Etchells Northern Championships at Royal Mersey Yacht Club
by Tom Edge 2 Jun 2010 11:11 BST
22-23 May 2010
The Royal Mersey Yacht Club, with kind sponsorship from Gill, hosted the International Etchells Northern Championships over the 22nd and 23rd May.
With clear blue skies and light variable winds, day one was a challenge for all concerned. The tide was king during a day that positions were constantly changing in the light variable warm wind from the southeast. The leeward mark of race 2 saw 6 Etchells abreast, with the course shortened as they rounded this mark; it was a drag race to the finish. With a first and a second, Pointless was the overnight leader with a comfortable margin.
Day 2, we awoke to near perfect conditions with a northerly force 4, gusting 5, there was no question that 3 races would be completed. Excellent race management created a tactical windward leeward course where the effects of the strong tide created all sorts of inshore tacking duels. With a strong performance during the day, Impulse took 3 bullets and became the overall winner, but only after count back, such was the close nature of the weekend's racing.