Sometimes you wonder about the intelligence of the human race. On my journey from Farnham to Birmingham, on the M3, there were big illuminated signs saying, use the left hand lane unless overtaking. No one took any notice. On the M40, I was travelling at 70 in the van and came across a few cars doing 40 mph in the middle lane. I was on the inside lane as there were so few cars on the road and when you come up the inside lane approaching a slow car it is quite scary.
Enough of the travel, Manor Park is a lovely sailing venue for model yachts. The control area is 30 feet above the water giving a perfect view of the race course. The only downside is the breeze you feel is not the breeze on the water, it is always stronger. Conditions range from 3 to 8 knots with the usual upwind downwind course.
The event was supposed to be held at Bourneville but the venue has closed due to cases of Avian flu. We hope they are able to reopen soon.
The racing was tight with 16 boats and the results and MYA report are below. The Manor Park and Bournville team delivered fantastic racing given the conditions and consistency was the order of the day. Dorian Crease showed early form with two wins in the morning but Darin Ballington proved to be the most consistent and always had his nose in the front of the fleet. I was always there too but seemed to be chasing Darin more than leading him and twice slipped up to let him through on the last leg. I did return the compliment on him however later in the day and finished with 3 bullets after a tack to oblivion in the 8th race.
See the full report here and the results below.
I followed my setup routine I published the other day and was rigged and ready to go in less than 10 minutes. Once I had done the final tweaks for the wind, I made no further changes during the day. Speed was good, I just need to read the shifts better. 4 firsts, 4 seconds and 2 fourths was not a bad performance
My focus now goes onto sailing as many events as possible, sharpening the mind and sharpening the fitness which is needed when you do 12 to 20 races in a day at an open and all day racing over 3 days at the Nationals. Sadly this Tuesday is a non starter as there is only 3 mph wind in the area.
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