LWA 2010 Summer Series:
Event 2 - Brogborough  Sat 24 April

     What a contrast from last year’s event! Sunshine and a perfect mirror finish to Brogborough Lake, however the forecast wind soon began to tickle the surface and the early arrivers slowly realised that their journey would not be in vain.  We had a very good turnout, 21 Raceboards, two Technos on the main course and four on the Junior course.
   

Photo above: Paul Leone & Rob Kent crossing the Start/Finish line

Because of the unusual - for us at Brog - wind direction, we had to set an X course with two beats, the first windward mark being taken to starboard, usually a source of problems. However, with the races being started from the beach for some strange reason the fleet tended to bunch at the port end and consequently found themselves coming up against shallow water. Those who made a swift start on port or who started at the opposite end of the line seemed to come out best. There were some cruel shifts and some prolonged lulls which served to spread the fleet out. In Race One Chris Gibson somehow managed to pull out a huge lead and finished the race well clear of his pursuers. Paul Leone took 2^nd and Alan Jackson 3^rd.  A welcome visitor from places north, Tim Gibson, took third place on his Unlimited. Rob Kent had his worst race for years and came in fifth, fortunately he able to make this his discard.
     The positions of the leaders in Race One were totally upset in Race Two, Rob Kent this time got away quite well and maintained his lead and crossed the line ahead of Russ Canning, who sailed a brilliant race. Tim Gibson was third. Paul Leone was 6^th, Chris Gibson 7^th and Alan Jackson 11^th. Quite an upheaval!
     The rest of the day proved to be a battle between Paul Leone and Rob Kent, Paul taking Race Three and Rob the last race. Chris Gibson, Alan Jackson and Tim Gibson managed some fairly consistent results, with Alan and Tim finishing on the same points total, but Chris’s 1^st place in Race one pulled him clear. Annette Kent sailed very consistently and pulled off an incredible tack in the last race which brought her up from 9^th to 6^th in a couple of hundred yards, effortlessly overtaking some very surprised rivals. Newcomer Anthony White enjoyed his day out on a borrowed Sailboard Phantom and XR - thanks to Dave Hackford at Starboard Tushingham. 
     It was great to see our old friend Dave Kinnerley sailing so well, his first LWA event following his recovery from a double bypass! Who says windsurfing ain’t good for you?
   Amongst the youngsters Andrew Robinson went very well on an 8.5 XR to finish in 12th overall, beating not only his dad but also a load of other sailors on 9.5’s. Matthew Barton and Jonny Dudfield got stuck in on their 7.8 and 6.8 Technos, whilst on the Junior course the Kent-Gibson battle was joined by Jessica Dudfield on her 4.5.

RESULTS: Overall positions in brackets

Raceboard:
1: Paul Leone (1); 2: Rob Kent (2); 3: Chris Gibson (3); 4: Alan Jackson(4)
1^st Lady: Annette Kent (6); 1^st Grand Master: Russ Canning;
1^st Heavy: Nick Kidd (8); 1^st Vet: Andy Lacy (9);
1^st Youth Andrew Robinson (12)
Unlimited:
1: Tim Gibson (5);
Techno 7.8:
1:Matthew Barton (19)
Techno 6.8:
1: Jonny Dudfield (23)
4.5 Open:
1: Emily Kent; 2: Jessica Dudfield
3.5 Open:
1: Rebecca Kent; 2: Alysia Gibson