Byte Open at West Oxfordshire Sailing Club

Bytes at West Oxfordshire © Alan Lawrence

The third WOSC Byte open was a two day event, with three races on Saturday then two back to back on Sunday. The wind was down the lake, with the forecast giving an average windspeed of 12mph (force 3) but locally the wind varied from almost flat calm to short lived gusts of around force 5, stronger and even less predictable on Sunday. This made for exciting racing, with the opportunities for big gains if the right side of the beat was selected, but also added to the spills, with almost everyone experiencing at least one capsize.

Rick Whitehouse (Combs Sailing Club) made the most of his small lake sailing abilities, tacking on wind shifts and easing his way through the gusts to take the lead in every race. Mike Radford, local club member and organizer of the event came second in every race, starting ahead of Rick in at least 2 races, from where his local knowledge showed Rick the best side of the course!

Also sailing well was Sarah Kirk, who held third place with ease on Saturday but the lack of weight from insufficient chocolate over Lent affected her performance in the heavier conditions of Sunday.

Chris Rees started well in most races, with the first beat usually being a competition between Rick Chris, Sarah and Mike. New to the fleet and most welcome, were Stuart Moore and Cathy Brassington, whilst welcome back after a year away was Rachel Marden. Guy Shaw (another local from West Oxfordshire) and the Class Secretary, Maggie Futcher, completed the fleet. Stuart Moore was let down by gear failure in the first race on Sunday, falling out of a battle for second place in that race, but after repairs made third place in the last race, a sign, perhaps, of things to come!

The photo (taken by Alan Lawrence) is shortly after the start of the last race of the event, showing how compact the fleet was, with good starts from everyone, from a well laid line to courses that utilized most of the water (thanks to OOD and club commodore Roger Postbeschild). Thank also to the rescue boat drivers Michael Hodges and Vahik Enjiliy who were kept busy.

Off the water the event was also a great success. Food provided by Mike's wife, Donna (who he assures us feeds him as well as she fed us), a party at the clubhouse on Saturday night (for Sue and Ross Lonsdale's 25th Wedding anniversary) complete with hog roast, and to which the sailors were invited, rain that confined itself to the hours of darkness, all combined to make a most memorable weekend.

Overall Results: