬季系列賽還剩下兩個比賽日的第一場是2021年12月4日的島嶼賽，而最 後的賽事是於2021年12月12日舉辦的兩場幾何競賽。

J/80 Baring Asia 2 starts (Monsoon Winter Series 2021, Race 5)