Bright sunshine coming from a clear blue sky made the Roads look very attractive, but from the road above the docks I could see that the brisk easterly was coming in gusts from quite different directions.

Walter Amosthe OOD said that they varied from seventy degrees to one hundred and ten so he took the average and had the line set at right angles to that in a north south line close under Trefusis Point.

Only four boats crossed the line in the IRC 1 fleet with Black Dog closely followed by Daring and Orijin but Vindscreen Viper was some way back. They beat over to Waterloo with the wind shifts getting worse as they approached the eastern shore.

Immediately after turning the mark spinnakers were hoisted for the downwind leg to Sunbeam with Daring in the lead followed by the two others flying blue reachers but Vindscreen Viper was catching them up.

The combined start of the IRC 2 and E class meant that nine boats crowded the rather short line where tactics were hectic and at close quarters.

They followed the previous fleet towards Waterloo and then Sunbeam.

The first fleet reached south towards the Pendennis mark near the mouth of the Roads but it was not so straight forward for those following.

The pilot boat came out of the docks leading the Deutschland, a good sized cruiser, which was also accompanied by the harbour master's launch.

This split the fleet because the two leaders were able to cross in front of the bows of the commercial ship, but all the others had to bear away and pass under the stern.

Shenanigan was the first to appear behind the cruiser closely  chased by the rest who all sailed south, but the Deutschland also turned and travelled parallel to them at a sedate speed matching that of the racers.

The passsengers on board the cruiser must have thought that the parade of sail had been organised for their benefit.

At the Pendennis mark the fleets bore away, hoisted their spinnakers,  and ran past the headland towards the Gyllingvase mark in the bay.

The IRC 1 fleet was by then starting to return with Black Dog in the lead, closely chased by Vindscreen Viper who moved very swiftly on the off wind leg. They were followed by Daring with Orijin falling behind as they beat out to Zone mark some four hundred metres south of Black Rock.

Suddenly the peace was shattered by the roar of a powerful petrol engine as a Spitfire lookalike gave a dazzling display of aerobatics just over our heads on Pendennis point.

It turned, rolled and dived above the headland giving us all a wonderful display of power, control and agility - low level flying at its best.

I was told later that it was a Sea Fury which is the marine version of the Spitfire with a Rolls Royce Griffon engine, which is even more powerful than the Merlin which drove the originals who could out-climb and out-manoeuvre the opposing Messerschmidt 109 in the nineteen forties.

It was a gripping and moving display which took me back to a wartime childhood in south London.

I realised  when the plane disappeared that racing was going on.

With its ability to plane in such breezes Vindscreen Viper took the lead and kept it to cross the line to finish nearly two minutes before the second boat came in.

Everyone enjoyed the long run in under spinnaker. I was impressed with Shenanigan's new-to-them carbon and kevlar mainsail which came from a six metre, giving them speed to win by a clear margin.

In the IRC 2 fleet Encore got well away from the rest to win by two minutes.

The off wind trip from Zone spread out the fleets as the speed differences and the ability to read the gusts increased the leads of the front runners.

As the finishers came to the line the wind died and so some fleets grouped towards the end with Temeraire, Shenanigan, Hero and the two Sigmas crossing the line very closely together. An evening of wonderful sport with the added sea and air entertainments.

RESULTS: IRC 1 class: 1st, Vindscreen Viper, D. Adams and C Brown. 2nd, Black Dog, S, Sawyer. 3rd, Daring, D and C Bloor. IRC 2 class: 1st, Encore, D. Cunliffe. 2nd, Demolition, M. Sharp. 3rd, Tresillian, J Beavis. E Class: 1st, Shenanigan, C Mulcahy. 2nd, Jitterbug, J Hicks. 3rd, Hero, C Wilson. U class: 1st, Wild Child, N  Chamberlain. 2nd, Moonlighter, 3rd, Jemalda, D Muirhead and J Hopkins. V class: 1st, Clary, P Collett, 2nd, Whimsey, C Perkins.