A hardy group of seven boats, six Lasers/ILCAs and a Merlin Rocket, turned out for a very windy Round 4 of the Snow Globe Series. Another lively southerly and a reaching start to an orange dumpy off the RB pontoon made for awesome starts, instant action and plenty of spray.

Downwind legs were great fun and fast, while the upwind sections were mercifully short. Most ILCA sailors, especially Adam in his Standard/ILCA 7, agreed they couldn’t have hiked much longer.

Race 1 featured a brilliant duel at the front, with Keith Gilmore giving James HP a run for his money. Keith led at one stage until his mainsheet tied itself into a knot just as he rounded the No. 7 mark. Unable to bear away cleanly for the blistering reach to the versa dock on the North Shore, he watched James slip past into the lead. Race finished with;

·       1st: James HP

·       2nd: Keith Gilmore

The second race brought an increase in wind strength, with gusts well over 30 knots. The No. 7 mark became extremely shifty, and the gybe at the versa dock mark was lively to say the least. Then a screaming reach past the club toward the orange dumpy mark was a blur of spray, several sailors felt they arrived at it something close to Mach 10. Race finished with;

·       1st: James HP

·       2nd: Stuart Mears & Alison Hall (Merlin Rocket)

Despite the conditions, Noah Mathers impressed by finishing both races in his Radial/ILCA 6. Nathan Flynn had a cracking first race but the wind eventually got the better of him in Race 2, leading to retirement. Almost everyone admitted to at least one “near capsize”, with a few executing the full version! The Merlin Rocket provided extra entertainment as Stuart and Alison worked the rake controls around the course, later discovering they had actually been reducing rake rather than increasing it.

Back ashore, this week’s Sailors’ Special, toad-in-the-hole vanished quickly, despite several sailors insisting before racing that it “wasn’t their thing.” After the morning’s calorie burn, attitudes changed very fast.

A wild, windy and thoroughly entertaining Snow Globe morning, bring on Round 5, hopefully more sedate!

As always a big thank you to the Race Box team, the safety crews and the RCYC staff for their support.