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8 August 2005
Shaken, Shocked & Speechless
Spitfire Supremo Simon Stannard Suddenly Suffers Sunny Sunday Sailing Surprise Setback Sending Shadows Spanning Summer Series Supremacy Sparking Suspicion for Subsequent Successes....
07 Aug. The last of the Summer Series on a pleasant Sunday afternoon enticed a range of boats from across the fleets. The Race Officer of the day set some fantastic courses with something for everyone. Race one a long ranging course with meaty upwind and downwind legs for the high tech boats. Race two shorter with zigs and zags across the course and plenty of manoeuvres and finally race three for the reaching boats a short and furious course to capitalise on the increase in wind strength.
There were some near misses with the rescue crews twitching as cats heeled maniacally almost beyond the point of no return, teetering on the brink, to pull back miraculously. One crew convinced of an imminent capsize in a gust, bailed a moment too early, slid inexorably down the tramp and hit the water with the command, "Stay on the boat"! hollered 14 foot above from the skyward hull, only to be scooped back up as the boat skewed into the wind, levelled and headed off after the pack having lost only a few seconds. Show boating at its best and all for the benefit of the race teams and rescue crews observing from the Ark mere yards away.
In the Fast Cat Fleet the strangle hold on the Summer Series by the Spitfire team was shaken a little as the return of a former team mate now aboard an Nacra F18 [Ed, now benefitting from an intensive 8 month refit & test programme] took line honours in all three of the races. The Darts carved up the course in the last race dominating the short and fearsome reaches and fast turns across the wind [Ed, the Spitfire helm may have had something to say about this, but without some boats to follow, found himself heading for the line after rounding the wrong mark and hence is too embarrassed to draw attention to the actualite of the facts...]. Check the results page for final places and watch the competition hot up with the return of the Fleet Captain to the Fast Cat fray for the Champagne Series [Ed not to mention the return of the pint-sized power-house of the White Tiger team, currently piloting a Mirror around Cardigan Bay for three weeks as punishment for past sins.]
Mark Emptage
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