Sadly only two 12s showed up for the third Scottish travellers. There
proved just enough wind to get down to the racing area a mile to two
miles away from the club, but then it died completely with just the odd
wisp to occasionally get peoples hopes up. Eventually one by one people
eventually got fed up with trying not to wonder what the strange
coloured foam was made of and counting jelly fish (there were a lot of
big red ones.) and started to make there way in by what ever means
possible, one of the Streakers drifted a shore and walked back, the
laser 2000s used there inspection hatches as covers, but most just
rocked and pumped. The committee boat eventually accepted the inevitable
and after about 4 hours on the water gave it up as a bad job and set
about picking up all the stragglers.
There was a fine and very well organised barbeque on Saturday night
although for once we had to pay for the drink!
Sunday morning dawned fine and around 8 a gentle breeze started to fill
in. Just after 10 we set off for the racing area for an eleven start,
but just as we got to the committee boat the wind died again and we went
back to admiring the brown scum and counting jelly fish. Suddenly the
committee boat hooted and raised a flag which I later found out meant
follow this boat or something like that and disappeared off over the
horizon, leaving us paddling, rocking, and pumping in its wake. It had
of course spotted some wind on the horizon and decided to make use of
it.
We eventually caught up coming into the gentle breeze a few hundred
yards short of the committee boat and the trailing boats were towed up,
but by the time the course was set up the wind had died again so it was
back to counting jelly fish. By this time my crew had come to the
decision that there was nowhere comfortable to lie down in a national
12. At least the sun was shinning and the sea looked blue……in places.
At last some wind came and a course was set up and we got a start but
the wind died again before everybody could finish one poor Topper was
timed out. Eventually the wind came back again and we were able to get
in two more races in a light but steady breeze, Agent Orange was
obviously going much better up wind than Otterzell despite being
overtaken by a Solo on the down wind leg (where do they get that
handicap from) and won all three races. We finally made it back ashore
after nearly six hours on the water.
Overall results
|
rank
|
boat
name
|
helm
|
crew
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
total
|
|
1
|
Agent Orange
|
Angus Beyts
|
Rohan Beyts
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
|
2
|
Otterzell
|
Andrew Mitchell
|
Kay
Clark
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
