Winter Blaster 16th December
Another fine sunny, mild winters day at Bewl, wind SW Force 3 and the prospect of the last races of the Winter Blaster to look forward to ….what more could anyone ask for? Eight boats crossed the start line and the course 752NX all to port gave us two beats, two spinnaker reaches and one spinnaker run. To add some variety to the usual pairings Jo M. was crewing for Paddy and Geoff P played the wild card by sailing solo. The critical legs proved to be the two beats, X to 7 at the start and N to X at the end of the lap. Post race discussion described sailing them as either not going anywhere, or even going backwards. The big question was whether to stay hugging the shore or not. The answer was definitely yes…..apart from the times when it was definitely not. Geoff P. tried the third option of running aground.
The shorter first race was certainly the more competitive with the positions throughout the fleet changing frequently. In the end Eric and Bill prevailed, followed by Geoff and Jim and then Dan and Neil. In the second race Dan and Neil decided they couldn`t hang around waiting for the rest of us and sailed ahead in splendid isolation. Behind them the pack changed positions frequently and on the line there was a battle for second and third place with Eric and Bill proving that, in this instance, sticking to the shore was the right option, giving them second place ahead of Robin and Gio.
The overall result for the Series was Eric and Bill first, Geoff and Jim second and Robin and Gio third; ten boats competed in the Series.
No more Series racing now until the four Frostbite weekends starting 7th January. However, do not forget the Boxing Day Bottle: for any who might not have indulged before, it is a single handicap race with the first warning signal planned for 10.55. Unfortunately, I have had a restraining order of the domestic obligation variety served on me so my heart will be at Bewl but the rest of me will be in Sydenham.
Merry Christmas to one and all and even better sailing in 2013.
Regards from Robin and Gio
