Zhik CoastWaterSports Scorpion Nationals - Days 2 & 3

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Day 2

The fleet awoke to a monsoon and poor visibility. So much so that this reporter went back to bed after messages from down the hill informing me of the two hour postponement. Some of the fleet amused themselves for the morning in the hot tub and a game of reverse Jenga using Duplo bricks.

The fog cleared and the fleet were released into brightening sunshine and some large Lyme Regis waves.

A steady 12-15knts greeted the fleet. After a couple of false starts the competitive fleet got away with Oli Wells and Rachael Rhodes rounding the windward mark first closely followed by Steve Walker and Jerry Hannibus. Oli and Rach hoisted the kite and set off down the reach only to watch the rest of the fleet bear off down the sausage leg of the course first! This gifted Andy Mckee and Chris Massey the lead of the race which they held to the finish, with Oli and Rach holding onto second and team Tom (Jeffcote and Pygal) finishing third after a good run.

After a delay between races waiting for the breeze to settle after a big right hand shift the fleet got away first time in a dropping breeze and lumpy bumpy conditions. This delay was good for some boats as there were lots of runs back to shore for new spinnaker poles, fixing rudder pintles and even Nigel potter having to go back in and glue his slot gasket back on!

Team Tom showed the fleet the way down the reach followed by Andy Mckee and Chris Massey and Oli Wells and Rachael Rhodes. Oli and Rach clipped the back of the boat on the mark and had to do spins. As the wind was slowly dropping Pete Gray and Rich Pepperdine put their pond sailing skills into practice by making huge gains down the run by not Gybing out and picking the shifts up the final beat to take the race win. The rest of the fleet were struggling to fill their kites on the top reach in the chop. Practice race winners Chris Turner and Alex Hayman held their own to take second and Tom and Tom rounding off the top 3.

Due to the morning postponement and a late finish the AGM will now be at 7.15 pm with the "Daily banger" and prize giving following at 9.30pm.

Day 3

The changeable forecast at the Lyme Regis Scorpion Nationals unfortunately proved to be correct as flat calm greeted competitors for day 3. Without any prospect of things improving the race officer for the week Alan Tyler, joyfully hoisted AP over A and racing was abandoned for the day.

For those that only care about finding out how the results have changed you can stop reading now and move on to another way of wasting work time. For everyone else here is a mildly entertaining account of how 120 slightly bored, relieved, sad but excitable sailors spent their day.

Disappointment quickly gave way to an impromptu game of rounders on the beach. A home run by Pete Grey gave the Midlanders a narrow advantage going into the final round where Hannah Buchanan was inexplicably caught out by a member of the beach going public to hand the Midlands the win. Other class members found hot tubs, tennis courts and alcohol to keep themselves entertained.

By the evening BBQ and annual Scorpion quiz, the wind had filled in from the East and promises better conditions for day 4.

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Results after day 3: