Unfortunately Peter's car broke down on the M3 on the way down to Hampshire and despite Liz & Ed rescuing both Peter & George from Basingstoke, less time on the water was possible. With the recommended crew number being five, the crew were going to have to take every ounce of value from the afternoon on the water to even approach being competitive on Sunday. Happily, plenty of drills were executed and a maximum speed of well over ten knots was achieved. Not a record for this boat by any means, but impressive nonetheless.

Sunday dawned clear and dry, but with less wind than the previous day. Two races were scheduled over a standard windward/leeward arrangement. With the chances of sailing with the faster boats being slim, it was assumed that the course to take would become clearer as the favourites made their way to the mark. This cunning plan rather fell on its face as a clever move on the part of skipper Peter Young saw Cezanne actually lead from the start.

After confusion about precisely which mark to head for, a poor spinnaker drill dropped Cezanne down the field, but lessons were being learned all along and by the last lap of the race she was amongst the faster boats. A creditable eighth place was a good showing for a short handed crew.

It was clear that if the improvements achieved over the course of the first race could be carried over into the second, before tiredness and fatigue could kick in then an even better result could be on the cards. Another (apparently) good start and improved drill saw Cezanne 5th over the line, however it appeared that unknown to the crew, she had already been disqualified; seemingly she was over the line at the start.

Any disappointment about the latter race, however, can not detract from what great sailing is afforded by the 707. Responsive, very fast but not unforgiving, there is sure to be a great series ahead for all those who take part, either in training days or the racing.

George Beevor

>> back to news items