Nine boats racing today - Helen and Vice Cap'n 'Anson were missing, also the FC and Midnight Rog with Tony C. Andy Murphy is on the road still and not coming back till after Hayling, I would guess. The Classics all stayed ashore but most of the rest of us were out there.....
And it was not as if the day was without incident either. We had one key player carted off for stitches (see item below), and maybe a couple of bumps at the corners - one of which resulted in a corker of a hole in The Stenson's boat. "Crunch" it went at the last wing mark of the day, and the boys managed to limp over the line - well done!!! However, the challenge is that Richard and David are off to Hayling soon, so need to get the hole made good - so a pretty quick trip to P&B is called for.
The Stensons were noteworthy for something else to day - their shiny new Epsilon mast. They are both a right chunk of beef in their own right (!), and their old Superspar flopped round on their boat like over-cooked spaghetti. It seems it developed a lateral crack virtually all around the girth right where the mast ram/puller attaches. So just below deck-line and out of sight (a lesson for us all). They were lucky to find it ashore while packing - could have been a lot trickier.... Those days of floppy mast are gone, and they showed cracking good speed today. Yet more competition for Mark and Tony !! And that's what Mark and Tony needed today - they did a couple of demonstration sails. Really excellent.
Race One was started a bit promptly for a few of us - we'd only just arrived at the line and the one minute popped off. So all a bit frantic - the fleet seemed to get away alright though riding the strong committee boat bias. Mark/Tony chugged up the left with Howard/Richard and it was these two first around - but the pack snapping right behind them. It might have been at this point that Mervyn/Callum had a set to with The Millars - and all this stitches-in-the-head mularkey happened. It certainly looked a bit busy back there - a fair bit of shouting going on. Mysteriously our triangle-sausage-triangle yielded three (good) beats and five runs - and no three sail screamers at all. Boo !! Actually, to be fair I don't think the PRO could have got the wing mark any further over. Pity - it would have been a cracking three sail day. We did though use the whole water today - which was bliss in itself.
It was a good workout and there was plenty happening in the main part of the fleet - a right old time actually. However, Mark and Tony relentlessly pulled away and put in a fine win - with a good margin over Howard/Richard. Then the main fleet was miles away - I think it may have been Andy and Tim next (Club Results not posted as I write...)
Race Two pushed off in a slightly declining breeze (sans Mervyn). Few of us noted that the favoured end had swung to the pin - suddenly Mark and Tony shot off down there, and Andy/Tim had a great pin end flyer. The fleet generally went right, except Howard and Richard who went left - being so well served there in race one. Yuck!! - it was ghastly over there and H&R rounded buoy one in very last place!! Mark and Tony were around first again, with Andy and Tim very hard on their heels. At the end of reach one, Howard and Richard nipped the inside berth at the wind mark and passed a couple of boats just there. As usual, The Admiral with Neil Palmer did very well up the beat and had an excellent third behind 3378. There was a bit of surfing to be done, but not too much place changing I believe. Up the last beat, Howard and Richard scrabbled past Mike and Neil and shot off down the reach trying to catch Andy. The last time at the wing mark, the main fleet was very bunched. The Admiral got the inside berth, but somehow in the hoo haa forgot to sling the helm across and all I could hear was, "CRUNCH".... It was a bit more than a touch.... Mark and Tony were miles away, Andy and Tim took second, Howard and Richard third. I'm not sure how the pack sorted out after that kerfuffel at the wing mark - we'll have to see when the results come out.
Then it started to rain,... so Tony pushed off home....!!
