Rob, as OOD, set a far reaching course for the three boats that sailed. Capt Per & his son Per decided to take Yolo for a swift sail on the lake as the wind conditions were strong in the build up to the race. Ernst took his Laser Radial to the water and Marc helmed with his father John as crew. The racers signed up & the course was noted.
Jon sounded the countdown bell & Mini raised & lowered the flags. Nobody messed up at the start & Yolo stormed into the lead. Spinnaker flying & off she went. Marc & Ernst chopped & changed places. A shortened course was catered for but by the 2pm decision time there was enough wind for the race to be run in full. With the Pers in full flight there were gasps from the spectators as a whole chunk of the course was omitted. No bell for them when they thought they had finished. They had left their course notes in the changing room!
This left just two boats in contention for the win. However Ernst on rounding mark 3 then avoided Ant Island & headed straight for 5. Another boat out of the race and no bell for him at his finish. Now it was up to Marc to follow the correct course which he thought he had done. He noticed Ernst had not received a bell so went through the finish in the opposite direction. This wasn’t the error. He had missed Ant Island as well so all boats were disqualified after 70 minutes of hard sailing!!
It was agreed that April Fool’s Day had well & truly played its part!
