For the first race Mike Liggett (235) and Jonathan Rubin (578) decided to give the others a chance by arriving late at the start. This had included some frantic paddling by Jon Cowper but to no avail. The first four boats slowly drifted around the course initially led by Nick Price in “Diabolo” (214). This boat won the Merlin Championships at Cowes in 1953. The first four places were closely fought and on handicap the race was won by Mervyn Allen (799) with Nick Price in second place.

 

Following lunch, conditions had not improved for the start of the second race and another drifter was on the cards. This time a good start was achieved by all six boats. Again lack of wind produced a rather frustrating drift around the course. There were quite a few place changes as small breaths of wind favoured first one boat and then another and everybody was relieved to hear the shortened course signal as the lead boat, Nick Crickmore (2972), rounded the leeward mark. Nick was able to hold onto his first place on handicap with Mike Liggett taking second place.

 

All agreed that a third race was not on the cards and final results were decided on the two races that were sailed. This led to a number of ties on points. Where there were ties, final positions were decided on the boats’ positions in the second race. John Coppenhall, who is clearly counting the days until his NSM2 is eligible to join the elite, presented prizes!

 

Many thanks to Richard Christmas who did an excellent job of setting courses in impossible conditions and the other Enterprise sailors who helped everything go smoothly. Thanks also to Chris Hibbert who took loads of photos (see Gallery) and also the galley ladies who kept us fed & watered.

 

Pictures by Chris Hibbert here