There was a lively Northerly blowing down the coast on arriving at the club, with the forecast suggesting the wind would be increasing gradually throughout the day. With the Open meeting next weekend being sailed around a P course the race team, after some discussion announced they would give this a try.
Eleven boats lined the beach awaiting their turn to be launched as the surf was on occasions more suitable for surfers!
The flood tide made for a tough beat which saw Richard & Ed (RS400) and Phil (Contender) quickly open up a good lead over the rest of the fleet. With two reaches the ‘P’ didn’t favour those with spinnakers as the wind and sea state had become more challenging. Rob and Tom (Xenon) had been coping well in the conditions until their jib halyard failed which resulted in a tow back to shore. The RS400 finished well clear but on corrected time had to settle for second behind Steve (Europe) who had managed to keep ahead of the Lasers and Solution..
The wind was a good F4 at the start of race two and a few had decided to head for the shore. Richard B, in his nice new shiny Solution led from start to finish but not far behind was Richard F in his Laser Radial who won by just four seconds on corrected time.
Thanks to the race team who apart from having to lay twice the normal number of marks also had quite a busy time assisting a few who took to the water.