Race day report 21/09/2025

SAMM RACING STARTS AGAIN

After having been forced to leave our operating base, CTD Los Najeros, after 17 years in residence, our sailors struggled to find a new home for their boats.

In late 2024 this changed when most of the two Balaton boats, the Delatanias and the Support Boat had all found berths in Los Urrutias marina and some of the Shoestring dinghies in nearby Mar de Cristal marina. This enabled a limited race program to be run in the Spring of 2025.

The Autumn Series has now started with the first race day on September 21^st in which three Balaton boats one deltania and one dinghy competed. It was a good day’s racing with no major incidents, although a couple of the boats fowled the anchor lines of the course buoys and were forced to do a 360 turn as penalty.

Due to lack of wind, the first start was delayed until the wind came in at 5.5 knots from the south west at 11.40. Deltanias Gemini Dos got a great start, closely followed by all the others. Gemini led for the whole race, managed to lap every boat, completed 8 laps in the hour long race and recorded an average lap time of 250 seconds. Balatons Sirocco was second with 314 seconds.

By the start of the second race at 12.58 the wind had increased to 8 knots and stayed between this and 11 knots the whole time for perfect race conditions. Again Gemini was first over the start line, again led all the way and again lapped every boat, one twice. With the increased wind she completed 11 laps in the hour, this time with an average lap at 181 seconds. The dinghy Shoestring Uno placed second with a time of 229 seconds.

A great days performance by Gemini’s crew Nick Cussell and John Sawyer.

The charts show the race results and include the handicaps each boat sailed to (right hand column). An E  before the numbers indicates the figure is more than 10% different to the handicap in current use.

Thanks must go to all the volunteers who made  the day possible. Race Officer Terry Chapman, Assistant Lisa Chaytor, Support boat Helm Martin Bisofsky and Crew John Hutchinson, while Laura McDermott handled the competitor registrations. Other non-SAMM friends of Colum and Laura, Christy and Julie McEvoy also attended to observe, with the intention of helping in the future.