The ten Redwings and five One-Designs out racing on Platinum Jubilee Thursday afternoon enjoyed an almost cloudless sky and a boisterous F4 Easterly. After a short postponement to allow the last couple of boats to get up to the start area off Footprint, the start of the first race saw Snowgoose helmed by Edward Nainby-Luxmoore having to return to re-start after finding themselves called OCS.

Start of the first Redwing race on Thursday afternoon – https://youtu.be/xu1sakKHwX4

It was not long before all ten boats headed inshore to take advantage of the slacker tide en route for Moreton. Finding the layline was not easy but Toucan helmed by Colin Samuelson got it spot on and rounded first just ahead of Gosling, helmed by Serena with Avocet helmed by Alastair Speare-Cole not far behind. The run to Nainby and beat back to the line at Footprint was quite testing and there was no room for complacency. Toucan finished about twenty seconds ahead of Gosling with Avocet close behind.

There were some interesting calls between Gosling and Blue Jay helmed by Crispin Kenyon as they approached the line at the Committee Boat end to start the second race! All followed the same tactics that they had seen work in the first race and headed inshore.

Start of the second Redwing race on Thursday afternoon – https://youtu.be/bSTDU0stfV8

With the breeze veering slightly the beat to Moreton ended up as a bit of a procession, but keeping the boat going through some of the bigger waves is never easy. As in the first race, the first two to round Moreton were Toucan and Gosling; although Toucan was always just in front, crossing the line at Hello Sailor first was certainly not guaranteed and the crew had to work hard to make sure that they finished the day with two wins. Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II was third and Andrew Eddy in Plover fourth. Quintessence helmed by Robin Ebsworth had a slightly worrying five minutes after a runner mysteriously got caught on Moreton’s light and she ground to a halt. Fortunately her mast remained upright and they were able to get unhooked once the main was dropped and subsequently make their own way back into the harbour so things could be more easily checked over.

The five One-Designs meanwhile had two bouncy races which again showed the importance of being able to keep the boat going through the easterly swell. In the first race, Mark Gregorczyk sailing single handed in No 9 and No 1 helmed by Simon Allocca started on port close to the pin end of the line and having crossed ahead of the rest of the fleet headed inshore before tacking out to round the windward mark, Fitzwilliam. Mark rounded first well ahead of the rest of the fleet who initially looked pretty close together on the run to Nanby, however they became a bit more spread out by the time they headed back to the finish line at Footprint. Also sailing single handed Alexander Ross in No 8 finished second a minute behind Mark. Susie Beart in No 5 was third.

Start of the first One-Design race on Thursday afternoon – https://youtu.be/z51xQb52j8k

Having spotted that Sea Breeze had had to re-set the line prior to the finish of the previous race after dragging her anchor, there were no port tack flyers at the start of the second race. In the event all made an excellent start with Mark closest to the Committee and going about to head inshore first.

Start of the second One-Design race on Thursday afternoon – https://youtu.be/BYm3v04smss