Conwy Fife One Design 'A' Series Race 13 at Royal Anglesey Yacht Club
by Mike Hardie 11 Jul 2022 12:49 BST
9 July 2022
Conwy Fife One Design 2022 'A' Series race 13 © Ian Bradley
Summer finally arrived in Beaumaris, marked by a outbreak of bare legs and red (sorry, bronzed faces).
I feel I should take events over the weekend in reverse order, as, although racing (both sailing and rowing) is the backbone of the club, people are always more important.
Mrs Dorothy Dickie celebrated her 100th Birthday on Sunday at the club, surrounded by her extended family and many friends. A truly remarkable lady, who's presence over the years has been a welcome constant in the life of the club, as people came and went, Dorothy remained and continues to this day to take an active interest in the club. Happy Centenary Dorothy.
Prior to the afternoon celebrations, the Annual Ladies race was held, with 29, Emily & Trigger emerging victorious in the Fifes and 9, Tonwen & Ray prevailing in the MSOD fleet.
Saturday began with a crews race, which saw 38, Steve & Mike take victory from 29, 9 year old 'desperate' Dan, Trigger and Emily (who was acting as onboard referee and peacemaker) with 33 (Simon & Merfyn) in third place.
For the 'A' series race, we had a steady, but shifty, Northerly Breeze and wall to wall sunshine, Race Officer Nick set course 14, which basically entailed much sailing up and down the strait, with the distant B6 as the first Mark. 10 boats came to the line and with a Penmon bound tide, care was needed to avoid being early. The Anglesey shore proved to be the better place to start, as 5 (Andy & Dave), 38 (Mike & Steve), 35 (Hugo & Bob) and 1 (Martin, Catherine & Harry) moved away from the squabbling pack behind, led by 29 (Trigger & Emily) 7 (Howard, Georgie and Leo) who were doing well until caught on Port by 33 (Merfyn & Simon)leading to the dreaded 'circles of shame'.
At the front, the leaders were on a long Starboard tack, skirting the banks to passing B8, with 38 aided by much vigorous dipping by Steve holding on longest, however, 5 and 35 having tacked earliest to cross to Anglesey had the benefit of the last of the tide and rounded in front followed by 38 and 1, with 29 a distant 5th. The long run down to B12, saw no place changes and the leading pack rounded within maybe a minute of each other. The beat to B8 was enlivened by some fairly dramatic holes in the breeze along with wind shifts of maybe 20 degrees at times. Despite this Game of Snakes and Ladders places remained the same for the run back to B12, with 29 closing on the front runners and 7 getting their own back by passing 33, followed by 15 (Tak & Dave), 24 (Pippa & Mike) and with 42 Family Booth enjoying a nice sail at the back of the fleet.
Having rounded B12 again and with the tide now having changed direction, 5 and 35 headed into the moorings to seek some tidal relief after rounding B12, followed by 38, who soon tacked on a huge shift, whilst 1 tacked straight round the mark into better breeze, leading to 5 and 35 tacking to cover. 1 closed with 5 on the long Port tack to B8, until it was 'nip and tuck', although Andy claims he was never passed ! 35 consolidated 3rd place as 38 fell away and 29 closed. As the freshly baked Chocolate cream sponge had not been quite finished & there was still Earl Grey in the pot, The Race Officers team decided to let the race run its full course. So after a run back to B10 and a final beat to the finish, 5 held on to take her maiden win of the season, followed by 1, 35, 38, 29, 7, 33, 15 & 24. 42 having decided the day wasn't for them retired and went to look for ice cream.
So, yet another winner, that's 8 in 12 races sailed, with the 4th discard now coming into play the leading five positions are as follows (other results are available!). With another 10 races scheduled before the seasons end, its getting tight at the top, so watch this space.
Results after Race 13:
1st - No 1 - Sian - 18pts
2nd - No 35 - Tarka - 24pts
3rd - No 38 - Sard - 25pts
4th - No 29 - Gitana - 28pts
5th - No 42 - Enigma - 35pts