On a cloudy but dry Sunday lunchtime, an impressive seven boats turned out for today’s C course. As we know from previous C courses, the historic start point is now obscured by heavy foliage, and the pontoon by the houseboats was inaccessible. As a result, the OOD decided that visibility was paramount, so selected a start a few metres nearer the bridge than before.
Despite their best efforts, both Lasers found the light wind and strong tide pushed them slightly over the starting line, so were each awarded a 20 second time penalty. In any event, the seven competitors made a good start and were soon out of sight around the bend, accompanied by the Safety Boat.
After a thankfully uneventful race, the fleet returned. First back was James Armitage and his daughter Ruth in Zephyr in an impressive 69 minutes. Next to cross were Henry and Mary Brown in Big Polly, the other Enterprise racing today, in a creditable 75 minutes. Chris Greenwood and Felicia were hot on their tail in Distant Thunder, which finished just 45 seconds later. They had been ahead for much of the return run from Isleworth.
The rest of the boats followed closely behind: Ben Chappell in Envy, then Keith Clarke in his yet-to-be-named Laser, followed by Tonic, with Tim Young bringing up the rear in Ait Knots.
Huge congratulations to Aerial and Tamina who were not only our youngest competitors but crewed Tonic to come first on handicap. Congratulations also to Keith Clarke, who completed his first race with the club. Finally, many thanks to Andy Ross for his sterling work in the Safety Boat and for his skilful manoeuvring of the boats under Kew Bridge.
Jane Watkins, OOD
