It was guesswork initially to set a course for the day, with the wind swinging more than 90 deg. As soon as one course was set, it was redundant.  However, as the day progressed, the breeze settled in to the north east at about 19 knots, providing some lively sailing.

We all started on B sails, and most ended on C’s, with one or two D sails showing they were competitive.

We were down a little on our numbers with 12 sailors, but there seemed to be room for everyone except at the top mark.  We will be sailing with RO’s next week!

I tried mixing up the course a little using wing marks and rounding buoys at the bottom, but think we changed the course too many times; and this lead to confusion sometimes within the group.  Nevertheless, a change in course structure was welcomed.

The day was not a good one for our newer sailors, who struggled with the conditions, leading to some retirements which were unfortunate.  Hopefully better conditions next week.

Race winners were share by the top three sailors, with Phil Stevenson taking 6 1^st places, Robin Tickner taking three and Stephen Deane taking one.

The minor places were much more evenly shared through the fleet.

Once again, Geoff Lucas made a good recovery after some gear problems.

Phil Stevenson walked away with the day – 1^st place with 10 points.
Stephen Deane 2^nd place with 21 points and
Robin Tickner 3^rd with 22 points.

Our next sail will be Thursday 10 October, and will be Scratch racing.

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