Wednesday evening racing

This Wednesday I went down to Midland Sailing Club with the hope that I could find  a crew for the midweek race. I was in luck. A chap called John was a willing crew, with no experience of sailing in Albacore's he had however some experience of sailing his Laser.
The club use a form of pursuit racing and our start is on the 11th minute. I thought I had started my countdown ok but it became obvious that I had made a mistake when I realised that the lasers who start a minute ahead of us were already half way to the first mark. Were were about two minutes late by the time we crossed the start line. Having started late we did well in finishing 5th. John's inexperience obviously slowed our speed a bit but not by much and he did begin to get the hang of it. I'm pleased to have had him crew as it is always more fun to sail with someone - its a good way to make friends. As usual the wind began to die away as the light began to fade towards the end of the race but it is somehow a very calming and relaxing way to finish the day, especially with a bit of chat over beers in the bar afterwards. Such an excellent way to spend an evening.