ISO's Speed Sail Round Essex
The combined sailors at Essex Yacht Club and Leigh Sailing Club in Essex participated recently in an innovative event over the weekend of 10/11 July.
It was a series of fastest lap races in each of 4 races with 3 to count, all then adjusted by the Portsmouth yardstick. There was a fleet of 15 boats consisting of 3 ISOs,RS 200s and an RS400,RS Vareo, Finn, GP14,Laser,Wayfarer and a Fireball amongst others. Perhaps not surprisingly the fastest laps were recorded by all the boats when on the same round of the course.
It was a good speed test of the ISOs against other boats. The ISOs fared very well in general with 2 individual first places by different boats and a narrow win for the GP over an ISO in the third race. There was a win for the RS400 in the fourth race. A spectacular capsize in a gust had caught out ISO 1178 in the second race but although overtaken by ISO 1167,1178 recovered quickly and then sailed lower with the Hyde sails on the final approach to the last rounding mark and was able to squeeze through at the mark in order to win. Overall the winner was ISO 1178 with one first place and two seconds,having discarded a fifth place achieved after doing turns for a minor brush with ISO 1197 at the start of one race.
