Club Racing 24th June 2007

With heavy rain and very little wind present on Sunday morning it was clear that only the keenest sailors would turn up to the club for racing. The forecast predicted heavy showers throughout the day and this proved to be correct with large downpours dampening the mood of all but the most enthusiastic competitors. Nevertheless, despite the weather a small but determined group did decide to compete in the 3 races that were staged during the day. All were hoping for the clouds to break and for some sunshine but unfortunately this did not materialise. A fleet of 12 boats entered, including 3 F18 Hobie catamarans, 3 RS 400s, 2 Lasers, a B14, 2 Fireballs and a Contender. 

The first race was a triangle course which was raced in extremely light winds; these conditions require a lot of experience to do well in and so it was that some of the club’s most experienced members took the top 3 positions. First place went to Ben and Veronica Falat in their Fireball; a warm welcome back to the club for Martin Brown sailing his RS400 with his crew Dinah Holmes, he took second place. Martin has been unable to sail for most of this season due to injury. Dave Houghton with John Symonds were third in a Fireball.

For the second race the wind increased to a force 2 breeze from the southwest and this made for better sailing conditions. Over the sausage course Ben and Veronica were again the winners on handicap, with the second boat, also a fireball, of Dave and John close behind; Martin and Dinah were third. A good performance from one of the clubs new members this season, Ryan Langston, saw him take fifth position in his Laser.

After lunch most competitors decided to pack up and head home but the perseverance of Mark Quale, Martin Brown, Dave Houghton and their respective crews enabled there to be a third race after lunch. By now the wind was gusting to force 4 and the waves were increasing as the tide increased. Dave and John were able to complete the race as the only finishers and all three boats returned back having at least managed to get a reasonable sail.

Results-

Race 1 (12)      1 Fireball 14867 (Falat/Falat);  2. RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes);  3. Fireball 14753 (Houghton/Symonds);  4. RS400 943 (O’nions/Porter);  5. RS400 843 (Steward/Steward); 6. B14  776 (Roe/Dulieu).

Race 2 (12)      1. Fireball 14867 (Falat/Falat);  2. Fireball 14753 (Houghton/Symonds); 3. RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes); 4. B14  776 (Roe/Dulieu);  5.Laser 169986 (Langton);  6. Contender 604 (Alison).

Race 3.      1. Fireball 14753 (Houghton/Symonds).