After a lack of wind last week this week there was some! Unfortunately the warm temperatures of last week had long gone and the temperature gauge in the car as we drove towards the club was reading a miserly 8 degrees C. On a brighter note the rain had stopped and the forecast was for some sunny periods.
A small but select fleet of hardy souls made their way to the start for race one. The wind was a pleasantly F2-3 from the West and the sea was extremely flat considering the strong winds during Saturday. According to the tide tables it was low water but there was still a small ebb tide flowing. Richard Fryer, with guest crew Kristof Baj (RS400) were first of the line closely followed by Nick Favell in his shiny new D-One.
After the first lap Richard and Kristof had a small lead on the pack with Tom Carr & Will Gordon (505) and Nick rounding the gate together. Prior to the start the wind was fluctuating from W to NW, shortly before the start it shifted to NW-N making for a one sided beat and a drag race back to the leeward mark and so the race was finished after two laps with Richard & Kristof taking the first line honours and race win of the year.
With the wind settling on North the race team adjusted the course for race 2. Despite a small ebb tide the fleet split in two on the first beat with most going offshore which proved the best route. Richard & Kristof and Nick headed the fleet round the windward mark closely followed by Phil and Lorna (RS400). Everyone headed inshore downwind with Nick putting in an early gybe and hooking up into a good breeze to go from 25 metres behind to 50 metres ahead of Richard & Kristof. However over the next three laps this lead slowly evaporated and Richard & Kristof again taking line honours and race win with Phil & Lorna taking second by five seconds from Nick.
By the start of race three the wind was up to F4…plus gusts! and the sea had woken up a tad with some moderate waves. The fleet were closely bunched as they rounded the windward mark and downwind everyone was flying. First casualty was Nick when he gybed resulting in a capsize leaving Richard & Kristof with a good lead. After three laps Tom & Will decided to pack up and sailed back to the club. On the final run down to the line Richard & Kristof had over a minute lead on the next boat however…….come gybe time they too succumbed to the urge to swim and capsized 500 metres from the line. This left Phil and Lorna an opportunity to claim glory in the final race of the day however……only a few metres away from an already capsized 400, and perhaps over excited at the possibility of a win also joined Richard & Kristof in the water. First up was Richard & Kristof who crossed the line first with Nick finishing second.
Start of Season
Race 1: 1 RS400 721 (R Fryer & K Baj), 2 D-One 906 (N Favell), 3 505 8489 (T Carr & W Gordon)
Race 2: 1 RS400 721 (R Fryer & K Baj), 2 RS400 454 (P Harlow & L Pierce), 3 D-One 906 (N Favell)
Race 3: 1 RS400 721 (R Fryer & K Baj), 2 D-One 906 (N Favell)