Boxing Day Cup Race 2017
It was quite a pleasant morning with a hint of sun, but a cold edge to the wind, which was similar to the Christmas Eve race. There was no designated SOOD on the rota, but Colin H kindly took this on.
There were 11 starters and all of them finished with Steve S (Aero 7) leading from start to finish, but being pushed all the way by Jon (Laser) who was never far behind him. James (Laser) was 3rd across the line at the end of the first lap followed by Newton (Solo) and Hugh (Laser) then came Hadey and William in Radials and Nev & Mike (Leader). Curtis was next through in another Radial followed by Dean & Nick (Vago) with Rhys (Topper) behind them.
At the end of the second lap the two leaders were well ahead and Newton had passed James to move up to 3rd place. The other movers on this lap were Curtis up three places and Dean & Nick up two.
On the third lap James repassed Newton to move back into 3rd place, Hugh and Hadey both gained a place to move up to 5th and 6th and Dean & Nick also gained a place and moved up to 7th.
The fourth lap saw no changes in position for the first six boats, but Curtis and Nev & Mike managed to pass Dean & Nick to move up to 7th and 8th. Rhys, who had battled away gamely at the back of the fleet, received the finish gun at the end of this lap.
The fifth lap was the last lap of the race and Steve crossed the line still in 1st place on the water. Hugh and Curtis both managed to get past Hadey to finish 5th and 6th pushing her down to 7th. William also gained a place by passing Nev & Mike to finish in 8th place.
The final order on the water was –
1st Steve S; 2nd Jon; 3rd James; 4th Newton; 5th Hugh; 6th Curtis
On handicap Newton will take the victory with Jon in 2nd place, Steve 3rd and James 4th. Curtis and Hadey in Radials will leapfrog Hugh (Laser full rig) to take 5th and 6th.
Thanks to Colin H and the OOD Team of Brian M, Mark and Monica R, Roland L and Sally, especially the latter three who were not on the rota but volunteered to help out.