Byte Open at Spinnaker Sailing Club

Byte Open at Spinnaker Sailing Club © Jill Gill

This year the Bytes joined the Solos for their open meeting at Spinnaker on Saturday 13th May and were blessed with a perfect day of sunshine and a decent NE breeze. The wind direction is a good one for the lake enabling the excellent race team (PRO Jonathan Burns and his many helpers) to make full use of the available water. Varying in strength from "not a lot" to mid-teens, and with the inevitable shifts, conditions kept everyone on their toes and provided some excellent racing. Throughout the day the first three positions were consistently shared between the local father and daughter duo of Duncan and Kirsten Glen and our class Chairman Rick Whitehouse from far away Coombs. Everyone kept in close order and it's fair to say that the racing was tight, but very good natured, throughout.

Having sought agreement from the other competitors, Rick used the new prototype main from Hartleys for the event to get a feel for it under race conditions. This provided an interesting test and overall there didn't seem to be much difference in performance.

The start and first beat of race 1 were very tight with Will mixing it at the front end until he succumbed to the first swim of the day. Kirsten seized the lead and, despite being reeled in at one stage, took the first bullet with a big smile.

Race 2 was probably the closest with numerous place changes leaving Rick in the lead for the final round. Duncan managed to gain an overlap at the last mark to squeeze past with Kirsten snapping at their heels - all three finished within a boats length. Well done to Clare for rounding out the top four in this one. The gusts continued to provide some good entertainment for the spectators, particularly on the long run parallel to the shore. This resulted in a few capsizes and at one stage a spot of synchronized swimming at the gybe mark.

Byte Open at Spinnaker Sailing Club - photo © Jill Gill

As ever at Spinnaker the races are fast and furious so it was back to shore for a well-earned lunch on the terrace before the final two. This also provided the opportunity for the shore crew (thank you Julius) to make running repairs to Annabel's boat - where would we be without duct tape? It was great to see Annabel at her first Byte event and she is certainly one to watch for the future.

Duncan managed to get away in race 3 setting up a "winner takes all" final showdown. Well done to Gabby who took fourth which she put down to hanging out a bit more - a lesson to us all.

Byte Open at Spinnaker Sailing Club - photo © Jill Gill

Final race decider. Rick reached the windward mark first and promptly hit it, the resulting 360-degree penalty turn put him back into 3rd and out of contention. Kirsten gratefully took over the lead which she held for the first couple of rounds whilst keeping a close eye on those behind. On lap 3 Duncan initiated a tacking duel and managed to break cover. Finding his own private lift, he established an overlap going into mark 5 and took full advantage. Unfortunately, Kirsten then hit said mark enabling her dad to sail off into the sunset (well sun anyway), with a rueful smile on his face, to take the win and overall victory.

An excellent spread (with savory snacks being a welcome addition to the traditional tea and cake) accompanied the prize-giving to round off a great day. Thanks to everyone at Spinnaker for organizing yet another enjoyable day of sailing, in particular to whoever booked the cracking weather.

Overall Results: