International One Metre Class (IOM) Racing at Fleetwood Model Yacht Club
by John Taylor 28 Jul 2020 10:17 BST
26 July 2020
A blustery Fleetwood Lake for the One Metre class racing © John Taylor
On Sunday sixteen skippers arrived to a blustery Fleetwood lake, for the first friendly gathering since the pandemic started. Distancing restrictions were maintained as the competitors were split into 2 fleets, meaning less people on the lakeside whilst racing.
There were a number of talented skippers on show from all parts of the northern district, which included the current UK (IOM) Champion Rob Walsh, who joined us for the afternoon session.
The day belonged to Shaun Priestley sailing a borrowed Britpop design. He sailed consistently well throughout the day and finished in front of Rob Walsh (Britpop) and John Sharman (Vision). It was good to see people enjoying the racing and catching up with friends, whilst maintaining safety measures.
As for me, over the 10 races there were flashes of consistency, finishing high up in the fleet in 4 races. However, with my boat getting tangled up in fishing line in the first race, and breaking a shroud with no spare wire in race 7, my day finished early. This gave me the excuse to take some pictures of the event. Thanks goes to the Fleetwood Model Yacht Club for running this race.