The SAMM (Sailing Association Mar Menor) autumn 2023 racing season has been the worst on record for cancellations. Out of the planned 26 races only 9 actually went ahead, the remainder having to be canceled for a variety of reason.
Then, to cap it all, the final day, December 3rd was a disaster because all the access roads in Los Narejos were closed to traffic for a cycle race, and many of the organisers and competitors were unable to reach the SAMM base at CTD, some after driving for 80 kilometers. There appears to have been no prior notification and even the CTD management seemed not to have known as they had given the OK for the racing to go ahead.
Of the nine races, the worst three results for each boat were discarded and, although many of the individual races were very closely fought, the outright seasons winner had a big lead over the other boats.
Cuatro, a Gamba dinghy of the Shoestring Group, and sailed by a number of different crews, scored five firsts and a second in the six counting races to finish, with just 5.75 points on the low score system. A fantastic performance by all the crews. The second place boat, Shoestring Dos a Laser 2000, mainly sailed by the same crew, was 7 points behind but still did extremely well with one first, three second and two third places.
The full results were as per the table. A score of 12 indicates that a boat didn’t race.
We all hope for a better 2024 racing season.
For full information on SAMM and it’s boat share groups visit www.sailingmarmenor.com
Image: The Results Table, Cuartro
