Here's a quick run down for you.
I'll put it into a more legible form in due course.
Race Officer .... "we don't normally use that part of the lake". That gives an indication of what the Beastie is all about. The course is set to circumnavigate the entire lake, including parts where boats are only seen annually and wind less frequently than that.
Six Phantoms present, seven including Jeff, but he forgot a vital boat component and thus couldn't sail.
Wind conditions - F3/F4 and something in the minus figures in the tree lined Gorge.
Nick Orman (SBSC) and Simon Heuson (Lyme) were so engrossed in gas bagging on the windward side of the course they missed the start by several minutes.
Pete Barnstable (SBSC) and Russell Smith (Bowmmor) led off together, with Tony Fastenedge (Lyme) and John Bower (Mayflower) just behind.
Russell chose the left hand side through the Gorge, Pete wriggled up the right bank. Right paid off and skillfull / lucky Pete pulled out a big lead.
Big gains and losses could me made throughout the course with shifty and flukey winds.
Pete (me) probably had my full years quota of luck on one day and managed to stay ahead until the last 15 minutes. Nick did catch up at the half distance point, but caught a backing gust at the windward mark and went in irons, whilst I creamed off again on a planing gust.
It's not often I can say that I couldn't be too certain what was happening lower down the fleet. I gather from the post race debrief that lots of place changing and the odd capsize or two took place.
The finishing order was determined typically in the flukey valley section. Nick and I entered together, he made the better of the swirling air currents and pulled away to win by a 100 yds or so.
It's a bizarre race, with large parts of the course in rubbish wind, but year after year it produces a contest that goes right to the wire after three hours of racing.
Results (Phantoms)
1st Nick Orman 1273
2nd Pete Barnstable 1160
3rd Simon Heuson 1275
4th Russell Smith 1177
5th Tony Fastenedge 1112
6th John Bower 1191
Mike Lyons (top Blaze helm) won overall, a Fireball took 2nd, then Nick and I.
