The clocks have gone forwards, Easter is over, so surely Spring can't be far away. The weather may still be cold and wintry, but the first race in the McGuigan Wines Double Handed Series is next Saturday, April 5.
The Spring Solent Double has a "passage-race" flavour, rather than simply "round the cans". This gives everyone a bit of time to get back into the swing of it - we're all a bit rusty after the winter months. The race takes 3-4 hours, then many entrants come back to the clubhouse for prize giving, supper and a beer or two.
There are already over 50 entrants with a wide variety of skills and boats. Some people (eg Kirsteen Donaldson and Peter Whatley) have been competing for over 15 years, and it's good to see the old faithfuls turning up every year. (I don't mean that Kirsteen and Peter themselves are old, you understand!) But it's also encouraging to see new entrants such as Weebear and Tringa.
Racing is open to everybody, whether or not they have an IRC certificate, and whether they have 1 hull or more. More details from the racing page of the website, or from Cathy Crawley.
Kathy Smalley
Captain of Racing
