It was very windy first thing on Sunday resulting in several posts on the GYGSC WhatsApp group asking whether we would be sailing or not. Despite the strong winds over the past few days the sea was surprisingly flat, probably helped by the fact the wind had been predominately from the west. With the forecast predicting lighter winds ahead there was a slight delay to the start which proved to be a good move.
As the nine boats launched there was a F4 gusting 5 wind from the west and a flood tide.
The race team set a good sized windward leeward course with a relatively stable wind direction considering it was offshore. Racing was close throughout the three races which saw three different winners.
Phil H, sailing his RS700 took an early lead in race one until he started the sequence of ‘Phil’ capsizes. A quick recovery ensured he remained in front but only just with Curtis and guest crew Tom, sailing the club RS400 leading the pack. On corrected time Dave claimed the win in his Laser, Curtis & Tom in second and Tom James, coping well in the club Phantom in third.
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Phil H made amends in race two lapping the entire fleet for an easy win. Phil & Lorna had a rare capsize resulting in Phil hitting his head on the rudder blade resulting in a bit of ‘blood’. Phil A, sailing his Contender had a great second beat as he went from fourth to second on the water with Dave just behind to finish second with Phil A third.
The wind began to ease for race three as forecasted. Phil H opened up a two minute lead after lap one but Phil A had another good second beat closing the gap. The two remaining Lasers of Kristof and Caroline were close after lap one but Kristof opened up a good gap on the second lap. Phil A continued his good run to pip Phil H by a few seconds. Curtis and Tom continued their good run with third. On the reach to the shore Phil A hit a dead patch whilst out on the trapeze completing the Phil capsize sequence.
Many thanks to the race team for another good days sailing and for rescuing the Phil’s.
This was the conclusion of the Summer series. Despite the shortened season we managed to enjoy sixteen races with 25 entries. With the win in race one today Dave managed to leapfrog Nick (Phantom) in the overall series with Nick holding on the second and Steve (Europe) third.