It is fair to say that it was actually champagne sailing on Saturday with clear blue skies, temperatures in the mid-twenties and a fresh breeze. A good turn out of 10 boats set sail on the chosen course of 65; basically a windward leewards between 26 and MYA1. The running start with spinnakers flying saw all boats line abreast on the line as the gun went off. Muffin made an early lead with Ubique snapping at his heels. The boats progressed nicely until just past the Wilsonians when a swirling gust caught Moosnhine by surprise and they performed an uncharacteristic capsize. Knot Rushin who was making good progress on the north shore must have thought the shark trophy was slipping from his grasp followed suit and tip over also.
All spinnakers went down immediately except for Hound who held a very tight line all the way to Mears to gain a distinct lead of a couple of hundred meters followed by Muffin and Loose Knots with Ubique giving chase. The reach continued past Mears and gradually spinnakers were hoisted for the rest of the run to 26 as the breeze settled. All boats were now upright with Knot Rushin and Mooshine now bringing up the rear. Wild Thing was faring well at this stage in 5th chasing Ubqiue with Black Jack and La Rive following close at this stage.
Onto MYA 1 Black Jack and La Rive kept the spinnakers in their bags allowing Knot Rushin and Moonshne to make back the lost ground.
At some point during this leg, Hard Tack who were enjoying a rare visit to the club in perfect conditions had a gear failure with metal coming away from wood and had to limp home.
Hound rounded MYA1 in first place with Muffin not far behind.
During the beat back to 26 Muffin had an incredible lift by HOO island which allowed them to sneak past Hound who had chosen the middle of the river for the return, hoping the turning tide would keep them in the lead.
This leg back to 26 allowed Knot Rushin and Moonshine to pass Black Jack and La Rive and get them close to Wild Thing. On rounding 26 Loose Knots had a challenging time hoisting the spinnaker and when it look like the place may be lost to Ubique the spinnaker filled and they maintained their position for the next run.
All safely round MYA1 for the final time, the beat back to the club past 26 to starboard was hard work with Ubique snapping at the back of Loose Knots and Knot Rushin was close on Wild Thing. This continued all the way through heart break reach . The final positions were as follows.
1 Muffin
2 Hercule Hound
3 Loose Knots
4 Ubique
5 Wild Thing
6 Knot Rushin
7 Mooshine
8 La Rive
9 Black Jack
10 Hard Tack DNF
Great afternoon of sailing in fabulous conditions.