Autumn weather arrives at Slipper

The winds over the summer were the usual mix of F1-4's, this weekend saw the first set of races in a decent breeze for some time.  I say decent breeze, but it was very variable and patchy.  Saturday was W f3-5, Sunday was SW f5-6, but racing in the Sweare Deep area of the harbour maybe takes few knots off the Cambermet readings.

Highlights from Saturdays 3 race series:

1.  Mike and Emma showed a clean set of heels to the fleet, winning every race.  The Rooster sails looked really good in the puffs, blading off nicely.  The course set was pretty much upwind/downwind for all three races, with trapezable wind downhill, good conditions for the assymetrics.

2.  Result of the weekend goes to  ...... Lauren and Ethan Miles in their Feva XL, placing 8th overall on the 3 race series, and coming 2nd in the final race.  A fantastic result, and goes to show that slower boats can be competitive.

3.  Good to see Rick and Tom Kennedy on the water in their 800, finishing 9th in the 3 race series.  The breeze around the course was variable, not the easiest conditions for twin trapezing, and the legs of the course were too short for the 8 to really stretch its legs.  Also very difficult for the 800 to start in a handicap fleet, as they need to foot off to get planing - all of the boats around them are pinching for a lane, so very difficult for the guys to break out.  Anyway, a good showing, especially given the need to sail the boat round from Thorney.

4.  Patrick, Wendy and Claire placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lasers.  There were 10 Laser variants in the series, which constitutes a fleet in its own right. The Slipper Lasers sailed very consistent races to finish at the head of the fleet.  Good news for the H&H, those are Slipper points!

Highlights from Sundays race :

1.  Good conditions again for the ISOs, trapezing round the full course, upwind and down.  Mike and Emma just held Andy and Vicky, with a few lead changes during the race.  The ISOs finished a couple of minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet, a good margin given the relatively short race. (I thought I was in touch with you guys at the final rounding of Tye, but as soon as I saw you flat out planing all the way to the club I knew it was over!).

2. The Wayfarer from ESC again shows that slower boats can place well in challenging conditions.  Those guys were romping upwind, finishing ahead of all the Lasers.

3.  Johnny and Barbara were again very consistent in their Merlin.  The Merlin handicap is very similar to the 300 (1002 .vs. 1000), so we spend a lot of time sailing in close proximity.  It must look a bizarre sight as we sail downwind, the Merlin looking well behaved and balanced, alongside a 300 with all the directional control of Brownian motion.

Anyhow, good racing in testing conditions.  The weather looks decidedly mixed for next weekend, lets hope we get the same fleet sizes on the water.