UKWA Inland Regional Series – Datchet
Inland racing at its most inland (light, gusty, and full of ridiculous shifts, all that was missing was fishermen!).
Racing at Datchet.
The forecast for Saturday was ok, about 10 knots, perfect for a good series of races. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas, and we were treated to a day of waiting whilst 2-9 knots of wind shifted all over the place. However, we managed two light wind races. In the first, it was Rob Kent who sailed the best race, leading from start to finish with myself close behind in 2nd and Lewis Barnes in 3rd.
Rob Kent
The second race shook things up, with a huge wind shift on the first beat, leaving many of the top competitors buried in the fleet, and Molly Howell flying into the lead. Myself and Lewis were headed to the ‘wrong’ side of the course, but somehow managed to escape at the right moment and avoid disaster. Rob Kent, Bob Ingram and others, were less lucky. Eventually, I managed to take the lead, and Mark Kay worked hard to overtake Molly on the last reach and finish 2nd.
Close racing!
The wind started light on Sunday, but it looked a lot steadier, and eventually it had built to a nice 10 knots or so. With club racing happening, our course was a long way upwind, which meant that we were out of the way of the sailors, but had lighter and gustier wind than we did on the beach. The wind was also very shifty, but it was at least oscillating rather than persistent, so racing could get underway with minimal faff. There was a few incidents arising from the shifty wind, but it made the race more exciting, just being fast wasn’t enough.
Tight mark rounding.
I felt pretty fast, and mostly had good starts, good tactics, and good pumping, but where the shifts caught me out, I was able to pull back, and eventually won all of the races. Rob Kent was fast, tactically smart and consistent, finishing the event in a solid second place. Lewis Barnes revelled in the tricky inland conditions, snatching 3rd place from Mark Kay, who struggled a little for speed in the light conditions but found his groove in the final race of the day as the wind built to 8-12 knots. It was nice to see Paul Leone return to UKWA conditions, and always looked dangerous with phenominal light wind speed, but managed to find enough bad luck to miss out on the top 4.
Lewis Barnes
Although she had a couple of unlucky races, Molly Howell was on amazing form. She not only dominated the youth fleet, but also took the prize for first lady, beating Annette Kent by the narrowest possible margin.
Results summary:
1st Louis Morris
2nd Robert Kent, 1st master
3rd Lewis Barnes, 1st heavyweight
1st Veteran Paul Leone, 5th overall
1st Super veteran Alan Jackson, 7th overall
1st Lady and 1st Youth Molly Howell, 8th overall
