We had an anxious time at 1015 when the Datchet Watersports people turned up at the jetty with a van to casually launch their RIB - just at the critical time we were trying to get the keelboat fleet in for the start of racing. Then they left the RIB in the middle of the pontoon and drove off - leaving us to move it to a socially acceptable place. I'm surprised it didn't get cast adrift, frankly. Many harsh words were spoken, but it didn't seem a very well considered plan on their part, nor too good for their company image. Letting the race fleet get out a few minutes ahead would have made all the difference. Sometimes you could wonder if the Club is run for Members or for Staff.
In the end, we had some great and close racing - we had three podium teams on 5 points each at the end of the day - Mark and Tony, Mervyn and Ralph, Howard and Richard..... This is how it went :-
The start of race one suffered from a late shift making the pin end exceptionally biased. The fleet was slow getting down there, and Howard and Richard unusually put a quick hitch in at five seconds and crossed the fleet on port. I'm not sure where John and Helen started but they just nipped around that weather mark ahead leaving the rest of us breathing their spray !! ... Howard and Richard were round next, then Mervyn and visitor Ralph Singleton. Mark and Tony rounded fourth. The reach was questionable as a three sailer, but by the wing mark we were all kited - the gaps were really quite small and the speed pretty high. Reach two was disappointingly broad, but fun nonetheless as we were all pretty tightly packed in. The top three boats steadily pulled away and by the second beat, Mervyn/Ralph, sailing as if possessed, crossed Howard and Richard into second. The run was a bit of a surfer and pretty great in the gusts. At the leeward mark there was again only a few boat lengths between the top three. Up the beat the last time,.... and there is a God - Howard and Richard pulled ahead of Mervyn and Ralph once more. A shifty day - it was all down to the shifts.... The reaches were Champagne fun once more and Howard and Richard surged right back on John and Helen - but that's the way it stayed at the line with about two boat lengths between them. Very close - just five seconds apart after forty minutes racing.... Mervyn and Ralph got third, and Mark and Tony fourth. When Tony was asked about the race later, he said something like... ummbergullumph..... Glad too know even our heroes have a bad day occasionally.....!!
Start two seemed to have a little more breeze, but the pin had to be moved back - even then we had a deeply biased line. Ralph, steering this time, and Mervyn cut through on a port tack flier and did very well out of it. Mark and Tony were right on their heels, and pretty soon had grabbed the lead. Try as they might, Howard and Richard could not get past Ralph and Mervyn. There were several fun attempts, but no deal....!! Slightly further back we had John and Helen working the boat up on their 2009 sails... (!). Last week we had Bob and Andy moor up to a mark to cheer everyone up - this week it was the turn of Richard and David Stenson to do the same - high entertainment !! They clearly feel that John Hanson pushed them into it, but frankly, and full of sympathy, the rest of us just cried with laughter..... Then some great but broad reaches, and at the gun it was Mark/Tony, Ralph/Mervyn, Howard/Richard, John/Helen, The Stensons, then John and Mike.
A Tip-Top day's racing.... John and Helen are off to the Southerns, so it'll be three weeks before they're back to beat us all again - you'd all better turn up the next two weekends!!
