Page 21 - Folk Boat Year Book 2022

Once round the Needles, it is usually up with the kite, but not this time. A few tried,
but it didn’t pay. It wasn’t until St Catherine’s that the spinnaker became effective.
Missy, without the inboard or a bilge full of water, really flew downwind. We
straight-lined it to Bembridge Ledge, keeping up with the Nordics. Rounding the east
cardinal can be tricky with the fleet bunching, but we found a gap and dropped the
kite as we turned, making a perfect rounding.

The last leg to the finish can be a nightmare. Too close to Ryde Sands and you stop
(oops), but stay out and the tide gets you. Add to this that the whole fleet
compresses as you catch slower boats and faster ones catch you. A big cruiser can
really spoil your day. However, this year, with a favourable wind direction, we made
the finish with very few tacks and finished with a gun. At the time we were not sure
why, but it turned out to be third place in the Classic Racing Yacht class. Sadly, no
prizes for third place though. We missed out on second by 39 seconds!

Did we make any mistakes? Could we have sailed better? Probably not. Bernie and I
had a great day’s sail in perfect conditions. What more could you ask when you go
afloat in a Folkboat.

Written by Colin Eales
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