*Steve London demonstrates impeccable upwind form. Photo by Andrew Cox.*

Autumn Point Score Races 7 & 8

It was a hot steamy day for racing on Saturday. The club was abuzz with activity, hosting both the ILCA Autumn Point Score and the A18s JJ Giltinans. StretchLab had a regular stream of customers for free massages on the deck, and the canteen was in full swing with Paul and Shirley braving the heat and maintaining good cheer while churning out double or triple the usual volume of those "highlight-of-the-week" toasties for the hoards, assisted valiantly by Clare Alexander and Tim Heath.

The forecast modest north-easter eventually managed to waft its way down the harbour through the heat-haze, bringing tricky conditions for the fleet, with some big right shifts curling round the island, some big left shifts pressing down the harbour, and some race-killing holes to dodge. There were full-hiking moments for those with the stamina for it, demonstrated in a constant close-dueling face-off between Zander Bijkerk and Campbell Patton at the pointy end of the 7s.

Sara Bruce was left wondering why sailing seems so easy as she comfortably gapped contenders in both races, despite a full first-lap lead from Ian Tudball in R7 and notable early contention from David Murphy in R8. David Airey pulled a solid second over the line (and second on handicap) in R7 to cement his position at the top of the Point Score leaderboard. It is unclear whether or not he was assisted by the pod of dolphins that frolicked among the fleet.

The onlookers on the start boat, ever hoping for something spectacular, were graciously rewarded with final run capsizes from experienced stalwarts Luke Parker, Geoff Kirk, and Murray Stone. 6yo PRO, Lottie Storer, commandingly coordinated the RC team of Andrew Cox, Scott Hunter, and Ben Byford, delivering tight racing with a bang-on 2pm first warning, precise soundings of the horn, enthusiastic raising and lowering of flags, clear radio instructions to the support RIB team of John Chesterman and Quentin Burns, friendly waves to competitors, and helpful calling of the finishers, punctuated with frequent demands for service of drinks and snacks. The highlight of her day, perhaps other than captaining the Jazzman home, was a downwind high five from Daryl Lawrence as he passed the committee boat.

Congratulations to handicap winners Tim Health and Geoff Boscoe in the 7s, Brendan Pollard (both races) in the 6s, and Harper Spacey in the 4s. Thanks to Luke Parker for again making his RIB available to fill the gap during the JJs. And a big thanks to all the volunteers, not only to those on duty, but also to all those who work tirelessly to keep our amazing club running year after year and make our racing possible.

- Andrew Cox, PRO

Photos by Andrew Cox: