July 18th – 20th saw the annual pilgrimage of Classic sailing dinghies make their way down to Roadford Lake for the West Devon event.
The weather forecast wasn’t stunning, and together with a clash in the events calendar, sadly meant that there were quite low numbers attending. That didn’t detract form everyone having a great time, with some excellent sailing in spite of a little bit of rain.
Saturday saw a steady gentle breeze across the lake. Racing was very competitive, with Jean and Derek Simmons in their Albacore 6439 closely beating Ros and David Downs in Osprey 1138, Richard Willows in OK 1759 and Keith and Andy in Enterprise 19927.
The legendary Saturday night “bring and burn” BBQ lived up to expectations. With many thanks going to Alan and all his helpers for providing beer, wine, salads, rolls, cream teas, brownies etc, etc. A good night was had by all.
Sunday saw windier conditions which favoured the Osprey, allowing them to get away into clear air on the 2 races run. Planning conditions were great fun and the course set was interesting, giving lots of options for overtaking. The weather improved during the day so we could pack up and get home without everything being too wet!
A special mention should be made of the inaugural memorial race to remember John Gardiner; a founder member of the CVRDA. This was won by Jean and Derek Simmons, who happily accepted the new stunning trophy from John’s wife Lyn.
Special thanks to Alan Williams for organising and cajoling everyone to enter.