It was a great afternoon on sailing on Wallis Lake. A gently nor'easterly breeze filled in during the day and strengthened in the afternoon. Protected on shore and around the clubhouse the breeze proved no menace for Tim Haffner. Once both boats were rigged Tim then set about with the tongs and marinades, entertaining our tastebuds with some fresh prawns and salmon from the BBQ.
The course for the day was laid out by two of the clubs most senior statesmen, hence a most traditional course. This was a welcome return to the classical triangular course with long legs a reaches. So long were the reaches that finding the distant marks became a visual challenge for some of the skippers.
As the boats left the shore the breeze seemed to weaken and the fleet took some time to reach the starting area. Once assembled it was quite a mix of boats. The starter boat skipper manned by The Pirates of the Wallis with One-eyed mongrel Hiley and armless bastard Machon found no trouble finding a place with plenty of empty spaces for the disabled near the start line. Brian (Bubble) Bath led the fleet away in the first race, hounded by the Tooth Fairy and then Mr and Mrs Smith (so aptly named due to their abilities to destroy something). The line was tight and any of the boats crossed together, Tommy (007) Dalton, seemed to have loosened the rust from the joints and was quickly away as too Mat (birdman) Avery, Tom (T3) and the Bus Shelter.
There was some inconsistency in the breese and as in real estate location played an important part on the outcome. By the return to the bottom mark it was Mr and Mrs Smith who had pulled out all guns to chase down to tooth fairy. This was short lived as The Smiths aimed too high at the bottom mark and missed the target, allowing the fairy to skip past. By the top mark again the Smiths were in front,. but not for long as the Tooth Fairy found that little bit of magic and slipped past while Mr and Mrs Smith were sleeping. Not far enough though, and again the Smiths chased and caught the Tooth fairy, but as usual broke something and spent time doing house repairs while losing places.
further back 007 always kept his eye on the enemy and, whilst always in the game, was still re-acquainting himself with the ropes and shackles, needing more arms than an octopussy and the staying power of his namesake, 007 needed something from Q (or Michelle Leslie) to get him up to speed.
The bus seemed to be keeping to time, though the passengers were only occasionaly changing seats. T3, while yet to be released, though much talked about as having potential showed early gains and then surged forward as passed the bus shelter. Not difficult as the shelter seemed to be standing still. But then, against the trend it was T3 who seemed to stall and lose ground. Though this seemed to be a short term glitch as T3 finished the day first across the line on the abbreviated course, then closely followed by the Tooth Fairy, then Mr and Mrs Smith and bubbles. The bus shelter arrived in time as too 007 and the birdman.
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