A dry, sunny afternoon. High spring tide with varying wind conditions 2 gusting 4 from SSE.
A “B” course was set with an upstream buoy laid at the Bulls Head Pub close in and a downstream buoy laid at Chiswick Staithe.
Four Enterprises: Zephyr (James and Ruth), Porpoise (Lev and David), Big Polly (David and Shelia) and Ixion (Tim and Emma).
A Leader (Chris and Felicia in Distant Thunder) and Envy (Ben in his Laser) and not forgetting those tan sails of Eeyore (Nick and Nicole plus Poppy the dog).
The race commenced at 14.40.
A good start was made by all apart from Eeyore, swept under the railway bridge well before the start. Ixion was also struggling against the tide and wind. Sam helped in the safety boat with a tow – accepted by Ixion but Eeyore decided to row back to the Club Ramp. Poppy was very pleased.
A difficult sail against the Spring Tide and the SSE wind but incident free, no capsizes but long lap times.
Zephyr raced ahead and maintained the lead throughout the race.
Zephyr completed three laps in 70.25 minutes.
Big Polly and Porpoise also completed three laps in 91.22 and 92.40 minutes – close racing.
Distant Thunder and Envy completed two laps in 87.00 and 91.55 minutes.
Ixion persevered with stemming the tide but eventually retired.
Thanks to Sam and Nikita in the Safety Boat for course setting and for safety watch.
OOD John Bull
