Bexhill on Sea 2nd - 3rd June 2006

Seven Europes ventured to Bexhill on the Saturday and three more Europes joined them on the Sunday.

Day 1 (2 races)
It was a late start after 2.30pm, which gave everyone time to catch up before sailing.  The weather started off foggy but it rolled away as fast as it rolled in and became very hot and sunny, with a good sea breeze.

Race One: Dave Kent and Ian Stow managed to get ahead of the fleet up the beat and held their lead until the second beat when Dave decided to sail to the wrong mark and Ian followed him allowing Katie Mapplebeck, who had noticed this mistake, to take the lead for a short time.  Ian quickly turned around and managed to catch Katie on the next beat. Dave could be heard shouting and banging his boat with frustration at this mistake.  The finishing results were Ian 1st, Katie 2nd, Dave 3rd, Carol Peddlesden 4th, Paul Wiseman 5th and Sarah Pullen 6th. As it was Jane Stevens' first experience of sea sailing she decided to call it a day and save energy for the 4 races on Sunday in predicted lighter winds.

Race Two: Dave and Ian flew up the first beat and put a good distance between them and the rest of the fleet.  Unfortunately they miscalculated the number of laps and tried to do an extra lap instead of heading for the finish. Katie and Carol decided to go straight to the finish and took 1st and 2nd place.  Ian took 3rd because he was downwind of Dave who took 4th.

Day 2 (4 races)
There was an earlier start on Day Two  and the Europes were joined by a fleet of Lasers. James Eynon turned up from Weston and Bexhill sailors Tobin Dennis and Sally Clark joined the fleet on the water at 10.30am.

Sunday's racing was dominated by James who led the way in all the races, so there was no chance of Ian and Dave sailing the wrong way! Ian, Dave and Katie fought for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places with Sarah catching up and using her knowledge of the tide at Bexhill to good advantage, especially in the final race. Sarah overtook Katie downwind and was catching Ian up the beat.

The final result was 1st Ian Stow, 2nd Katie Mapplebeck and 3rd James Eynon.  First Bexhill boat went to Sarah Pullen.

Big Thanks to Bexhill for having us again and to the shore crew who helped us all to launch and recover the boats.