DF95 Winter Series event 2 at East Kent Radio Sailing Club

DF95 Winter Series event 2 at East Kent RSC © Peter Jackson

Event 2 of East Kent's 2025 series was held in light airs under sullen skies. Mike Brand was quick out of the box declaring his intent with three easy wins in a row stretching away on boat speed from Peter Jackson (twice) then Robert Owens.

But then as the wind increased by a few knots Robert kicked into form with good starts and speed, taking his own set of three wins in a row, this time from Colin Honour then Mike. Alan Hounsell mostly avoided moving marks during races for this event, posting two thirds.

Trying to reclaim the initiative from Robert, Mike pushed to hard at the starts getting OCS after OCS. In race 7 Peter, with a chunk of paint off his bulb, switched from an old to a newer rig as the wind eased again. He also started making pole position his own and, taking his turn at the front, plugged in a series of five straight wins before and after lunch (to Mike's 4,4,2,7), for a comfortable lead. Rob's 4,2,3,3,4 kept him right in the hunt. Colin Honour, after a slow start, also started posting seconds and thirds, and Alan built to a peak with 2,2,1, in races 11 to 13.

Spencer Pope had struggled with sail settings but hit the front in race 13 before succumbing to the pressure from Alan and Rob, finishing third. With the wind very light Mike returned to the fray posting 1,4,1,4 in the penultimate races with Peter 1,2 to stay just in the lead. Colin then peaked with two more second places from Rob with two third spots.

So it was all the final race, for Peter's first win for two months, Mike's first since July and Rob's first ever!

Or not; Peter launched with the boat switched off, ending up scoring an eighth so had to count a fifth. The last two races had reduced to a single lap in a 'drifter'. Mike won the last race, to equal Peters six first and three second places, so he discarded a fourth to take first in the event. Rob needed a win with Mike fourth, but his third in the last race left him third overall, another 1 point behind Peter.

Results were tight right down to fifth with Colin Honour beating Alan for fourth by just 2 points. Phew!!

Results:
1. 875 Mike Brand
2. 211 Peter Jackson
3. 479 Robert Owens
4. 62 Colin Honour
5. 380 Alan Hounsell
6. 32 Spencer Pope
7. 613 Andrew Nichols

DF95 Winter Series event 2 at East Kent RSC - photo © Peter Jackson