After last week’s fast and furious day of racing at Club Vass, slightly lighter winds presented the opportunity for the more technical sailors to shine!

Once again the day dawned quiet and tranquil here in the magnificent Bay of Vassiliki. However the morning calm was quickly replaced by a gusty Northwest wind, giving testing side shore racing conditions. With gusts up to 15kts and lulls at around the 8kt mark it proved difficult even for the best.

The slight drop in intensity meant that the competitors could sail comfortably on their preferred gear. The course layout remained the same, and the stage was set for an entertaining evening on the water.

A huge fleet of around 40 competitors from Neilson, Wildwind and Club Vass all lining up for what was once again one hell of a race! Last weeks convincing winner Niko was looking slightly nervous this time around, with the lighter winds and all of his 108kg the big man knew it was going to be a tough race to win!!

Race 1:

Pumping hard off the line saw Flying Fish Instructor Scott Perry grab a fluky gust to lead the pack into gybe 1 with Becky, Max and Ollie (who just made it to the start line in time, after swapping his Excel spreadsheets for a North Warp 7.0m) very close behind.

Perry kept his composure well, and sailed excellently to win the first race of the day, and take his first win in this years event. By the end of race one there were a lot of tired faces from an excessive amount of pumping but just as we thought the days racing was over the legendary wind god known as ‘Eric’ decided to give us one more blow!!!

Race 2:

With the wind blowing a consistent 15 knots and the sun still shining it was Becky (Flying Fish) Bubble (Club Vass) and Cliff (Neilson) boom to boom going into turn 1, Cliff running slightly wide opened the gap for Becky and Bubble to cut inside, and they showed zero hesitation in doing so, closely followed by Colin ‘Whippy’ Dixon (Club Vass) who must have been on the Dwarf 8 energy drink as he ducked inside Cliff and Becky with a lovely gybe and was closing in rapidly on the 2 leaders!

Max Rowe’s exceptional acceleration out of gybe 1 (which could have something do to with his new power balance wristband) was too much for the 108kg juggernaut Niko to contend with.

Andy Bubble Chambers made the most of his chances, after another consistent display of speed and wise tactics to take the win!

Bethany Mercer (Club Vass) and Lara Johnston (Club Vass) were outstanding today, both sailors battling through the predominatly male racers, they demonstrated great speed and skill, to finish at the top end of the fleet

The first guest back was Tim With an outstanding display of skill and determination!

Race 1:

1st Scott Perry (Flying Fish)

2nd Becky Ellis (Flying Fish)

3rd Cliff Thiel (Neilson)

4th Max Rowe (Club Vass)

5th Ollie Scott (Club Vass)

6th Colin ‘Whippy’ Dixon (Club Vass)

7th Ally Sedgeworth (Neilson)

8th Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers (Club Vass)

9th Andy Barnes (Flying Fish)

10th Ally Adams (Neilson)

Race 2:

1st Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers (Club Vass)

2nd Scott Perry (Flying Fish)

3rd Colin ‘Whippy’ Dixon (Club Vass)

4th Cliff Thiel (Neilson)

5th Becky Ellis (Flying Fish)

6th Max Rowe (Club Vass)

7th Andy Barnes (Flying Fish)

8th Ollie Scott (Club Vass)

9th Ally Adams (Neilson)

10th Ally Sedgeworth (Neilson)

Words and pictures by Jay Haysey