ISO Gala - King George @ Datchet Water SC (17th & 18th April 2004)
The first ISO race meeting of the year was King George SC but relocated to Datchet Water due to King George being closed for reservoir repair work.
A force 3 - 4 gusting 5 was the order of the day for Saturday with the fleet getting away cleanly for race 1. Team RWO, sailed by Pete Lindley and Annie Smith, led the fleet round for the first 2 laps but sailed into a wind hole allowing 1188 SmartNav (Ian & Katie Keam-George) into first, and 1176 Neil Pryde (Jony Wells & Bugsy) into second.
Race two saw some very close racing throughout the whole fleet. Again, coming out on top was SmartNav, finishing first with a massive comfortable lead all the way to the finish. Neil Pryde finished second, with 822 Tempting Fate (Ross Ashton & Chris Burch) third.
Race 3 and the wind started gusting a good force 5 which resulted in some good capsizes from several boats. Team RWO awarded an 8/10 for Andrew Perry's dive from the gunwhale to miss the mainsail as they capsized with the kite up and a 7/10 for Mike's backwards fall out of the boat on the same capsize. The results for the windy last race of the day saw Neil Pryde first, 1197 Bad Fish (Nick & David Veitch) second, and Team RWO third.
Sunday morning and the promise of strong winds did not materialise thankfully, but rain was still on the forecast! The fourth race of the weekend started in a force 3, but soon dropped away allowing the lighter weight pairings to power on. Team RWO lead to the first mark, however after a few tactical errors, dropped back to fourth place with SmartNav, Tempting Fate & Neil Pryde first, second and third respectively.
Race 5 was very close between the leaders with 822, Tempting fate, pulling out a strong lead and taking first place. Neil Pryde, Team RWO and The Yellow Peril had a great tussle all the way round the course, with the final results in that order.
Race 6 had a general recall in heavy rain. Everybody returned to the start and waited for about 4 minutes, only to have the final race cancelled VERY DUBIOUSLY due to "big windshifts". Or was it because the race committee were soaked and cold?
Anyway, great racing, what there was of it, and everybody now looking forward to the nationals down at Restronguet SC, Falmouth, at the end of May.
Full Results Here....
