News
Garmin Hamble Winter Series 2008
PBII 3149 will be racing the full winter series every Sunday from 5th October to 30th November. Results can be found at http://www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk/HWSResults.php?Action=Display&SessionCRC=800678258&ClassID=253
Laser SB3 Worlds - September 2008
PBII 3149 made it into the Gold fleet and finished 32nd overall in the fleet of 143 Laser SB3 at the World Championships 2008 having completed the full schedule of 14 races. The 2008 World Champions were Earls Court Boatshow 3053 - Geoff Carveth.
Results can be found at www.sb3worlds2008.com .....so look for PamBere GBR3149
LASER SB3 Irish Nationals - August 2008
PBII 3149 finished 12th overall in the fleet of 75 Laser SB3 at the Irish Nationals 2008 having completed the full schedule of 8 races (1 discard). With plenty of big fleet starting practice, and generally light winds (6-12 kts) the event was won overall by Team Gill 3042 - Craig Burlton with Earls Court Boatshow 3053 - Geoff Carveth in second.
Results can be found at www.rsgyc.ie/sb3 .....so look for PamBere GBR3149
PB Racing Summer Break 2008
Following a busy start to the 2008 season, PB Racing's Mark Gillett and Nick Jones are enjoying a break from the water to earn some "pink" tickets in preparation for a hectic schedule which commences in late August with the SB3 Irish Nationals and followed in late September by the SB3 Worlds in Dublin.
5th May 2008 - Grand Prix 1 Cowes
Three days of warm weather, 45 boats fighting on the race course and two late nights in Cowes provided an action packed weekend for the first event of the UK Grand Prix series. Hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes, 8 races in total were sailed with PamBere 3149 sailing with a crew of 4 including spring series regular Roz Brawn and the dinghy biased team of James & Heather Ross.
Following a rather slow start in a good breeze of 15-18kts on Saturday, PamBere started the second days racing in 23rd place with a steady improvement in races 4 and 5 before clocking an OCS in race 6. Monday dawned with little or no breeze, however by 10:30am a light NE breeze provided 6-7kts for the final two races where PamBere managed to claw up the field with a 5,7 to finish 11th equal. Overall winner was Craig Burlton in Car Jacked 3042, with Shaun Beaver 3213 in second and City of Capre Town sailed by David Hudson from South Africa in Third.
Results can be found at http://www.lasersb3.com/default.asp?s=sh&id=14348
27th April 2008 - Raymarine WSS Week 6
After six weeks of generally cold and windy weather, the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series concluded this weekend with only one final race held in very light and shifty breeze. Despite finishing a lowly 34th after being caught by a large windshift, Pambere 3149 concluded the series with a total scoreline of 89 points in second place overall behind the series winners and 2007 SB3 European Champions Palava 3053 sailed by Geoff Carveth. Third place went to Impact Promotions 3203 and fourth to 2007 J24 European Champions Chilli Chaser 3202 sailed by Ian Southworth.
" A few boats did not sail the full series" commented Mark Gillett, "and so our second place overall is the reward for getting out of bed early every Sunday for six weeks in what turned out to be a VERY cold series." "We are starting to prepare ourselves for the Laser SB3 World Championships later this year, and so the spring series was a useful event to try out different thoughts and ideas alongside a competitive fleet." "Roll on some warmer weather !"
Results can be found via the following link http://www.warsashspringseries.org.uk/
11th Nov 2007 - Garmin HWS Week 5
At last some decent wind for racing in the Solent.....14-20kts. The Laser SB3 class completed 3 races, with PBII scoring 10, 9, 4 to move into second place overall in the standings.
"It was an up and down day" commented Mark Gillett, "we had good starts and first beats, but two poor second legs on the plane down the runs made our life hard in the first two races. We finally ironed this out for race three and lodged a more respectable 4th." "3201 Dirty Harry were on a charge all day finishing with a 3,1,1 scoreline, so we will have to rescue our crew (Roz) back for this coming weekend."
28th Oct 2007 - Garmin HWS Week 4
Great wind, but just too much to allow racing to take place.
21st Oct 2007 - Garmin HWS Autumn Champs
The weather forecast for the planned five race (no discard series) over the Saturday and Sunday of the Autumn Championships told a familiar tale with another weekend of light SE breezes expected. With 45 boats entered in the competitive Laser SB3 class, the only notable exception from the seasons top ten leading boats was Glenn Bourke with Musto. Following the success of the previous weekend, another team of dinghy sailors in Richard Anderton and Simon Lomas-Clark joined the crew to take a short breather from their Fireball campaigns. In a shifty 6-10kts breeze, PamBere (PBII) completed the Saturday with three cracking results of 2,6,6 to place in second overall for the day behind the similarly consistent Selden (Chris Jennings) 7,3,1. Earls Court Boatshow (Geoff Carveth) and Team Toureg (Craig Burlton) also had good days to keep in touch for the final two races on Sunday.
Sunday dawned again a flat calm in the central Solent, but by 11am the breeze had started to settle in at 5-8kts from the SE and racing got underway. Following a 3rd row start in the first race of the day, PBII had her work cut-out to carve through the fleet after a first mark rounding in the 30’s. Showing impressive speed downwind to sail in the breeze lanes PBII managed to gain 5 or 6 places on each run to take 13th by the finish. Selden, Earls Court Boat Show, Team Toureg, Badger Racing, Champagne Blonde and Shaun Beaver all finished ahead to tighten up the leader board for the overall Autumn Championships standing. Wanting the right side of the course off the start of the second race, PBII sailed in behind 3014 and tacked onto port to sail out in clear air to the right. Rounding in 5th place at the top mark with Selden behind in 9th or 10th meant that sailing hard for the next 3 laps was important to have any chance of taking the overall win. After a close fought couple of laps the final windward beat to the finish had 3rd through 8th place rounding the leeward mark side by side. Earls Court Boat Show and Badger Racing (with Rob Greenhalgh helming) had a small lead heading off up the right side and so PBII took to the left where a small breeze line had started to develop in the hope of a better lift on port tack once it came in. Closing on the finish line Selden had made good ground out to the right getting through into 2nd, however PBII was in close contention with Badger Racing to be able to push them out on starboard before tacking to slip round the pin for 3rd place. Badger Racing finished 4th, with Team Toureg and Champagne Blonde in 5th and 6th.
So after 5 strong races, the Autumn Championships were won by Selden on 18pts, PBII second on 30pts, Earls Court Boat Show 33pts, Team Toureg 33pts and Doolalli 41pts.
Results can be found at http://www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk/
14th Oct 2007 - Garmin HWS Week 2
Following a weekend of no breeze, PamBere (PBII) took to the water for the second Sunday of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series to be greeted by another band of high pressure and a millpond of dead calm out in the central Solent. With a crew of James and Heather Ross sailing fresh from a summer of racing in the competitive RS800 class there were high hopes for some good results in the 35 strong fleet of Laser SB3s. True to forecast, a light breeze slowly crept down from Portsmouth to enable two races to be sailed in a shifty 5-10kts. After a tricky start against the tide, PBII managed to keep pace with the early leaders to finish 5th in the first race. As the breeze filled in a little PBII went on to grab another credible 5th in the second race to finish equal 3rd with Team Toureg for the day. Badger Racing took first for the day, with Powder Monkey in second. Lets hope for a little more wind next weekend for the double header Autumn Championships event.
7th Oct 2007 - Garmin Hamble Winter Series
Sunday 7th Oct sees the start of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series to include the SB3 Autumn Championships over the weekend of 20/21-Oct where this competitive one-design fleet expects over 50 entries. Results and reports of 3149 PamBere progress can be found at http://www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk/
28th Sept 2007 - SB3 National Championships
On the final day of the Laser SB3 National Championships two races were completed in light airs before the third race was abandoned. Overall victory went to Glenn Bourke, Jeremy Troughton and Tony Kilby sailing Musto. Russell Peters (Tack Tick) won the first race of the day with Glenn Bourke close behind in second and Barry Parkin (Hullabaloo) in third. Race two saw Paul Brotherton cross the line first with Colin Simmonds second and Parkin taking third once again. Bourke was safely in sixth place, with nearest rival, Peters, in ninth.
With the third race abandoned, Bourke, Troughton and Kilby were crowned the 2007 Laser SB3 National Champions after a 14 race series that saw some spectacularly close racing over four days. Second was Russell Peters with Greg Wells and James Grant, who had lead after the second day when they won three of the four races. An OCS on the third day and then a couple of double digit results were enough to let the ever-consistent Bourke, back into the lead, which he held to the final race. In third overall was Badger Racing; Paul Lovejoy with Rob and Peter Greenhalgh and Sally Wilson, and fourth was Paul Brotherton with Bill Masterman and James Fawcett in Pants.
Long days on the water battling against the cold northerly and a strong ebbing tide to get back to the warmth of the HISC bar meant many of the fleet found the event exhausting. This didn’t stop them celebrating in the usual energetic style at the Saturday evening Championship Prize Giving and Dinner.
Unfortunately due to various other commitments PamBere missed out on all the action.
10th June 2007 - Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2007
Retro racing is back.......this years quater ton cup was sponsored by Coutts and run once again by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes over three days covering 8-10th June.
With months of exceptionally hard work the ASAP boys had done a sterling job to get their boat in the water just days before the start of the event. With a stealth like black paint job and lots of photographer attention they managed to pull off an great result finishing 3rd overall. Watch out next year.
22nd April 2007 : Spring Series Week 6
The final weekend of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series greeted the MarineOnTheWeb.co.uk crew with glorious sunshine and medium to light breezes for the 7 races that were scheduled to close out the series. With the fleet size growing to 56 boats the race committee had their hands full to set long enough courses that would spread out the fleet before everyone reached the first weather mark.
“Over the two days the race course was a bit like the M25 on a Friday afternoon” commented Mark Gillett, “Starting was going to be really important to keep clean air and reach the first mark inside the top 15. We struggled to get on top of this all weekend and started in the second row for all but one race, with the only upside being our practice at digging out of a messy situation.”
Many of the top boats had a real mix of results in the testing conditions, and MarineOnTheWeb’s scoreline of 29,33,12,35 on Saturday meant that Sundays final three races were going to be key to finish inside the top ten for this first event.
Despite a couple of crew changes on Sunday, racing remained tough and a scoreline of 28,25,26 left MarineOnTheWeb.co.uk in 16th position overall for the no-discard Spring Championships.
“We were a little disappointed overall with our end result in the Spring Championships” commented Mark Gillett, “However our overall result in the longer Spring Series counting all six Sundays was slightly better finishing 7th overall and just outside our target of a top 5 finish.” “Running aground and damaging the keel in last weeks final race whilst in the lead means that the boat needs a little attention to the keel in the coming weeks, but we should then be back up and running ready for the start of the summer long campaign in the high profile VW Grand Prix Series.”
“We have once again enjoyed flying the flag for DyerBurdett & Co as our sponsors throughout the series, and with the large black and gold sail logo very visible on the race course we have received lots of attention from photographers and competitors alike.”
Overall Spring Series results can be found at http://www.warsashspringseries.org.uk/results/whitegroupsseries.htm
Overall Spring Championship results can be found at http://www.warsashspringseries.org.uk/results/springchampionshipsseries.htm
15th April 2007 : Spring Series Week 5
An interesting day all round on Sunday........with not much wind forecast, MarineOnTheWeb.co.uk set off on the first beat of race 5 and after about 4 minutes were still sitting behind the starting line and looking a bit like DFL. Some good crew work and tactics saw us climb back up to the middle of the fleet to 23rd….all in all pleasing given the short race duration.
Race 6 started on a better note with lots of work to be done finding the wind lanes and staying on the right side of the tide line. With just a one lap course there was not much chance of working back through the fleet and after avoiding a rather large raft on the bottom mark we ended up 17th.
Race 7 and with a strengthening tide MOTW now had starting organised. A quick tack off the start line and the sea breeze filling in saw us in 2nd place at the first mark. After a good run we had closed in on the leader who suffered the misfortune of snagging the leeward mark to let us through into first place. With the strengthening tide the beat was a one tack affair and our lead grew to a few hundred meters. Back on the run with the fleet well behind we noticed there was a second boat snagged on the favoured leeward gate. Approaching the mark and striking the spinnaker early to avoid the stranded boat we suddenly had the sensation of hitting treacle.... We had hit the mud bank and realised it was impossible to round either of the leeward marks. Eventually the race committee abandoned and we were towed off the bank. All was still not well and on our return to hamble a swim under the boat revealed a 1" steel cable wrapped round the keel. It had obvoiusly been lying in the mud and we'd caught it while trawling through. Hey ho, no bullet but a great experience to be in the lead in a 55 strong fleet.
Overall finish position for the weekend was 6th, and therefore all to play next week.
See Yachts&Yachtine article for a good mention for MARINEontheWEB.co.uk
http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=135948
1st April 2007 : Spring Series - Week 4
Too much fun for words this week.....so a picture story thanks to Eddie Mays
25th March 2007 : Spring Series - Week 3
A very early start this week with the summer time clock changes requiring the car to be loaded in the dark !
The third Sunday of the series greeted the MARINEontheWEB.co.uk crew with grey skies but a nice (if a little cool) breeze from the east at 12 kts. With 3 races to sail it was going to be a busy day especially as the overly keen SB3 class had to return to start three times to get a clean launch into the first race. After an average start and a shocking first beat, MOTW rounded the first weather mark in +25 place and had to fight hard over the next 3 laps to claw back to a respectable 11th place. For the second race the sun had come out and the breeze climbed to 18 kts which allowed for some nice downwind sleighrides planning at 12 kts of boat speed. With a 15th place in the second race the pressure was on to improve in the final race of the day.
Having to avoid two barging boats at the gun is not the best way to start a race, but having settled after the 'exchange of vows' MOTW made good progress up the middle of the beat to round the first mark in 10th place. With a shorter 2 lap course it was important to make good use of all the passing opportunties and it wasn't until the final bottom mark that MOTW squeezed through into 5th place ready for the last beat to the finish with 10 boats tightly packed together. Choosing the middle left of the course again which had worked well up the other two beats proved not to be so as the boats on the right picked up a stronger breeze line to bring them in just seconds ahead to leave MOTW in 10th place.
Next weekend sees another Sunday of 3 races, which is followed after the Easter break with two full weekends of Saturday and Sunday racing.
Photos from Eddie Mays at http://www.eddiemays.com
18th March 2007 : Spring Series - Week 2
As conditions exceeded the original wind forecast of F4-5, this weeks racing was cancelled as the breeze consistently exceeded 25kts with gusts upto 40kts for most of the day throughout the central Solent.
Hopefully next weeks conditions will allow the two lost races to be recovered.
11th March 2007 : Spring Series - Week 1
Following a long winter layoff the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series started this Sunday with two races held in bright sunshine and light winds.
Racing under the flag of our sponsors Dyer Burdett & Co, PBracing are once again excited to have linked up for this fiercely contested season opener with over 200 boats racing and 1500 competitors taking to the water. The series lasts 6 weeks, with two races held each Sunday and then two additional Saturdays added on to the final two weekends with 4 races held on each of those Saturdays.
Racing as MARINEontheWEB.co.uk within the Laser SB3 class, this weekend proved how rusty we all were with a hard fought 8th place in the first race, followed by us running out of time in the second race as the wind faded away. Although 25 boats made it to the start line for the first Sunday, the class size is expected to swell to almost 60 boats by the final two weekends of the series.
"Not the best of starts to the series" commented Mark Gillett, "so we look forward to slightly better fortunes next Sunday."
Results can be found at http://www.warsashspringseries.org.uk/results/whitegroupsseries.htm
22nd January 2007 : Key West
After 5 days of 26 degC temperatures and good winds, Swan45 BetterThan and Team Z Sails posted a good 3rd place result overall in class at this years Key West Race Week, Florida. PBracing look forward to joining the campaign as it moves to Europe in July for the Swan45 World Championships to be held in Cowes. "This is probably the most enjoyable big boat racing I do each year" commented Mark Gillett, "I have missed out on the warm sunshine of Key West this year with the arrival of our new family member. I do however look forward to some tough racing in July and of course sailing with the Rojek's amongst a mixed crew of Polish & Americans who invite the occasional Brit to join the family fray every once in a while."
23rd October 2006 : SB3 Autumn Champs
PamBere finished a respectable 9th overall out of 45 boats racing in last weekends Garmin Hamble Winter Series - Autumn Championships. With no discards this turned out to be a very tight weekend of 5 races, sailed in a mixture of conditions from 8 - 18 kts of wind.
Full results and reports can be found at http://www.lasersb3.com/?s=sh&id=4678
13th July : 707 Pocket Battleship finds a new home
After a fantastic 4½ years racing in the 707 One-Design Class, and a successful 2006 campaign it is a little sad to report that 707 Pocket Battleship has departed for a new home back up in Burnham on the East Coast. Although the 707 Nationals title still eludes the PBracing team, I am pleased to report that new owner Andrew Prestwich and his keen family plan to be out racing regularly in Burnham as the local fleet there continues to grow in strength & numbers. Perhaps we might see the Pocket Battleship name back on the 707 East Coast Championship trophy in the years to come.
3rd July 2006 : SB3 PB finishes 18th at RSrnYC GP
In her second Grand Prix outing PamBere (3149) finished 18th out of a strong fleet of 66 boats racing at Royal Southern YC (Hamble). The entry list read like a who's who of top UK sailors including the returning Volvo Ocean Race CEO - Glenn Bourke and Ultra30 Champion Russell Peters both of whom had to fight hard with five other strong teams for the overall top spot. A full report can be found at http://www.lasersb3.com/?s=sh&id=3872
Top three results went to 1st Russell Peters - Selden Seen (3037), 2nd Glenn Bourke - Musto (3209), 3rd Craig Burlton - Zeal Optics (3200).
11th June 2006 : 707 PB wins Southern Area Champs
Pocket Battleship wins 707 Southern Area Championships with Ian, Roz, Sarah and Chris on the crew. A good fight was put up by the East Coast teams of Cacciatore in 2nd place and Beaver Hunter in 3rd place. See link below for a brief report........ http://www.hunter707.org.uk/php/BBMain.php
3rd June 2006 : 707 PB wins RTI
11hrs….that’s how long it took to get RTI
This years race saw twelve 707s leaving the dock at 5:30am to make the 6:50am start. With a light NW breeze in the western Solent, Double Trouble, Trojan and Begorrah all started mid-line to make best use of the stronger tide on the first leg to round the needles in this order. Close on their heels were Pocket Battleship and Star Born 3 who had taken a route closer to the main land. Leg two to St Cats was a straight line affair on a broad reach with spinnakers up on port gybe with a reasonable amount of fighting off the bigger boats to keep clean air.
By St Cats Pocket Battleship had closed on Double Trouble and Trojan who had both jumped ahead of Begorrah who were taking an outside line and digging into their lunch. As the sea breeze filled in from the south PB and DT (or should we say Black Sheep) fought for the inside line, whilst Trojan slipped back and Begorrah continued on their outside track to the French vineyards. As the breeze filled more from the south Begorrah caught her second wind and started to move past PB and DT who continued on a more direct route closer to Sandown so that Big Bob could catch the topless sunbathers along the beach.
Half way down to Bembride with the spinnakers up and the breeze starting to swing back to the SW, Pocket Battleship took the option to gybe away early and get back into the island on a course closer to the rumb line to the Bembridge bouy which allowed her to take the lead for the first time in the race. Begorrah continued offshore and lost out as Double Trouble eventually gybed to follow PB in the improving breeze line.
At Bembridge the Sheep boys on DT had regained some lost ground on PB and rounded close behind soon to be followed by Begorrah and Star Born 3. Working up to the forts the breeze switched off and a floating match ensued just off Seaview. Fighting in drifting conditions the leading boats continued in the same order until the N button was pressed and the breeze started to reach down from the eastern Solent.
Taking an Island favoured course beating up toward the finish PB stretched her legs by working the shifts and stronger breeze lines as Begorrah and Star Born worked up the main land side of the course. Double Trouble struggled in the patchy breeze as they debated which side to take eventually loosing out to both sides in the end.
At the finish it was Pocket Battleship that took the gun by 7 mins from Begorrah and Star Born 3 who were only separated by 14 secs. 4th was Double Trouble and 5th went to Trojan.
Next stop 707 Southern Areas this coming weekend to be hosted by the Royal London Yacht Club in Cowes.
30th May 2006 : SB3 PB at European Champs
Following a quick dash across the channel on Thursday afternoon, PB Racing arrived in Port du Crouesty (Brittany, France) for the SB3 European Championships at 2:30am. A twelve race schedule started on time on Friday afternoon with the race officer setting 3 races starting at 14:30hrs. This weekend had Mark helming, Ian on tactics at the front and Nick in the middle on trim.
With a difficult start in race 1, PB had to dig out and fight to cross the finish line with a broken gooseneck in 31st place. Having dashed back to the dock and borrowed an old boom from Stiptease (thankyou Vin!), PB returned in time to score a 22 in race 3. Day 2 and 3 started damp and grey with 6-10 kts of wind and after some improved starting and adjusted rig settings PB registered a much improved scoreline 11,7,16,14,7,8 to charge up the rankings to 13th overall. After an overnight pit stop to replace the floppy rudder fittings, PB headed out to post a disappointing set of final day results of 32,40,32 in a mixture of conditions (light to heavy) to finish in 19th place overall out of 49 boats entered.
A selection of photos are posted on the Pictures page, and full set of scores on the Results page with a link to the YCCA website.
15th May 2006 : SB3 PB finishes 20th out of 50
In her first Grand Prix outing PamBere (3149) finished 20th out of a strong fleet of 50 boats racing at Seaview (IOW). With Nick helming, and Mark & Roz as crew the PB team improved consistently thro the 5 races held over the weekend to lodge a final scoreline of 20, 20,15, 51 BFD, 14. With plenty of digging out practice on the first days racing it was inevitable that pushing the line on day two might bring a black flag penalty....and so it did.
Top three results went to 1st Russel Peters - Selden (3037), 2nd Geoff Carveth - Small but Steamy (3053), 3rd Colin Simonds - Doolalli (3017).
23rd April 2006 : 707 PB wins final race
The last day of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series was a light airs affair, but with the series tight for the top 5 places everyone was all out guns a blazin. After a Saturday of 3 bullets and a 2nd, the Cacciatore team were looking forward to the increase in boats joining the Sunday racing to re-check their pace ahead of next weeks 707 Eastern Area Championships in Burnham. With the soft rig settings from two weeks ago, PB was able to pinch Cacciatore off at the start of the first race and chase Sword out to the left hand and tide favoured side of the course. At the weather mark PB and Sword rounded virtually together in 1 & 2 and set off down the run to finish is these positions after the two lap course. Back in the pack however, Cacciatore were fighting the previous nights over-indulgence (they now know why we invited them out to dinner) and 6 other boats all in close contention at every mark rounding. With good speed up the second beat Cacciatore grabbed 3rd and held this to the finish.
Final results pending, but it looks like Pocket Battleship racing only on the Sundays has won the Spring Series overall with Cacciatore taking the win in the double weekend Spring Champs. Well done guys.
9th April 2006 : 707 PB wins the day
Hang loose was the motto of the day today.....with the breeze at 8-10 kts from a shifty NW direction it was time to let some rig tension off for the first time in weeks. Following a good start in the first line up of the day PB fought hard with 3 Little Pigs to eventually push thro to take the win in Race 1. For the second of the day a risky port start from the pin end gave PB an early advantage with Sword and Royal Thames in close pursuit at the first weather mark. Three laps later and Sword had relinquished her lead coming into the final leeward mark, but to her credit they sailed an excellent final beat to cross the line 1/2 a boat length ahead. PB won the day with a 1, 2, score line.
2nd April 2006 : 707 PB lucky to finish 2nd today
A tough day at the office, well the big boats were reporting gusts of 38kts today. With only one race sailed on the white group course much of the focus was on survival as the 25kt SW breeze gusted regularly to lay boats flat going upwind ! "We had some difficulties getting around the course this morning " commmented Mark Gillett, "after hitting the weather mark and doing our 360 we did a spectacular chinese gybe soon after we had hoisted the spinnaker. Luckily for us the rest of the fleet had problems aswell so by the 4th beat we had dragged ourselves back upto 3rd and pipped Swallow at the line to rob them of second place. Well done to This Is Jeff today, they sailed smart and repeated their first weekends good performance in the breezy conditions."
Next week PB Racing takes to the water for the first time in the new toy, but the 707 will be back out for the continuation of the Spring Series on the Sunday.
1st April 2006 : PB Racing joins Laser SB3 fleet
PB Racing today announced the purchase of 3149 to jump start the season early as others wait for their new boats from Laser. The first outing is likely to be the two Saturdays of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Champs where 45 boats are expected for some really close racing.
Mark Gillett, Ian Harrison & Nick Jones have joined forces to create the new team to focus on the SB3 circuit, with 2006 being used to tune and find some fast settings.
"The SB3 class is shaping up to provide the most competitive one-design racing in the UK for 2006, so hopefully our choice to join earlier than planned will bring rewards later in the season and on into 2007 " said Ian Harrison.
26th March 2006 : 707 PB wins both races
707 Pocket Battleship won both of the Sunday races in todays Raymarine Warsash Spring Series taking over the lead from early series leaders This Is Jeff and Royal Thames.
"We had two good starts today, and Ian (Harrison) worked hard on the tactics to keep us in the game upwind as we experimented with some new rig settings " commented Mark Gillett. "Downwind we are always quick, so we were soon back on the tails of Ant Hill Mob and Censored who had jumped to an early lead. With a bit of pressure applied they both made mistakes, so we were able to capitalise and take line honours in both races today. It was good close racing up at the front today, and I look forward to more of the same next week "