With the wind coming off the cliffs it was fair to expect that the wind was going to be shifty and gusty. The sea was flat as the proverbial pancake and thankfully the beach was much less crowded than last week. Richard was a little delayed getting launched as he was sailing his Solution this week and the centreboard had jammed which required some force and some unpleasant ‘grunching’ noises as he freed it off.
The race team set a good sized windward leeward course with the addition of a spacer mark. In race one Phil (700) and Ed & Lou (Spitfire) sailed away from the fleet on the first lap with Phil eventually finishing well ahead and easily winning on corrected time. Behind the 400’s of Dave & John and visitors Simon & Bruce were having a close tussle with the former crossing the line just ahead. Richard’s pre-race boat maintenance paid off as he finished close enough to claim second on corrected time.
Phil had another storming first lap in race two opening up a good lead, assisted by a lovely breeze downwind which saw him go almost to the gate on one reach. Unfortunately for the others the breeze eased up as they made their way downwind. Having opened up such a good lead Phil got to do an additional lap and almost caught the fleet up to win once again. Dave & John led the rest of the fleet home to take second on corrected time.
By this time the wind was now becoming very shifty with some gusts blowing across the course making it easy to gain, or lose many places….. or even capsize! In the final race of the day the fleet were closely bunched as they reached the windward mark. Phil once again leading the way with Phil ‘Two’ finding the go button on his Contender rounding next closely followed by the 400’s. On the following laps the wind around the windward mark was becoming very unpredictable, sometimes barely any wind and sometimes a good hiking breeze, this lead to the fleet becoming well spread. Dave & John spoilt Phil’s run of wins with Phil finishing second and Richard & Tony (Xenon) putting in a great last lap to claim third.
Many thanks to the race team of Phil, Lorna & Matt for three good races and setting a great course in shifty wind conditions. Good luck to Phil next week as he travels to the RS700 Nationals, based on this week he is in good form.