Snakes and Ladders on Maylandsea Bay

A fearsome battle concluded the 2009 frostbite series. The gods of wind set up a horrendous selection of holes and shifts spilling out across Maylandsea Bay.
As the starting flag fell the wind was already looking fitful, with large glassy flat patches spread out. The fleet entered a sailing snakes and ladders game of horror, the sun shone brightly down and the smell of anti fowling wafted out from the Mayland marina; it was race on with Keith needing two wins to win the series.
Jacko, this week teamed up with Alan Wigg, the pairing having not sailed outside the Dog and Duck inner bar for some considerable time but benefiting from years of hangover sailing rumour, as they faced the laser fleet that appeared to fancy their chances being in a pack and looking for team race tactics, taking on all comers on the start line.
It was Jacko and Al who won the start rounding mark 1 first closely followed by Keith sailing the Finn. The race immediately took on a grimly tense tone on this, the shortest leg on the race map. With the two boats going head to head, a shared knowledge of the sailing rules being quoted and the opportunity to receive a penalty, made it more like the night of the long knives and in a moment of excitement it was Clive ‘Laser’ accepted the only turns asked for. Keith had gained the lead with Jacko and Al struggling to find more speed; the Laser fleet were new showing more teeth than you would see in a crocodiles playpen, snapping at Jacko’s transom.
Keith has a keen ambition to take line honours and the two competitors swapped lead boat and number of times as the wind died then filled in from wrong side of whoever had the lead at the time and as Jacko and Al were being attacked from both sides the spinnaker had been swept back over the jib on a 90 degree wind shift, Jacko looked like he knew that this was not to be his race.
Keith took the bullet followed by Clive beating brother Martin with Rorie and Charlotte in fourth place.
So the series came to the wire with Keith having won the last three races, needing just one more win. The start of the last race saw Keith come out the start with top boat speed leaving Jacko and Al for dead but again on rounding race mark 1 and onto the shortest leg to race mark 0 saw Wiggy’s spinnaker work pulling out the winning moves with the pairing rounding ahead executing a smart spinnaker jibe in the lightest of breezes. There followed a little gain and loss on the windward legs but it was the dead run against the tide and a long starboard windward tack to the west on rounding race 2 making enough time to win the race and the series.
Notable: Rorie and Charlotte pulled off the move dreams are made of and put 4 points between the old guard Dave and Gary to snatch the prize for lead Lark, a brilliant move and well deserved.
It should be said that handicap sailboat racing is not real racing and the only hope a competing boat has is that over a number of race days in a series the conditions will have some degree of not favouring one particular class of boat. But we look at racing one race at a time and it is always someone’s favoured course or wind direction and strength. It’s tough to look at a one-man one sailboat sailing away from you when you are putting the teamwork and three sails up to max boat speed and think of the words “fair sailing”.
The Maylandsea club put out a freebee buffet and presented beer and chocolates to the winners. Thanks where given to support boat crews and the race box management. And on behalf of the competitors we would like to thank Doreen Levy for preparing and laying out the food provided.


Next open race is the Challenge cup Saturday May 9th at 11:45
Full results and more info at www.maylandseabay-sc.org.uk/
Thanks to Teresa Giles for sending the photos
Overall:
1st Merlin Rocket Alan Jackson & Lorna Laval 7 points
2nd Finn Keith Fedi 8 points
3rd Laser Martin Tarling 12 points
4th Laser Clive Tarling 17 points5th Laser Peter Playle 20 points