9 helms stayed behind for a competitive afternoons racing and out of those 9 helms, 7 recorded a third place or better showing just how competitive it actually was. The wind was similar to the morning DF65 session so initially the same course was used. With a relatively small fleet albeit one of our best Wednesday afternoon turnouts, we managed the start between ourselves and the first over the finish line recorded the results allowing all helms maximum sailing time.
The wind remained tricky coming over from the factories making the starboard end of the start line very biased and in one race the leaders made the first windward mark in one without having to tack. Having said that it was shifting, picking the right one to tack on was paramount, it was very easy to be headed and being in the right place at the right time helped greatly.
After 2 races the leeward gate was changed to a spreader to give the port boats reaching into the mark less of a target for the starboard close hauled boats heading back up the lake. this proved much better with fewer collisions. The tricky area was the approach to the windward mark where the directional shifts were most pronounced. It was same for all and made for interesting racing with many a place won or lost. It was great to see Dave Williams putting in an appearance, showing that he hasn’t lost his touch of the bigger boat
After 7 races, the sun was getting low and the temperature dropping, so we called it a day. Final results with 1 discard
1 Clive Warren 13pts (2 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third)
2 Dave Williams 17pts (2 seconds, 3 thirds,)
3 Alan Watkinson 18pts (1 win, 2 seconds, 1 third)
4 John Carlin 26pts (2 wins, 1 second)
5 Richard Walker 27pts (1 win)
6 Neil Westbrook 29pts (2 seconds)
7 Dave Howard 37pts
8 Paul Little 38pts (1 win)
9 Malcolm Harvey 45pts
