Vane 36’s Saturday 31st August
The forecast of a strong, gusty wind didn’t materialise, although the warm SW breeze saw most boats in second rig. There were still some gusts, serving to tease out whether boat settings were robust enough to allow boats to drive through them. Four boats came to the line, and the wind deflections upwind of the clubhouse made for some complex calculations when setting up the vanes, both upwind and down. On one run, Peter and Paul actually demonstrated that
it is possible to sail along the knuckle, following closely the headland, without banking!
A pattern swiftly developed, with Jacque and Eric’s Diversion and Peter and Paul’s Sybora taking every board until they raced each other in the last heats. So strong had each boat been that the overall win hung on the result of the last beat. Jacque and Eric’s N.B.C. drew the leeward berth, but managed to drive through and beat Peter and Paul by a small margin, winning the day and at the same time achieving that rarity in vane racing, a clean sweep.
Graham and Ray, sailing a Road Runner, had a less successful day for them, having listened to the weather forecast and opted for too small a rig. Mervyn, with the generous help of everyone else there, sailing his Diversion, fared just a little better with the venerable Hhot.
Our thanks to Jacque and Ray for doing the cards and scoring, and for setting up poles and mats. The next vane racing will be Sunday 22nd September, the A class Met & Southern Championship. It would be good to have a good turnout, so if you could all put that date in your diaries and spread the word!
Mervyn
