Spring Series 6 9th April
Well the wind was forecast to be S – SSW about 10 mph rising to 12 by 13.00. In the event there was very little wind and what there was seemed to be coming from the NE!
This gave Bob a problem in setting a start line and setting a course and he decided to opt for an Island start. However once out there the wind started to change and come from the South, which cause further head scratching. By this time it was fast approaching what would be the normal finish time for the pursuit race, so it was decided to abandon the pursuit and run the handicap race. Bob set the first beat to 1, then 5, 2, 4, 9 and back through the start line.
There were 24 starters and 18 finishers. Dave I (Laser) and John C (Topaz) dropped out early on, not surprisingly as they normally go for an early cuppa. DP in Mirror 70231 did at least one lap before retiring and Dean & Nick (Vago) were circulating for quite a time. Peter R (Enterprise) was going quite well until he dipped it in about the third lap and presumably retired after that. Ralph (Laser) was still going on the penultimate lap, but then recorded as DNF, so not sure what happened to him on the last lap.
First back through the line on the first lap was Peter S (Byte CII) followed by Jon and Richard S in Lasers then |Curtis (Radial), Newton & Ellen (RS200) and James (Laser).
By the end of the second lap Jon had moved ahead of Peter S with Richard S still 3rd.
On the third lap Richard, Newton & Ellen and Sylvia (Laser) had all got past Peter S moving up 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. James was now 6th and Jessica B and Dave L in Lasers crossed the line together in joint 7th.
On the fourth lap Newton & Ellen had moved up to 2nd with James up to 4th. Hugh (Laser) gained a place up to 8th and Nev (Leader) moved up two to 10th. Hadey was going along in 11th place and Chris A (Solo) had moved up three places to 12th. Alistair S had gained a place to move to 13th pushing Curtis down to 14th. Behind them Mike A (Radial), William (4.7) and Gareth (Laser) were having a good battle with Adrian (Vago) bringing up the rear of the fleet.
At the end of the last lap the first five boats maintained their positions, but Jessica had gained a place moving up to 6th. Dave L moved up two places to 7th, Hadey passed Nev to move up to 10th and Alistair and Curtis both gained a place to move to 12th and 13th. William and Gareth also both gained a place.
The final positions on the water were –
1st Jon; 2nd Newton & Ellen; 3rd Richard S; 4th James; 5th Sylvia; 6th Jessica.
On handicap there should be some significant changes with Hadey moving up to 2nd, Peter S to 3rd and Nev up to 4th, pushing Newton & Ellen and Richard S down to 5th and 6th.
Thanks to Bob and the OOD Team (apologies to the team for not mentioning them by name, but none of them were entered onto the race sheet and under the new rota system it is not possible to look back on the duty roster)