Sunday dawned as cloudy and mild but without the early rain that had been forecast for the early part of the day. The wind once again was from the SE, but a little stronger than Saturday at 10-11 knots. Racing got underway soon after 9:30 and a total of 6 races were sailed by 11:30 when the breeze again started a shift towards the SW and racing had to be stopped until the wind settled and the course could be reset to sail from the Promenade. A further 9 races were then sailed before the cut-off time. At least the sun was now out to warm the competitors and although the wind had initially reduced in strength as it shifted, by the time racing resumed there were some stronger gusts. Some competitors held onto their top rigs as long as they could but eventually had to change down.
Once again, Brad Gibson dominated the day with a scoreline almost a third of the second placed boat, Austin Guerrier, with Rob Vice a short way behind in third place. Most of the wins were taken by those on the podium, although Darin Ballington took two race wins and Martin Roberts one. Darin unfortunately had electrical problems in Race 9 which forced an early end to his day. Martin had a long hook up on a mark warp when in a good position and then lost another race due to gear failure which also ended his chances of a higher position. At the prizegiving, Brad thanked everyone for coming to the event and also thanked all those club members who helped run the event over the weekend.
A great but ultimately tiring days sailing with a good breeze, sunshine and no rain made for a good weekend at West Kirby.
Sunday photos courtesy of Gill Pearson. A full set of photos taken is on our Flikr page here. If you would like a full resolution version please email the Webmaster (see Contact page)
