The Cotswold rally started with light winds on the Friday when those attending had the opportunity to setup their boats and get on the water to check everything was OK.
Saturday and Sunday saw racing during which nine boats took part in shifting winds. The results can be seen below
Monday saw the racing replaced with some fun and games on the water.
Racing results from the end of season rally which was followed on the Monday by some sailing games on the water.
We had a 10 boat turn out for the Chichester event this year and it was a pleasure to welcome three new members, Nikki, Sarah and Christine. The event was also extended to make time for some cruising on the Monday and Tuesday.
Below are the results of the weekend racing
A new venue for the Tinkers and another of the longer meets with opportunities for people to join in just a a day or two.
The first day was a cruise across the lake to the cafe at Whitwell to shake out the boats and enjoy the sunshine.
Then two days of racing with weather ranging from bright and sunny to heavy winds and rain bouncing off the lake surface.
The Monday featured a motor cruise from Leicester Outdoor Centre along the Soar.
At a sailing club, far, far away (a little sop to the Star Wars fans out there) a small group of Tinker sailors gathered for, not just the first meet of the season, but the first meet with the new extended format.
Running from Wednesday to the following Monday, the idea is to try and provide more than just a weekend of racing.
Being the first there were going to be the odd hiccup and of course the weather can put paid to the best laid plans.
So it proved on day 1 (Wednesday) with the weather being a touch moist. However, people arrived sorted their caravans/motorhomes on the lakeside (luckily the ground wasn’t to soft!) and boats were inflated and basically rigged. No one actually fancied sailing though.
Thursday was a much better day and if fact the forecast for the rest of the event was for it to be dry and quite windy.
We arrived on the Friday evening and thanks to boggy conditions on the camp site, joined the other campers huddled in a defensive circle akin Wild West waggoners. However, the weather forecast promised wall to wall sunshine, 24C and good-enough winds.
Our Tinker hearts were singing. Saturday dawned dry and windy, not too much sunshine but at least not cold. Neil set us an interesting course, as always and due notice was given re shallow waters and fishermen!
Nine Tinkers left the shore and enjoyed trying a few different tactics for getting over the star line first. from our usual position at the back of the fleet we were unsure as to who was in the lead but all became clear as Al lapped us, closely followed by the rest of the peloton, sorry flotilla!
