Miracle Open at Broadwater Sailing Club

Overcast skies and light winds greeted the Miracle fleet to Broadwater Sailing Club on Saturday, 22 April for a two day event, in conjunction with the Albacore fleet on the Saturday and the Aero fleet on the Sunday.

In race 1, it was a case of who was in the right place on the line when the wind finally came, and it was the committee boat end where Neil & Keith (4040) and John & Kathy (4020) took off towards the windward mark, slowly followed by the rest of the fleet. By lap 2 Tracy & Gemma (3692) and Brian & Paul (4064) passed John & Cathy, finishing in that order behind Neil & Keith who held on to the finish.

Race 2 was sailed in similar conditions, again Neil & Keith leading and winning from the start, but this time Brian & Paul got the better of Tracy & Gemma to finish in that order, with Graham & Helen 3813 again finishing in 4th place.

On Saturday night a fish and chip supper was laid on followed by live folk music, along with a 50th Birthday of one of the crews. The night finished not too late, as Sunday's start was 9:30 am!

Sunday morning came with more wind but this was soon to die making conditions tricky for a second day, but this time it was Graham & Helen in the right place from the start, with Neil & Keith and Tracy & Gemma in pursuit. Neil & Keith passed Graham & Helen (who were heading for the wrong mark) and held the lead with Graham & Helen finishing 2nd being helped by Tracy & Gemma who ran aground in the shallows, but still managed to hold on to 3rd place.

With Neil & Keith already crowned champions, they still decided to sail the last two races. This was very good of them as they could have packed their boat up and watched the rest of us struggle, in the very testing conditions.

Again race 4 was a drifter, but this didn't stop Neil & Keith leading and winning with Tracy & Gemma and local boat Clare & John (2132) battling behind with several place changes, but at the line Tracy and Gemma crossed ahead of Clare & John.

Race 5 the wind split the fleet down both sides with each side looking the correct way to go, and at the windward mark it was Neil & Keith closely followed by Tracy & Gemma, with Graham & Helen, who had come up the opposite side in third.

Neil & Keith got away until they got stuck in no wind, allowing Tracy & Gemma to catch and pass, holding on to take the win, with Graham and Helen in 3rd place behind Neil & Keith.

Overall 6 Albacores, 10 Miracles and 18, or so, Aeros took part in racing at BSC over the weekend and more than 50 sailors enjoyed their sailing despite the gentle winds! Many thanks go to the numerous club members, their families and friends who helped to make it happen.

Overall Results: