The season so far:
Now that things are vaguely up & running, I'd better bring things upto date for the 2003 sailing season...
We (Ant & James) did a couple of pursuit races early season, just to wake us up, the Steve Nichs memorial pursuit and the Shustoke Gauntlet, both fun events, the best we did was @ the Gauntlet, a 3rd and a ermm 20 summat (they changed the bleedin' course to favour the spinny-boats), ended up around 7th I think.

Cooool - Then we had a baby (me and Claire not James...) Flynn, cool bro' of Rowan...all doing V well...

1st Ent event of the year, Rugby & Daventry Sailing Club, light shifty. We won the 1st 2 races, didn't bother with the last. (went and got Claire & Rowan for a sunny afternoon chill)

2nd Event, was a joint Midland & Eastern area event @ Middle Nene. Nice breeze, very close racing , We, "just" won the first two races, going like a storm :-) but had to do the last one cus the racing was soooo good.

Next came Barnt Green, hmmm, interesting day, lots more breeze, breaking boats, course confusion and damn shifty @ the top of the beat with close racing again. 1st race, Johnny Woodwood (Woody) won on the water but was over the line and lobbed, so we got 1st place, 2nd race, Johnny won, our borrowed boat (courtesy of Mr.Estaugh, broke in a couple of places so we sat it out, in the sun on the shore... good spectators day (thanks for Martin capsizing right in front of us!).
So all down to the last race, with us and Woody with a win and an "out-o-here" race... Johnny got out the line well, we chased, close stuff, we overtook (nice gybe if I say so myself!), we led, Johnnys boat broke we won...
...well we thought we had... 2nd beat we "came close" to local boy "Tim", tacked clear ahead rounded nicely, with Tim in our wake.. he shouted protest, we didnt agree so go ahead.... after the race he bloody did... so Ant/James vs local boy in protest room.... obviously a local protest commitee, onus on me to prove I eye didnt tack in his water... did everything I could to do so, the way he "tracked" his boat in the diagram couldnt be physically possible with where he said the boats ended up, and of course he won... giving him the overall Open Meeting win...gutted, not half...we stormed out.. sorry it was a bit rude, pint o' Guiness in a lcoal pub calmed us down sufficient to get home safely... we'll speak no more of it EVER AGAIN!