The James H. Wilson Round the Island race was lots of fun this year. We started earlier than normal to allow for a longer race if necessary. Fortunately the moderate winds at the start kept building and the race was pleasant for everyone.
Though fun, not everyone remembered to check the sailing instructions before heading out to the course. Not a big deal, but there was one new mark in the race this year. Lots of the Stars had a hard time figuring out the course, but I think that was mainly because they were used to racing around drop marks.
With the wind building from the North as the race went on, the finish back in the river was very exciting with lots of spinnaker work in the PHRF boats and Stars trying to find the right combination of angle and weight balance. In the A class, Harry Seemans and his crew on
Rumor did an excellent job finishing 3 minutes ahead of
Echo and managed to cover the handicap to finish first.
Freestyle and the PF Flyers crew dominated the B class again finishing 5 minutes ahead of the closest competitor and correcting 10 minutes ahead! But there were other success Stories; Bob Wood and his crew on
Resolute managed an excellent finish in second and corrected there as well. The Stars remained competitive through the race coming down the the last gybe. John Jenkins on
Jade managed to sneak in a first after chasing Eric Wagner on
Rebel Yell most of the race. Lots of fun for all!
