Wow , and Wow again, a fantastic clear crisp morning greeted the 9 brave skippers who took no notice of recent weather bombs and came to do battle. wind was a gusty 15 to 25 knots I would say over the duration of the morning ,,l The bouys were retrieved from the far corners of the lake ( Thanks Jorge ) by Mick Ch and Pete Wa and relaid to set a great course on the East bank,  Rob got all the starter gear sorted and a few skips were contemplating which rig to use , (A suit definitely being left in the box.) Racing started prompt at 10 am and Rob got off to a flying start winning the first two races, Mick Ch jib luff downhaul broke before the start and a hasty repair did not last a minute, Dave Rigby took a well deserved 2nd spot with Chris E having a major rig problem also in the first race. The wind  (Guess) must have been around 18 knots at this stage and B suit was coping very well even in the gusts. Race three saw the win by Mick Ch with the Sedici closely followed by Pete Wa with his Slimtel, and Dave R in third racing a Vision,  Race four saw winning ways return to Rob W with the Brit Pop,,,, where Mick Ch on the final beat with loads in hand for the win went into irons during a tack, and the rest was history,,, ( Funny how you look back on these defining moments ) Pete Wa got third,  Time for a well earned cup of coffee, especially for the golden oldies who found they had to jog along the bank to keep up with their boats on the very fast downhill run. After the coffee the recharged Chris E with the Brit Pop came out fighting and took the first two races, With Pete Wa keeping up a very good average to stay in contention. Last race was won again by Chris E. but it was not enough on the day, where Rob W took the honours from Mick Ch and Chris E, some very fast and furious racing in the last 2/3 races with the wind strength increased  to poss 20/24 knots,,,  and to keep the boat alive on the run was a real test of skill with several spectacular wipe outs , by far the best sailing we have had for some time, in tough conditions, ensuring your boat could stand up to the conditions and not break was a feat in itself . we started with 9 skippers and by the end only two had dropped out.

well done Rob for the win ,, and many thnks to all who helped put the kit away great sailing ,  but hey I would like to try out my top suit next time please , so not so much wind   The final round 12 is next up on the 22nd March .

a couple of pics from the nats at Fleetwood last year

Jen Hand

Mick Ch