Crewsaver RS100 Europeans and Eurocup in Carnac - Day 1
by Al Hall 31 May 2013 10:40 BST
30 May 2013
A blustery north westerly with sunshine, around 18-20 knots, greeted the 16 RS100 sailors from as far afield as North Wales, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Isle of Wight and of course not forgetting England!
Al Hall led the fleet away at the pin end and got the shifts right to lead at the windward mark closely followed by Chris Cunningham and newcomer to the 8.4 fleet Huw Powell! Has he slimmed down?
Downwind was all about staying upright and picking the gusts and by the leeward mark Powell led from Cunningham with Hall close behind. Once again Hall picked the shifts and led at the windward mark with Powell coming to terms with his new diminutive sail. Downwind Powell picked the right side of the course while Hall covered the middle ground and both boats arrived at the final leeward mark at identical times. Powell shot through to leeward to record the bullet, Hall second and Cunningham third.
Race two and the wind had increased to a steady 24 knots with occasional 28 knot gusts recorded. This was a tale of 'so nearly' and 'if only' for quite a few sailors. Alistair Dickson established a huge lead at the windward mark only to succumb to the gybe. Mark Harrison then had a significant lead but tried to sail by the lee to avoid the gybe and succumbed to a watery grave. Huw Powell then became master of his own destiny but he got the next downwind gybe horribly wrong leaving Chris Cunningham to pick up the pieces and take the bullet by quite a margin. Powell recovered to second with Hall finishing third.
Results so far after day 1