Unfortunately we have been at the mercy of the weather gods for the past two weeks meaning we have not been able to get on the water as much as we would have liked the last two weeks! The weather has claimed the last 2 midweek pursuit races, much to the disappointment of our sails after an incredibly successful first pursuit race in week one. We remain cautiously optimistic that this week’s will go ahead and with any luck, we might be able to catch up with a lost race!
Last weekend saw the inaugural Lockdown Trophy, a series created for one year only in place of the Abersoch Regatta, which was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19. Saturday brought us gorgeous sunshine and plenty of heat – but not wind – meaning racing was cancelled for the day.
However, the sunshine did mean that the conditions were perfectly set for our mid-season socially-distanced prizegiving to celebrate the achievements of our sailors thus far. In the absence of our Commodore, our Vice-Commodore Ben Teague stepped in to hand out the honours (a posh way of saying mugs with sweets in!) which were greatly received by all.
The conditions drastically changed on Sunday with clouds, rain and big waves complimenting a lovely 13 knots of breeze for our 9 entrants. The day was dominated by Tony Taylor in his AC75 Laser Pico Race who took 3 wins from 3 races to finish in a commanding 1st place. Ffion Wood also sailed brilliantly in testing condition and despite a thump on the head from the boom took 2 2nd place finishes and a 3rd place to come 2nd overall in her Laser 4.7. Charlie Whittaker and Lucy Gates in their RS200 also snuck onto the podium in 3rd place overall following a great 2nd place finish in race 3.
This weekend saw the 3rd Weekend Series up for grabs. Yet again, Saturday was lost to the wind gods. Sunday was a slightly different affair with a strong 15 knots of breeze providing some more challenging conditions for our sailors. Race 1 was convincingly won by Sarah Downes in her Laser 4.7 who mastered the conditions to finish ahead of husband Charles in 2nd. Our VC Ben also managed to take his first top three finish of the season. Following a rare good start and an outstanding first beat, we were wondering whether he would finally replicate his form of past years. However, an obligatory capsize at the bottom dashed his hopes and he had to settle for 3rd.
Race 2 was won by Charles followed by Jake Faithful in his Aero 5 and Ben in his Laser (despite another capsize!). Overall it was a weekend of Downes Domination with Charles taking 1st place overall followed by Sarah in 2nd. Jake Faithful also took a well deserved 3rd place finish.
As always, a big thanks to Sue and Paul for all their efforts these past two weeks helping organise the racing. A big thank you to Christian Blanchard who kindly volunteered his time and rib to help out with safety cover last weekend too, we owe you a beer! We would also like to extend our gratitude to all the fantastic volunteers who have spent their evenings on the beach at high tide ensuring all the boats are pulled up and remain safe. I believe two boats were saved and pulled from the breakers before being pulled up the sand dunes to safety. Without your selfless efforts there would have been some upset faces on the beach the next day!
The ASC Team
(Jan, Ben, John, Joe, Andy, Georgia, Sue and Emma)
abersochsailingclub.org 