CVDRA Rally at Blithfield Sailing Club - Day 1

Peter Vinton might be sailing a 50 year old Fairey Finn but he could still nail the pin end at the start line during the inaugural Classic Dinghy Regatta at Blithfield © Dougal@davidhenshallmedia

The numerous Merlins and Merlin Rockets enjoyed some wonderfully close racing, as show by Kate, Merlin 1, holding position with the famous 'Black Adder' some 40 years it's junior, during the inaugural Classic Dinghy Regatta at Blithfield © Dougal@davidhenshallmedia

Reefed down and sailed single handed, the 1938 Uffa Fox 14 showed the superb side of dinghy restoration during the inaugural Classic Dinghy Regatta at Blithfield © Dougal@davidhenshallmedia

After two days of rain and unhelpful winds, Blithfield Sailing Club delivered warm sunshine and a breeze blowing down almost the full length of the lake for their inaugural Classic Dinghy event (with the weekend being shared with the Laser EPS Open). With the passage of the odd passing cloud the breeze at times had enough bite to catch out the unwary, though the extended swim taken by Jon Roberts who was experimenting with novel downwind techniques lasted long enough for the rescue boat and cameraman to record his progress!

The Classic fleet was one again dominated by Merlin Rockets (well, the event was hosted by Blithfield which today is one of their spiritual homes) with Mervyn Allen in Kate, Merlin number 1, splitting tacks at one point with Jon Turner's wonderboat from the late 1980s, Seventh Heaven. Also attracting a great deal of attention was the 1938 Uffa Fox build International 14, which was reefed so that it could be sailed single handed.

Sailing very fast and looking good for yet another win was Peter Vinton in his early 1960s Fairey Finn, who was showing mastery of both the start line and the shiftier wind further up the lake.