The first Open Meeting of the 2006 series was held at Black Swan Sailing Club, near Reading on Saturday 11 th March.

Ten visitors and four local helms participated in the day’s three races. The wind blew from the NNE and was F1 to F3 in strength. The sky was overcast, with the occasional glimpse of the sun.

The first race got off to a clean start with most dinghies favouring the starboard end of the line. Les Arscott was first to make the windward mark, followed by Richard Pakes and Dave Everett. The two leaders consolidated their lead throughout the three lap race and finished in the same order. Mike Gibson clawed his way back into third place, beating Mark Giles to the mark by about 3 boat lengths.

The second and third races took place, back to back, after lunch in a F1 to F2 wind. The second race saw Richard Pakes establish an early lead over Les Arscott, followed by Mike Gibson. The light winds caused a bunching of the rest of the fleet, particularly on the down wind legs. This led to much gibing as the dinghies tried to make the best of the wind bends so characteristic of Black Swan Lake. The three leaders retained their respective positions right to the finish, with Arscott finishing just one foot ahead of Gibson.

The third race started with a tight group of boats at each end of the line. Steve Hawley broke away and was first to make the windward mark, followed by Les Arscott with Dave Everett close behind. On the down wind leg, Richard Pakes made up ground to make third place by the end of the first lap. The race finished with Les Arscot in first, position followed by Steve Hawley and Richard Pakes.

Full Results