From the left to the right (in Bandit IFs): Siri, Julie, Moon, Riz, Rugger & Yanny.
Committee boat: Daenerys.
Dock: Cryptic, Caethes, Vicky, and Cloe.
The first Bandit IF Regatta of 2023 saw a fleet of five Bandit IFs at the start. One of the Bandit IFs had crew on board. This year we are going to take a different tack and the skippers will have to face different wind directions. This makes a familiar route completely different again. All lines that one has learned in the past can be immediately thrown overboard. Why am I doing this? Not to tease the skippers but to keep them awake and that the races are far from boring. And with BOSS3+ boats you have many options to do this.
Back to the race because this is what we came for. As mentioned, five boats entered the battle. Rugger, Julie and Moon got off to a good start, Siri followed at a distance. And Riz had a late start but had to retire due to technical problems. Julie took the lead from Rugger at the first mark. Moon followed and Siri had connected with Moon. By the next mark, Julie had taken a lead. Moon, Siri and Rugger battled for second place. Moon won this one and Siri and Rugger battled for third place. On the way to the westernmost mark of the day, Rugger was forced to retire and the cards for the first race were shuffled.
We started the second race with four boats. The four skippers had a good start. Julie took the lead, followed by Rugger Moon and Siri. Approaching the first mark, Moon had taken over second. Siri and Rugger were in contention for third again. And this was going to be a long fight. Julie and Moon, meanwhile, had already distanced themselves from the two fighters. At the Easternmost mark, Siri had left Rugger behind him and was trying to connect with Moon and Julie. Which turned out to be quite a task. Nevertheless, he seemed to be getting closer to Moon. On the way to the Clementine Region, each skipper sought his own lines between the islands of Fruit. Julie and Moon appeared to have found the best lines here. They had distanced themselves from Siri and Rugger for good. However, the battle was over again.
There were two DNFs (Did Not Finish) and no DSQs (Disqualified) through both races and it was another successful and sporty day in The North Sea.
More pictures after the results.
Race Director: Daenerys
Assistant Race Director: Cryptic
Wind: 240 (SWbW) 18kts
Wind: 245° (WSW) 18kts
Note:
Did Not Finish (DNF) = number of finish +1
Disqualified (DSQ) = number of finish + number of DNFs + 1
Did Not Start (DNS) = number of start + 1
Today’s winners were Julie (JulieRoyale Resident), with Moon (Moonglownight Resident) second, and Siri (Sirius Rosca) in third place.
Congratulations to all of you. Thank you to everyone who came to sail and spectate.
Julie and Moon sailing around a Namaste in the first race
Julie and Moon ronding the huts in the Region Clementine in the second race
North Sea Racing 