OOD: Tim Wellburn
Safety Boat: Keith Clarke with Dave
Weather: Sunny with an moderate easterly wind
Course: A
Start Time 18:31
Eight boats took advantage of the good sailing weather. The combination of a flood tide and easterly wind was unpropitious for the scheduled ‘B’ Course, so a triangular ‘A’ Course was substituted, with the orange River buoy serving as the downwind mark on the Surrey Bank, matched by one laid opposite The Steam Packet steps, with an upwind mark towards the eastern end of Oliver’s island.
Half the fleet achieved a sub-10 minute first lap, Rob Adams making a very fast start on the Surrey side and pipping James by nine seconds to be first boat round. This duel continued, with positions reversed on the second lap but only six seconds separating the two, a margin which James and crew Felicia slightly increased over subsequent laps.
Chris and Lev also dualled throughout the race, switching places several times over the six laps which they sailed, chasing James and Rob. Ben, sailing hard and never far behind Chris and Lev, crossed the finishing line a lap but only two seconds behind frontrunner James, seemingly not deterred by the near-prospect of having to make another full circuit.
The larger and smaller boats – Sam’s Wayfarer, Tim’s Wanderer and Nick’s Gull were, perhaps, less suited to the conditions, Sam, achieving five laps in just over an hour but Tim and Nick only four.
Tim Wellburn