Tinker Rally at Bala Sailing Club
by John Rogerson 2 Jul 2016 12:16 BST
25-26 June 2016
Six races were held over two days with 12 boats racing. Winds were light and very shifty on Saturday though they picked up a bit as the day progressed.
Sunday was a different story with stronger winds resulting in a broken daggerboard and a broken rudder, plus a capsize which is unusual in a Tinker. The helm claimed he was caught off-guard by a sudden gust, but rumour has it that the dip woke him up.
All of the courses involved few buoys as Tinker sailors cannot count beyond 3 nor cite the alphabet beyond B, but the buoys are widely spaced and the racing involving.
Racing on Sunday was kept interesting when the Tinker races and the host club races shared a couple of the same buoys - this is because a Tinker (as an inflatable) is slower than a hard hull and some of the host club racers not only had to sail around a buoy but a Tinker as well.
Overall Results: (top three)
1st Malcolm Ellwood
2nd Alistair Parker
3rd David Warren