Sunday 26th saw the second day of the Weymouth Yacht Club TY summer series, and what a day it was!
Before the start, it was decided that, in the light winds at the time, and with a favourable forecast, a course around and beyond the Wiri LPG terminal was a good idea.
As the local Waka Ama paddlers were out in force, we decided to start directly in front of the clubhouse, which was just off to the side of their course.
It would have been an impressive sight, with around ten Wakas, four racing yachts, and several sea scout boats all whizzing around, plus of course the local fisho's motoring in and out.
Of course, the breeze then started to build, and then build some more.
At the start, Aaron, sailing with six year old Ashley as crew in the Cherry, acted as gate boat, and with the breeze now up, they couldn't hold the boat down, so sailed the beat with no jib.
After almost a mile of beating, Murray and Ajith in the Quicksilver rounded the first mark just ahead of the two Rob's in the Beachcomber, with the Cherry a little further back in third, while Pete, sailing the Paper Tiger was just behind them, having turned back to rescue his hat!
The next part of the course was interesting, as the gusts off the headland laid most of the boats on their ear at some point. As this was a close reach, Pete put the hammer down on the cat and disappeared into the distance, rounding the LPG terminal a good ten minutes in front. This was more of a feat than it seems, as the waves out there were over a metre high by this stage, and the breeze approaching 20 knots.
Sadly for Pete, he rounded the terminal the wrong way, which meant he was not classed as a finisher in the race. On the way back, even though he was backing off quite a bit, the cat proved to be faster than the rescue boat on several occasions.
As the first trailer yachts approached the terminal, Murray still held a slight lead over Rob, with the Cherry, still with no jib, well behind in third.
Rounding the terminal, things went slightly wrong for Rob, and they lost a lot of ground, slipping back to the point where they rounded the next mark only just ahead of Aaron.
Turning downwind for the ride home, Murray now held a commanding lead, and would be unchallenged for the rest of the day. The beachcomber and the cherry started their usual drag race, and, with the wind now behind the boats, Aaron hoisted his jib, whilst Rob put up a bigger one.
The cherry, being lighter, planed most of the way back, slowly gaining on the beachcomber. Aaron decided to stay well to leeward, away from the shore, while Rob decided to go high, out of the tide.
Rounding the final mark before the finish, the cherry was just ahead, and managed to hold the lead to the finish.
So, after three races, we have had three winners. The rest of the series is shaping up to be great - join us for some more hot action!
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