A truly international fleet of RS700's gathered in Garda for the 2012 Europeans with the welcome addition of the Czech fleet along with representatives from Spain, Luxembourg, Germany and of course Great Britain. Day 1 was forecast to be lighter than normal because of the thunder storms the previous day and this indeed came to pass. However a lighter than normal Ora wind is a fabulous force 4 for the rest of us and the fleet started with great expectations. Tim Greenwood won the port end of the line and initially led the charge to the cliffs. Howard Edwards and Ian Nolan were looking good from the mid-line starters with Alex Newton-Southon and Jerry Wales leading from the Committee end group. After some careful lay line picking from the cliffs It was Howard who led at the windward mark with Jerry and Ian in close attendance. Some close racing followed with Jerry showing excellent downwind pace to lead into the final mark followed by Ian and a recovering Alex. Some confusion regarding the finishing marks saw Jerry rounding the wrong buoy leaving Ian the win followed by Alex and then Jerry in third.
The wind was shifting constantly left and weakening but the committee set a course and the fleet set off for Race 2. Again there was a split of opinion as to which end to start with Alex picking the right and initially looking good. However with the wind shifting left all the time, the left hand starters were brought into play and when Alex put a tack in, Ian was right in contention having to duck his stern. Unfortunately the Ctte had spotted the wind dying completely in parts of the lake and decided to abandon racing for the day.
Day 2 looked much more promising and after a stuttering start, the Ora kicked in properly for race 2 of the championship. Alex and Jerry burst out of the line and immediately started to gap the rest of the fleet. Alex held on to win the race from a hard charging Jerry who was again making gains downwind, sailing lower without losing much in the way of speed. There was some close racing in the following pack with Eddie Gatehouse taking a well deserved third place.
After a long delay, the fleet started again in a softening breeze, with Jerry and Alex again winning the start. It was Alex who had picked the ctte boat end who got the best of the pressure near the cliffs and led at the windward mark, followed by Jerry, Ian and Junis Rindeman. This order didn't change with Alex being pressed hard by Jerry and Ian getting the better of the chasing pack. At the bottom of the second run Alex and Jerry both sailed into a hole which allowed Ian to sneak into a lead at the leeward mark only for the wind to cut off completely and the race to be cancelled.
With only two races completed Alex Newton-Southon is currently leading the championship on 3 points, followed closely by Jerry Wales on 5 and with Eddie Gatehouse and Ian Nolan tying for third on 7. All very close and everything still to play for. Here's praying for a full on Ora tomorrow.
Ian Nolan
