4 good races today

After no sailing on the first day of the Boardwalk Hobie 16 Nationals being sailed in Port Elizabeth from 20 to 23 March 2014, day two saw an early start in a East North East which then swung to the South East and stayed steady.

Varying wind strengths ranging from 4 to 12 knots saw the fleet challenged for 4 races in a sea state ranging from flat to long chop.

Four races were sailed – all on a gated sausage with two rounds to the finish off of Hobie Beach giving good sightings for spectators enjoying the sunshine and Shark Rock viewpoint.

Fresh from their Hobie Worlds Masters win in Australia this year, William and Lucinda Edwards dominated the day with two firsts and two thirds for a nett point tally of 8 and seven points in the lead ahead of arch rivals, Blaine and Roxanne Dodds with a smorgasbord of placings – 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th. The Dodds and Edwards teams are sailing for Knysna Yacht Club.

Finishing the day on third are Belinda and Ryan Hayward from Fish Hoek Beach Sailing Club with 17 points and the first local boat is in fourth place with Robert Archibald at the helm and crew, daughter Alexa, on 22 points.

Race 2 was sailed under a black flag (under a black flag if any boat crosses the start line within the last minute before the start then it is immediately disqualified and marked OCS) unfortunatey for local sailing team Andrew and Angela Ward they were judged OCS and now carry an additional 31 points which they will be happy to discard as soon as th efirst discard race kicks in.

The Top three finishers today:

William and Lucinda Edwards – Knysna Yacht Club on 8 points
Blaine and Roxanne Dodds – Knysna Yacht Club on 15 points
Belinda and Ryan Hayward – Fish Hoek Beach Sailing Club on 17 points

Sailing on Saturday 22 March looks as if it will be challenging with a 8 – 16 knot North North West swinging to South West and a high temperature of 32 degrees centigrade and no cloud cover.