Sunday 17th December saw the 2nd Race day for the Medway RC Laser Winter Series from Barton’s Point Coastal Park Lake, Isle of Sheppey. The usual bunch of sailors from both offshore and dinghy fleets are doing battle for the winter months. We had lost the previous Sunday to strong wind and snow, so all were keen to compete.
Sunday was close to the mark again and well done to all for persevering in the cold south westerly light breeze. The Race Officer nearly escaped to the café all day to run the races. “A” rigs were the sail of choice all through the day. For the course a triangle sausage format was set. Race 1-3 were with the course as set with Jamie Blair taking the first and second races, Tony Owens and Pete Freeman chasing hard. The wind backed towards the south but with the existing buoy format a starboard rounding course of two triangles was possible. The start line was shorter making space much tighter. Premature starters ensued with Jamie picking up two and starting from a long way back. Others cashed in on this with Tony, Pete and Richard Stone taking line honours.
Rules observance is always a topic of discussion and even when turns are taken the innocent party always seems to suffer. Charles Pegram was very patient in one race when clearly in the right lost a number of places from a good position. On the water judging seems to be the sure way ensuring a degree of playing fair.
Coffee break was essential to get circulation back into fingers and feet for a second session before the 12.30 deadline. Thirteen races were completed giving loads of practice to our rooky sailor Sarah Mason, who did achieve PB results in a number of races, beating some of the seasoned racers.
The post coffee races were dominated by the three with interjections from David Townshend and Charles.
The final tally saw Pete Freeman and Tony Owens tied on points and even after the review of firsts and seconds etc it came down to the result in the last race to give the day to Pete Freeman.
The next race day is New Year’s Eve to close out 2017, leaving a further 12 race days before our season ends at the end of March. A packed programme every Sunday at Barton Point Country Park, Sheppey. Let’s hope the weather takes a turn from the brain numbing cold and bring out the remaining racers.