Race Report 27 July 2025
A cloudy day for a B course, with a reasonable showing of five boats, starting in very light winds.
I mistakenly started the six-minute countdown one minute early, and as a couple of boats were not yet close to the finish line, took the decision to do a seven and three minute countdown, rather than the usual six and three, in order to start at the correct time and not unduly penalise the later arrivals. Unfortunately, this decision could not be communicated to the sailors, who were left confused as to what was going on. Apologies and lesson learned, the countdown will never again be adjusted once it has begun!
James Armitage/Felicia Bierkark (Zephyr, Enterprise) and Lev/Inna Kolobov (Porpoise, Enterprise) kicked off neck and neck over the starting line, with Lev pulling away from James, Keith (Kaia, Laser) in third place, Rebecca Hayes (Wagtail, Mirror) in fourth, and Nick Floyer (flo, Gull) trailing in final position.
Some 10 minutes into the first lap, the wind picked up enough to make for a good race. At the end of the first lap, James/Felicia had overtaken Lev/Inna by a full minute, a lead which he consolidated over the next three laps, winning the race almost five minutes ahead of Lev.
In third place was Keith who maintained a good position throughout, completing four laps just 90secs behind Lev.
An interesting battle played out for the 4th and 5th places, with Nick overtaking Rebecca during their first lap, and starting the second just 20s ahead of her. By the start of their third and final lap Rebeccas had once again overtaken Nick. The boats were neck and neck coming into the home straight, with Rebecca beating Nick over the finish line by a mere 11secs.
Many thanks to Bob, Russ and Charlie for safety boat duties and Ella who was a very helpful OOD’s assistant.
Sam Shemtob, OOD
The Handicap calculations made significant change to the winners: Rebecca won the Handicap points ahead of Keith and then Nick; James and Rebecca won the Big Boats and Little Boats respectively, and James, followed by Lev and then Keith led the little boats in the Polly Prize.
Next week is the Summer Party on Saturday and a D-course on Sunday at 16:30.
