Hornet Open at Port Dinorwic Sailing Club

A competitive fleet turned out for the first open of the year kindly hosted by Port Dinorwic Sailing Club over the weekend 14-15 May. Early arrivals were greeted to a warm welcome from the local members as well as warm weather and good breezes. This theme was to continue (mostly) for the rest of the weekend.

Three boats went for a cheeky sail on Friday evening before retiring to the club for food and drink and then off to sample the local hostelry which did not disappoint!

Saturday, dawned fine and sunny again with a good breeze but some meaningful puffs and shifts were ripping across the race track due to the slightly less than ideal wind direction. Three races were scheduled for the afternoon so, after a little boat pampering, (power tools were only used once on the PD Commodores boat) the fleet set off.

The racing was characterised by many passing lanes and a few minor dramas for a couple of boats as gusts or shifts came whistling through at inopportune moments - like gybe marks. But all in all a great days racing was had by all. Over night leaders were Toby Barsley-Dale and Richard Nurse who managed to sniggle hard and get 1,1,2 and avoid being the only boat in the fleet to carry a discard into the second day. Strangler and Pippa Rogers were tripped up once with 2,4,1 and third was the remarkably consistent Kath and Alex who posted 3,3,3.

The evening dinner was held in the club as part of the clubs annual fitting out supper with many of the club mem-bers joining in including the Pirates (the clubs very active youth section). There was a really good atmosphere and the welcome speech was given by a few of the younger Pirates which was great to see. A second dessert was availa-ble in the form of marshmallows cooked on a bonfire on the beach - perfect! A second visit to the local hostelry rounded off the evening.

Sunday dawned sunny again; however the wind was not playing ball. It was much lighter and now coming 'straight' across the Straits which, in reality, meant massive shifts and some significant holes on the course. With endless snakes and ladders available, Jo and Lou found the last ladder in the first race and jumped to the front to take their first win. However, racing was a continuous change of position and never over until crossing the finishing line. De-spite getting lost on the knitting course and rounding the leeward mark the wrong way and having to unwind them-selves, Toby and Rich managed to recover to second. The final race saw Toby and Rich throw a race win by being OCS. Strangler took the final win and with it second place overall.

Overall winners were Toby and Rich with Strangler and Pippa second. Third was a tie between Jo and Lou and Kath and Alex, the tie going in favour of Jo and Lou thanks to their first place. It should be noted however than Kath and Alex managed two more third places to give them a full set of thirds for the weekend. Very consistent sailing despite the tricky conditions.

Our thanks go to Port Dinorwic Sailing Club for a fantastic weekend on and off the water. We can't wait to come back next year... but please book a south westerly!