Brazen and Thanet Tie for Least Points in the SoPYC fleet.

The weather forecast must have sidelined many competitors, from the 44 boats nominated for CPYC Heat 3, only 28 boats braved the chilly conditions. Luckily the forecast very strong, gusty winds and rain, did not come through until later in the afternoon.

Consistent competitor, Khaled Hejleh on Stramash (RFBYC) took the first place flag with 6 points lost.

SoPYC filled the next 5 places, showing the depth of talent at Club level.

Brazen and Thanet both scored 7 points, to be separated on count-back,  awarding Tracy Leveridge-Smith 2nd place and Guy Skinner 3 place flags. Dalusional was 4th, Purrfect 5th and M&M’s in 6th place with 9, 10 & 12 points respectively.

Thank you to Bernie Kaaks for the fantastic action photos of the fleet rounding Concrete Spit.

Another new and interesting 15287 metre or 8.25 NM course was set by CPYC, with 12 checked marks.

Brazen, competing at 15 knots (max speed allowed) zipped around the course in under 37 minutes, with stop-watch timing, while Thanet, travelling at just 6 knots, took 1 hr 22 min & 30 secs to complete the course, using all the latest tech tools and gadgets for their timing. These maybe some differences, but a lifelong connection with boats, the river, knowledge of the tides, spit post locations, rhumb lines and decades of time trialling, are shared by both skippers, PC Guy Skinner and Tracy Leveridge-Smith and their navigators Richard Evans and Anthony Smith.

With only 2 heats in the series to go, Thanet appears to be in a great position for the championship with a first, second and third place thus far.

The next CPYC Heat is run in conjunction with RFBYC‘s  Kylie Cup on SUNDAY 30th August with a 10am Start. SoPYC has a club event on Saturday 29th.  A huge weekend of Time Trialling fun coming up.

See you on the water for course 415 this Saturday.

*Note: The “rhumb line” is the straight line between 2 marks and how the course times are calculated. Running on the rhumb line is vital for improved results.

Tip. Line up the mark you’ve just rounded, not just where you’re headed to. Good time-triallers often glance backwards.