2014 Cadet Week at Waldringfield Sailing Club - Day 2
by Waldringfield Cadets 29 Jul 2014 22:14 BST
28 July - 1 August 2014
Sponsored by Seamark Nunn, Gill and Harken
The good news is the sun came out, less good was the wind strength which had blown itself out overnight and was a fitful Northerly as the fleet set off towards Galleons Hard.
The Radials got away cleanly on a long beat towards Beacon and thereafter round a classic Waldringfield ZigZag course. After 3 laps Gus Cooney held the lead ahead of Cam Goodhead with Josie Gummer in third.
With the wind dropping a second race took place before lunch, this time with Sam Yale first ahead of Harry Chatterton and Pip Dearlove third.
For the final race of the day after lunch a long patient wait for the sea breeze saw the fleet sail a small triangle sausage course tucked up under the island as the land and sea breeze battled for dominance with shifts aplenty providing overtaking opportunities everywhere. Sam again came in in first, this time with Susie Gosling second and Sarah O'Brien third.
After six races Josie Gummer holds onto the lead with 10 points but Sam is closing the gap with 16 points and Sarah third with 20.
In the Cadet class things are getting tight at the top. The first race saw Daisy/Hamish, Lucy/ Cally, Willow/Cara and Alex/Aaron all trading places in the shifty breeze. Up the last beat it looked like Daisy had snuck back ahead but Alex took advantage of a biased line to take the win by a couple of feet; Daisy second, Lucy third and Willow fourth.
Next race saw lots of place changing again. This time Lucy prevailed ahead of Archie Penn/ Ed Fletcher in second with Willow third and Daisy fourth retaining the yellow jerseys but by a slender margin.
The final race saw Daisy and Hamish sneak away up the first beat having won the pin end but Willow and Cara were hard on their heels with Ed Harris/Faye Chatterton and Alex/Aaron also close behind. Again lots of place changes, this time saw Willow take the lead and extend with Ed finishing second, Alex third and Daisy fourth.
After 6 races Daisy and Hamish lead on 12 points, 1 point ahead of Lucy and Cally, with Willow and Cara third on 16 and Alex and Aaron fourth on 17... too close to call at just past the half way point of the series.
Wednesday sees the 50th anniversary pursuit race, followed by the über competitive crews race with race 7 of the series in the afternoon. Who will have any energy left after tonight's raft building and onesie movie night is anyone's guess.