Race Report: Sunday, May 31
Today we had an A-course, starting at 14:45—one hour earlier than our programmed schedule due to a typo in the calendar.
Five boats on the start line. Racing in Enterprises were James Armitage crewed by Ruth (in Zephyr); Dave Berger crewed by Sheila (in Entre Nous); Lev Kolobov crewed by Ina (in Porpoise); and Rob Adams sailing single-handed in Big Polly. On the Solo (Tango), we had Lennert Pronk. Mid-race, Patrick Lane-Spollen joined in for some friendly sailing on his Laser, and Sam Shemtob also took his Wayfarer out for what looked like a downriver tour. OD duty was covered by Felicia Biekarck, with Chris Greenwood in the safety boat (SB).
The weather was less sunny than in previous days, yet it offered a great westerly breeze, with some stronger gusts, but overall fantastic and unusually steady by our Strand standards.
The race started with James/Ruth and Dave/Sheila paired in the lead, followed by Rob and Lev/Ina, who finished both the first and second laps side-by-side in a tight competition. Lenny started with a bit of a delay but reached the first mark right in the pack. His second and third laps were rather adventurous, featuring a pit stop among the trees on Oliver’s Island followed by a capsize; but as usual, he was up for it all and chased the race to the end, completing 5 laps.
James/Ruth crossed the finish line first at 51:41 minutes, Dave/Sheila at 55:26 both boats with 7 laps completed. Lev/Ina at 52:15 and Rob at 53:00 with 6 laps, and Lenny 53:48 with 5 laps.
It was great to have such a good turnout of boats despite the early start. We also had a fantastic SGSC fan club cheering from the bank at Bell&Crown, with David Jones and little Magnus (a 5th-generation Armitage) supporting officer duty, and our honorable Margaret Berger with family having a great time enjoying the view. So nice!
The Handicap system gave first place in the Handicap Cup to the Bergers (we don’t often have the pleasure of their company so their handicap is low). They pushed the Armitages into 2nd place in that Cup, but were first in the Class and Polly Prizes. And all the Enterprises were pretty close on the adjusted lap time.
I look forward to seeing you all in the water again next Sunday.
Felicia
Next Week: Sunday, June 7th
- Work Party: 10:30 AM
- Race: Late A/B course, 18:20 start
- Duty: Heather Adams (OD) & Rob Adams (SB)
