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Fishers Green turned on the wind and the sunshine for us this year - and as it was springtime there was no weed to cause us problems. Mind you, it was tricky enough with the wind which was coming down from the north, then the north-east, in trickles, then none at all then gusts of 13 knots or so!
It was all a matter of being in the ri ght place at the right time, the right place usually being in front of the fleet. We had 16 sailors out on the water, including three very keen Technos piloted by Conor Wells, Tom Squires and Andrew Robinson. Chris Gibson had beought his new 2009 Phantom, which seems to have acquired a slight vee profile underwater and the edges of the deck are built up - something was mentioned about an extra 8 litres of volume. Anyway the board seriously looked the biz, easily distinguishable from the 2008 models because of its white finish as opposed to the red Phantoms we are used to. There were a couple of the new Tushy RX 9.5 race sails on the water and Annette Kent was testing a new prototype 8.5 version which is the max size for ladies in International Raceboard. 
There was a slight timing error at the start of Race One, which left a few sailors bemused on the start line as the fleet pulled away. Those at the starboard end of the line found themselves with a chance to lay the windward mark as the wind veered sharply, however there was the little matter of an island to avoid and disaster struck as Annette had to put in a tack at the last minute and Rod Davis took an early bath as his sail backed. This left Jon Davis clear to be first round the mark and then the fleet set off in hot pursuit. However despite this promising start he was soon reeled in and finished 5th, with Chris Gibson in 2nd, Annette 3rd, and Andy Lacy 4th.
Race Two was again a gamble, however Rob Kent came out on top with Chris se cond and Andy third. Paul Cross, who was enjoying his comeback to racing this season, was dodging between a couple of tiny islands at some speed and caught his fin and during the ensuing chaos he trapped his leg between the mast and the board. Those of us just ahead of him thought he was shouting in frustration, but poor Paul was sure he had broken his leg! Fortunately he was only badly bruised but the incident put paid to his sailing for the day and he spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sunshine.
After lunch the racing was much the same, “challenging” was the word and there was no shortage of colourful adjectives in addition. The Phantoms, in the hands of Rob, Chris and Andy again filled the top three slots, but now Andy was firing on all cylinders and succeeded in pushing Chris into third in both the afternoon races which put them both on 7 points but gave Andy 2nd place overall behind an all-conquering Rob Kent. In the last race Tom Squires had his best result, in 9th, which took him to the top of the Technos.
RESULTS: Overall positions in brackets
RACEBOARD:
1: Rob Kent (1) 2008 Phantom, Tush XR Race 9.5
2: Andy Lacy (2) 2008 Phantom, Demon 9.5
3: Chris Gibson (3) 2009 Phantom, Demon 9.5
1st LADY:
Annette Kent (4) Equipe II, Tushy XR Race 8.5 prototype
TECHNO:
1: Tom Squires (10)
2: Conor Wells (11)
3: Andrew Robinson (13)
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LWA Summer Series 2009
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Event 2: Fishers Green
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R1
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R2
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R3
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R4
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Dis
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Total
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1
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919
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Robert Kent RRM
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RRW
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1
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1
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1
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1
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1
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3
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2
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9383
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Andy Lacy
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RRV
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4
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3
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2
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2
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4
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7
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3
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0
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Chris Gibson
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RRV
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2
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2
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3
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3
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3
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7
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4
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918
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Annette Kent
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RRW
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3
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6
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5
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4
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6
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12
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5
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531
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Jon Davis
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RR
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5
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4
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4
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6
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6
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13
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6
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537
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Rod Davis
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RRV
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6
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7
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6
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5
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7
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17
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7
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416
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Alan Jackson
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RRV
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8
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5
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8
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7
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8
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20
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8
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353
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Paul Robinson
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RRV
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7
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8
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7
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8
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8
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22
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9
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1311
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David Kinnerley
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RIV
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10
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9
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9
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DNF
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17
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28
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10
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9831
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Tom Squires
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7.8
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11
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10
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14
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9
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14
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30
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11
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9640
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Conor Wells
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7.8
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13
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11
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10
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12
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13
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33
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12
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538
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Janet Pain
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RRW
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14
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15
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12
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10
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15
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36
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13
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343
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Andrew Robinson
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7.8
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12
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13
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11
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13
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13
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36
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14
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9931
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Simon Squires
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RR
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15
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14
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13
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11
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15
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38
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15
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177
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Paul Cross
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RRV
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9
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DNF
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DNF
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DNF
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17
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43
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16
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497
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Colin Flint
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7.5
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16
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12
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DNF
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DNF
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17
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45
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