3 Catamarans set out to race for the Gusty Trophy in suitably gusty weather. Andrew started well, with Robin not far behind, and in his Dart 18, the fastest boat on the course, he was soon in the lead. Unfortunately for him there was no one ahead to show him the way and he proceeded to miss out marks as he surged into the distance. This is not allowed so he was retired. Novices Steve and Danny C in the club Dart 16 started very late and didn’t improve on that, but at least they got round in one piece. That left Andrew as winner of the trophy, but not the race. Nigel in a Topper was well ahead on handicap.

The second race saw the cats much closer and it was neck and neck until the second leg, when Robin again tried to sail the wrong course. This time he realised his mistake and went back allowing Andrew and Steve/Danny to surge ahead, much closer this time. By the end of lap 3 Robin had caught them but as the wind dropped, the other two dropped back allowing Andrew to finish in 3rd. Nigel again took 1st place with Jason an excellent 2nd.

Overall Nigel leads the series and the slow fleet with no other slow boat able to qualify (Steve’s results now have been put back to the actual 4 boats he’s sailed in the series). In the fast fleet, Neil leads, with Jason 2nd and Andrew 3rd.

Results

Very successful pursuit race with twelve boats taking part.
Unfortunately we lost Rex before the start on the slipway as he got in to trouble and broke his centre board. Three toppers started and were well in front having completed their first lap before some of the faster boats had started. After 22 mins we had the final boat Dart15 with Sam starting.
Slowly the fleet closed up with ten minutes to go the Lasers started to overtake the Toppers. Resulting in a number of changes in the last five minutes and 80% of the fleet finishing within minutes of each other.
First mark was repositioned for the second race and the wind picked up for this race, but we had no capsizes giving the rescue boat an easy time.
Around 1200 we saw the swimmers on their way to Jackson Bay, but they were outside the sailing fleet.

Results

Less windy, but still challenging for some. 5 boats ventured out and Neil and Steve had some close racing with a win apiece.

Steve has now changed his boat of choice to a full rig Laser and lies second in the Fast Fleet, with Neil leading and Jason in third. Nigel is well ahead of everyone overall and in the Slow Fleet.

Results

The weather gods briefly smiled and seven boats set out in a gusty north westerly, that compared to recent weeks felt being positively becalmed. Race officer Bob set a triangular course with first leg parallel to the shore heading West.

Race one saw the lasers of Pete Wells and Robin Wilkinson and Nigel in the topper taking the shore side of the start line in an attempt to get to the first mark in one hit. Talking of hits Dan and Chris in the Enterprise  launched stern first into a rogue wave which smashed their transom flap , causing partial sinking and for them to miss the first race.

Back to the race start, Andrew in his Topaz got away and first to the windward mark. Pete, Robin and Jason in the lasers stayed closely grouped round the first mark and off dead downwind. On the following beat Pete capsized and lost his advantage.  Andrew headed off in front managing to get his kite up on the runs with Robin and Jason swapping places a few times. Meanwhile Futher back Nigel in stealth mode took the honours. 

Race two saw Nigel taking the offshore end of the start and everyone else making a clean getaway further inshore. Dan and  Chris were back having had pitstop assistance to fabricate a new transom flap from a discarded ‘ do not park here’ sign.  Very fetching in yellow. The wind had now dropped overall but still with some powerful gusts. Robin and Jason swapped places several times. Charles steamed around in his Scorpion, wishing he had a crew to get his kite up on the runs.

At the finish the top three were separated by just six seconds on handicap. In both races Jason clearly showing that he is a one watch, despite being new to lasers and having old style controls on his boat. Apologies if I have not recalled your race experience  …too busy trying to keep Jason at bay 

Results