Reported by Geoff Raygada.
Today It was the turn of Two Islands RYC to host the third round of the Wee Nip Challenge between Abington Park, Two Islands and Emberton Park clubs. Holidays and the like had taken their toll on numbers today, so the attendance was a little disappointing and somewhat lower than we have become accustomed to. It was a rather leisurely start, this morning with the racing getting under way a little after 10:00 am, which turned out for the best as we missed the short sharp shower and almost flat calm conditions of the early morning. A port rounding triangle/sausage course was set, trying to keep us out in the breeze, which began to look a little ambitious for the wind strength, however there was sufficient breeze to finish within a reasonable time frame. As per usual, the wind swung round a little as the morning progressed and increased in strength steadily, giving some enjoyable racing. The first leg wasn’t always a beat but there was always one there somewhere, often not the same leg as the last lap. A quick look at the phone suggested that the wind would increase to around 20mph by lunch time, which was greeted with some scepticism, oh ye of little faith! By coffee break, we were nearly there, plenty of wind and sunshine but now blowing from the
opposite direction, so during the beak a cunning plan was hatched and the course was reversed, now starting into the bay to our left, behind the Island, and still keeping to the triangle/ sausage format.The stiff breeze and sunshine continued for the rest of the day, providing exciting
and challenging racing, with the inevitable wind shifts, typical of inland water sailing.
At times these gusts caught out the unwary, especially down wind but in general it was
manageable but certainly at the top end of comfortable.
opposite direction, so during the beak a cunning plan was hatched and the course was reversed, now starting into the bay to our left, behind the Island, and still keeping to the triangle/ sausage format.The stiff breeze and sunshine continued for the rest of the day, providing exciting
and challenging racing, with the inevitable wind shifts, typical of inland water sailing.
At times these gusts caught out the unwary, especially down wind but in general it was
manageable but certainly at the top end of comfortable.