2009 Christmas  Pudding sailed 6-12-09

            7 skippers braved what initially seemed would be a wet and windy day. However by the time racing started the rain and stopped and the wind was lighter than had been predicted. This produced a dilemma for some, ‘what rig to use’ and this problem really remained for the rest of the racing.

    Mike Connell hadn’t brought his RM yacht and so took on the RO duties from Peter Townsend. The wind direction was delightful and Mike set a long course using most of the Rick pond’s 800’ length (and didn’t we know this by the 14^th race!).

    Initially most skippers had opted for B rigs and this proved the right choice in race 1, but the SW wind increased and the few C1 rigs started to have an advantage. In fact the racing was an interesting demonstration of the pros and cons of picking a particular rig. Often a boat unbeatable downwind got caught and passed on the windward leg. The first 3 places were very closely contested, as the full results show. Pete Townsend presented the 5 prizes. Mike Connell had run the day very well,and and we had a splendid days racing. DGM