Joel Walker reports from the midst of a busy 800 fleet after a weekend at Chew Valley Lake SC……

The westerly wind at Chew Valley on Saturday 17th March was as frisky and playful as a new-born lamb, and it gave the RS800 fleet a hectic and energetic days sailing. To set the longest course possible, the race officer needed to lay the windward mark just yards from the shore. The result was that the shifts and gusts, which got progressively violent as you went up the beat, became little short of sadistically brutal on the final approach to the mark. Floundering boats and swimming crews was became a common sight, and any gloating would be short-lived, with the next gust or hole eager to seek out any remaining upright masts or dry wetsuits.

The downwind was, if anything, even more hazardous, with powerful squalls forcing boats into massive speed and angle changes. With gusts approaching 20 knots on a small course where hazards seemed to spring up from all directions, it is a testament to the skills of the sailors that there were, to the best of my knowledge, no major crunches.

It is also a testimony to the fitness of the crews that they were still standing and able to hold a drink at the end of a day which involved nearly 30 hoists and drops, and barely a more than a few seconds at a time to get settled into comfortable flat-wiring before either it was time to tack, or one of those lulls would hit again.

Above all, it was a credit to the skills and hard work of the team from Chew Valley that the fleet was able to sail four races, with four excellent start lines and first beats.

Needless to say, these frantic conditions didn't phase the reliably brilliant pairing of Ben McGrane and Olivier Vidal, who still managed to sail the boat with style and finesse on a day when the wind ensured that the word 'stylish' never even entered my head.

The frisky lamb was nowhere to be seen on Sunday morning.  It had been replaced by an ancient, wheezing ewe which ambled round the lake, stopping occasionally to nibble miserably at the glassy water.  Two hours of waiting gave very little hope that the ewe was about to rediscover its youth, and racing was abandoned.

Suggested Fotoboat photo’s:

http://fotoboat.thirdlight.com/viewpicture.tlx?albumid=202253&pictureid=8770646

http://fotoboat.thirdlight.com/viewpicture.tlx?albumid=202253&pictureid=8770647