RS Vareo Winter Championships, Leigh & Lowton SC

A southerly wind on Saturday meant short courses across the lake, with the windward mark nestled under trees. Sharing this course with twenty RS400 meant we had to stay alert, and finding the breeze and some clear air were the top priorities.

In race one, Mark Somerville was just too eager off the line. Having returned to restart, he had a lot of catching to do � but by lap two he�d pulled through to second. Andrew Wilson managed to stay clear to win.

Mark and Andrew got well clear of the rest in race two and swapped the lead several times, with Mike taking the win by a couple of boat-lengths. Cheryl Wood used her new-found downwind speed to finish third.

Andrew pulled clear in race three, only for the wind to die completely. Mark drifted into the lead, but Andrew found a zephyr down the last run to win. Despite the lack of wind Cheryl had to retire with a torn sail, while Rory Yardley�s brand new sail helped him to third.

Sunday saw more wind � and from the west � so we could sail the length of the lake. When the wind blew we were hiking hard and planing downwind; but the wind wasn�t to be trusted for long, with large shifts and holes for the unwary. No lead was secure,  no situation hopeless!

In race four Mark led for a lap but problems with a spinnaker drop let Andrew through.

On the next lap, Mike then found a gust to fly past Mark downwind and take second.

Race five was a very close three-way tussle, with Andrew just holding off Mark and Mike. For the final race, the wind was getting more fickle; Mark found some wind that eluded the others to take the win with Andrew just holding off Mike for second.

As we finished, the wind did too. To mark the end of the �Winter� chanpionships, we packed our boats in a bright and warm sunshine.