MDMCS 2019 R1 at Leicester RYC 17 February 2019, Race report.

Ten Marblehead sailors entered the days racing at Charnwood Lake on Sunday. A brisk Southerly wind and a sunny sky set the scene for an excellent and close days racing.

A decent beat to the first mark saw skippers split across the lake with one or two exciting port tack versus starboard tack lay line encounters. The gusts during the first two races resulted in many airborne rudders and involuntary, dramatic, turns during the long run and a fair number of stalled tacks.

A quick break allowed skippers to change down to B rig and consequent, more dignified runs for most of the next races. 18 races were completed in a most sporting manner, with only a handful of penalty turns. All quickly accepted and completed.

Some great, nifty starts during the day; particularly when 07 Tracey Ballington drew an appreciative cheer from the skippers. Her boat was down away from the favoured end and an instant tack onto port after starting saw 07 clear the fleet.

The winner and second placed for the day were only separated by 2 points. The Uproar of Peter Stollery on 23 and the Grunge of Darin Ballington on 25.

An interesting mix of designs in addition to the above were: 4 Starkers, 1 Aixtra, 1 Monarch, another Uproar and one wooden (design unknown).

The wooden boat sailed by Peter Collins retired after 3 races due to electrical problems but obtained a creditable 6^th in race 3.

For the record and thanks to Tracey, approximately 10,516 steps were made by each skipper during the day. The number of calories expended was also available from the measuring device, but I forgot the figure after trying to convert to jam doughnut equivalent.

The event was enjoyed by the numerous passers by, many stopping to watch and comment on the spectacle.

Report by Richard Moroney (PRO) Leicestershire RYC.

Pictures below by Richard.