With a strong sea breeze and a few white horses there was some deliberating before a late call to go out sailing. However, by the time everyone was lining up for the start of race one the sea breeze had eased to a F3 and had shifted from SE to S. For the first half of race one there was a nasty short chop to deal with but eventually the sea flattened out as the wind steadily decreased throughout the evening. The initial thoughts of a P course were changed and we reverted to the standard W/L.
As the boats prepared themselves for the first start the tide was still ebbing. Everyone decided to cross the line on starboard with Phil & Lorna (RS400) quickly tacking inshore as the others continued offshore. At the finish Phil & Lorna had a good lead and held their time on handicap to take the win. It was a close finish for the Richard’s with Mr Brown in his Solution just beating Mr Foster (Laser) over the line by two seconds but on corrected time Mr Foster claimed second.
By the time race two got under way it had become overcast with the wind now a F2 with a hint of west in it. With the last remains of the ebb tide still evident everyone headed inshore up the beat. Phil & Lorna, in the fastest boat rightly led the fleet round the course. Richard B and Phil (Contender) were only a few seconds apart for the first two laps rounding the leeward gate together on lap two, but on the final lap Richard opened up a short lead on Phil. As the boats finished the wind had dropped to a F1 making for a very leisurely end to the evening. On corrected time Richard B claimed first with Phil & Lorna second.
As we headed back inshore the sun was setting and any longer on the water may well have it necessitated navigation lights. Once ashore many of us stayed to indulge in a beer and Chef Brown’s cooking.
With just two weeks to go one point separates the top two, Richard and Mark, with Phil & Lorna still in striking distance. Will it be Solution, Laser or RS400 that takes overall glory?