WIND: WSW- 5-13 Knots

TIDE: L @ 16:55-O.31m

COURSE: Echo Reverse

NUMBER OF BOATS: 38

Never trust a westerly in strength or direction.

The forecast from all “in the know” talked about a sou’wester going south during the afternoon around 15 knots. So the old saying of “the best plans of mice and men go out the window when” came into play. The breeze, best described in the bar afterwards, as fickle, proved to make a dead run of the first leg past Lockyer and all the way to the Hope Banks RM.  A dead run is NOT favoured amongst most, especially the Multis. Believe me it was not by choice! However it was another afternoon when it was still the place to be, out on our bay and no matter what was happening with the breeze everyone made the best of the wind beautiful conditions. A port turn at Hope was followed by a gentle running reach all the way to the St. Helena floating red before another port turn and onto a couple of tuff working legs against the tide and fading breeze to a shortened finish line set at the Green Island western cardinal. It was fantastic to have a couple of new boats join the fleet officially and correctly in Echidna and not seen for many years in Wags, Eye Catcher. However a big black hulled yacht decided to play within the fleet and only managed to get in the way at a couple of marks and create a couple of very close and dangerous incidents. Not so clever.

Coming up:

Property Industry Foundation (PIF) – 17 May

Results

Closest to the line: 00:00-MISTER McGOO-GOOGS/ LADY’D’-ROB/KERAZY-SHANE
Lucky door prize: McMOGGY -ALASDAIR, VANESSA/LARISSA/BIANCA
Lucky Crew prize: BROADSWORD-PETER