A blast at Aldeburgh

RS K6s continue on the Fat Face racing circuit.

The size of the grins coming ashore after Saturday’s racing was proof alone that Aldeburgh had again laid on a great racing formula for the Fat Face K6 circuit. The weather gods were smiling with a 20 knot breeze blowing straight up the river and sunshine. Combine this with an ebb tide and you got a very fast and wet beat to the windward mark and spectacular 14+ knot downwind blasts surfing the waves. With the leeward mark laid just off the club, tickets could have been sold for the grandstand view.

The first race saw Ian Robson in the newest boat of the national fleet Cloud Nine locked with Martin Wadhams' Fat Face, the oldest boat for the first 3 laps. Ian looked good for his first win but kite problems at the leeward mark let Martin through and Ian had to ‘make do’ with third.

Race two had Peter Kirkby and Will Elson sailing Pippi get a peach of a start, but the hiking prowess on Fat Face and Cloud Nine meant it was Martin and Ian battling it out at the front by the windward mark. After the one mile downwind blast, gybing from shore to shore, there was a bit of argy-bargy at the leeward mark leaving Martin spinning a 720 and giving Ian an unassailable lead.

By race 3, the weather had started to take it’s toll on the fleet. Pippi blew their jib out, and the winter damage the mice had done to the Grogan boat meant most of the bits of string had by now parted. Ian, Sandy and Amy walked away with their second win having shown their upwind afterburners again to the fleet. Simon Fulford and Martin Miller Komitas put in a fast third with some particularly large grins.

After great club hospitality on the Saturday night, Sunday arrived with regular 30 knot gusts. There was general consensus that people would prefer to flex their credit cards in Aldeburgh than fill in claims forms, and racing was cancelled.

Bob and Gill Pearson were given the merit prize for the weekend - it’s hard to drive all the way from the Midlands and have the halyard go two minutes from the first start !

Overall Results:

1st 162 Cloud Nine - Ian Robson, Sandy Johnson, Amy Briffa – Aldeburgh YC
2nd 102 Fat Face - Martin & Amanda Wadhams, Sue Pelling – Lymington Town
3rd 142 Komitas - Simon Fulford, Martin Miller – Isle of Man SC
4th 127 Cru Classe - Alex and Becca Willard – Royal Corinthian
5th 145 MM - Gareth Watkins, Ian Shenkel – Queen Mary
6th 126 Pippi - Peter Kirkby, Will Elson – Queen Mary