As forecast there was indeed a bit of wind, with the biggest gust recorded at 42 knots and consistently above 20 knots for most of the day from a westerly and south westerly direction.
Race One 9p, 5s, Ap, 6p, Fs, 1p, G Race Hut Start.
Six hardcore bunnies, sorry er sailor bunnies, eventually got launched following a short sequence of hailstorm, brilliant sunshine followed by a rain squall. They all put on a superb show of dives, crashes, rip roaring reaches and dainty gybes to delight the crowd huddled in the Clubhouse around warm cups of tea. I’m told the wind was freezing but I found it lovely and toasty in the Race Hut especially after Pete Barnstable put the heater on.
Apparently nobody could hear the hooter so it was a while before anyone crossed the line. When they did both Richard C and Adrian seemed to hit a disturbed patch and stalled whilst hiked way over. It took them quite a while to recover, meanwhile, Howard, Richard F and Kelsey got away away although the usual dead spot from 9 to 5 took its toll. After the second lap Richard C had recovered and lead by almost a minute but then came to grief getting several windward duckings and capsizes in the ferocious gusts and lulls and decided to come in. With her new Radial sail, Kelsey battled her way round in spite of the conditions and finished the race showing a lot of determination and skill. Adrian caught and overtook Richard F but couldn’t catch Howard who came screaming home to victory.
Race Two Ap, 6p, 5s, 1p G Eastern Pontoon Start with C as the ODM
The jitters took hold over lunch as the wind built and built. Then Chris Jones arrived wondering what the fuss was about and raring to go. Adrian, Richard F and Howard all hoisted their handkerchief sails and the original five took to the water with Chris Jones following on a little bit later. Pete Barnstable very generously assisted me with the flags but made a rapid withdrawal to the shore when the pontoon tried to buck us into the water. It was wild just after the start with four boats over in a matter of seconds in a mass of flume and upturned hulls. Pete and I rushed back to prepare the abandon flags. The wind almost died for 15 minutes to the relief of many before returning at full blast. The two full rigged boats made it part way round the course but retired after several capsizes. Howard capsized several times but finally ended up in the trees in the Halstock Leg and retired. David Thompson and Kelsey jumped into the spare Safety Boat to cover the rest of the fleet whilst Howard and his boat were rescued by the OODs. Adrian was dramatically thrown off his boat whilst righting it and had to swim to catch it. His stamina ran out after he capsized again and his dagger board dropped out. Richard Frost had a brush with the trees on the Halstock leg when he couldn’t bear away but managed to extricate himself to finish the race with Chris Jones some way behind.
There were insufficient contenders for Race Three.
Eggcellent prizes were awarded to the top three helms and the top cadet plus a gift for each of the OODs who had had a pretty tough and cold day.
Congratulations to everyone who ventured onto the water. Those conditions were not for the faint hearted (like me) and it certainly paid if you were luck enough to have a storm sail.
A big thank you to:
Pete Barnstable and Julian Doggerel for assistance with flags and pontoon stability. OODs – Phil Bailey and Brian Etherington ably assisted during Race 2 by David Thompson and Kelsey Green.
Galley – Julia and Emily Green (who provided some special homemade Easter cakes).
Results
Overall
Sailed: 2, Discards: 0, To count: 2, Rating system: PY, Entries: 6, Scoring system: Appendix A
1st, SOLO 4091, Richard Frost (2.0, 1.0)
2nd STREAKER 1777, Howard Frear (1.0, 7.0 DNF)
3rd LASER RADIAL 197782, Chris Jones (7.0 DNS, 2.0)
4th SUPERNOVA 1012, Adrian Neal (3.0, 7.0 DNF)
5th LASER RADIAL 136020, Kelsey Green (4.0, 7.0 DNF)
6th PHANTOM 1384, Richard Cumberbatch (7.0 DNF, 7.0 DNF)
Report by Andy Roxborough