Report from the Secretary.
With more hope than expectation, crews went out to their boats at the usual time on Sunday. It was a warm day, lacking even a sensation of wind. As the last of us finished scrubbing below the water line, we noticed those first to drop their moorings were moving. A steady breeze developed from the north. If not quite Champagne wind, it was Cremant.
A course was set incorporating a beat up the Shandon shore, a reach across to Clynder and a spinnaker leg to the club. The starting line had bias as is usual with fixed lines. The shore end to windward but more strength at the pin. Teal got the best of it, to leeward but well in front of those closer to the shore. Halcyone and Catriona in the mix.
The order at the front resolved on the approach to the windward mark. Catriona, on port, tacked to keep clear of Halcyone on starboard. The two overstood a little. Just as Catriona was bearing away to make room to tack behind Halcyone, Halcyone tacked. After a while Catriona had an overlap to windward which would be the favoured inside position at the mark. Teal had been a little closer to the shore. She crossed the pair and tacked to windward. Catriona had a bit of luck here. Sandwiched between two boats, the usual outcome is to fall rapidly out of the back. She was just able to get her bow forward of Teal, still accelerating out of the tack. The order of mark room at G was Catriona, Teal, Halcyone. With the next leg a reach, there was little chance to overtake. Teal did her best downwind, under spinnaker, but was the outside boat at the leeward mark and covered on the next windward leg.
Meanwhile Athene and Thalia were fighting it out and swapping places. Both recently afloat, light and clean. Thalia won that one. Dione was out of sorts, more thorough scrubbing no doubt needed. Circe and Hermes suffering the same had a fight between them. Circe won that one. Both have done some cleaning but no doubt need more. Luna, likely more market garden than racing yacht, was not in the hunt.
1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Halcyone, 4 Thalia, 5 Athene, 6 Dione, 7 Circe, 8 Hermes, Luna DNF.
President: