After being delayed for several weeks due to extreme weather conditions, our annual Pico Match Racing event, which celebrates the first race meeting of the year that wetsuits are no longer compulsory with a series of 1-on-1 races in a round-robin format, finally took place on 17 March, and despite the chilly and rather gusty conditions, 13 members turned out to take part.
With DO Stephen in charge, racing got underway at 10:30 around a triangular course, with each race made up of just a single lap starting between Jetty mark and the pontoon, around Island and Hermit markers and back again.
By the time racing paused for a well earned tea break, all participants had completed 3 races, but just 2 had managed to keep a clean sheet, John M and Neil, who were lined up for a final race off, which couldn’t have been closer.
John got a fantastic start, leading as they rounded the first mark, but it was almost neck-and-neck by the time they reached Hermit, where John turned decisively towards Centre on a single tack strategy and Neil decided to head close hauled straight for the finish line, but whose tactics would pay off?
Half way to the finish, Neil had pulled slightly ahead, but John’s decision was clearly paying off, rapidly picking up speed as he turned towards the line… and if the course had been just a metre longer it might have worked, but Neil held on by a nose to clinch victory and become our Pico Match Racing winner for 2019!
So, after a 4 way race off between members with 2 wins, the final results were:
- Neil
- John M
- Richard