Sadly, we only managed to turn out 5 boats for the first RG65 Winter Series event this week. However, anyone who wasn’t there missed a great afternoon of sailing with a decent 5 to 8 knot breeze nearly straight down the lake from the clubhouse end with a few holes and punchy gusts just on the edge of too much – fortunately nobody lost control going downwind.
Alan started the afternoon in command of the fleet winning the first race and although Peter got close to him, was never really challenged for the lead. This was the pattern for the next four races until we took an early break. Meanwhile, Dave and Alan W(sailing a 3D printed Orion for the first time) were having a tussle for who might take third or fourth place behind Peter and Alan B, until Alan W had a minor issue and dropped out of Race 4, so we called an early break to allow him to fix his boat. Charles missed the first 3 races after an (under deck) sheeting pulley failed at switch on and needed changing.
After the break we completed a further seven races, this time under the watchful eye of Neil who kindly acted as RO for the rest of the afternoon. Initially Neil remarked that he was getting bored with the scoreline being so consistent as for three races the score sequence was identical. Alan B continued his winning form, with Peter second, Charles third , Dave fourth and Alan fifth. A few adjustments on the rig of Alan W from Alan B and he then picked up a couple of thirds, before Dave took the third place in the final two races.
Peter got lucky with his approach to the finish in Race 10 and just caught up with Alan B on the finish line, picking up his first of two wins. The second one came in the last race when an electrical problem led to Alan B completing tight circles at the gate allowing Peter through, with Charles in second and Dave third. However, it didn’t change the overall result, with Alan B taking the overall win by counting 9 wins, Peter second on 16 points and Dave third on 32, closely followed by Charles and Alan W
Thanks go to Dave for sorting the results, taking a few photos whilst Neil sailed his boat and making drinks for everyone. Finally a big shout out to Neil for acting as RO for the second half and allowing Dave to concentrate on his sailing.
