In stark contrast to last year where winds blew F7 to F8, the wind never got established and a paltry 3 to 5 knots ‘gusting’ 7 to 9 knots at the very most welcomed the competitors, some of which were really struggling to even cross the start line against a strong tide. 47 boats registered to race with us, and only six of them made it back across the finish line before 1630, despite shortening the race to the North Burford.
Once the on board provisions of food and drinks ran out, many decided to call it a day, some on the verge of running aground, some trailing fishing hooks in the hope of ‘showing something for their day’, some being just too bored, too thirsty or too afraid to use all their Brownie points at home all in one go!
Most who actually persevered managed to cross the finish line before the 16:30pm deadline and a small group of tired, but enthusiastic, sailors gathered on the DMYC balcony for the prize giving and a well deserved pint…
The big winner of the day was the Grand Soleil 44 Race ‘Eluthera’, Frank Whelan of Greystones SC, who won with a very comfortable margin of over half an hour on corrected time over second overall boat J70 ‘Jheetah’ (Andrew Sarratt) of the RIYC showing that, in light airs, you either need a lot of canvas or a very small displacement!
We look forward to the 2018 edition of our Kish Race, when we’ll be making the appropriate tithing to Aeolos to provide a nice F3 – F4 out of the south.