Stuart Cranston's Northern Ireland Quarter Tonner Purple Haze finished a creditable runner-up in a high-quality eight-boat warmup series for quarter tonners over the weekend on the Solent.
Counting finishes all in the top three, modifications and upgrades during the winter have clearly been effective for Cranston's all-wood Purple Haze from Strangford Lough, the prototype for the Bolero quarter tonner. This was the boat's first outing in 2025.
Two races were sailed in light airs on the Saturday, with five races in 15 to 20 knots on the Sunday.
Quarter Tonner skipper Stuart Cranston on board Purple Haze
Darren Marstens Black Fun was the overall winner, Cranston's Purple Haze came in second, and Toby Mumford's Helleby finished third.
The main event for the class will be the Quarter Ton Cup in June in Cowes.
Stuart Cranston and Colin Mackenzie from Strangford, Tom Parkhurst from Hamble,Peter Overton from Cowes, and Mark Mansfield from Cork were the Purple Haze crew for the weekend.
As regular Afloat readers know, the vintage Purple Haze arrived on Strangford Lough in 2024.
