Race 4 Report Borthwick Cup Autumn Series

By Darren Firth

Course: Fp Ep Pp Ds Pp – line
Wind: Southerly, force 2-3

6th October 2024

I arrived early at Rope Factory field to check things out regarding the wind conditions in the hope that enough racing members would show up on such a dismal day to allow racing to take place. The forecast said to expect possible lively gusts but by the time all 5 scows were gathered on the water predictably the wind became light.

All scows had a good start except Karl who was unfortunately recalled. Upon reaching ‘F’ the wind was virtually non-existent in the shelter of the large trees. It then became a struggle to reach ‘E’ but once that was achieved there was a very gentle run down to P.

This exposed me to a totally new experience – I found myself at the front!

At P, showing my inexperience of the river and it’s tricky ways, I sailed downriver along the Western bank and got caught in the shelter of the trees. Red Johnson of course made the right decision and chose to proceed along the Eastern side of the river leaving me to tack again and follow along behind him.

I made steady progress to D and was hoping to pass ahead of Red, whilst on port tack but there came a lull in the wind so I had to give way to Red’s starboard tack to avoid him. Unfortunately I left my avoiding tack too late and caused Red to alter course. This resulted in my taking the 360 degree penalty and once again I took pursuit of Red and chased him on to the finish crossing in second place ahead of Karl Liebat, Tim Robinson and Kristen Branford.

Thank you to the team for making it possible to have our fun. To Ginna Gayner, Gerry and Peter Marling-Roberts on the Platform. Also to Ben & Polly Savage in the safety boat and to Jay Devonshire and Peter Bettridge for shore support.

Looking forward to next time !