ISO Gala - Draycote Water SC (15th & 16th April 2000)

The ISO open circuit moved to Draycote Water S.C. for the latest round of the GALA series held on 15th & 16th April. On the Saturday, Alistair Clarke and Pete Lindley in 'Team RWO' used their weight and skill to great advantage, recording three straight wins in the freezing rain and stronger winds. They even managed to capsize twice in a single race, once on a gybe and the other on a crash tack, but were up again so quickly that the chasing pack failed to catch them. The Whitmore/Smith teams vied for second and third places, with Mick Whitmore and Sarah Smith gaining the upper hand over their Eastbourne team-mates Gary Smith and Lynn Whitmore.

On the Sunday, the day dawned sunny and calm, in complete contrast to the freezing conditions of the day before. Mick and Sarah faced an almost impossible task of eroding the lead set by 'Team RWO'. They needed to win every race, or force 'Team RWO' down the fleet. They almost succeeded. Their ability to point low on the runs while maintaining speed, enabled them to come through to the lead time and time again. In the penultimate race, they caught 'Team RWO' on starboard at the start, forcing them into a disastrous position from which they never recovered. Meanwhile Mick and Sarah went on to win. However, in the end, their string of two 1sts and one 2nd was not enough to claw back the lead from 'Team RWO' and they had to be content with 2nd overall. Gary Smith and Lynn Whitmore finished in 3rd place in the regatta. Andrew Gould and Vicky Lewis in 'Flying Banana' narrowly beat the Brightlinsea team of John Payne & Geoff Crease to finish in 4th and 5th places respectively.

Full Results Here....