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It is always good to get to Puddleduck and find that there is a decent breeze on the dam and today we had a steady 5 knots from the North West. Although at times the wind did back to the West and South-West it maintained its pressure and led to some good racing. The figure-8 course was used today which can help maintain a windward leg when the wind was shifting.
We were missing a few regulars this morning. Gadget returned from Vanauatu with a mystery bug which he thoughtfully did not wish to share and so stayed at home. Get well soon Ron. Still there were 14 starters which is probably about the ideal number for DF95’s
It was encouraging to see skippers ask for and complete penalty turns when rule breeches occurred. At Puddleduck we are perhaps a little too relaxed on rules but we sail by the code that if you are infringed you may (or may not) ask for a penalty turn. If the breech did not really affect you, or if the perpetrator was forced into an unavoidable situation or if they are a beginner then you may well choose not to mention the incident. But if, on the other hand, it cost you race positions, was easily avoidable, or if the perpetrator was an experienced hand and should know better then it is right and proper to ask for a penalty.
Today’s honourable mention goes to John Penman who started the day in grand style winning the first two races straight off the bat. Very impressive – but not always a smart thing to do when you have to spend much of the rest of the morning starting well behind the rest of the fleet. Still race wins are not easy to come by in such a competitive fleet so you grab them when you get them!
I managed third place overall today, tieing with Nick Conner who took second on count-back by virtue of more race wins. Nick’s performance today follows a DF65 win at a DSS event in which he beat both Richard Fisher and Lisa Blackwood. Today’s winner was David Woolley. Sheep was the only skipper in the top seven without a race win, but what great consistency he showed! Nothing worse than 5th after discards were taken. Congratulations and very well sailed Sheep!
Shorty
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