Thirteen skippers turned up on a bright and blustery morning for the opening round of the DF95 summer series- and what a cracking days racing it turned out to be. The moderate gusty south-westerly made life easy for the race team -Kevin E and Ron A- who set a course off the east bank.

A long beat towards the clubhouse in a single leg to a windward/spreader mark, followed by a downwind run to a leeward gate in the northeast corner of the lake, and then a second beat to the finish line between the windward and spreader marks. The blustery conditions saw all skippers opting for B rigs for the day. Great to see both Alan N (438) and Mike W (76) back out on the water

Racing got underway shortly after 10 am, with Rob W (97) taking the honours in the first race, closely followed by Mike H (22) in second. Wins in the next four races before the tea break were shared by Paul Kelly (19), Jen H (69), Mike H (22) and Martyn A (877) showing there was no single skipper dominating the results.

Plenty of cake was on offer at the tea break, with two skippers, Colin H and Kevin E both celebrating birthdays during the previous week. Colin H came out flying after the tea break, taking wins in races 6, 7 and 9. Mike H kept up his strong form with victories in races 8 and 11 while Kevin E claimed race 10.
Both Mick C (46) and Malcolm P (01) experienced boat or electrical problems but hopefully they will be resolved for the next round.

Seven different skippers secured race wins on the day, with the points reflecting just how close the competition was and how hard fought the battles were throughout the fleet.

Congratulations to Martyn A, winner on the day with 22 points (1 win and 5 seconds), closely followed by Mike H second on 26 points (3 wins and 1 second) and Paul K very close behind in third on 26 points (1 win and 2 seconds).

All in all, it was a great day’s racing- close competition and good sportsmanship throughout.
The race team is grateful to everyone who helped pack away the equipment.