Sunshine, a fresh breeze and the promise of a good time set the scene for Attenborough Sailing Club’s 60th Anniversary Regatta.
Race 1, Not Backward In Going Forward. On the face of it a normal handicap race, except OODs Keith and Josie Adams’ course included a downwind leg from mark 1 to 3 which was to be sailed Backwards. Proving tricky for the 12 starting competitors, Jill Reid, Nick Colbeck and Rich Chaney finished 1, 2, 3 respectively with Iona Reid and Kev Milton the only other finishers.
A barbeque lunch fortified all before the second ‘Le Mans’ relay race. 3 teams, each consisting of 4 competitors, sailed 3 club Visions over an hour’s race. Starting on the shore, each crew of 2 sailed their Vision for one lap of the course before returning to the pontoon to be replaced by their 2 team mates who sailed the next lap. The winning Vision after 1 hour was team Duncan and Leila Adams, Jill Reid and Rich Chaney.
The final race of the Regatta was a ‘handicap race with a twist’. Competitors sailed their own boats round the course for an hour whilst the rescue crew seeded the lake with coloured balls. Each ball, if collected and returned to the OOD, was worth 20 seconds off the competitor’s race time. There was therefore little time (20s max.) to deviate from the racing line to recover a ball and hopefully benefit from the time bonus. Iona Reid took first place, having collected 14 balls, followed by sister Jill (14), Kev Milton (17), Don Bishop (3) and Duncan and Leila Adams (9).
A great day was had by all with many thanks to Race Officers and devisers, Keith and Josie Adams and duty Rescue Crew Paul Mitchel and Harry Dundas.
