LDC 2000 Class National Championships at Exe Sailing Club - Day 2
by Chris Jordan 5 Aug 2014 08:00 BST
3-8 August 2014
Wow! That was a day with a bit of everything.
Starting at 12.00 again, meant a leisurely rigging session in the morning, before leaving the beach at 11.00 for a gentle beat in 8-10 knots and lovely sunshine out to the start area.
Everyone was very keen to get going - so we had a general recall. Unfortunately, this gave time for the wind to drop a little, and we had a very tough (mentally tough) race in 6 to 8 knots. On the first beat the right hand side paid - allowing Andrew and Susan Cherry to lead around the first mark. Rob and Katie followed them from the middle, while many of the other top boats were struggling on the left. Down the run and Rob / Katie took the lead, and then went up the middle of the second beat. Many top boats, based on the analysis of the first beat, hit the right hand side - less tide, clouds and therefore more wind was over that side... but that time the left paid!
The "Z" flag was flying, so a number of people finished the race only to find an extra 20% added to their score.
The race was shortened to just two laps, as the wind was dropping away to less than 6 knots by the finish.
We then sat for an 90 minutes or so drifting around the committee boat - the wind occasionally blew at 2 knots, the sun disappeared and the rain came down... When the sun returned, the wind filled in again (from the same direction as before), Phil Morrison and the Race Team got us away fairly quickly: possibly too quickly for the mark layers who were "having fun" with the windward marks! So that attempt was abandoned after one lap.
When we got away for the final race of the day, the wind was blowing a good 14-15 knots, and the sea had a 3 to 4 ft swell on it. Totally unexpected after the flat calm an hour earlier. Chris and Gill Jordan started with speed at the committee boat end, tacked up the middle on the shifts, and led the fleet around the windward mark, only to find the only flat patch half way down the run allowing Rob and Katie through into the lead. During the race, the wind picked up to 16-18 knots, the sea built a little more, with some superb surfing downwind conditions - and quite a few anxious gybe moments if you caught the wave at the wrong time.
A rolling run through the surf brought fleet back to the beach by around 17.30.
Results can be found at www.exe-sailing-club.org/dinghy_results/2000_Nationals_Results.htm