Puddleduck Vineyard Racing 12/04/2022

[Admiral]

Puddleduck was up to its usual tricks today and at its variable best.

The sudden unpredictable changes in strength and direction presented a real challenge to set a suitable course and left us all scratching our heads at times as to where the next breeze was coming from.

Among those having trouble was David #81. With his best result a seventh in race eight… the Inscrutable One has had better days. He did manage to leave the fountain alone today, enjoying his day out with the Puddleduck crew.

Another in the wars today was Sheep #37. From having had a great start registering a podium third in the first race for the day things unfortunately went terribly South from there on.

Great to see Gerald #02 back @ da Duck  and showing he hasn’t forgotten his way around the course, however just where the fountain was located he apparently did. Starting well with a second in the first race followed by three lower order finishes, Gerald bounced back winning race six outright.  Figuring he’d quit while he was ahead he whipped out his trusty video camera and captured some of the excitement of the day for our further enjoyment.

Phil #32 had a day to forget on the course. The smiling assassin was off his game today in a most amicable and sociable “raft up” kind of way. Loving lots of company at mark rounding time, his best result a third in race two.

Our lone RG65 skipper Graham #52 at times showed real dash and pace. Unfortunately he too fell victim to the conditions after a really strong start, winning a second place in race two.

Our Don #99 put up a good show today. Despite his lightweight sails, the Unflappable one handled the conditions well, his best result a second in race nine and a third in the last of the day.

John #368 found form as the morning wore on. Registering a podium third in the fourth race he then came out flying in the fifth to win outright. This got the handicapper excited and from then on the weight of his extra time saw him slide back to mid fleet.

Jammy Jones #39 truly had a day to forget. Beset with mechanical breakdowns right from the get go he didn’t even get to the first race start line before a rudder servo died. Missing the first two races, Jammy returned in the third to put together three consecutive second place finishes. Not out of the woods yet, trouble struck again in race eight.  Once again back on the water, he blitzed the fleet to win outright in race nine finishing fourth overall.

Bodge #06 was never far from the pointy end today. His two outright wins and two third place finishes meant he was always in the mix and handling the conditions well. Bodge’s tacking duels and close finishes with the Admiral was lots of fun and kept both on their toes.

Although the Admiral #23,  only won a single race, it was his string of consistent top end finishes that earned him a second overall today. Despite this, nobody had an answer for the flying Trout.

Ending the morning with a massive 80 second penalty, our Trout #11 was on fire and unstoppable. He mastered the conditions with ease winning four firsts a second and two thirds on his way to overall victory. Most memorable was his wins in races seven and eight carrying more than a minute penalty for both. Congratulations Trout on a master class performance and a well deserved win.

Thanks today must go to Sue our scorer/timekeeper and to Gerald for bringing his camera along and capturing some of the days’ excitement for our viewing pleasure.

In an exciting piece of news, our own Australian Champion DF65 skipper Lisa Blackwood will be sharing some of her vast knowledge and experience with us this coming May 10th 2022.  Starting at 9am sharp Lisa will base her talk on tips and tricks to sailing faster. Following this our racing program will commence and run as normal.

These special events benefit all RC sailors not just Puddleduck crew nor DF65 skippers only. Whatever you sail, this is a golden opportunity to tap into the winning formulas of a National Champion with vast experience in many other classes.

Put this in your diary.

 

[Sinker]

Race 7, with no ducks or seagulls. In (watch on big screen for best results)

[Admiral]

Good video Uncle G!

[Bodge]

Great summary and video, thank you chaps, was a great morning 👍

[Sinker]

The controversial race 8

[Sinker]

And lastly race 9

[Trout]

Great videos Uncle G, results need to be adjusted for race 8 – #11 Trout dsq for not rounding last mark correctly – had no idea from where we were standing with no clear vision 🤓. Apologies guys. Cheers Trout

[Sinker]

Amazing what you can see with a  30X zoom lens?

[Admiral]

Thanks for the great videos Uncle G veeery interestingggg!

[Bodge]

It’s all good Trout, none of us have 30x vision  🤓 😂,  …I certainly had no idea what happened down at the bottom mark until I viewed uncle G’s great video……it was all a little chaotic … maybe we need a third umpire 😂😂😂

[Admiral]

Blame the Admiral. Will create a separation buoy down there (gate) so that doesn’t happen again. This we had prior to the Peter Smith races so will just put it back the way it was. I too lost vision at that point, not that it was all that great to begin with. 🙄

[Sinker]

I wouldn’t blame the Admiral. I would just put it down to old age!

[Author]

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