22 boats turned out for the Tony Bennett pursuit race. 13 dinghies 4 squibs and 5 cruisers.
An hour before the start it was looking good for a sunny afternoon but the rain and mist came in bang on time to give the hard pressed RO team some headaches. Some of us knew where we were going up the beat but I wasn’t amongst them. Unfortunately being an earlier starter wasn’t an advantage and a navigational error cost Phil Norris after a good start. Sam Mottershead single handing a Feva (nice new sails with unfamiliar red) lead the way and looked a long way up the course by the time the back starters got off the line. Celia Rushton got new Trilobyte off to a good start on its first race in conditions that were a bit light for some of the boats. The Merlins managed the best of the weather with Mike and Penny Fenwick stretching out to a comfortable win after 80 minutes of sailing. I came in just ahead of Mark and Rima after a good battle, and Terry Curtis’s Osprey came in fourth. Sam couldn’t quite hang on to his early lead but still a good 5th. Sail of the day for me was Andy Young and Isaac – out for a first sail on the RS800 and Isaac coming off the water with a smile as wide as the river Wey. Well done to Isaac – he’s only been out the wire a couple of times before taking a big leap on the powerful RS800. The sail back up the harbour in increasing rain was entirely forgettable. Top cruiser was Effusion and the Squibs prize went to Aldebaran driven by Paul Withers. The picture appears to show the winners pointing to another barely visible boat to hunt down!
Thanks to the race team. The season’s on its way!
http://halsail.com/Result/Public/8947
Phil Ashworth – Dinghy Captain
Submitted on 27th April 2015