03 August Summer Series Race 8
With a brisk SW wind somewhere around 12-14 mph, Andy B set a nice long start line with a good beat down to No 4. Considering that the wind was “good” and the morning bright and sunny, it was somewhat surprising that only 9 boats turned out.
Although there were one or two who turned up and decided that they did not fancy a quick dip !
In fact the biggest problem of the day was not the wind but the weed ! The beat down to No 4 was followed by No 2 to starboard and then No 3 to starboard, but between 2 and 3 there was a long line of thick floating weed and it was very difficult to find an easy way through this mass.
David C (Laser) led for pretty well for the whole of the race, although he was overtaken now and then, and crossed the finish line only 10 seconds ahead of Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000).
The battle between David C and Newton & Ellen was probably the closest of the race as the rest of the fleet seemed to spread out with slight gaps between all of the boats.
At the end of the first lap David C came through in 1st place with Newton & Ellen 2nd, Nev & Mike (Leader) 3rd and Mike A (Laser) 4th. Nick Trotman (Radial) was next in 5th followed by Mike C (Solo), then Sally & Paul R (Leader) in 7th, with Oswin (Radial) 8th and John C (Topaz) 9th. These positions were maintained throughout the race, so although the race was not exciting in terms of trading places, it was good fun in the fresh breeze.
The final positions on the water were 1st David C, 2nd Newton & Ellen, 3rd Neville & Mike, although on handicap David C will be leapfrogged by the two following boats giving Newton and Ellen the overall win.