Gillette Series 12 – 29th June 2016
It was a bit frisky tonight with a SW wind about 14 mph, but with much stronger squalls coming through and the threat of rain in the air. Chris A stepped up to take on the SOOD duty and set the first beat down to 4, then 2p, 5s, 6s, 7s and back through the start.
There were only 9 starters and Karen, Mark B and Rick had opted for Radial rigs and Franz had abandoned his Contender for a full rig Laser. Peter S had decided to be bold and use his CII sail on his Byte and Dean & Nick had also stuck to full rig for their Vago.
First back through the start line was Karen with Mark B 2nd, Franz 3rd and Curtis 4th, all in Lasers and fairly close together. Peter S (Byte II) came through in 5th place with Rick (Laser) slightly further back in 6th place being chased by Dean & Nick (Vago). Bringing up the rear of the fleet were Mike A (Lightning) and Chris & Carol (Sport 14).
At the end of the second lap Karen had extended her lead, but Curtis had got past Mark and Franz to move up to 2nd. Dean & Nick had caught and passed Rick. By this time Chris & Carol had been lapped and they received the gun at the end of the lap.
On the third lap Curtis had caught Karen and they crossed the line virtually together. Peter had moved up to 4th by passing Franz and further back Rick had retaken Dean & Nick.
On the fourth and last lap Karen had got ahead again and Curtis had a mishap coming down to No 6 when a lull followed by a gust pushed him over the buoy line with a consequent capsize. This moved everyone up one place with only one change in position when Dean & Nick re-passed Rick.
Final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Mark B; 3rd Peter S; 4th Franz; 5th Dean & Nick; 6th Rick.
On handicap Peter should leapfrog Mark to take 2nd place.
Thanks to Chris A (especially as he stepped in at the last minute) and the OOD Team of Helen, Graham K, Billy I and Julian W.