Results / Bloody Mary Pursuit Race Queen Mary SC - 07/01/2012

The RS600 event was split to provide one training day and one race day. Eighteen boats turned up on the Saturday, to listen to the wise words and experience of coach Mike Bean. Unfortunately a lack of wind limited the topics that could be practised, so after talking about them a series of short races were held, Mike assisting everyone with useful comments about technique, set up and trim. Race day proper arrived with sun and enough wind to trapeze, and the numbers increased to 23. The first start went in an orderly fashion, and by the first mark it was local master Pete Sanders leading the way, followed by Paul Smalley and Jon Heissig. A fractional increase of wind down the run benefited those who gybed early, and at the end of the lap Heissig was leading, fractionally ahead of Sanders, with Mark Barron moving up into third. Sanders and Barron tacked off onto the left hand side of the course, Heissig didn't and consequently Sanders again led round the windward mark ahead of Barron, then Heissig. The positions stayed the same to the finish, with Smalley in fourth and Paul Molesworth in fifth. Two hoots sounded at the second start, and Sanders, Barron and Heissig all turned round at different ends of the line to try again. This left Smalley looking good up the beat, and he trapezed down to the windward mark first having been as far left as possible without needing wheels. The wind elsewhere was becoming distinctly patchy, and next in from the left were Molesworth, Dave Nunn, Mike Beckett and Griff Tanner. Smalley kept the Datchet posse at bay into the second lap, when the wind dropped and disappeared completely. The race officer sensibly used the positions after the first lap to calculate results, and gave up on the last race (but not before the competitors had). Overall, the top three of Smalley, Molesworth and Barron all attended the training day, showing how effective it must have been. Many thanks to the race officer and his team for getting some racing completed in the difficult conditions, and those who wanted to got to watch the rugby as well.