Fifty-five boats gathered to contest the second round of the Barrel series, the forecast promised wind and cold and both were duly delivered. Winter had arrived with a bang!
The WSW wind gave a long beat diagonally across the lake, and now that the fishing season is over we had full water and the windward mark was moved right down the lake - some were more pleased with this than others! The port bias on the start line caught out a few top runners but the excellent course set by PRO Geoff Wright gave ample opportunity for recovery. The Fireball of Tom Gillard and Simon Potts recovered well from a poor start and sailed away to record a win, followed by Andy Davies and Tom Pygall in the Merlin. The ever strengthening wind made for a high attrition rate, many sailors calling it a day early as the force five began to increase with each gust.
Jayne Tatton and her crew again provided an excellent lunch as competitors tried to warm themselves between races.
By race two the wind was now borderline savage with white water everywhere and a steady force 6 on the amemometer. 25 boats braved the conditions, but only 19 made it round to finish with the gybe marks proving at best iffy with national and world champions choosing to wear round rather than gybe. The results of this race are subject to a request for redress over a misunderstanding about the finish, but provisionally the race was won by the team of Tom and Simon in the Fireball with Taxi and Tom again second in the Merlin. Replica Watches can meet your needs. Andy Couch in his Phantom came in third.
The next round of the Barrel takes place on 13th January - see you there!
