PRSC February Medal Day – RO’s Report

Weather and location do not come much better than they did for us today. All the more appreciated when we considered what Cyclone Gabrielle is doing to North Island and beyond.

Rod (DF 95 #219) and Dave (DF 95 #717) showed initiative by challenging each other to match racing with a difference. Their aim was to consider ‘when boats meet’ in as many contexts as possible.

Nine IOMs dressed up in B rigs from the start. Ric P even brought his trusty NZL 17 which he keeps in the garage ready rigged in B. Bruce turned up sans boat and was quickly adopted as a coach and gopher to help fix failed gear.

The IOM racing saw full speed, line abreast starts, constant changes of lead in the shifty 20 knot gusts, and rapid fire finishes pressing RO Assistant Alan G to get the right finishing order on the tablet. I will admit as RO, I found myself ‘sailing every leg of every race’ in my head.

After 16 races, Rick CB (NZL 92) had settled into the most consistent pattern of top results to take the day ahead of Chris K (NZL 29) with his brand new V11 (launched today) and Clyde (NZL 03). You can see how interesting the racing was in the results: each of the top 7 scored one or more first places.

We held the prize giving in the afternoon sun on the shore and discussed the tricky situations that occur when a line of boats on starboard reach the shoreline. After a brief chat about the up-coming IOM South Island Championship, Bruce drew everyone’s attention to the opportunity being offered to the club by last week’s “Message from your Committee”. Bruce says…’Let’s get talking about what the club sees for its future and who can lead it.’

Looking forward to next week’s IOM Club Championship Day.

Paul