The warnings and conditions unfortunately also thinned out the number of boats who made the trip to Sunshine. Five Vee Esses rigged in a total regatta fleet of 25. This would have to be the smallest fleet in history. Unfortunately our starters were reduced by one when 2 sailors + 1 launched the boat but found the rudder pin missing. Bugger. A replacement pin couldn't be found so Geoff, Mark & Pete only got wet from the rain.
Despite the small numbers it was still a good race. We shared the start with a couple of skates so there was still some aggression on the line. TBS, with Gabe subbing in for Janine, won the start & were first round the windward mark, closely followed by Firestorm, Stowe & Incognito. And already a comfortable margin ahead of the skates. There has always been a friendly rivalry between the classes. For the record, and bragging rights, we lapped one skate & were not far off doing the same to the second. Another one for the VS !!!
Up front TBS & Firestorm again pushed each other all race and cleared out, with Firestorm holding on for the gun. TBS were comfortable in second, until returning to the shore with a spectacular flip. Stowe did the same. It looked great but I'm not keen on following the trend...
But back to the racing, Andrew & Chris on Incognito grabbed Joe for the weekend. They continued their performances from the recent Sunshine nats and pounced when Tim, Scott & Lennon had a quick swim on the home run. Incognito 3rd. Stowe 4th.
Sunday morning and the rain was nearly horizontal. When we got to the club two flags were flying - AP over A. No racing today. So we lost a race but that's not the end of either the TT & state title series. Vaucluse regatta is in on in two weeks time - 22nd February. If you can please get make an effort to get there. It is a great club & they are great hosts. They looked after us in our 70th year and always make us welcome. Let's show them we appreciate their hospitality by having a good turnout.
Happy sailing
John