Race Report - 20-21 September

On the penultimate weekend of the season, a good turnout saw Doublet secure the 2025 Season's Points with a weekend to spare.

With eleven participants and four distinct winners across the four races, it was well competed from start to finish.

I hope you excuse the brevity of the weekend's report but I'm struggling to remember so many of the details - and I hope the participants excuse me if I get some wrong!

Saturday 20 September

In a moderate but building SW breeze with a strong ebb tide throughout, the CV set up on the Brambles bank. The first race was quite starboard-tack heavy, and with short legs a good start led Destroyer to win. Doublet and Dauntless made up the podium.

An attempt to start Race 2 was made but a pile-up at the CV, with a large number of boats early, caused chaos. There were at least two comings together of boats and a general recall. This did, however, allow time for the race committee to make some changes to the course, rotating clockwise to allow for a more square run, and also lengthening the course. This allowed time for Dancer to join the fleet, arriving in time for the second race.

I would comment on tactics at the next start but, having badly mis-judged both the angle and distance to the pin, ending OCS, I'm not in a position to say anything! Destroyer got a good start next to us at the pin and held on for second place, but Streak carried the race with Magnus Wheatley beating his old boat, making a guest appearance alongside the Lofts family.

Back ashore by 3pm, the sailors congregated both upstairs and "downstairs" at ISC to see squally and wet weather blow through, glad to be back on dry land!

Sunday 21 September

In a 180 degree reversal, racing on Sunday was held in an outrageously shifty, puffy, NE breeze. With the CV positioned on the Southern edge of the Brambles, the strong ebb tide meant that boats spent much of their time both upwind and downwind on Port tack.

On both races of the day, an early tack out to the right seemed to pay with a late 20-30 degree right-hander to be found as boats approached the Starboard layline. However, on both races the second windward leg refused to follow the pattern set by the first and gains were made elsewhere. Search me!

Other than reading the wind, the major challenge was in shifting gears effectively as the wind came and went, from barely a F2 to a good F4 at the extremes. The boats that could keep the boat moving effectively, and also those that caught the right breeze at the right time, made gains measured in the hundreds of metres on the beats. After that, the predominantly gybe-set downwind legs didn't provide too many shocks.

The day's winners were Dreamer in the first, followed by Doublet in the second while Streak, Destroyer and Defender also made podium appearances.

While not winning every race, Doublet's consistent podium places in awkward conditions speaks volumes about their tactical coolness and their ability to keep the boat moving. With perfect turnout, they are deserved winners of the 2025 season.

See you next weekend for the final weekend, and the Dying of the Light lunch!