Conwy Fife One Design 'A' Series Race 17 at Royal Anglesey Yacht Club
by Mike Hardie 31 Aug 2021 11:21 BST
30 August 2021
A somewhat grey Bank holiday Monday greeted the fleet of 18 Fifes that turned out for the 17th race in the 'A' series.
For those of you unfamiliar with the class, the 'A' series runs throughout the season on Saturdays and Bank Holiday Mondays and comprises of 20+ races, consequently, it's the one everyone wants to win and competition is fierce. We have sailed 17 races so far, with another 4 to go until the end of the season and the fact that we have seen 11 different winners during the season maybe demonstrates just how difficult it is to win!
With a decent NE breeze in place, Race officer Chris decided to plump for course 10 from the 'pick & mix' book of club courses. This course meant that with the strong flooding tide and the experience of Saturdays race fresh in our minds, the only place to start was towards the Anglesey shore for the long, short tacking leg to B6.
Amazingly despite the enthusiasm of everyone to get a good start, nobody was OCS and the fleet started its slow progress to infinity and beyond. After the inevitable pushing and shoving that these starts cause, the fleet calmed down and 6, Dom & Stevie (resplendent in bus conductors hats), 5, Andy & Dave (who isn't Pete), 40, 2/3 of the Men of Panache and 38, Mike & Steve fought their way to the front. Closely followed by 33, Merfyn & Ioan, 35, Hugo, Bob & Sasha and 7, Howard & Leo. At times some of us touched bottom, despite the dipping skills of our crews. Slowly however, 6, 5 & 38 opened up on the pack and were faced with the tricky decision of when to tack out into the tide to round B6, 6 & 5, got it just right, 38 who had just discovered why boulder bay is so named, rounded 3rd with a new shape keel, with 33. 35 & 7 following.
The long run down to B12 saw no place changes at the front, although 33 closed on 38 who had in turn closed on 5. Rounding B12 for the beat back through the moorings and past the pier, 6 and 5 continued there battle at the front never separated by more than 5 or 6 boat lengths, 38 opened out on 33 and 7 started a late charge. Once more the short tacking up the Anglesey shore saw no changes and gave the tourist throngs the chance to see the boats up close and personal.
As we ran down to B12 for the second time, the Race Officer had a discussion with the Bosun with a view to finishing on the next leg, as several sailors had BBQ responsibilities to undertake and would need to be ashore in good time to feed the starving masses. It was decided to let the fleet sail on, its not easy being a Race Officer when catering becomes an additional responsibility!
So began the beat back to B12, again through the moorings and along the wall with the 3 leaders extending over the chasing pack, now led by 7, with 33, 29, Trigger and Flic & 41 Family Yates starting to close up. At the front, 6 an 5 continued to trade tack for tack but 6 managed to hold on to round first with 5 maybe 2 boat lengths behind, 38 followed with a gap before 7, 33, 29, 41 & 35 rounded.
On the down tide run to the finish, places remained the same and 6 help on to take her maiden win of the season, with 5 in second and 38 completing the podium.
After 17 races (and with discards in place) the standings for the first 10 boats in the series are as follows:
1st 5, Thelma III - 32pts
2nd 38, Sard - 37pts
3rd 41, Fiona - 56pts
4th 34, Ceridwen - 63pts
5th 42, Enigma - 65pts
6th 29, Gitana - 67pts
7th 15, Coila - 71pts
8th 30, Coralie II - 79pts
9th 39, Hwyl - 83pts
10th 35, Tarka - 100pts