RC Laser and DF65 Winter Series at West Lancashire Yacht Club - Day 5
by Tony Wilson 6 Mar 2018 19:41 NZDT
4 March 2018
The weekend had arrived and again in single figures, but where as all week we had been below zero, we were now back into the pluses. High winds and a beastly East wind had been headline news with the closing of roads all around the country, it would be interesting to see anything better than an average turnout.
The marshlands were still frozen and, on entering the car park, I thought I had got the day wrong. Only about five cars, no-one in sight and not the usual hectic excitement we are accustomed to. Greeted by the usual smell of sizzling bacon I knew I had got the right day and Skip was the boss for the day so an extra cuppa wouldn't have gone a miss.
John Brierley leisurely took to providing a suitable course and Jaden had volunteered his boat and score duties as we were missing our great master Alan T. as he had more important work commitments.
We had been out-numbered with just four RC Lasers while the Dragons were five, so weren't really going to be too crowded on the course. John had decided to play it safe with 2 laps of a triangle taking all marks to port. The RC Lasers were first off as usual followed by the recommended minute for the DF 65s.
The first race wasn't quite true, so for a bit of tinkering to the start line Jaden was soon back in the boat. As we had Jim back from a recent operation and Colin still getting up to speed, we decided on a bit of a handicap start to help out. We knew that the results wouldn't have been effected in any way but it makes everyone feel more part of the race.
The Dragon guys had their usual visitors from the Birkenhead club and John actually travels in from North Wales. We said we were going to be missing some key players, but it seemed as we only had the toughest and hardy crews turn up. Football matches and other activities being postponed, maybe we were lucky to have what few we had.
Four races in and it was time for a tea break. The DF guys were thinking about B rigs, while the Lasers dropped down to C, but could have battled maybe with the larger one.
Two more races led us nicely to lunch and Jim had been struggling with battery problems and the cold was getting the better of him. The rookies' handicap start interval had been coming down nicely and by the end of the afternoon we had Colin starting at the same time. It helps sometimes to prevent the stress of a crowded start line and can only bring extra confidence for later games.
Six more races were decided on for the afternoon session and we concluded the day just before 3pm to have us on our return journey home well before 4pm after Jaden had totted up the results for us.
At lunchtime Skip and Tony had been tied on 11 points each, and by the end of the day 17 points each for joint first after discards with Colin in third and Jim fourth.
John Brierley won for the smaller DF65 with Mike Parkington second and Allen third.
The last of the series is in a fortnight. Sorry for not providing any midway results but you could probably get a rough idea of standings by the accumulation from past YachtsandYachting.com reports. All to play for.
Although we didn't have as much fire power and thunder for the day, most enjoyed relaxed surroundings. Maybe no penalty turns needed, but definitely the odd mark had to be second guessed.
Day 5 Results:
RC Laser
1= Skip R. 17 pts
1= Tony W. 17 pts
3 Colin A. 24 pts
4 Jim M. 42 pts
DF 65
1 John B. 12 pts
2 Mike P. 20 pts
3 Allen W. 24 pts