Fantastic close racing
SUNDAY, May 21 was one of the best days racing of the SAMM spring season, with good conditions, although overcast, and really close competition between the five competing boats. The wind was from the East all day, but varied in strength from 3.5 knots at the start of the day up to 10 knots at the end. It was up and down but without excessive gusts so all boats managed the conditions well.
Race one started at 11.15. Vision was first across, followed in quick succession by Dos and Tres, with Uno and Cuatro crossing neck and neck after one minute. Uno completed the first lap a total of 22 seconds ahead of Cuatro, but made a big mistake during lap two, losing 21/2 minutes to Cuatro, and never made it back. At some point Tres was seen to do a 360 penalty and was assumed to have hit a mark. While she and Dos battled hard and were in seconds of each other on every lap.
The boats were consistently lapping in between 13 and 15 minutes, so only managed 4 laps in the hour-long race.
The race two start was at 12.30 and was the best seen for many weeks, with all boats across within 16 seconds of each other. Uno and Tres immediately took the port tack and the others the starboard to get to the first mark. Cuatro, being sailed single-handed was doing extremely well, completing the first three laps as the second boat, and the next two laps as the third. There were battles throughout between other boats, but it wasn't until the last leg of the last lap that Dos and Tres managed to lap Vision.
The wind was generally stronger and all boats were lapping in a consistent time, the fastest in just over eight minutes and the slowest in 10 minutes 30 seconds, completing six or seven laps.
The results show just how close and competitive the racing was with the average lap times after applying the handicaps.
Race one: Vision 557 seconds, Cuatro + 31”, Dos + 25”, Tres + 8”, Uno + 6”
Race two: Vision 380 seconds, Cuatro + 11”, Dos + 29”, Tres + 5”, Uno + 4”
Find out all about SAMM at www.sailingmarmenor.com