We really are a weird lot, aren’t we… I mean, we all knew it was going to rain; right. It was just a matter of when. But we all turned up anyway. 14 boats – a good number on any day. And sure enough, it came and ended our day at race 9.

I think the cold surprised us all as well. The wind was out of the north but swinging NW to NE, so it was difficult to set a course. We ended up with a course more or less straight out from the deck; with the start line close in, and having downwind finishes. Just to add to the oddness of the day, we decided to try having a gate as the top mark rather than the normal pin for rounding. Thought provoking. It will be interesting to see how that evolves. There tended to be a majority of boats going to the left hand mark to do “normal” roundings; and that could be for any number of reasons; but it looks promising for the future. It will be good to get some feedback from you on how it went.

“A” sails were the go to start with, but after race 2, “B” sails were the norm; and as the afternoon went on, some reverted to the “A” sail again.

Because of where the start line was located, it was in a bit of a wind shadow, and you had to get clear of that before you started motoring. Those who were caught further behind the start line had difficulty reaching the line, and were disadvantaged.

Attached are the result sheets.

An interesting set of scores. It is certainly mixing up the order at the moment. Have a look at where the placings are going – right through the field. Well done to you all.

The day turned out to be Robin Tickner’s day – well done Robin – well clear of 2nd place Philip Hetherington and Graham Brown 3rd.

Our next sailing day is Thursday 22nd September – Scratch Races – the public holiday.

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