Turn the Fans Back On!
I was hoping that today there would be more wind than yesterday. Unfortunately it was less. On top of that on the first race, half of the fleet followed one course, the other half another course. It turned out that the race officer changed the course half way through the start sequence. It was a bit of a mess. The Merlin Rockets and half of the Lasers followed one course. The rest of the Lasers, the RS200s, the GP14s and the Fireflies another course. As far as the Lasers were concerned, the whole race was not valid.
On the second race I hoped for something better. The wind seemed to be picking up at some point but it didn’t. My extra weight doesn’t help in light winds, so it was a bit frustrating but it was the best I could do really. Nothing exciting happened during the race. After I finished I left my boat rigged in case the wind would pick up later in the afternoon.
We went in for lunch and I was introduced to James, a new member, and I was asked if I could take him out. Since he didn’t have much experience, I decided to launch a GP14, so I could show him how to tack and jybe. The wind was still very light so, it was ideal for a newbie. He wasn’t as subtle as I would have liked with his movements, but I am sure he will improve on that as soon as he realises the impact they have on the boat. It was a nice, sunny afternoon and although there was hardly any wind, it felt cool. I was OK in shorts and T-shirt but as the sun was going down it was getting cooler.
We came back in de-rigged the GP14, then de-rigged my Laser and went to the bar for a drink. More sailing next Saturday.