The Open at Bourneville was postponed for one week as the pond was frozen over so off to Emsworth.
The wind was absent when I arrived at 9.30 and remained so for the next 45min to an hour. The racing started with a slight breeze and I was able to establish a substantial lead by the first mark. Happy days then until half way down the next leg when my boat stopped to let everyone else catch up. Whether it was a stick or a calm spot who knows. The gaggle of 12 boats or so finished in a close bunch making the race officers job quite tricky trying to spot the order which each boat crossed the line.
Race 2 saw a little bit more wind on the water, sometimes enough to just heel the boat but the wind struggled to know which direction to settle on.
Race 3 saw a pattern start to emerge. Start at the right hand end of the line and keep right to benefit from a lift up towards the top mark. See the picture below which explains the wind bend off the clubhouse. As usual it took your blogger a while to follow the right path up the first beat. I kept sailing out into the middle of the pond and then could not get back on port as I watched all the starboard boats lifted. The only takeaways from the day were to stay patient, watch the locals and remember it is a series not an individual race and don't get too close to marks with loose lines under them. I went too close to the leeward mark and not only got stuck as the fleet sailed past but then had to do a 360 as well. Sometimes it just isn't your day. 3rd out of 13 is OK especially as I had not sailed on the slipper in that wind direction.
