Cath’s birthday, so of course we were treated to thunderstorms the night before and heavy drizzle and a force four to five from the north east on the day. Turnout from the club included ourselves in the FD, ‘the girls’, John and June, and Ken and Mark in their hornettos, and Hywel in the Streaker. With the visibility down to not very much, the Conwy fairway buoy was left out, leaving a straight dash down to Deganwy beach and back.

After a short beat we bore off and broad reached for the beach, hidden in the mist. Eventually as we closed the estuary we picked out the starboard hand perch and the group of Pen SC members forming the turning checkpoint. The Hornets were still stepping on our tails, an unpleasant surprise after three miles of downhill sailing. After rounding the perch we bore off from a very broad reach to an absolutely dead run, exciting enough in the FD, the first solid water ever over the bow, as the ebb was running strongly out of the estuary against the increasing breeze, so we were glad not to be in the Hornet - down a wave, dive, dive, dive, semi submerge, stop dead, pause while the boat decides which way its going to fall over this time. Ahh, happy memories!

While Cath ran up the beach to the checkpoint I set the boat up for the increased breeze with max rake and clew three and we went to sea once more. It was big and lumpy coming out of the estuary, short steep seas up to a metre high, and once we had cleared the entrance, the waves settled down, to a more regular pattern, but with a wind chop on top, at a slightly different angle. It was really hard work for Cathy, we saw Hywel on his way back having decided that enough was enough half way, and felt grateful for the speed of the FD, at least it would be over quicker for us. We were struggling a bit to stay with the girls, who now led the Hornets by some distance, and so it went all the way back to Pen, the girls with the bulk of Mark and Andy driving them upwind, and us only pulling the sails in until the boat started to tip up, without any leeches above the second batten, going fast and low, the only way for a wimp and a girly to get the FD uphill in a breeze. We did beat them over the water, just, so all was not lost until the results, which, out of 14 starters were as follows:-

1 Andy and Mark

2 John and June

3 Ken and Mark

9 Julian and Cathy