Fourteen DAC Sailors came along to our Scratch racing today.

The forecast said dry and apart from a few drops it was close to the mark.

The wind unfortunately was again from the South East at a gentle 2 to 15 Km/Hr, (1 to 8 Knots) with a temperature in the mid to low twenties.

A thunderstorm threatened us after an hour but it drifted harmlessly to the side and left us alone.

Our choice of sails varied between “A” ‘s and “B” ‘s. Each one had its advantages at some stage of the day.

Setting the course was the hardest part of the day. Graham Brown set several according to the vagaries of the changing breeze. He did succeed and we eventually got some racing underway.

Our Deck space was limited due to the replacement works and we lost our ramp and jetty for the day. It was a “wet launch”, something new for DAC sailors. Now we appreciate how others manage. The rising tide helped later for Deck launches.

Stephen Deane was our Champion for the day. A win and 3 seconds from 4 scoring races was unbeatable and gave Stephen a top score of 7 points. Richard Thorpe also mastered the conditions well and 3 places scored 13 points for him to come home second. Graham Brown was a close third. A win and place secured 14 points. Phil Stevenson was just out of the top three but 2 wins on a tricky day was a pretty good effort. Bruce Paterson was well in the hunt and all his finishes were in the front group which included a win in race 1. Only 1 or 2 points separated six boats with Robin Tickner, Martin Thearle Karen Paterson and Noel McPherson each scoring the remaining places or good finishes in the front half of the Fleet.

Race four wasn’t able to have complete scores. Poor visibility, a distant finish line and all remaining boats arriving at the same time was the cause.

After testing our memories it seemed fair to share all remaining positions after 5.

Race winners were Stephen Deane 1, Graham Brown 1, Phil Stevenson 2 and Bruce Paterson 1.

Stephen Deane took the honours for the day to win 1st place on 7 points.

Richard Thorpe finished in 2nd place on 13 points.

Graham Brown finished in 3rd place with 14 points.

The Club Championship now has Graham Brown in front from Phil Stevenson and Judy Evans.

Our next Sail day is Thursday 2^nd May for a Handicap Event. I’ll forward forecast details closer to the day.

Next Thursday 25^th April is ANZAC Day with no sailing planned.

---