Paul on his own and Sandy, with Sean, plus John and Shona aboard Twister, and the Vice crewed by Nick and Sue lined up at 12.30 for a prompt start scheduled for midday.
After a false start (it's been a while since the last time we raced, and memories are dimming) Paul, Sandy and Adrian hit the line more or less on the gun, while John in Twister elected to play Special Rule 7 (b) ii (the start shall be any of the blue buoys, so long as the finish is between the same two).
Alas, en route to the Winkie the lure of a cold beer and a salami sandwich at Loggie saw Twister peel off . And now there were three.
A short time later, with Paul stretching into a commanding lead, Sandy was seen to be, ahem, having problems with his jib, and he too elected to return. In fairness that same evening he was seen to be fiddling with something on the foredeck, which could have been a cunning psychological ploy. You never know with Sandy.
Meanwhile back to the racing where Norma B and Sally are heading to the Winkie, with Paul some way ahead. At which point the Sally crew decided that Twister's idea (a picnic at Loggie) made the most sense. Cutting the Arch buoy, they too headed south where the Twisters were well into their second gin and tonics, judging by the raucous laughter.
Fortified by Nick's hamper (the foie gras was especially fine) and several glasses of Krug Superior, and with a wave of farewell from Twister, Sally too head home, into a bracing north westerly.
All in all a typical LBSC race. You could say that Paul won. You could say...