The first day of racing in International Race Week 2007 saw consistency paying off for two of the J24 crews - local boat New Wave with Trevor Boyce on the helm, and Stuart Jardine from the UK sailing on Gripper. Both had great starts to the regatta finishing the day with 3 points apiece after 2 races.

The forecast was 10-15 from the south west building to 15-20 later in the day. After some hairy manoeuvres off the dock and engine trouble for some boats causing difficulties getting to the start line, the RC set a 2 lap course. At the first start Stuart Jardine got away well, as did Jamie Storey on Erin. Both boats seemed to be moving quickly through the upwind tacks. Trevor Boyce was also doing well. Playing the shifts was definitely the order of the day. On Sadiiqi we were up in the mix and after the first downwind a gap started to form between the front 4 boats and the rest of the fleet. Trevor Boyce was in a commanding position and Stuart Jardine had managed to consolidate second spot. Sadiiqi managed to edge ahead of Erin on the second upwind and rounded the mark in third. That is how the first race finished.

There was little time for pleasantries or a full lunch before the start of the second race (unless of course you were Dale Robertson on Solaise). Race 2 was another 2 lapper. The second start was a bit of a melee, with Trevor Boyce over early and having to go back, and a whole lot of “faffing” (technical term) happening in the middle of the course. Trevor went back and managed to get clean air to claw his way back to second behind Stuart Jardine after the first upwind leg. After that it was anyone’s game - with the next 4 or 5 boats bunched relatively closely.

Jezebel were crying “starboard” at every boat within a 50 boatlength distance from them, causing some confusion and the odd panic tack on several boats. On Sadiiqi some schoolboy errors on the winches (from yours truly) pushed us down the fleet to the rear end of the pack. Our next upwind gained us 4 spots and we were at least back in the mix. In front of us, Caroline Muselet on Cyclone seemed to be finding her groove, as was local J24 Class John Nicholls on Siren. At the finish Gripper finished first, with New Wave in second.

So Trevor Boyce has a great start to the regatta with a 1-2 on local boat New Wave, with Stuart Jardine on Gripper finishing the day with a 2-1. It will be interesting to see how that battle works itself out over the next week of sailing. Jamie Storey and his Shediac crew on board Erin had a good day, whereas his brother Brien seemed to struggle with the upwind legs and their shroud tension. Carla Dale was slightly off the pace, and Dale Robertson had a late start to the second race but did get to finish his sandwiches.

A fantastic day on the water followed by liquid refreshment at the RBYC. On Sadiiqi we were also treated to G&Ts on the way in from racing thanks to Ann Symons. Now that’s what I call a great day’s sailing. Tonight it is off to the J24 Welcoming cocktail party at the Boyce residence on Longford Road.