Royal Natal Yacht Club
Dinghy Spring Series Day Two
It was chalk and cheese with the conditions for the
second day of the Dinghy Spring Series hosted by the Royal Natal Yacht Club
with nine yachts arriving in the blustery conditions.
Race Officer, Jennifer Weyer set a windward leeward
course for the small boats in the harbour. Conditions were ideal for loads of
thrills and spills. The gusts edged up towards the 30knot mark but the wind was
blowing mostly around the high teens or low twenties. With a lot of chop in the
bay, all the sailors were drenched by the spray from the water.
The three Flying Fifteens relished the conditions and
flew on the run powered by their larger spinnakers. The most competitive fleet
on the water did three laps of the sausage course, finishing consistently
around the 35minute mark for all three races. It was fantastic racing between
the three in the last two races. On the run down to the leeward mark, the
spinnakers kept catching up to each other. On the beat up to the weather mark
the tactics came into play as they split up in the field, all tacking and
heading off in different directions.
Crossing the line for the final race of the day, Myles
White helming his Flying Fifteen brushed past the bridge boat shouting, “Please
can we have another race, we are loving these conditions!”
The first boat to call it quits having been unable to
start was the smallest boat in the fleet, the small RS Tera capsized on the way
to the start and took a while to right himself. Denmar Nel from Pinetown also
spent a lot of time in the water as his Laser toppled over on numerous
occasions. Not managing to finish the first race, an exhausted Nel opted to
turn his efforts in and head for shore mid-way through the second race.
Late arrivals, Chad Stevenson racing on his Extra and
Jethro Brophy-Tintinger helming a Laser got tangled together nearing the start
line. Brophy-Tintinger capsized dramatically tangled up with Stevenson’s Extra
and the duo drifted through the start line as the fleet made their way for the
second race. Stevenson never recovered after his unfortunate arrival, tearing
his main sail and experiencing rudder problems, eventually having to be towed
home after the final race.
The oldest competitor in the fleet, Trevor Gibb sailing
with the youngest sailor, Ian Bowman managed two races in their Mirror and
after they crossed the finish line for the second time, headed for shore.
David Curtiss from Botha’s Hill helming his Rebel sailed
two up with up-and-coming Dylan Alberts from Durban North. The team battled
with the gusts that swept through the race track, finding their boat going over
on more than one occasion. They also retired, not managing to finish the second
race.
Next weekend will be busy for the oldest yacht club in
the country as the Royal Natal Yacht Club have the third day for the smaller
boats with the Spring Dinghy Series then on Sunday they host the Battle of
Trafalgar offshore for the keelers.
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