So today was a little better in that it wasn’t chucking it down with snow. The wind was a little bit up on yesterday, also good. However with the breeze up and the super dense air the windchill was probably pegging the temperature at around minus 9 or minus 10, maybe even a little more.

Once again 16 skippers rigged up and after a car park briefing they tramped round to the lakeside to take in the breeze. C rigs seemed like a reasonable place to get started however Tim Long decided to go with his D rig to see how it went. Ken Binks started the day where he left off yesterday and took the first race bullet. Gosport skipper Wayne Stobbs took second, Tjakko third and Tim was 4th with his D rig. Race 2 saw Ken win once more with Tim second and John Howard in third spot.

Race 3 saw Tim go with the flow and he put his C suit on to match the majority of the fleet. It seemed to work and It was Ken, Tim and this time local skipper Glen Meekoms in third spot.

It was race 4 that Tjakko managed a second place finish, not close enough to bother Ken but close enough for a race with Tim. After last nights drinking it seemed that the fresh air was starting to clear Tjakkos hangover! Race 5 saw the same result with Vinnie Zammit, who hadn’t seen a DF95 until this morning scoring an excellent 5th place finish with Glen in 4th, a result he would repeat for the next few races.

The wind didn’t really shift during the session and the two lap course was a great test of skills, especially bowling downwind at top speed whilst in close quarters to other boats. Another couple of races took us to 6, with Ken making bullets look easy and Tim finding good pace to take a brace of second spots.

By this point most skippers needed a warm and a visit to the gents so we had a 15 minute break. With the weather not getting any warmer it was decided to run another couple of races and all it a day. Ken, Tim and Tjakko then Ken, Tim and the other Dutch skipper Peter Molenaar with local skipper Dennis Graham and his amazingly orange boat taking 4th spot.

The prize giving was held out of the breeze in the car park and it was Ken Binks who earned the top spot, discarding two first places to win with just 6 points. Tim Long sailed a solid day but couldn’t match Kens blistering pace and he finished second. Tjakko will never drink with Tim again but he did well to finish third. Local skipper Glen finished a good day on the water in 4th spot with stalwart skipper John Howard rounding out the top 5.

Today’s top three having a high speed downwind battle.

Congratulations to all that braved to conditions, not just today but also yesterday which was also a test of stamina on the racecourse and also in the bar!

April sees us in Fleetwood, details will appear soon enough.

Results for today are posted below.