The long distance race format is a mass start in three classes, cats, fast and slow; a beat up the lake to a mark and then all the way back down the lake under kite, taking in some more club set marks on the way.

Bang goes the gun for the fast and FD start, most FDs get a good start although a couple had not quite caught up with the sequence after the long trip up. Tony Lyall and Colin Burns (384) show early showing good speed on clew 2 and proceed up the middle of the lake while Andy Moss and Steve Rockey (360) go right and for a while look good. Peter Doran and Richard Phillips (377), Julian and Cathy Bridges (380) and Harry Bulstrode and James Cole (369) were all in contention but a Moth started to irritate the FDs and a solitary 505!

Moss and Rockey are first around the windward mark having found the good side of the beat in the southern end of the lake. Up go the spinnakers for the return trip and mark spotting again. Lyall and Burns had trouble with the kite and let Doran and Phillips through to windward. Safely down the back down the lake Andy and Steve pulled a good lead from the other FDs but still had the 505 and the Moth up there being a nuisance.

Rounding the final downwind mark Tony and Colin capsized and let Peter and Richard and the Bridges through. With Andy and Steve still leading, the battle for second FD spot is hotting up! Tony and Colin caught up with the boats they had lost and it was Peter and Richard who did some swimming this time. Gybing round the second mark 384 and 377 were side by side with an insect (Hornet- he looked quite scared at being the filling in an FD Baguette) separating them. Tony buzzed past both the Hornet and Peter and then promptly decided to wash the kite in Tegid’s lovely water again! Positions stayed much this way until the gun went. Andy and Steve looked like they had finally shrugged off the 505 but large amounts of kite trouble meant they lost out of being first monohull to finish.

Sunday brought lighter breezes, and saw Julian persuading or bribing the race officer to swap the back to back racing to the morning, which he did successfully.

Bang race 2 started with Andy and Steve making a good start and leading at the first mark followed by Julian and Cathy. On the run the wind dropped away completely and, in the drifting conditions that followed, both 380 and 384 eased in front to finish ahead.

The third race followed with only a little more wind and Julian who had gone hard left found himself at the windward mark first followed by Harry Bulstrode, crewed by James Cole. Again the wind dropped and after two laps and several place changes, Julian and Cathy beat Tony and Colin to the line by less than a boat length, followed closely by Harry and James.

After lunch the fourth race had some steadier wind with Peter and Richard using the left side of the lake to emerge as the leader at the first mark followed by Julian and Cathy. They maintained this lead to the finish with the Bridges second and Richard Austin and Alex Rogers third.

Overall results: