Shadow Training & Travellers Event at Rutland Sailing Club
by David Brief 21 May 2007 09:54 BST
19-20 May 2007
A real drifter for the Shadow TT at Rutland © Jan Bedford
Eleven Shadows gathered at Rutland for the first TT event of the season including visitors from Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. The aim was a day of training led by Tim Swinburne to be followed by racing.
Conditions were not ideal for the training with a F4/5 with some very big gusts giving some exciting sailing.
The wind gods were at their most impish as Sunday saw real drifter conditions but nevertheless the RO did brilliantly and managed to get three races in. The light conditions with some periods of flat calm, big holes and big shifts made for something of a lottery with boats pulling out 400 yard leads being swallowed up as the wind died for them and picked up elsewhere. It is a rare sight to see boats 20 yards apart on a “beat” with one flying his kite!
Local sailor, David Lowe proved master of the conditions and won the event. Robin Leather of Gurnard made an impressive debut in the class winning the first race and taking second place overall with David Brief of Grafham in third. Mark Aldridge of Grafham also managed a win in his first TT which made his weekend. All very enjoyable in spite of the conditions.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 12 | Dave Lowe | RSC | 5 |
| 2nd | 56 | Robin Leather | Gurnard | 9 |
| 3rd | 29 | David Brief | GWSC | 10 |
| 4th | 54 | Phil Neal | RSC | 13 |
| 5th | 55 | Mark Aldridge | GWSC | 14 |