Bank Holiday Turbo Race Report 5th April 2021
The day was sunny and a fair breeze was blowing from the North West. Not a good direction considering we did not have the ability to execute a beat as the first leg. The course was set with a thought provoking reach to the first mark. Kevin Milton in the Phantom led the way but Duncan Adams also in a Phantom wheeled him in and soon took the leading boat in the fleet of 9 boats. Closely followed by Kevin Last in the Supernova and gave them both a run for their money and finished in first place on corrected time.
Race 2 was very much the same but Kevin Last had a poor start and one or two upsets and came in at 9th place knocking Peter Hampshire off his first race 9th position to 8th . An improvement there from Peter.
The gusts did provide some excitement , knocking over Kevin Last and Duncan but they soon were up and running again.
The Turbo Race format provides focus on starting and the first leg , which as a norm in conventional formats , allows the competitors the chance to try again that poor start or slow first leg they had last time.
We on the back could see improvements being made and Roger’s consistent staring started to pay off , although this could also because the being 3 stone less weight in the boat.
As the afternoon progressed we had a break after race 3. This must have been too much rest for Kevin Milton as he soon developed painful cramps and had to retire.
The Safety Boat crew were also involved in providing a tow back because of a broken rudder pintail on Peter’s Solo.
Rob Corner in his Supernova commented that he had thoroughly enjoyed the Turbo format.
The final three places went to 1st Duncan Adams, 2nd Kevin Last, 3rd Roger Day
All three were consistent in their starting and general sailing ability. A winning format to all note.
Keith Adams