Fast, Fun, Fantastic !

 

Well done to everyone that participated in the Mini40 multihull Open event this year. It was good to welcome Christian Engelhardt and Udo Reutter who made the journey from Germany. So, we were an international event! Unfortunately, the issues in the Middle East meant that Ian Holt was not able to fly from Australia and had to withdraw.

The racing certainly lived up to the strap line on both days, with the strong gusty wind playing a major role. To say that, quite often, the racing was really fast, would not be an understatement. So, staying upright was a major goal, even with small rigs. Some capsized more than others and kept the rescue boat busy. Thank you to Eric Meighen for mastering the maiden outing for the new outboard. It is a jolly site quicker at its lowest speed than the previous one! Also, a huge thank you to the Race Officer, Paul Edwards who set brilliant courses making use of the length of the lake. This enabled some amazing, screaming reaches, demonstrating the skills of all skippers. All the foiling boats foiled, and the mini foiler was in its element, particularly in straight lines!  It was so fast!!! Although it was colder in the wind on Saturday, on both days it was exciting for those spectating.

On Saturday, most skippers began with their smaller sails, and those that didn’t changed down as the morning progressed! The multis that had floats at the top of the mast were able to self-rescue following a capsize, as they floated in. Those that didn’t, invariably needed to be rescued and had to retire. Several boats self-righted!  Notably, Richard Davison’s, Mike Dann designed cat, which, although capsizing, managed to right herself on several occasions! So, while all other skippers had at least two retirements, Richard, brilliantly, only had one! Tony Cleal, sailing his own design tri, started well with a series of first and second places, but David Lindsay sailing a Mike Cooke, Rocket design tri, got into his stride and won the day. He was pursued by Richard and Tony and closely by Peter Fothergill racing a Mike Dann, Fish design, tri. Our visitors had a mixed day. Chris Engelhardt racing his own design Mod40, had a lot of third places but then had a number of retirements. Udo Reutter, also racing a Mod 40, achieved some seconds and thirds in the afternoon, but sadly, also had to retire. Often, the boat that was travelling, at the most amazing speeds, was the mini40 Oiler, Shinigami, designed and raced by Mike Cooke. It was also the one that experienced the most capsizes, which was disappointing, as his speed got him to the front of the fleet, and he finished second in a race in the morning.

Sunday, saw more of the same with the weather, although a little warmer and becoming progressively windier. The two skippers that could only do one day entered the fray: Simon Walley racing his Mike Dann designed tri, Shinobi and Rob Walley racing his Mike Dann designed cat. Disappointingly, a range of issues meant that Udo was not able to race, and Chris only managed one race. In the earlier part of the day, Mike Cooke showed the way with three wins and a third place. David, however, once more gained an impressive collection of first and second places giving him a clear lead and eventual win overall. The second and third places were keenly contested. Tony, with three first places and five second places to add to his Saturday scores gained second place overall, by three points from Peter. Richard gained two second places to add to his three on Saturday to be a creditable fourth overall.

Congratulations to David who was awarded the Argo Pot tankard for a second year.

Thank you to Phil Hampson for finishing duties on Saturday and to Jacque Cook for supplying cake, scoring and organising the event. A big thank you to Argo Engineering Solutions, for sponsoring the event since 2018. Finally, another big thankyou to Mike Parkin for the action shots taken on Saturday. (To be added later)

The next multihull series race is on Saturday the 23rd of May. Look forward to seeing you there.

Jacque Cook

Multi Hull Class Captain