Another near-perfect summer day although we could have done with a little more wind.  Soling Fleet Captain, Bill Raposa, laid out the course which was our usual course for low wind conditions.For the wind vaguely from the south, Bill had the start line vaguely east-west.  South from the start line around the south mark, then downwind to the north mark and back to the finish.  All to starboard.  Paul Mercer kindly offered to coach once again.  Seven members raced six races today, but a number of other members visited without boats.  Manny did his usual fine job of scoring and it was good to see Bill and Shelley Northup. Will, Pat, Dick Mahoney, and I cheered on the competitors. We had four different winners today.  Bill David and Jim Kelly won two each yet neither finished in the top three today.  In Bill David’s case, he had a problem with his rudder and finished last in race 4 and was out for the last two races.  In Jim’s case, he didn’t start in the first two races as he spent that time helping someone else. Typical Jim!Our two other winners today were Sue (with some assistance from Paul) and Bill Raposa.  Bill also had two second and two third place finishes to be our overall winner today.Bruce also had two second and two third place finishes to finish second this morning.  Kim had two second place finishes and one third to capture third place overall  The only other finisher in the top three in any race today was Steve Walsh.The only problem we had today, apart from Bill David’s loss of steering, was Sue’s failure to start race 4.  The cause was a plastic bag wrapped around the rudder.Paul has posted today’s results to our webpage mhbmyc.orgEverybody had a really good time, not only today but for the whole nine day series.
And our Soling Champion of 2020 is……………………………………………..
Champion   Bill David
Runner-up   Paul Mercer
Third place   Bill Raposa
Fourth place    Kim Hanna
Fifth place       Bruce Collemer
The full history of the Soling Championship is attached.
As if that wasn’t enough excitement, next Tuesday we have our Twelfth Annual Regatta for Solings.  Just turn up before 10.45 to enter.  No entry fee.  Just bring your boat, lunch, a chair, and friends and family to cheer you on. Awards for the Regatta and the Soling Championship will be made following the Regatta.  Low tide around noon so let’s hope for a perfect breeze.
Before all that we have the sixth and final day of DF95 racing on this Thursday, Sept.10th, weather permitting.
See you at one or all these events.Stay happy, healthy and safe,Derek