Two days of great fun was had at Weymouth Yacht Club over the first days of Anniversary Weekend.
Rob L had his new Hartley 16 on site, so the first day became a long match race between this and the Cherry 16. Later in the day we were joined by Rob K in the Beachcomber 22.
In the light winds, the Cherry struggled to keep pace with the Hartley early on, trailing until Rob made a bad decision and got caught in the outgoing tide.
Mid afternoon, we started experimenting with crew positions in the Cherry, and found that by sending the heaviest crew member far forward, that upwind performance improved dramatically in the light winds.
Sunday morning dawned cooler, and the same three boats (with different crews) were out for some serious-ish racing.
The first race was a long L shape, with return legs, totalling around 5 miles. At the first mark, following a long reach, the Hartley was just leading the Cherry, with the Beachcomber a little further back, struggling with sail changes in the variable conditions. The next leg was a long beat, with winds gusting between ten and 20knots. Early on, the Cherry got her nose in front, until half way up the beat they went to the left side of the course looking for a favourable shift that wasn't there. This let the Hartley gain the advantage, which they held on the return legs all the way back to Weymouth.
The beachcomber found the going tough, and was unable to keep pace in the changeable conditions today.
The second race was much shorter, only around two miles. The race became a procession as the wind turned slightly making it a beam reach in both directions. The Hartley again showed why they are the worlds favourite trailer yacht, and lead the other boats all the way.
