The weather gods added an extra handicap to Port Macquarie Sailing Club’s better sailors today. While Race 2 of the Handicap start series started with a nice 10-12 knot nor’easter for the slower boats starting first in the staggered start, by the time the scratch boats were starting, the wind was already starting to ease.

Mitch Dawson in Impetuous, Steve Couch in Lazybuoy and Dave Winter on Spica were first off the line and were pretty close competitors for the first lap. About half way through the race Terry Howard on Flying Dragon carved up the monohulls and was hunting down Spica.

Simon Gandy in Up Beat and the remaining catamaran entrants were also catching up on the early starters towards the end of the race, but with the wind dropping the race was not long enough to close the gap.

Conditions had become so poor, the catamaran division wisely made a decision to finish at three instead of the planned four laps.

At the end of the day, the monohull win went to Flying Dragon followed by Lazybuoy, Impetuous, Up Beat, Jim Kerrison and Deb Stening in Death Defying Too, and Steve and Lucy Bohlsen in Interceptor.

In the catamaran division, Spica finished in front of Frank O’Rourke on Turbo, who was able to sneak in front of Jack Corthals in the dwindling breeze.

Fingers will be crossed all week to try for some good wind next Sunday for the Spring Marathon starting at 12:30pm. Scott Witchard is rostered on duty.