10/06/2018
Beccles open meeting Beccles Amateur Sailing Club

Two visiting helms joined the two local boats for what turned out to be a very enjoyable day with some interesting conditions provided by the unpredictable north easterly breeze.

The first race was sailed at the top of the tide which saw Veronica Falat and Alex Reindorp get the best of the start and lead to the first mark. Mark Langston and Jonathan Blankley followed closely behind doing their best to tack out of dirty air. Veronica led around the next buoy onto the run and the 3 following boats changed places often, seeing Mark come out as the lead chasing boat. After two laps, the decision was taken to shorten to allow time for a quick coffee before race 2.

A course change for the next race now included a looped course and dropped out the most sheltered mark. Once again, Veronica lead off the start and all four boats arrived at the windward mark virtually together. Rounding was made awkward due to the proximity of the mark to the bank but all got round without incident. Places changed frequently on the beat and on the run, with all four boats taking turns at leading and trailing. Final positions saw the local boats take the first and second spots, Mark and Jonathan respectively, followed by Veronica and Alex not too far behind.

After an excellent home cooked lunch, race 3 saw another course change and a competing easterly sea breeze, just at the race got under way. Veronica and Jonathan rounded the first mark in that order and took the breeze with them, leaving Mark in the doldrums for a good thirty seconds until it filled back in again. The 2 leading boats had a good tussle around the rest of the course with Veronica coming out on top, closely followed by Jonathan. Unfortunately, Mark was never able to make up the initial ground lost in the early stages but carried on to finish third.

Final results as below: