Gloom, doom and wetness greeted the Mayland feet for a 9:45 start. The previous days high winds had up turned the rubbish bins, boats and put the pampas grass over the hedge. With the skies filled with rain leaden cloud and a bright rainbow ending in Maldon creek, one might have thought that it may not be the best of sailing days.
The race Box posted a mid creek course with two rounds with hopes that the 7 knots of SW breeze would build before the tide (which was rushing in at a goodly pace) ebbed way.
The start was gamely affair with the bulk of the fleet at the windward end of the line in the wind shadow of the shoreline and clubhouse. The winners of the start were Dave and Keith ‘Fireball’ sailing out of the middle of the line at full speed, closely followed by Jacko and Lorna ‘Merlin’. A fearful bulge of overlapped boats and an astonishingly verbal free event followed them with Mark and Barry ‘505’ Kevin and Philip ‘Fireball’ buried in the midst.Dave and Keith sadly could not hold the lead for long for Dave is a canny racer but in the older Fireball appears to lack down hill boat speed and finished 5th.
Malcolm and Tony pushed the corners and with good boat handling lead the Fireball race on a course notbest suited to the chuck it out the bag spinnaker process, to finish 4th.
Martin ‘Laser’ suffering the misery that the faster boats with bigger sails reeked all over him at the start, battled on keeping to max boat speed and finished in front of many higher rated boats in 2nd place.
Lorna sailing with Jam pot Jacko in the Merlin is a crew not to be messed with and when her hat comes off she is about to kick butt. This week Jacko’s enthusiasm almost got lippy, but L quickly thrashed out any verbal encouragement that might have been about to be uttered from the back end of the boat with the total female crew ate dude. It could be said that boat speed is a result of silent compliance, for the spinnaker pole/centre board/ auto rig string thing! just fill the spaces between the gunwales. The real business end of boat speed is the crew and less said is more boat speed.
By the time the second race of the day started the wind had moved into the Fireball dream day at 14 knots with a long legged course out to navigation mark, Doctor, off of Osea Island.
Dean and Rob won the start and lead the way across the bay, headed towards the north side closely followed by Malcolm and Tony. There then followed a boat for boat battle around the course ending in Dean unable to pull out sufficient time on Malcolm to finish 4th by five seconds to Mark and Barry in the 505.
Mark and Barry having failed to start in the front row made hard work of the downhill legs and eventually passed the Merlin at the bottom of the course, off of Osea Island. But ever dogged stuck to the task to finish 3rd.
Malcolm and Tony having passed the Hornet and stayed clear of the 505s erratic jibing sequence sailed on. By the time the fleet had returned to Lawling Creek the tide was flooding out with the submerged mud banks beckoning the brave who pushed the edges. Malcolm and Tony missed most of the hidden mud and pushed hard to keep it touch with the Hornet to finish 2nd.
Jacko and Lorna having made a good start and taking up the lead in crossing the bay worked well to stay in touch with the 505 and with Lorna’s kite handing skills and Jacko not trying to find his hat, lost in a whoopsie last year, the pairing took the second bullet of the day.
This series is now half way through with wind from 0 to 25 knots, blue skies to dark with stair rods of rain to splendid sunshine. But can Jacko and Lorna continue their winning ways? Will Ron and Laura return? Is Peter ‘Laser’ to take to Splat the Duck Trophy?
Thanks to Richard Lytheer for more splendid photographs.
And a special thanks to Geoffrey for stepping up to be race officer for the second week in a row.
Next race Sun.22nd at 13:30 start
Full results:
1st Alan Jackson and Lorna Laval Merlin 3 points
2nd Malcolm Cross and Tony Everitt Fireball 8 points
3rd Martin Tarling Laser 9 points
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