A good day’s racing on July 17th for SAMM (Sailing Association Mar Menor) members, after the disappointment of having to cancel the previous six weeks events for a variety of reasons beyond their control.
With a wind speed of 8 10 knots a square course was set with the first leg upwind and the boats sailing clockwise leaving all marks to starboard for an Average Lap race.
Race one saw an excellent start with the 4 boats all over the line within a few seconds of each other. During the one hour race John Down in his Laser Radial completed 8 laps laps, Jack Moss and Mark Williams in Shoestring Uno 7 laps, Robert Hudson on Ginetta 6 laps and Julian Pering and Kieth McKintosh on Sirocco 5 laps. This was to be expected from the boats handicaps.
By the start of race two the wind had increased to 10-12 knots, so the fleet could do more laps in the hours race, with the fastest two completing 8 laps and the slower pair 7 laps. John Down managed a capsize and a boom bump on the head just before the start but recovered and again all started within a few seconds of each other.
All had a good days racing, but two plus hours was enough due to the heat, especially the officials.
After applying the handicaps, the winners of the first race were Jack and Mark in Shoestring Uno and Robert and Kieth in Ginetta took the honours in the second. In the second race Sirocco beat the Laser Radial into third place by just 2 seconds, fantastically tight racing!
For more information about SAMM visit www.sailingmarmenor.com
Photo shows l to r Keith McKintosh, Robert Hudson, Jack Moss (with the hat) and Mark Williams
