Race 2 of the season was a 1615 long A-course and the afternoon was grey and chilly with F2-3 gusty winds from the south.
5 boats took part and the sailors included 3 generations of Adams’ – Rob in his Laser and Rob’s son Olly in his Mirror along with Olly’s young son Billy (for whom it was his debut race at Strand). The two Adams’ boats joined the race after it was already underway but continued on successfully to the end of the race.
After the first lap, which was a mere 4 mins 40 seconds for leading boat Distant Thunder (which is a Leader) with helm Chris Greenwood and crew Felicia Biekarck, James and Joseph Armitage in James’ Enterprise Zephyr took the lead and maintained it to the end of the race.
Ben Chapell in his Laser had started well but sadly had to retire having capsized after doing 4 laps in 22 minutes. Lev Kobolov was driving the safety boat and was happily able to help Ben get safely back to the Strand ramp.
After 50 minutes, the leading boat (Zephyr) had completed 10 laps, the daylight was already fading and so we finished the race.
Congratulations to everyone who had the tenacity to take part – and thanks to Nick Floyer for his support to me as OOD and particularly plying me with a hot coffee when the chill was setting in.
Mary Short
