WWS Event 4 Report

19^th October 2022, report by Roger stollery

More good racing at Abbey Meads! 13 races were sailed by an entry of 9 competitors in a strong, but very variable wind particularly late in the morning when the gust strength increased to make even B rig look too large! It was the sort of wind variation which allowed you to be going in a straight line and seconds later be on the opposite tack without having touched the helm!

There was no rain, absolutely no weed and even sunshine. The only downside was coming back to the bottom of the steps as the water level was so low that this could be awkward.

Roger set 5 marks for the start line, windward mark and leeward gate for a simple windward leeward course of 2 rounds. The racing was close with some very close finishes and the honours were shared by most of the entry with all but 3 competitors winning a race. Congratulations must go to Les Thorn who won 4 of these races to win the event easily.

Initially Roger started well as his BOTTLE boat only has 2 rigs, big and small and in the big rig before the wind got up too much he won the first 3 races. Les then showed his form by winning Race 4, followed that by 3 more wins, with Barrie being the only other multiple race winner. On the wind the big variations were very frustrating, but downwind in the strongest gusts there were some very exciting performances that everyone enjoyed!

At the end there was bit of excitement in that the inflatable dinghy floated off downwind, as it wasn’t tied on but just resting on concrete at the bottom of the steps. So we used our emergency dinghy again and by doing so found a better way of storing it in the clubhouse by just resting vertically against the wall on its transom, which will make it quicker to launch in an emergency.

With half of the Winter Series completed, you can see from the Winter Series scores that there is all to sail for in the 2nd half to win that beautiful trophy and to enjoy a lot more fun!