GOODWIN 8 - CHARLOTTES REPORT
We awoke to a bitterly cold and snowy Putney this morning. Would anyone be hardy/crazy enough to face the water? That was the question we were all asking ourselves. But the emails started trickling in and, sure enough, we had four boats up for the challenge. Ben and Sara in Dotty the Albacore, Gary and Allan in the GP14, and Henry and Renato in Lasers (Renato choosing a full sail). With north easterly winds at 14 gusting 22, we decided on a relatively short triangular course and took advantage of being able to use the rowing marks (clearly it was only the Oxbridge rowers who needed to get out on the water today!) We decided on a start time of 14:10 and six laps (with the option of shortening the race if we saw too many grumpy and cold faces…) However, we needn’t have worried. The four boats quickly crossed the start line (a bit later than planned at 14:36 ) and left us for dust. Renato lead the pack from the off but, with the strong gusts, only the GP decided to try a gybe around ...