Gurnard Sailing Club

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After a gathering in the clubhouse on Friday evening to greet the new members, light winds prevailed over the Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday fixtures.

Sunday’s class racing for the Calculator Cup would better be titled Snakes and Ladders in the patchy easterly breeze, in which being lead boat mid-race was not a guarantee of arriving first at the line.

In the first start, 3 cats got away first into clearer wind and were never caught. Of these, Mike Martin sailed round a dead patch in mid-Solent to make up time and take the win on handicap.

The RS400 of Ric Newnham with the club commodore as crew was looking good for a while but hit a snake to make third at the finish behind Graham Deegan and Rory Wilson.

The fading wind decimated the fast group, with Richard Fagan the only finisher in his RS800.

The medium group did better, with 6 finishers led by Hannah Collinge’s asymmetric ahead of the Lasers of Pete Newlands and Steve Kimpton.

It was all action in the slow group, with Mark Harrison and Derek Ness’ luffing match out to Left Bay buoy. They finished in that order followed by the Vareo, Bob Mundell steering.

After cranking that mysterious handle, the race box declared Tom Harrison in Feva 438 as winner of the Calculator Cup.

Racing for the Cowes Town Trophy on Monday was abandoned in the windless conditions.

Winner  Feva 438 T Harrison

HIGH WATER 1059

  WIND  E/SE 8/10 KNTS

 CAT HANDICAP

No of Starters 13