Gerry had agreed to crew for me for the Welsh Harp Sailing Club "Bonfire" Open Event. This was a new Open event for GP14 Dinghys - it was previously a "Commodores Cup".
In the end, Gerry was unable to sail as he had an injury, so Mike Smith agreed to crew instead.
We came overall 4th, out of 12 boats that braved the weather, and as a result we were awarded the "First Silver" cup.
Mike & I generally relish high winds, but these were exceptional. Many of the fleet capsized at various times.
The first race started when the wind shifted to the "pin" end of the line, where we happened to be. As a result, we were 3rd to the windward mark, and finished 4th. We had flown the spinnaker in the first leg, but decided to be more cautious thereafter.
After a great lunch provided by the club, we again had a reasonable start on the second race. We were fairly cautious, and thanks to people capsizing around us we ended up third.
The final race did not turn out so well - we got caught in the "pack" after a bad start, then decided to be a bit ambitious with the "kite", gybed / broached when taking it down and ended up swimming. In the end, I didn't have enough strength to get on the centreboard, so we needed safety help and had to retire, with very muddy sails to be cleaned off!
However, with the regatta was scored on the basis of the two best results, do our DNF could be "discarded": a total of 7 points put us in 4th place, and first Silver Fleet boat.
Many thanks to Mike, who did a superb job all day - I'm just sorry about the capsize in the last race.
THEN - having received the 1st Silver cup, I was presented with the JALDI Cup by the GP14 Association.
This cup is given to the highest placed newcomer in the Southern Circuit. It can only be won once. So many of our friends on the circuit had already won it, so this time it was Chris Lomax & I. It was a great way to end the season.
This winter will mainly be about health & fitness - then see what next season brings !!
No comments:
Post a Comment