Swapping Shirts

1400hrs Sunday sees our first race in the Spring Class Series at Frampton, having missed the start of the series a couple of weeks ago because Penny was still laid up for repairs. Really looking forward to it, despite the forecast being an easterly drift.

Probably just as well, as it means that we won't do too much damage to anyone we bash into.

My crew and I are swapping seats for this series.

Playing with plastic boats earlier this month whilst Penny was laid up

The idea is for H to take the helm for the Spring H/C Class, to give her the chance to improve her boat handling and confidence, whilst I get to play crew. The temptation to chase the silverware and helm the race myself is strong; the class fleets are smaller than the general handicap so I usually get a shot at a decent placing. That said, I typically bungle it at the last moment anyway, so I'm really just saving myself the disappointment this time around.

Bottom line is that H needs the experience and we've practiced for this all through the winter which is why the refit and maintenance of Penny got left so late and caused us to miss the start of the series. All that practice is going to pay off. She'll do fine, and I'm really looking forward to it.

In any case, I love crewing and get the chance to do it so rarely, so this is worth the investment. And our main focus this year is on the Club Championship and the Enterprise Severnside Dragon Series so giving up the Spring Class is really a small price to pay for the benefit it'll give.

It's been an uncharacteristically sunny, calm start to spring so far this year. Whilst one side of me is railing at the lack of wind, the other side is really hoping it'll all hold out till Easter. We're away to Cornwall for the first week of April, and if we get weather anything like this, it's going to be gorgeous.

The blur on the lens is proof I can capsize in any conditions!