Sunday 11th May

Just when you were feeling optimistic about the weather, you pass one of those signs on the motorway which says ‘heavy rain forecast’. They seem to say that all the time but this afternoon they were right. Much of the time there was little breeze and in the heavy rain, none at all.

On the water Race Officer Peter Proctor set a course beginning with a beat to A, off the club. Catriona spotted the bias towards the shore end of the line and made the best start. Zephyrus was next. The second leg was off wind to C at Clynder. Here the breeze died away and places changed at random. Zephyrus maintained her second place but there was no set order thereafter. Back to the starting area, Hermes prospered and was in front of Zephyrus for the start of the second round, a repeat of the first. The wind had changed radically. Spinnakers were carried to A and the leg from A to C was now a beat. The rain did its worst with the little wind. Thalia, who had seemed quite out of it on the Shandon shore, was in second place at C. Lackadaisical spinnaker handling on the last leg soon set her back.

1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Teal, 4 Thalia, 5 Zephyrus, 6 Circe.