Reading Sailing Club Members

Winter had definitely arrived and only the brave ventured out onto the water in temperatures of ‘feels like – 2’, only the sun made it bearable for the race team! Fortunately, Storm Arwen had passed through, leaving a perfect strength but shifty breeze, but not without taking a tree down on the track to the sailing club! SOOD Dave had help from one of our neighbors with a chainsaw to remove it before he could even get to the club to open up! The Pursuit race had 11 starters and the team on Tectona, (Karen, Hadey and Bea) set a course of 4p, 2p, 9p, AP (between 4 and 5),1, S. 

First off was Ron in his Mirror, followed by Chris in his Comet, then the Solos of Roland and Mike C. Newton/Sam in the RS200 and the Lasers of Darren, Chris K, Ralph, James and Mark, with a questionable windward boat incident, were off before finally Mike/Ali in the 470 got going. 

The first lap finished with all the slower boats still out front followed by 

the Lasers of Darren, Chris K and Ralph followed by Newton/Sam in the RS200 before James and Mark. The 470 had not yet passed anyone. 

Lap 2 saw Chris in his Comet passing Ron, who had Roland right on his tail and Mike C not far behind.  Chris K had passed Darren, and Newton/Sam had passed Ralph. 

The final Lap saw Chris K capsize, (that must have been chilly) and lose lots of places, but the slower boats held the top three positions with Chris finishing just in front of Roland, and Ron keeping in front of Darren. 

Mike C decided enough was enough and Emily came out, having arrived late and taken a very long time to rig her boat! The handicap race therefore had 11 starters with a very slight course change, Karen deciding a better reach was to be had by replacing 2 with B which shortened the leg from 4. 

Hot chocolate with marshmallows kept Bea warm on Tectona, whilst doing a sterling job of hauling flags up and down. 

Lap 1 saw the rare sight of Mike/Ali in the 470 out the front, followed by Newton/Sam. The Lasers were split with Roland going really well in his Solo in amongst them, Chris K, Darren and Ralph in front of him and James and Mark behind him. Emily was in front of Chris H, and last but not least was Ron. 

Lap 2 saw the double handers changing positions, and Roland and James getting past Ralph when he was forced to do turns by not keeping clear to windward of Darren. (Karen’s top tip – it is a lot quicker to do your penalty turns with your main in and your daggerboard down!!!). Chris H was in front of Emily, but they were having a really good race. 

Lap 3 saw Newton/Sam still out the front, but Chris K had passed the 470 and Roland was now in front of Darren. This time round Emily was in front of Chris! Ron was finished at the end of this lap as by the time he came round the first five boats had finished their fourth and final lap. 

The final lap saw Chris K take the gun getting past Newton/Sam on the penultimate leg, next in was Mike/Ali followed by Darren then Roland. 

Corrected times saw Roland leaping into first place, 2 secs in front of Chris K, with Newton/Sam taking third. 

Thanks to the race team of Dave &, Ann L, Karen, Hadey, Bea, Richard M, Simon B and Martin L. 

It was a cold wind of about 8 mph from the North this morning. Mark set a course of  Ap,  5p , 9s , 2s, S.Despite the cold there was a good turn out of 23 boats including James C with his RS300, a new addition to our mixed class fleet. As usual Lasers were predominant with nine boats out, then three Comets, two Solos, two Mirrors, a 4.7, RS200, Leader, Wayfarer, Vago, Morbic and a Partridge in a Pear Tree (no – that’s coming next month!).

James C in the RS300 led for every lap and he was so far ahead he lapped everyone else and consequently did one more lap than the rest of the fleet!

Aileen retired her Comet  after two laps and Lucy in a Laser and Paul W in the unique Morbic were finished after three laps.

Martin in a Laser received the gun after four laps, followed by three boats in a close finish, Sally in her Comet just ahead of Hilary & Chris in their Wayfarer and Rhys in the 4.7. Then it was the turn of the two Mirrors to receive the gun with Ron some way ahead of Christine.

Then the five lappers, who had been preceded by James C (who was sent round for another lap), came to take the gun with Richard S in his Laser leading Newton & Jasmine in the RS200 with Mike T in a Laser on their transom to take 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th places on the water.  Not far behind these Roland and Mike C crossed their Solos in 5^th and 6th after enjoying a race long battle. The next three were close together with James P in his Laser leading Chris H (Comet) and Darren (Laser) across the finish line. Then along came the Lasers of Alessandro (abandoning his 470) and Alistair S who finished only 15 seconds apart, Behind them there was an even closer finish with Ainhoa in a Laser pipping Adrian in his Vago by one second!

On corrected time the final order was – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd James C; 3^rd Roland S; 4^th Mike C; 5^th Richard S; 6^th Mike T

Thanks to SOOD Mark Buckle and the race team of Bill Coulter, John Reekie, Matt Baxter, John Wakefield, James Morl and Thomas.

A very cold, sunny day, with a northerly wind of 12 mph and gusting lots more at times. SOODs Karen and Aileen (who was being trained) set a course starting from Tectona to 5p, Ap (half way back to 4), 9s, 1s, Bs (half way to 2). 

The pursuit race saw 24 boats starting, including four boats from one family – that has to be a record?! Well done Dan, Rebecca, William and Frances. 

First off was Ron in his Mirror. Dan and Rebecca in Picos, William and Frances in Toppers and Jewels in her Mirror should have also been starting early but were all late to the start line and started randomly as they arrived! Paul was somewhere in the Mobic, Chris in his Comet, the Solos of Mike and Roland, then the Leader with Dave and Ann onboard all got going before the mass Laser start along with the RS200 of Newton and Sam. Last, but not least, to finally start at 10.5 minutes was James C in his RS300 which fairly flew round the course. Martin in his Laser capsized very early on and retired before completing a lap, and Hattie in her Laser capsized lots but persisted until the end of the race.

The end of the first lap saw Ron still out front, followed by Paul in the Mobic, Chris in the Comet and William in his Topper, with Dave and Ann in fifth place The second lap saw Ron, Chris then the first Laser with Darren onboard beginning to come through, followed by James in his Laser. Dave & Ann were still hanging in there still in fifth. Some lapping was also beginning to happen now, making it all very complicated and confusing for Karen, Aileen and Bea on Tectona!

The end of the third lap and Ron was still there, but now followed by Darren, Chris K and James in Lasers with Chris in the Comet down to fifth.

The end of the race saw boats on different laps all intermingled, but fortunately everyone was on a downwind leg, making Aileen, Hadey and Alex’s job confusing but doable in the finish boat.

Podium places all went to Lasers – Darren, Chris K and James P (who was incredibly lucky to finish in front of James C in the RS300 who was right on his heels). Chris H was 5^th and Jon in another Laser was 6^th.

It was very cold so Mike C, and Frances decided enough was enough and went ashore to the warmth of the clubhouse leaving 21 boats to start the handicap race. 

30 seconds to go saw Newton and Sam in the RS200 and Jon in his Laser over the line but amazingly they managed to find space to duck back before the gun went! Darren wasn’t quite so lucky, a couple of seconds too early right at the ODM meant he had nowhere to go other than across the line prematurely prompting an individual recall from Tectona (Thanks Darren – it meant Aileen in training as a SOOD learned what to do when someone is over the line at the start – sound one hoot after the start hoot and fly the white flag with the blue cross. Leave the flag flying until the early starter has restarted correctly and then take it down).

First round at the end of the lap was James in the RS300 flying machine, followed by Chris K in a Laser, then Newton and Sam in the RS200, lots more Lasers -Ralph, James, Jon, Darren, Gareth. Dave and Ann in the Leader, Chris in the Comet and Richard in a Laser were all together and Roland in a Solo and Alistair and Nigel in yet more Lasers weren’t far behind. Jewels in her Mirror was already a minute ahead of Ron in his and they were followed by Hattie in the final Laser, Paul in the Mobic and Rebecca in a Pico, William in a Topper and Dan in a Pico.

Lap 2 didn’t see much change in the order, though the RS300 was already lapping the slower boats, Chris K started pulling away from the rest of the Lasers and Darren picked up a place. Chris in the Comet dropped a few places and Roland in the Solo gained a few. 

Lap 3 saw Hattie capsizing yet again and being towed ashore wet and cold by Jeremy and Nick in the rescue boat. Jon got past James, Darren gained another place and Roland was doing well in the Solo. Jewels was now 2.5 minutes in front of Ron and going really well. 

Lap 4 saw Darren picking up to third and Newton and Sam drop back a bit, James P lost his hat when the Laser boom swiped it off his head and then later in the lap capsized – Bea you’re not supposed to laugh at your Dad, but Karen agrees – it was funny! Rebecca capsized in the Pico and took a long time to get going again but still managed to stay in front of Dan. The Mobic, Ron in his Mirror, the Topper and Picos were all finished on this lap as they had all been lapped by the faster boats. Jewels was going too well in her Mirror and had to do another lap!

Lap 5 didn’t see many changes in position but everyone except the RS300, the RS200 and the first group of Lasers were finished on this lap as they had all been lapped by the time the RS300 came across the line.

Lap 6 finished with the order on the water being James C in the RS300 followed by the Lasers of Chris K, Darren, Ralph, then the RS200 of Newton and Sam , then the Lasers of James P and Jon.

Corrected time saw a change in the results with the Lasers of Chris K and Darren taking first and second followed by Jewels in the Mirror, Ralph in a Laser fourth and James C in the RS300 dropping to fifth with James P sixth.

Thanks to the OOD team of Karen, Aileen, Bea, Hadey, Alex, Jeremy and Nick who all deserve medals because it was very cold!

A cold blustery day but at least the sun was out! 13 boats started the pursuit race and SOOD Karen set a course starting at Tectona of Bp (between 3 and 4), 2p 9p, Ap (between 4 and 5), 1s.

Pursuit Race

Karen’s nephew Alex was visiting and led for most of the race in a club Topper. At the end of the first lap Ron in the Mirror was second, followed by Chris in the Comet, Rhys in a Radial, Roland in a reefed Solo, Jon who had gone down to a Radial, James still brave enough to go with the Standard (probably because Rhys had borrowed the Radial though!), Newton in the RS200 with Lottie crewing for him this week, Mike in a Solo, Ralph in a Radial, Adrian who had gone down to a Standard, Steve in a Blaze and Mike T and Alex bringing up the rear in the 470. 

The second lap got interesting with a few capsizes Rhys was the first to go – in backwards downwind, followed by the classic in again as soon as he was upright! James was mean enough to laugh as he sailed past too! Next to go were Newton and Lottie who well and truly dug the mast into the mud and needed rescue boat help to recover, Steve also took a dunking from the Blaze! All very entertaining for Karen and Bea on Tectona! 

Alex, followed by Ron were still out the front but Jon and James had worked their way up to 3rd and 4th. Roland held 5th, Chris dropped to 6th followed closely by the Mike/Alex, Ralph, Adrian, Rhys and Mike C and Steve. Newton was well back but did continue the race.

The end of lap 3 saw Jon and James getting past Ron, but Alex was still holding on to the lead. Roland was consistent in 5th followed by Mike/Alex, Adrian and Steve who really recovered well from his capsize. Rhys was still in 9th but Ralph had dropped to 10th, with Mike still in 11th with Chris back long way in 12th. Unusual to see but Newton /Lottie were last!

A short time before the end Jon and James finally passed Alex in the Topper but everyone else only changed up or down one place.

Final positions were Jon, James, Alex who as a visitor graciously retired meaning Ron finished 3rd.

Handicap Race

The Handicap race saw 15 starters – MikeC had had enough and gone in but Jeremy with Jazmine perched on the front and Chris K joined in their Lasers, along with Paul in the Mobic.

There was a little bit of pushing and shoving on the start line – Karen thinks a few more penalty turns should have been done!! The 470 of Mike/Alex came through in first place at the end of the first lap but promptly had to retire with a jib falling down! James and Jon were battling with Steve in the Blaze and Chris in the Laser very close behind. Roland, Ralph and Adrian were also very close followed by Newton/Lottie before a short gap to a battling Chris, Rhys and Alex. Jazmine was having fun on the front of Jeremys Laser but they really weren’t going well being only just in front of Ron. It is thought Paul in the Mobic might have got lost on route but he did eventually appear!

Lap 2 saw Rhys capsizing downwind again and retiring worn out! Chris had pulled through to the front, Jon and James were still battling joined by Steve who retired at the end of the lap. Adrian and Newton/Lottie pulled up a couple of places passing Roland and Ralph. Alex in the Topper was now in front of Chris who was perplexed as to why a Topper was in front of him – less so when he found out Alex was a relative of Karen’s! Ron got in front of Jeremy.

Lap 3 saw the Lasers changing places again with Jon followed by Chris and James with Newton/Lottie on his heels. Roland and Ralph were still together. Alex was still in front of Chris and Ron was still in front of Jeremy.

Lap 4 saw Jazmine falling off the Laser and Jeremy attempting to stop and wait for her to swim to him!! (Karen says she’ll teach you Man Overboard drill Jeremy!) When she finally arrived they retired. Jon was still in front, Newton/Lottie and Adrian had passed James. Ralph was just in front of Roland. Alex, Chris and Ron were finished as they were crossing just before and with the Lasers on Lap 5.

Finishing order on the water was Chris K, Jon, Newton, James, Adrian but calculated results saw Alex in the Topper taking first place before again retiring, with Chris, Jon and Newton retaining their on water positions for the first three places.

Thanks to Karen, Bea, Mike N, Hadey, Thomaz and Steve.

                                …..and thanks to Karen for this entertaining report

The morning started off very wet and very windy with a SSW wind of 13 – 20 mph and much stronger gusts coming through. There were only a few hardy takers with a fleet of just six for the first race.

Peter R set a first beat down to 3 then 2, 5, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

Ron, first man away in his Mirror, was still ahead at the end of the first lap, but Darren (Laser) was fast approaching. Newton & Sam (RS200) were in 3^rd place followed by Chris H (Comet), Alex & Mike T (470) and Ralph (Laser). At the 35 minute gun the order was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Alex & Mike T; 4^th Ron; 5^th Chris H; 6^th Ralph.

Handicap Race

Peter shortened the course by using 4 as the first mark rather than No 3, but the wind was still strong and gusty.

Ralph and Newton & Sam decided to finish early and only four made it to the end of the first lap. Darren led by 3 minutes from Ron with Chris H another 2 minutes further back and Mike T & Alex bringing up the rear.

Peter decided two laps was enough in these conditions and the final order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Mike T & Alex; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Chris H.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Ron; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Mike T & Alessandro

Well done lads for making it to the end!

Thanks to SOOD Peter Rose and the race team of Ferdinando, John Hayes, Rob Harrison, Roland Smith and Tom Adams.

It was a pleasant sunny morning with a 12 mph wind from the South, but it was quite gusty and as a result there were a number of capsizes. Sally, Christine and Martin turned out, but decided that the conditions warranted discretion and wisely sat it out.

Ron set a first beat to 2 then 5, 9, 7,3, 4.

 Pursuit Race

There were 13 starters and unusually the first four at the end of a lap were still in the same position when the 35 minute gun went. Mike C(Solo) crossed the line in 5th place but was only 4 seconds ahead of Newton & Lottie (RS200), who had just got past Chris H (Comet).  James (Laser) was about to pass Chris as well and Richard S in another Laser was chasing James.

Behind them, Alessandro & Mike T (470) crossed the line in 10^th place just ahead of Adrian (Rooster).

Aileen (Comet), Jonas (Lightning – yes, we now have a fleet, well a pair anyway – some may say a right pair!) and Rick & Jon (RS200) did not quite make a lap before the gun sounded.

The final order was – 1^st Roland (Solo); 2^nd Dave & Ann (Leader); 3^rd Ralph (Laser); 4^th Chris K (Laser); 5^th Newton & Lottie (RS200); 6^th Richards S (Laser).

Handicap Race

Ron changed the course for the second race using 2, 5, 9, 7, 6. Newton & Lottie were first back across the line about 40 seconds ahead of Richard S in 2^nd place. He was followed closely by Alex & Mike, Roland and James battling for 3^rd place. About 20 seconds later there was a really close group led by Ralph, then Chris K, Adrian, Dave & Ann and Rick & Jon with only 3 seconds covering all six boats! I The remaining three were evenly spaced with Chris H ahead of Mike C and Aileen.

By the end of the second lap Alex & Mike had taken the lead with Newton & Lottie still 2^nd, but Chris K had moved up four places to 3^rd. James had gained a place by passing Roland and was now in 5^th place. Ralph disappeared from 6^th, presumably capsized then retired and Adrian remained in 7^th place. Rick & Jon were up two places to 8^th with Dave & Ann steady in 9^th. Mike C had moved up to 10^th spot by passing Chris H and Aileen received the gun at the end of the lap.

The third and last lap saw a very close finish to the race with Newton & Lottie cross the line just one second ahead of Chris K and only 15 seconds ahead of Alex & Mike in 3^rd place. Richard S crossed the line on his own to take 4^th place, but there was another very close battle for 5^th with Rick & Jon gaining three places to pip James by a second. This surge of Rick & Jon pushed Roland down to 7^th and Adrian to 8^th with Dave & Ann in the 9^th position they had held all race. Mike C finished 10^th ahead of Chris H.

The order on the water was –

1^st Newton & Lottie; 2^nd Chris K; 3^rd Alex & Mike; 4^th Richard S; 5^th Rick & Jon; 6^th James.

On corrected time this becomes –

1^st Chris K; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd Newton & Lottie; 4^th Richard S; 5^th James; 6^th Rick & Jon

Thanks to SOOD Ron and the race team of Matt B, Patrick C, Doug H, Phil M, Carston P and Paul W.

Apologies for missing you from the race report, but thanks to Alistair S for coming to my rescue!

SOOD –         Adrian Frost

PB_Lead –     Leon Skilling

PB_Second – Ferdinando Micaletto

OOD –            Janos Ratkai

OOD –            Patrick Crowley

OOD –            David Sadler

Thank you gentlemen for turning up for duty on the 17th October.

Without your efforts (and those like you every week) we would not be able to run races.

We do appreciate it.

With a light SW wind, Adrian set a sort of box course using B, 9, A, 5 and back through the start

 Pursuit Race

18 starters this morning and first away was Paul W in his Morbic 12, followed by Christine in her Mirror, then the Topper of William and the Comets of Aileen, Chris H and Richard F. Next to go were Mike C in his Solo and Martin and Carston in Radials followed later by the Laser pack. At the end of one lap Mike C was leading ahead of Chris H and William with the Laser pack led by Richard S chasing, not forgetting Newton & Sam in the RS200.  At the gun the final order was –

1^st Mike C; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Richard S; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Darren; 6^th Jess

Handicap Race

Chris K (Laser) was first back through the line followed by Newton & Sam (RS200) and Richard S (Laser) and they maintained these positions for the three laps of the race, (so that is them sorted). Mike C was going well in 4^th place ahead of the Lasers of Jess, Darren, Rick and Nigel. Alessandro & Mike T (470) crossed in 9^th place and they were two minutes ahead of Chris H (Comet) in 10^th. A minute later Aileen came along in her Comet and she was a minute ahead of Martin (Radial) with Christine (Mirror) not far behind him. William (Topper) was through 30 seconds later and a long way ahead of Paul W (Morbic) and Richard F (Comet), who were battling for the lanterne rouge!

By the end of the second lap Darren was up to 4^th place by overtaking Mike C and Jess. Nigel has passed Rick to move up to 7^th and Chris H moved up to 9^th passing Alex & Mike T. Further back William had passed Christine and Richard F had passed Paul W. Aileen just escaped the chop, but Martin, Christine, William Richard and Paul all received the finish hooter (or gun if you prefer that – my experience of fire arms is limited to the little guns with a flag which pops out of the barrel with BANG written on it! (Never join the army as the enemy may not be able to read English).

The last lap saw Jess cross in 4^th place about  25 seconds ahead of Darren. Nigel was steady in 7^th place, but Chris H and Rick both gained a place to finish 8^th and 9^th with Alessandro & Mike T 10^th and Aileen 11^th.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Chris K; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Richard S; 4^th Jess; 5^th Darren; 6^th Mike C.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Chris K; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Richard S; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Jess.

Thanks to SOOD Adrian, who must have had his hands full as no other OOD names were down on the race sheet. If you were there – thank you very much.

This morning the wind was NNW about 6 mph for the first race but increasing slightly for the second race. Mike A used a Tektona start with the first mark as A (roughly halfway between 4 and 5), then 4, B (in the direction of 2 but nearer to the start line) and back through the start line.

There were 16 starters, which was the same as last week, but entirely different wind conditions!     

 Pursuit Race

Thanks to young Edward L at the start for balancing on the roof of Tektona to raise and lower race flags. Mike A had got up to lash the race flagpole to Tektona’s mast, but decided once on the roof was enough for one day!

At the end of a lap, the earlier starters were still ahead and Chris H (Comet) was well away at the front. Mike C and Roland in their Solos were in 2^nd and 3^rd places with Aileen in another Comet 4^th. Newton & Ainhoa (RS200) were the first of the “fast fleet” just ahead of Sally in her Comet. There was also another Comet out today as Richard Flood joined the growing fleet and he was towards the back with Rick & Lottie (RS200), who were practicing extreme roll tacks.

At the 35 minute gun Chris was still ahead and the final order was –

1^st Chris H (Comet); 2^nd Newton & Ainhoa (RS200); 3^rd Mike C (Solo); 4^th Roland (Solo); 5^th Darren (Laser); 6^th Ralph (Laser).

Handicap Race

The wind increased slightly and veered to the North, so the course was changed to 5, 4, 2, 3 and S for this race.

Nathan kindly replaced Edward on the roof to keep the owl company and do flag duty.

Ralph was flying and first back across the line with a decent lead on Darren who was in 2^nd place and he was followed by Newton & Ainhoa and Chris K (Laser). Alessandro & Mike T (470) were going well and crossed in 6^th place 30 seconds ahead of Richard S (Laser). Over a minute passed before Adrian came along in his Rooster (hoping for the wind to get stronger) followed by Chris H and Mike C who were having a tussle for 9^th place.  Rick & Lottie crossed in 10^th place, looking much steadier having reduced the roll on the tack. Alistair S (Laser) was in a Comet sandwich as he battled with Aileen and Sally and bringing up the rear were Richard F in another Comet and Christine in her Mirror.  

By the end of the second lap Newton & Ainhoa and Chris K had moved up to 2^nd and 3^rd by passing Darren. Roland was still in 5^th place, but Richard S had moved up one place to 6^th. Further back Mike C had got past Chris H (but only by 5 seconds across the line) and Alistair had moved ahead of Aileen. Richard F and Christine received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the finish Ralph crossed the line in 1^st place, but it was a close call with Chris K and Newton & Ainhoa right on his transom.  There was a bit of repassing going on as Alessandro & Mike T regained 6^th place from Richard and Chris H regained 9^th from Mike C. Rick & Lottie, Alistair, Aileen and Sally all maintained station. The final order on the water was –

1^st Ralph; 2^nd Chris K; 3^rd Newton & Ainhoa; 4^th Darren; 5^th Roland; 6^th Alessandro & Mike T

On corrected time the positions change to – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Chris K; 5^th Newton & Ainhoa; 6^th Darren.

Thanks to Mike A and the race team of Helen and Nathan with Nigel & Edward L, Hilary S and Alistair J (and crew – sorry did not get your name) in the PBs. Thanks also to Aileen who too time from putting her Comet away to help get the PBs out of the water.

There was quite a stiff SW wind about 16 mph initially but getting even stronger and gustier by the time the second race started.

 Pursuit Race

16 starters this morning, which was good considering the conditions. Early starter Chris H (Comet) was leading at the end of the first lap, but Karen (Laser) was getting ominously closer. First man away this morning Paul W in his gaff rig Morbic was still holding onto 3^rd place with Emily (4.7) in 4^th, Sally (Comet) 5^th and Paul R (Aero 7) 6^th.

At the finish gun, the final positions were –

1^st Karen (Laser); 2^nd Paul (Aero); 3^rd Emily (4.7), 4^th Newton & Sam (RS200); 5^th James (Laser); 6^TH Chris K (Laser).

Well done to Jasmine in her Topper and Christine in her Mirror for hanging in there and finishing the race.    

Handicap Race

It was now time for the white horses to appear and Jasmine, Karen, Sally and Ken prudently decided to sit this one out.

It turned out to be a battle of attrition with only four boats completing all three laps. Chris K started off the fun with a capsize before the start and then was over the line at the gun!

At the end of the first lap, strong wind maestro Jon (Laser) was in his element and crossed the line well ahead of James (Laser) in 2^nd place. Mark was through in 3^rd place despite declining a gybe and Chris K was 4^th (but not sure if he restarted or pressed on with his jump start). Newton & Sam (RS200) crossed in 5^th place and Emily (4.7) and Alessandro & Mike T (470) were abreast across the line battling for 6^th. Richard S (Laser) came through 10 seconds later in 8^th place and he was over two minutes ahead of Chris H (Comet) who was the last of the survivors. Paul R called it a day because of the weed, Paul W’s mast came down and Christine retired before the end of the lap.

On the second lap Mark and Chris K retired to terra firma. Alex & Mike T capsized and retired from the race but decided to stay out and play with the white horses. Jon capsized but quickly got going again and was still ahead at the line. James who was in 2^nd place suffered a death roll and Newton & Sam moved up to 2^nd place with Emily just behind them in 3^rd. Richard was through in 4^th place about 30 seconds behind Emily and two minutes ahead of a recovering James who in turn was five minutes ahead of Chris H, who was pleased to get the gun at the end of the lap.

Richard retired on the last lap and at the gun Jon had increased his lead and crossed the line in 1^st place with Newton & Sam taking 2^nd spot with Emily 3^rd and James 4^th.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Jon; 2^nd Emily; 3^rd Newton & Sam; 4^th James; 5^th Chris H  

Thanks to SOOD Rick and the team of Lottie, Mike C, Gareth and Rich F (and possibly others who were not mentioned in despatches)