Bembridge One-Design April Racing at Bembridge Sailing Club
by Robin Joy 23 Apr 2024 14:38 BST
20-21 April 2024
It was an early start on Saturday due to a 10.30 high tide, and five One-Designs tacked out of Bembridge Harbour into a chilly 15kts from the NNE. A start line was laid at Footprint with Britten set as a windward mark, then a run to Garland, three times round.
A cautious start by all saw saw Russ Fowler helming No 2 first away at the pin end, followed by Xander Shaw sailing No 6. Russ then bravely continued on starboard, which took him to the left of the fort, with Penny Stanley in No 9 taking the opposite view and heading out to the right on port tack. Russ's gamble in fact paid off, and he led Xander to the windward mark, followed by Charles Abel Smith in No 7, Simon Allocca in No 1, and then Penny. This remained the order at the end of round 1, with Penny making up quite a lot of her deficit. The race was shortened to 2 rounds, with Russ keeping his lead, and Charles just pipping Xander for second by a couple of feet. Despite taking a penalty on the second run, Penny worked her way past Simon for fourth.
The sun came out for the second race, which was a longer first beat to Derek, then to Garland and Footprint, with a finish at Pepe. This saw a (slightly) more competitive start, with the fleet closely bunched for most of the first beat. Pete Summerhays was now at the helm of No 2, and led at the mark, with the rest not far behind. Some gybing and wind-taking on the runs kept the other boats closely together, with Tad Ross (now helming No 7) coming second after Pete, followed by Simon, Penny and Xander. Places 2 to 5 were covered by less than 30 seconds, which hopefully bodes well for good racing to come.
With a stronger ENE breeze blowing there was only one taker on Sunday so it was decided to stay ashore and enjoy a cup of coffee!
Early afternoon racing next weekend.