Saturday was blustery and wet for the start of the Tinkers open meeting. The conditions resulted in several capsizes, with one Tinker getting their mast stuck in the mud; when it was brought up the mast was bent, and the rudder broken, so it needed a tow back to shore. Unfortunately a rope then wrapped around the prop of the rescue boat, so the Bates towed both ashore, not before the vice Commodore pushed out one of its windows!
Another Tinker capsized and broke its dagger board while trying to right itself.
In terms of club racing, there were no takers for the final weekend series in the club championship.
Sunday’s conditions were much more appealing, and there was a selection of club boats ready to race.
The forecast was for rain to come in, and the wind to pick up as the day went on, so two races were held before the lunch break, and a final race afterwards which had the asymmetric fleet heading to 7 in the freshening SW wind.
There were many great gusts for planing, and numerous shifts, together with the occasional lull to contend with. Not many capsizes, but a couple of gear failures that affected positions.
Neil/Archie took the honours in the Asymmetric fleet, with Scumper/Toggle 2nd, and Banter/Emma/Oscar 3rd.
In the handicap fleet, Ant in his F15 mistook marks A and 1, giving Paul in his Laser the opportunity to gain ground and win on handicap. Though the results show Neil winning the next race, he retired after being informed he may well have missed a mark out, making Paul the overall winner, with Ant 2nd.