The forecast of rain and strong winds combined with injuries and other commitments to put off many sailors but seven boats turned out for the CVRDA and Vintage Merlin Rocket event at Banbury Sailing Club. The first race saw Peter and Tim Male from Blithfield getting away well from the line to take an unassailable lead from the Albacore of Sandy Lavelle & Pat Jones and the Merlins of Stuart Jenkins & Nicola Scadden and Richard Burton & Nicky Burton-Moore. The race officer set a course that took in the whole lake with a long beat from one end to the other.
A rudder issue on the Albacore then allowed the other two Merlins to pass. The wind was somewhat less than forecast although gusty but with occasional light patches and some rain and all were able to enjoy the race without incident. Matt Best helmed the Mk2 Wayfarer with Nick Hitchens crewing and Roger Oliva-Knight in the Mirror was overtaken by Graham Cooper’s Mistral Lowrider Moth after a poor start.
The second race saw the wind building more and the gusts increasing as the race progressed. Peter and Tim pulled out a good lead again and on the second lap the long beat turned into a fast planing reach as the wind swung ninety degrees. A particularly strong gust at the southern end of the lake caused the Moth, the Mirror and a Merlin to all capsize with the safety boat not knowing which to turn to first! Further gusts took out the remaining Merlins and only the two largest boats remained dry. With the Albacore deciding that retirement was now a safer option than another lap, the Males recovered to take line honours just ahead of the Wayfarer thanks to their initial good lead and Stuart and Nicola also recovered but took a second dunking in another gust and managed to recover again, determined to finish the race. The remaining boats retired, helped by the safety crews to pull masts from mud and all returned to shore to dry out and enjoy one of the famous Banbury lunches, a chicken casserole prepared by Pat Kuenzler and Tim Bury who were unable to sail due to injury.
The casserole satisfied so well that no one had any appetite left for a third race after lunch in the still blustery conditions so the results were calculated and prizes awarded. The Wayfarer with Matt and Nick took first place, Peter and Tim in the Merlin Rocket were second and Stuart and Nicola third. Stuart and Nicola also collected the Banbury Cross trophy for the first Vintage Merlin since the Male’s boat was not old enough to qualify for the Merlin Rocket De May series.
Thank you to Banbury Sailing Club for an enjoyable day, to the race officer and the safety crews and to Pat, Tim and the ladies in the galley for an excellent lunch.