admin Date , May 3, 2026 Sailing Previous Blog Two Electric Boats Comments (0)
Think of all the things for a great race.
Then subtract the wind and a lack of organisation
We have raced before - not well - but we do have some idea of what the signs on the club mean, where the buoys are, the count down sequence - but the other three boats had no idea. So as some of us gathered near the start line we called out the times, then we were off in 2-3 mph winds tacking across the river making our way upstream.
There were two courses a long one for the handicap fleet and Ok's and a short one for the Rookies. We were very grateful for the short course, but Philip and Alex in the Wayfarer did the longer other course as they couldn't read the course on the boards and there was no briefing. They hadn't set their jib up correctly so it wasn't working as well as it could of. The wind was light and the current strong.
It took us just over an hour to cover the short mark twice, in little wind. The downstream was faster because of the strong current. Turning at the home mark meant turning up into the wind and then continuing to travel downstream because of the current.
When we arrived and checked the RS Toura over we noticed that the mast foot had broken. Fortunately in virtually no wind conditions little strain was put on the mast. This will need to be replaced. Not cheap £213 - because I don't have a funny shaped rivet gun to complete the job just to replace the mast step.
