There was a good turn out for the first pursuit race in the Celebrity Glass series on Saturday. Ethan sailed a Mirror with Harry Binns, and held his position very well for the first lap but he then slipped back while Mik and Alan Waugh fought it out. Stacey raced her Europe very well and was first to pass the Mirrors, but Mike/Eric in their GP were on her tail and then took the lead. The Commodore was sailing his first race of the season with Dave Lawson in a Vago, and had his first capsize too! Towards the end of the 70 min race their were five different classes of boats (GP, Merlin , RS200, F15 and Enterprise) in close contention to win the race so it seemed unfair to finish the race early, if only by a couple of mins, and the race continued to the next mark. With the five leading boats separating for clearer air up the final leg there were three potential winners. For Steve/Ruth in a Merlin and Ian/Lezi-Ann in a F15, who both went low, the wind eased enabling Mike/Eric to maintain their lead and win. Ian couldn’t quite lay the mark on the final approach and had to gybe round as Steve/Ruth were preventing them tacking. When Ian made the mark, he touched it as he finished and had to re-round dropping him back to 8th, and behind Mike/Kayla, who he had stayed ahead of all race.
In the 2nd race, Steve/Ruth led the handicap fleet, with Bean/Naomi and Ethan/Robin in RS200s chasing, pushing him back to 3rd on handicap. Scumper was late for the start (again!) and had to work his way up through the fleet but he couldn’t catch Toggle, who finished 5th behind Alex/Olivia.
Ian/Lezli-Ann had another good race, and despite various rowdy moments from other F15s, led and won the race resulting in Mike/Kayla’s first defeat in their new F15 (word is they won’t be relying on Tic-Tac for the rest of the weekend!)
Mik and Alan had some close racing in the Mirrors, with Alan winning the race.
Sunday racing was the start of the first weekend series and there another great turnout – more so in The Bates where there was four cooks to spoil the broth! An extra couple of passengers hitching a lift tto their F15 on the way out set the scene nicely….. But if you weren’t there you may never find out what went on!
Steve/Ruth led the handicap fleet again, but could not break away and Scumper passed him on the final couple of legs, and won the race, with Bean/Naomi 2nd. Ethan was again helming the RS200 with Robbie D crewing, and was a little over keen to get a good start, so was recalled.
It seemed all quiet in the F15 fleet today, with no shouting. Mike/Kayla were back on form and led the race. Keith/Stephen sailed well and made Ian/Lezli-Ann work to get past.
In the GPs, positions were steady thoughout the race, with Dave/Lynn taking 1st – this was repeated in the second race as well.
After lunch the wind freshened slightly, and there were several capsizes, including (at least) one by Scumper which made all the difference to the overall result as he finished equal 1st with Steve/Ruth, with Bean/Naomi 3rd. Two of the capsizes resulted in retirements.
Andy T took the helm in the F15, had an excellent start and held off the competition for a few legs, but Mike/Kayla took the lead again, and won, with Ian/Lezi-Ann 2nd.
Herb stressed (or was he stressed?) that, despite the distractions and hilarity from his multitude of passengers, that he remained steadfsat throughout the day and rushed ashore to buy his eggs for the egg dump!
The forecast wind and rain for Bank Holiday Monday failed to fully materialise – it persistent drizzle, and there was some wind but it was perfecvtly sailiable and there was some good racing to be had. There were a couple of capsizes, but both boats raced on to the end.
In the handicap fleet, Alex/Olivia had an excellent first beat in their RS200 and led the fleet for the rest of the race, with Bean/Naomi and Robin/Ethan battling it out for 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Paul Clark had a capsize, and lost his way on the course, losing him some crucial seconds, but teaching him the importance of persevering (and sailing the right course!).
Mike/Jenny gave they rest of the F15 fleet a start as they battled to unravel the spinnaker pole, but they worked through to first (and win the series), and left Ian/Lezli-Ann and John/Keith to play for 2nd. Ian had remembered his downfall from years ago and made sure he covered John’s tacks up the final beat to secure 2nd.
Nothing new in the GPs as Dave/Lynn had a clear lead over Mike/Eric and won the race and series.
Two Mirrors ventured out. Mik won and Alan failed to cross the finish line (perhaps he was so taken aback that it was a shore finish?) so did not finish.
After lunch it was only the four handicap series contenders that raced. Steve/Ruth led the race and won on handicap. Alex/Olivia and Bean/Naomi had some good racing, and changed places a couple of times, but Alex came out on top, came 2nd in the race, and won the series. Bean’s 3rd position pushed him down to 4th in the series behind Scumper who was also out to win the series, but finished 4th on the water and on handicap. Great to have such close results (unless you were one of those that just lost out!)