Early Bird Series – 8th May 2022

A lot of sun and not much wind, but a record number – 8 boats – racing (plus one cruising). Jake had a lightening start and streaked ahead sitting on the foredeck of the Laser, where no one older than 30 dare sit. He left Danny, Andrew and Neil fighting for 2nd place, far behind, and Steve messing things up sailing in amongst them, unable to sail the RS700 anything like as fast as his handicap would expect. Surprisingly the race went to 2 laps and, after an incredibly close last mark, Andrew emerged ahead and finished 2nd followed by Danny and Neil who failed in his attempt to squeeze inside the others at the last mark.

The second race promised less and delivered. Jake didn’t quite streak as far ahead as in the first race, largely because he had been told that it was against Laser class rules to be in front of the mast (a sensible rule in the opinion of the over 30s). As the wind dropped half of the sailors decided not to risk sunburn and dehydration and retired and as the wind dropped further and the back tide increased, Patrick in the Race Office decided enough was enough and shortened the course to one lap. Steve regained some dignity by finishing first on the water (but last on handicap) and Jake again took the honours ahead of Neil and Laurence.

Danny still leads the series but on OOD duty next week and unsure of whether he can come the week after, his place is in jeopardy. Neil in second has plenty of results but Andrew in 3rd has sailed his last race in the series and will lose it all if all scheduled races are sailed. Behind, Steve and Robin tie on points and could still end up in the prizes. It’s not so much about who wins the next races, but who turns up!

Results