It was minus one according to the race officer at the briefing.. It's Grafham Water open meeting and I know I go on about the cold but Christ it was! So much so that I bailed on the last race, I've never been sick in a moth yet but it was touch and go today.. The cold hurt my hands that much.
Race one, and on the last lap, with huge lead, I sailed into the Grafham version of the Bermuda triangle. The wind died and I sat there as every other part of the course had 15 knots, Rodney Patterson at one Olympics stopped at a leeward mark, because he was so far in front, and let the fleet catch up in order to sail in the same wind as them. I should have done that, but Tim Boon saw what had happened, gybed and sailed down the other side and won. Good for him, he's really sailing well.
The wait between races was torture, even Rambo would have talked, and at one point I'm pretty sure my eye froze shut.
Race two and as the breeze built, I was off, and nothing was going to stop me getting to the showers first. I was dreaming of being curled up in a duvet, watching an old black and white movie and eating Battenburg cake. I won by several minutes and that was it for me.
Some of the other guys went out for race three and I admire each and every one of them. The breeze gusted to 25, and the sleet was horizontal. Well done to Mike Cooke for taking the win.
It snowed on the way home and at one point I had to hide under a motorway bridge to prevent the hail stones damaging the boat.
The forecast tomorrow is just too cold to go sailing..I'm off to the video shop.
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