8th GW Smith Trophy Race, Thursday August 22nd
Published 13:04 on 29 Aug 2024
Image by Tom Jones
The forecast for this race was poor, grey skies and potentially strong winds, possibly a factor in a lower turnout than of late. The west-southwest wind abated enough to provide good sailing but with stronger gusts to cause a couple of capsizes and changeable strength and direction around the course. John Adams, OOD for the day set the by now familiar P course.
Six boats started, a single Merlin, 3 ILCA7s, an ILCA6, Lyra Wade wisely chose the Radial rig to cope with the gusts, and a single Topper. Chris and William Balmbro in the Merlin established an early lead and never relinquished this. Behind them the Lasers sorted themselves into order, led by Peter Impey, and maintained this to the finish, Peter being followed home by Jim Hamilton. Arthur P-J in the Topper coped admirably in the gusty and changeable conditions finished 6th.
Once the handicaps had been applied, the order remained pretty much the same, with the Balmbros retaining the lead they had on the water, Peter in the ILCA7 2nd and Jim in his ILCA7 3rd. Arthur in his Topper gained a place, finishing 5th.
With neither of the top two in the overall table, Joe McLaughlin and Matt P-J, competing in this race, it gave an opportunity for those behind them to improve their positions. While Joe is unassailable at the top, those in the next three positions, Matt P-J in his Rooster 8.1, Chris and William Balmbro in their Merlin and Peter Impey in his ILCA7, are now only separated by 3 points and positions could change in the last race, so still plenty to play for in the ultimate race of the 2024 GW Smith Trophy series.
Thanks to the race team of John Adams as the OOD, with Zoë Adams assisted by Tom Jones in the box, Paul Jamieson and Tim Barr in the Patrol boat and Peter Johnson who stepped in to provide a second patrol boat as a precaution in the gusty wind.
The supper was a joint Jean-Michel/Nicky Johnson production with assistance in the bar and kitchen from Alice, Charlotte and Perry. We were served a very tasty a fish pie accompanied by minted peas and buttered carrots and followed by ice cream with a choice of fruit compote or hot butter scotch sauce.
Last updated 12:19 on 10 October 2024