Team Pillings again showed their class with 4 bullet out of 6 races at the RS500 Stokes Bay Sailing Club Open Meeting on 9-10 June.  The remaining places were hard-fought, with the Todd sisters continuing  to fight with a 2^nd, Giles/Hatton in  3^rd, and the younger teams of Holmes/Ellis and Team Ackroyd in 4^th and 5^th.

Saturday was pretty light – Race 1 saw the Ackroyds vanish up the first beat, but the Pilliings soon reeled them in and went on to win.  Race 2 saw a 180-degree wind shift on the first downwind leg, so the Race Officer abandoned and allowed all to return to the beach for an ice cream while he relaid the course. Race 2 was restarted and, though the wind direction had changed, the result was still the same. Race 3……. you guessed it – Pillings!!!!! It was certainly their day and, in light air, they are almost unbeatable. They have had their boat almost a year and have probably spent more time in the RS500 than anyone else – it shows. As the rest of the fleet followed them, we all realized we needed to practice more, fiddle with our rigs, and – for some of us – lose some weight!!!

The crews got to stretch their legs and start trapezing on Sunday, with more breeze for the first two races. Race 4 saw the Pillings run of firsts come to an end, when the Todd girls finally got in front of them. Race 5 saw some proper breeze – finally the crews were trapezing hard. Giles/Hatton had the better boat speed upwind and went on to win. Race 6 started as the breeze died, so the Pillings were back to their winning ways and claimed the weekend.

With quick turn-around between races, the race management could not be faulted at SBSC, and everyone had a fantastic weekend in the sun. All eyes turn to Filey Regatta, on 21/22 July, to see if the Pillings can be toppled!