A LATE burst from the final mark was enough to secure victory for Rick Otten in the Lymington Town charity pursuit race.

It was the last event of the autumn series for keel boats with funds raised going to the BBC’s Children In Need appeal.

Having lost the previous three Sundays of racing to either too much or too little wind, both the race committee and competitors were grateful for more forgiving weather conditions.

The pursuit race format calculates handicap times over a fixed-race duration so yachts have a staggered start, with the slowest starting first.

Sunday’s fleet included a wide range of yachts, from occasional racers to the diehard round-the-cans experts.

With the breeze still gusting into the high twenties, racing got under way on time, with the Fisher 25 ‘Nexus’ being first away.

The start sequence lasted 38 minutes and last away was the 2011 pursuit winner Peter Scho-field sailing his HOD 35 Zarafa, ably crewed by a hand-picked team of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club’s finest sailors.

The gusty wind against tide conditions led to some thrills and spills, with most of the smaller boats electing to keep their spinnakers tucked safely below decks.

However, the brave few who flew their kites made big gains through the fleet, with some superb surfing conditions.

As the clock wound down to the finish time, it was Rookie Rakker, the Contessa 26 of Nick Morgan and Oli Pettifer, with hired guns Paul Kelly and Simon Rosier on board, which led the fleet.

However, approaching the final mark, Otten’s JAR Racing snatched the lead – a great achievement considering the blustery testing conditions.

Rookie Rakker took second place, while Zarafa made huge gains and looked to be on course for third place.

But an uncharacteristic tactical error saw them sail to the wrong side of the finish boat, allowing Andy Baker’s modified Hunter 707 ‘Jett’ to take a well-deserved third place.

Nick Hopwood ran the traditional charity auction with lots donated by local companies, including Harken, Crew Clothing, Nick Cox Yacht Chandlers and Nauticalia.

In total, £1627 was raised through entry fees from both keelboats and dinghies, donations and the auction.