Another late start, but I did manage to get Mercury to the club by 1pm. However, there was no sign of Irene. I was reliably informed that after nights like that it was not unusual not to see her for a couple of days afterwards. A couple of the others had a go on Mercury, with lesser or greater success. Then it was time to lock Mercury up and kit up again. Another race.

It was still very windy, and the water choppy. This meant that the boat lurched over quite precariously on a couple of occasions. I'm not sure I'm cut out for this sailing lark, as I didn't feel too comfortable with the boat tilting at such a steep angle at times. Still, this time we weren't last, despite being the last to cross the finish line, as a couple of boats abandoned when they dropped too far behind. While we were mooring and tidying up the boat I began to feel seasick (I often suffer from motion sickness when I'm hangover), so I was dispatched back to the shore before they had finished (I suppose it's better than having to clear up additional messes after keeping me on board for too long…). It took some time, but eventually I did feel better. I warmed up in the clubhouse and then took Mercury back. I persuaded Uncle Gordon to pose for a photograph on Mercury, though he declined my suggestion that he try to ride him. We got back in just in time to see Australia win the cricket world cup. What a disaster! There followed a quiet evening and an early bed for a change.