It was the first racing of the summer series and this week we had some great sailing with a mixture of light to moderate winds, plenty of sunshine and temperature almost in the twenties, so something for everyone. This was evident in the fact we had three different race winners in three different classes.
Nine boats launched consisting of seven different classes. Phil (Contender) timed his start well in race one pulling off a port end flyer to lead the fleet up the beat. With the tide still ebbing most boats headed inshore and after the first lap Ed & Mirram (Spitfire) had taken over the lead. Steve had swapped his trusty Europe for a rear seat in the RS500 with Keith and led the rest of the fleet, closely followed by Phil. These two winning comfortably on corrected time with the RS500 taking first.
There was a generous portion of port bias on the start line for race two but everyone got off to a good start. Soon the Spitfire was ahead on the water and building a good lead on the rest of the fleet.
Phil & Lorna (RS400) and Steve & Keith had a good race long tussle with the RS400 leading after the first lap, the RS500 after lap two and the RS400 back in the lead on the third and opening up a small lead at the finish line and winning on corrected time with the RS500 second. Behind them four boats rounded the leeward gate closely bunched after the first lap, with Phil just ahead of Don (D-One). On the next lap Don worked the shifts well overtaking the 500 and almost catching the 400 but a capsize on the final lap ended his chase.
For the final race of the day the wind had increased to a F3-4, and with it the sea state. The tide was now beginning to turn which seemed to suit the Lasers. Whilst the faster boats led the fleet after the first lap the slower ones were in close contention. Richard led the Laser charge for the first two laps but Karl slipped through on the third lap and held this to the finish line winning on corrected time with Richard second.
Thanks to the Safety boat crew of Phil & Tom for doubling up as photographers for the day. Photos of the day are on the Club Flickr site