OOD: Leona Shepherd
Safety Boat: Tim Young
Weather: Bright and Breezy, ENE 3-5 Beaufort, 9-16 knots
Course: D
Three boats launched with Ben Chappell in Envy (Laser), Chris Greenwood and Felicia Biekarck in Distant Thunder (Leader) and Lev Kolobov in Porpoise (Enterprise). Following a few last-minute repairs to a couple of boats, Lev took to the water first and was whizzing up and down enjoying the breeze. Shortly all the boats were on the water and testing the fine sailing conditions.
Ben, in Envy, crossed the start line first with a fine set to his sail. However, this was not to last and Chris and Felcia in Distant Thunder overtook Envy and held the lead for the rest of the race. Within 15mins all the boats were passing Barnes and heading to Chiswick pier. Despite little tide, the wind held up most of the time and made for some fun sailing – check out the photos.
The turning buoy was dropped at 17.33 opposite Chiswick pier with Distant Thunder turning first, followed by Porpoise and then Envy. The return leg was faster than the downstream, no doubt helped slightly by the flood tide, but a steady wind ensured the return leg was made on a single tack in most cases. A lovely evening to be sailing on the water.
Leona (OOD)
Next week is an A or B Course, depending on conditions, starting at 14:40.
