🌊 Sonata Shenanigans on the Medway – Race 2 Report 🌊
Conditions: Force 3 breeze, flooding tide, and a mischievous upriver start.
Fleet: Watersong, Bluetack, Skipper, Red Dwarf, Screwloose
Mood: Competitive with a side of drizzle cake.
The second race of the summer series began with a cheeky twist—Screwloose and Red Dwarf, clearly too eager for glory, jumped the gun and had to sheepishly pirouette back across the start line. A dramatic start, if not a strategic one.
Watersong, ever the elegant frontrunner, led the charge to the first upriver mark. With two marks looming like twin sentinels, the fleet hedged their bets and rounded both—better safe than sorry when the race committee’s eyebrows are involved.
Bluetack was hot on Watersong’s stern, with Skipper puffing along in third. Then came the tactical gamble: Watersong and Skipper ducked into the shallows to dodge the tide. Watersong tiptoed through like a ballerina; Skipper, however, found herself doing an impromptu mud dance. Grounded, but not defeated.
Up Heartbreak Reach, the race turned into a nautical duel. Watersong and Bluetack were neck and neck, defying expectations and bucking form. At the Gillingham turn, Bluetack snuck ahead with a sly grin—but Watersong wasn’t having it. She reclaimed the lead with quiet determination and held it like a dog with a favourite stick.
The downriver leg was a gyber’s paradise—zigs, zags, and a few questionable angles. The fleet danced past the forts before turning for home. Red Dwarf, now free from her early penalty, surged into third, while Skipper, freshly un-mudded, followed in fourth. Screwloose, trailing but tenacious, brought up the rear with admirable spirit and a drizzle cake consolation prize.
The final beat up Heartbreak Reach was a tense affair, with headers and lifts playing mind games. But the positions held firm:
🏁 Final Results:
- 🥇 Watersong – Graceful and unyielding.
- 🥈 Bluetack – Snappy and strategic.
- 🥉 Red Dwarf – Redemption arc complete.
- Skipper – Muddy but mighty.
- Screwloose – Last across the line, first to the cake.
