The latest Holiday Race Series took place at the Clacton Sailing Club in a windy weather. This was quite challenging for the fleet of dinghies and catamarans. The winner was declared only after calculating the handicap times.
Derek Cheek the race officer did the required evaluations as a commodore. Rob Mitchell on his Dart 16 sailed single handed for more than an hour and finally achieved victory. He was only 40 seconds ahead of the other boat. The weather remained windy and fluky.
The vibrant pack of Dart 16 was cleaned away leading off the line by the winner and was followed by Brian Allen, Mark and George. They were also sailing on the boat single handed. After racing the Laser One, James Rolfe made his entry with Jamie and Owen Lowe. They were sailing a Topaz.
Mike Rolfe and Larry Foxon chased rigorously in their Hurricane 5.9 cats. Eilish Dempsey and Pete Boxer finished early and were penalized for restarting the race. After finishing the first round to the port, all boats were headed towards the 1st leg in Frinton, all in search of the first prize of a week’s Dubrovnik Bareboat Yacht Charter.
The offshore winds in such cases can be seen by sailors on the surface of the water. It is also visible for spreading out as the strong breeze reach out to the sea. The sailors can give a lift so as to help the boat to go higher depending on the way the breeze hit the boats. The dinghy fleet well acted to these fluctuations and had the best tacking duel. The cats also tacked on the larger shifts. The dinghy competed for 2 and cats reached out to complete 3 laps.
Dempsey and Boxer got line honors in the Dart 18 and achieved 2nd place and the Venables captured 3rd place in their Dart 16. The outstanding performance of Rolfe was well noticed by the management.