Melting Pot 2023

LWA Melting Pot Races: Oxford SC:

Saturday 25 February did not see the arrival of the “Beast from the East” which they keep promising us, but it was a very cold day, 5 or 6 degrees C with a North-Easterly which upped the chill factor. This meant that we had only half a dozen or so sailors on the water and even they took some persuading.

Race One saw Rob Kent go into an early lead by the end of Lap 1, ahead of Nick Kidd and Bob Ingram. At times the boards were sailing so fast on the reach that Russ Canning in the Patrol Boat could not keep up with them. Russ estimated that they were travelling well over 20 kts! James Hope was coping very well with the conditions and by the end of Lap 2 had edged up into 3rd place behind Nick. But by the end of the race Jon Davis, who had been in 5th place at the end of Lap 1 managed to claw his way up into 2nd ahead of Nick.

The wind during Race Two varied considerably and many’s the time that boards came right off the plane. By the end of Lap 1 the order was Rob, Bob, Jon and James. Bob and Jon swapped places several times during the race and as they came to the final gybe Bob had a lead which he probably could have held until the finish line. However, everything went wrong for him and he ended up in the water, letting Jon and James slip through to take second and third.

Guy Gibson had brought his RS-X along instead of his usual raceboard, but for some reason conditions did not favour this choice and he carded a couple of DNFs.

After Race Two our Race Officer, Kerry Hastings, decided to call it a day in view of the extreme cold and the necessity to finish the AGM before the kick-off of the Wales v. England Rugby match. Which we did!

Melting Pot Results:

1: Rob Kent; 2: Jon Davis; 3: James Hope