Daily Archives: August 3, 2020

Windward leeward race report

Consistent wind conditions for four windward-leeward races to D (starboard) and back through A/Z. Each race lasted approximately 20 minutes and a small crowd (see picture) gathered for the exciting races. The wind direction was mostly from the west and the eight sailors enjoyed their three/four races (worst race result to be discounted). The thermometer suggested that the temperature was 25C, but with the wind and dark clouds (see additional picture) it felt much colder on the shore.

Eight sailors were in a variety of dinghies, which meant there were class-specific and PY competitive interests. The first three of the races saw the Lasers (Seb then Becci) and Solo (Erwin) finish closely together with a gap of the remaining two Toppers (Drew then Mark K), Feva (Helen and Jamie), and Oppi (Lyall). The first race saw Mark K have a Topper bailer issue and need to come ashore for a quick repair. Race three saw Helen and Jamie improve the use of their spinnaker and improve their finishing time compared to the earlier races. The fourth race saw Becci flying over the finishing line with a very convincing sail despite having a moderate start. The ominous Oppi was at the rear of all the races, but it stayed very close to the second group of sailors.

The race officer box was temporarily relocated to just outside the garage and a car’s horn (expertly pressed by Susan) was used to get racing started. There were no false starts and the standard of everyone’s starts was excellent. There were some interesting laylines taken during the races and it was noted that sailing by the lee did give Mark K an advantage over Drew downwind.

(Race report by Mark Webster. Race results will follow when they are calculated)