OOD: Leona Shepherd
Safety Boat: Sam Shemtob
Weather: Fair; Light wind moving between NE and S.
Course: A
Four boats launched at 14:25 in a light NE wind. Race started at 14:41.
On the water there was: one Laser – Keith Clarke in Kaia; oneEnterprise – Dave Berger helming Big Polly; one Little Boat – Tim Young captaining Ait Knots; one Leader – Distant Thunder, helmed by Felicia with her husband Pacu crewing.
The rain cleared just before the starting whistle, and a steady, if light, wind ensured that the race got off to a good start. Keith almost made the perfect start but unfortunately had to come round again in the last 7 seconds allowing Dave to take an early lead. This did not last long and throughout the first three laps the fleet was neck and neck.
On the fourth lap the wind became more variable in direction and strength, making the down-river stretch slow and tricky, while the up-river leg was quite pacey. Unfortunately Tim accidentally caught the up-stream buoy at the end of his 3rd lap and took a penalty. As near-by competitors struggled to see the buoy, which was hidden by Ait Knots, this was a moment when the race started to spread out.
The wind eventually died making the last laps much longer than the first three and bringing the average lap time down. After six laps Dave crossed the line first at 64 minutes, followed by Keith 12minutes later with Felicia and Pacu only 3minutes behind him, and finally Tim.
Leona (OOD)
