Some of you may remember that last year somewhere on his rounds, our Dancing Santa trophy lost his way and didn't arrive in time for the prize giving. So it was left to Chris Treagust, the winner to do a funny dance with PRO, Jonathan Clark to celebrate. This year there was no such drama as Dancing Santa mysteriously reappeared (thanks Chris T) ready to be awarded to the master of the light winds which characterised the event this year. Jonathan Clark our masterful PRO was seen in a huddle with others early, in an attempt to set a course with no wind. That they did so was quite amazing and allowed the racing to proceed, slowly at first, with the wind filling in a little as the morning progressed to give us eight fun filled races.
The Family tradition of this year's event was extended to sharing a boat as opposed to each member sailing their own. Tuned properly or not, was the topic of debate in one household, whilst in the other, permission to use outside assistance and swapping of helms (due no doubt to an over-excited Christmas) was the order of the day.
The trophy winner, Dave Cockerill, needs no introduction having cleaned up in the majority of 2024 events. Having said this, it was very close at the front with the Campbell James family team putting in a very strong performance to put them right at the top of the leader board, a couple of points ahead of Dave. This meant they took overall top honours and a handy book on how to sail the day after the night before (or something) while, as the leading individual sailor, Dave took Santa home with him to take pride of place chez Cockerill. Replete with fresh batteries, this will provide hours of delight for the whole of his family. You could just see the excitement on his face as he carried it away.
Thanks again to JC and his team for running the races, keeping us fed with Gingerbread trees and making an enjoyable morning out.
And here are the final results
Pictures and Scoring: JC//MGA/SD