Report 16th Sonata World Series. A sober report from the winning boat….

F 3 winds from the west 270C. Flat water. 18:55 and I hear the word “bang” on the radio. (BYC has gone green and stopped shelling the harbour with salt petre.) The 16th race had begun. Barely a fag paper separated Msr Le Oiseau from St Tom. Both helms tacked simultaneously at the very last moment so as to be hurtling across the start line exactly when someone said “bang” on the tannoy.

White Horse Whiskey, Toyota Yaris 1.3 and apiano! Heard the “bang” on the radio and leisurely turned towards the first mark.

Within a ninny second the fag paper was a bit thicker , more like a motorway and the space between BB and SA was filled with all sizes of yachts, all bigger and faster than the two hapless Sonatas. As Suffiant, Tricord (surely not Ed.), Firefox and Maverick ‘rolled’ St Tom I could hear those immortal lines running through my head “For you, Tommy, zer race iz over…” And so it turned out …... Apiano! was buffeted and skewed up under the cliffs but laid A easily putting on a sailing display on a “soldiers race” – no great beat to allow others to catch up. Valiantly though he struggled, St Tom and his plucky crew, including 2 lovelies, could not claw back the time they lost in the grip of bigger boats. Those boys and girls love downwind sailing so much they sailed straight past the leeward mark on the second lap hoping SA would catch up and give them some sport!

Stufflocated from the very start Cootie en Co had a cracking time with the black kite and much bon ami. Apiano! uncharacteristically did not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and were surprised to find they beat BB by minus 51 sec on “corrected time” such is the facinatingworldofyachting.

Results a piano! 1 Blues Breaker 2 Simply Alto 3.

There is a theory that the series results are being doctored to make an exciting finale. Mad cows and swine flew over the cuckoos nest but silly season is not due to start till Saturday.

Hope you enjoyed that………now where is that G’nT?