By the time 35 entrants had signed in and got ready the forecast force 3-4 westerly winds had not materialised and a gusty 2-3 from the west was the conditions for the start of racing. This wind increased briefly when a shower of rain & hail pased through but apart from gusts that sent a few people swimming, but soon reverted to the lighter conditions.

For those watching it soon became apparent that once again it was going to be the Phantoms that were going to dominate as they, led by Russell Smith closely followed by Ian Jay they quickly overhauled the earlier starters and left the rest of the fleat behind.

As usual for Wimbleball the surrounding hills played their part, particularly in the region of the dam, where competitors found the constantly changing wind directions causing difficulty.

Three hours after the start signal the finishing rocket was fired (this failed to expload) and the race officers motored through the fleat, which was now spread the length of the lake, finishing individual boats, noting postions and numbers.

By the end the first five boats were Phantoms with Dave Lee and Lewis Yurner from Starcross, in their Merlin Rocket, being the first boat to split the fleat of 9 Phantoms.