Vane 36R Beesley Cup at Fleetwood Model Yacht Club
by Tony Wilson 11 Oct 2019 06:10 NZDT
5 October 2019
Vane 36R Beesley Cup at Fleetwood © Bob Jolly
Another day another cup. This time the weather was looking favourable with a breeze from the bridge. The wind strength was in the region of 12 MPH building up to about 15 MPH, but reliably all from the same direction.
John P. had already been down to the club house on Saturday to prepare his boat and had fixed it ready to sail with the medium sail size in advance. Two other boats also went for the 'B' rig and the rest went big in the hope that it wouldn't pick up too much.
We had six boats in total which is a record for recent years and a good sign for the future as we know there's a couple more potentials promised in the pipeline.
Derek made out the score cards and then handed over the reins to Peter Whiteside, as Derek was going to assist Robert with his boat. Darren was there to help John. Sue and Mike were with us, Bob was paired up with Tony and Eric was there to man the far bank for Keith and Peter.
Straight onto racing and we were on a Run for two points. Keith, Robert, Peter and John were straight away up for a rerun at the end of play as there was some contact on the initial leg. But only if needed.
Mike beat Tony on the first leg but lost the return journey as Tony was able to make it in one. Keith and Peter did also well on the return.
It was remaining dry and we had soon completed three heats up to lunch. Mike went down a sail size during the lunch break, but it looked like the wind might have dropped a touch. In the distance you could hear the cheers from the football stadium, but you knew they weren't cheering for you on your limited success, as Derek had to give us some more basic reminders on Vane technique.
The wind had veered slightly more south, so some decided to go fixed vane on the return leg.
Peter had mopped up most of the points during the day to seal the win with his smaller sail and had no need for the outstanding earlier sail off. The points were simply divided to those that needed them.
A good day's sailing and fresh in the minds for those that would like to sail again next Saturday, again with the 36R Vane.
Results:
1 Peter Whiteside 24 pts
2 Rob Wheeler 17 pts
3 Keith Wiseman 14 pts