The Salcombe Yacht Club festive series comprises three handicap races held on Boxing Day, New Year's Day and the Saturday in between.

The Boxing Day race was held in a force three south easterly breeze on an ebb tide.

Race officer Chris Cleaves set the traditional Blackstone to Crossways three times course, which ensured that the festive drinkers in the Yacht Club bar had something to entertain them.

With some east in the wind, the cognoscenti favoured the port end of the line, with the intention of tacking on to starboard at the earliest opportunity.

However, with more pressure up the line they found themselves boxed in, and they, together with the Merlin Rocket of Peter Cook and Janet Exelby, who started prematurely, ended up playing catch up.

Fortunately for the pursuers, the leading group at the windward mark chose the East Portlemouth shore, which was sheltered from the easterly breeze, allowing the back markers, including Cook and Exelby, the Salcombe Yawl of Bridger and Galvin and the solos of Greening and Jago, to surf through along the Salcombe shore to round the Crossways mark in that order.

By the final lap, the Merlin Rocket had gained a sufficient margin that it was never going to be challenged. Bill Jago managed to break ahead of Green­ing on a gust at the Ferry landing, finishing a few seconds ahead.

Both the solos saved enough time to keep the yawl out of the podium places.

The prevailing north westerly winds returned on Saturday, and, despite higher winds forecast, these failed to materialise in the harbour. Race officer Malcolm Bell wisely set a course in the bag and up to Gerston, where the water was less sheltered by the surrounding hills.

In order to make progress against the spring ebb tide, the fleet was split in two, half starting at the Salcombe end of the line, and half from the East Portlemouth end.

The solo of Peter Sturgess prevailed, and arrived at Snapes Point with a sufficient cushion that nobody was ever going to challenge him. He was followed by Andrew Squire, in a Solo for the day.

Those on the Sal­combe shore eventually fed in including the solo of David Greening and the yawl of Bridger and Jayne.

The yawl worked its way through to lead on the water and had sufficient margin to win on handicap.

Sturgess managed to hold on to second place, despite a late challenge from Greening and Squire, who planed through the harbour to close the gap to seconds by the finish line.

New Year's Day dawned, with bleary eyed sailors making their way to the start line against a strong flood tide and a force six gusting force seven south-south-westerly breeze. Four contenders for the series made it to the starting area.

However, the yawl of Bridger and Jayne made an early exit after a near wipe out.

Greening arrived at Blackstone with a comfortable lead and cautiously bore off on to the run toward Salt­stone, chased by Bill Jago.

Bill took the high risk, high wind strategy, leaving no room for error, which allowed him to overtake Green­ing off Snapes Point.

By Saltstone, Green­ing had recovered first place, the two then exchanged places all of the way back to the shortened course finish line, where Greening held the initiative on starboard tack off the Cliff House Gardens Wall to secure first place for the race and for the series.

Overall Results

1 Solo 5301

David Greening,

2 Solo 5316 Bill Jago,

3 Yawl 159

Dan Bridger,

David Jayne and

Steve Galvin,

4 Solo 5331

Andrew Squire