A select fleet of just five RG65 sailors assembled for the first event in the 2022 Summer Series for DF and RG65’s. With the weather turning very warm and sunny, there was a decent top suit breeze from the SE with some lulls and gusts (along with significant shifts) that made rig selection difficult. Peter Baldwin used a near full height A swing to good effect, winning the first race, with John Brierley slightly underpowered at times with a lower aspect full area swing in second. John then took race two with Peter close behind, with the lower aspect rig working well upwind in the stronger gusts. Race 3 went Peters way with Race 4 back to John for the win after Peter picked up an underwater carrier bag at the end of lap one and had to retire (unhurt!). At the break after 5 races, Peter was leading John on 3 races against two, with strong performances from both Alan Watkinson and Charles Legg behind them leading to some close finishes.
After the break with the wind appearing to moderate John changed up to a taller A swing and this gave him four out of the next 5 races to take the day, with Peter only taking one win and second overall, although there were some very close finishes and even loss of control downwind in the gusts. The final race saw the course invert as the breeze suddenly clocked through 180 degrees in what appeared to be a cooler sea breeze. This made for some interesting mark roundings as the leeward gate became a windward gate and the leeward marks were a rounding pair. Charles and Alan had a very close day for third place with the final honours going to Charles on the basis of his 2nd (by a boat length) in Race 4.
Next in the Series of DF/RG65 races is on Saturday 7th May starting at 13:00.
A lovely shifting, gusting wind from the North West, sun out all afternoon and 11 competitors including 1 visitor in Darin Ballington.
