THE hardy all-year racers at Castle Cove Sailing Club have reached the half-way point of their ‘Aussie Summer’ Series.

Racing for this series began in January and takes place every Saturday until the end of March.

This year the three months were split into two separate events and the final result of series one has just been confirmed in the warmth of the clubhouse.

With complexities of discarded scores needing to be carefully accounted for, there were four boats really in the running going into the last weekend.

Jock Fellows and well-known coach Adam Bowers (or guest crews) were a consistent threat in their Osprey and won their mini-battle with four rivals.

Weymouth coach Jon Emmett also demonstrated his experience to the rest of the Laser fleet by keeping in close touch throughout in his Radial and finishing third by just a couple of points.

The principal battle for honours was between Rob Smith in his Contender and the International 14 duo of Sam Pascoe and Alex Knight.

Going into the last races, there was less than a point separating them and both had four wins in their series scorelines.

Posting a second and third, Pascoe and Knight ensured a tough job for Smith in the light breeze and showed why they were top 10 in this January's infamous Bloody Mary pursuit race and recent World Championships.

Smith had to discard both his last poor scores to finish three points adrift and runner-up.

Elsewhere, there was close racing for the rest of the Lasers including good performances from regular visiting girls Ellie Hitchins (seventh) and Emma Stevenson (10th).

Although Sam Pascoe amusingly had his name against first, second and third in the final race, one of his other two boats on loan was actually sailed by young Castle Cove talent Sam Barker.

Creating a formidable team in a Merlin with Portland Paralympic 2.4mR sailor Megan Pascoe, fresh from her victory in Miami, they won both the last races to add to good scores earlier in series.

From the 35 different boats competing, there was a great mix of classes, talents and age-groups, with a number of club and visiting juniors and cadets mixing it with the big boys and girls.

That commitment and some more weather like the sunny start last weekend will bode well for another tight result in the next series and the busy season ahead.