May 7th and 8th
Once again the cvrda traveled to the kidney shaped lake on Lord Baths estate to indulge in a bit of close quarter racing. 13 elderly dinghies from the ’40s to the ’70s arrived at Shearwater to be met with strong winds and even stronger gusts. This was the first Classic and Vintage Racing Dinghy Association event of 2005.
The first race on Saturday was a friendly. Six boats entered and the wind increased just after the start. Several capsizes and retirements meant that only two boats survived to the end. First place going to John and Lyn Gardiner in Merlin 507, second place to Sally and Matt Weale in an Enterprise.
Two afternoon races followed a similar story, Merlin 6, an early National 12 and a solo not venturing out. Five finishers were lead by Rupert Whelan in his firefly with Rob crewing. At the end of a hard day competitors were treated to wonderful meal in the clubhouse and a very friendly ‘social’, a great end to the day.
The wind eased just a little on Sunday and the gusts weren’t quite as strong but still hard sailing throughout the day, there were more capsizes, and some minor gear failure. Rupert maintained his lead in each race. Roger had decided not to sail his Hornet, (complete with sliding seat) but sailed his GP to second place in each but the third race. Third place was closely fought and swapped between Colin Singer’s Enterprise, John Gardiner’s Graduate or Steve Winter’s Firefly during the weekend. With three out of four to count it was an exhilarating two days.