Summer series Act 6 – Shifty winds and some gusts

Sunshine, a warm F2 -3 westerly wind and a flat sea made for very pleasant conditions at Gorleston for Act 6 of the Summer series.
The tide was still ebbing at the start of race one and the shifty offshore wind made for a testing beat. Throughout the race the whole fleet were fairly close. Richard & Carol (RS400) led the charge crossing the line 50 seconds ahead of the next boat Dave & John (RS400). Just behind them the D-One’s were having a close battle for line honours with Steve just beating Nick by a boat length. Karl Buck headed the Lasers putting in a great second lap and winning the race on corrected time with Richard & Carol second. Only eight seconds separated sixth to ninth places with Steve just squeezing sixth.

Start of race 1
Start of race 1

With the wind swinging to the SW the race team moved the windward mark south a tad. The tide by this time was beginning to ease. There were also periods of light wind and some gusts making choosing your downwind course critical although a crystal ball would have helped ! Dave & John were first to pick up a gust which enabled them to open up a short lead which they held to the finish. Richard & Carol and Nick were enjoying some close racing until lap three with the former pulling away to open up a good lead. On corrected time these three claimed the first three places with Karl just ahead of the rest to claim fourth.

RS400's rounding the leeward mark
RS400’s rounding the leeward mark

Race three saw a three way battle between the RS400’s of Richard & Carol, Richard & Robyn and Dave & John. For the first two laps these three were neck and neck with many changes of places. However, on the second downwind Richard and Carol opted to go right, Dave & John left and Richard and Robyn staying in the middle of the course. Unfortunately for Richard & Robyn they could only sit and watch as the others both caught some breeze and sailed away. Behind Nick and Gareth (Phantom) were also having close tussle with nothing behind them after two laps. On the final lap the two leading RS400’s rounded the windward mark together, Richard and Carol just ahead and opting to head over to the left, David & John head right. On the line Richard & Carol crossed one second ahead to claim line and race honours. Karl claimed his second podium place just a few seconds ahead of the next two boats.

Race 3 - close race to the finish
Race 3 – close race to the finish

Many thanks to the race team of Anna, Keith, Chris & Tim for a testing days sailing in delightful conditions.

Full results here…