Spring Series 8 23rd April 2017

There was a light fickle wind this morning which kept dropping and rising (mostly dropping!).
Peter R set the first beat down to 4, then 9, 2, 5, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit
There were 21 starters and the wind was sufficient for most of the early starters to be caught before the gun.
The leading positions at the gun were –
1st Jon – Laser; 2nd Newton & Ellen –RS200; 3rd Peter S – Byte CII; 4th Hugh – Laser;
5th Karen – Laser; 6thJames – Laser.
In the Classes, Adrian won the battle of the Vagos finishing 8th with Dean & Nick in 11th.
In the Solos Julian W was 12th with Chris A 15th and in the Radials Curtis was 16th with Sylvia 17th.
In the 4.7s Hadey was 18th and William was 20th. It was good to see Rhys out again in his Topper.
 
Handicap
There were six absentees for the second race of the day, which may have been a wise move as it took most of the fleet nearly one hour to do one lap!
Karen and James got away well and finished 14 minutes ahead of 3rd placed Jon, who in turn finished some 8 minutes ahead of 4th placed Peter S.  After that it got very close with only one minute separating Chris A in 5th place and Rhys in 15th place. It must have been quite a task for the OOD Team recording the positions across the line !
The positions on the water were –
1st Karen – Laser; 2nd James – Laser; 3rd Jon – Laser; 4th Peter S – Byte CII; 5th Chris A – Solo;
6th Hadey – 4.7
 
On handicap Karen and James will keep their positions, but Rhys moves right up to 3rd with Jon 4th and Hadey and William moving up to 5th and 6th.
 
Thanks to Peter R and the OOD Team of Jerome C, Miranda M, David M and Ken P.
 

membership renewals overdue

The new membership year started on 1st April. If you have not renewed your membership by now please log into the membership portal via http://www.readingsc.org.uk/portal.html, check and update your details and confirm your renewal. An invoice will be sent to you within a few days.


Renewal/payment after 30th April will incur a late payment fee.

If you experience any problems with your login or wish to resign your membership please contact Sylvia via membership@readingsc.org.uk






Gillette Series 2017 Race 1 19th April

As Curtis succinctly recorded on the race sheet, tonight there was no wind!
 
There were 7 hopeful starters and five of them managed to complete one lap! Sally & Stuart (Leader) and Rick (Laser) lost interest before the end of the race and retired.
The final positions were –
1st Sylvia & Peter –RS200; 2nd Newton – Solo; 3rd Dean & Nick – Vago; 4th Karen – Laser; 5th Chris & Carol -420.
 
Thanks to Curtis and the OOD Team of Monica, Franz, Hugh, Gordon and Julian.
 

Easter Cup 2017

Good Friday 14th April
There were two races today and two scheduled for Easter Monday. Newton set the first beat to 4, then 2, 5, 8, 6, 7, and back through the start.
 
Race 1
There were 7 starters and first back through the line was Paul (Aero) followed by Karen (Laser), Jon (Laser), Ralph (Laser), Richard S (Laser), Adrian (Rooster) and Chris H (Comet).
The only change on the second lap was Adrian getting past Richard to move up one place.
On the third and last lap Richard had repassed Adrian and gained another place by passing Ralph as well.
Final positions on handicap should be –
1st Paul; 2nd Karen; 3rd Jon; 4th Richard S; 5th Ralph; 6th Chris H
 
Race 2
The same starters and again Paul and Karen came back through the line in 1st and 2nd followed by Ralph, Adrian, Jon, Richard and Chris.
By the end of the second lap Jon had moved up to 2nd and Adrian and Richard had both got past Ralph to move to 4th and 5th respectively.
On the third lap the two leaders were unchanged, but Ralph had gained three places moving up to 3rd and Adrian though still in 4th place had passed Karen.
At the end of the fourth and last lap  there was no change at the front but Adrian had gained another place to move up to 3rd.   
1st Paul; 2nd Jon; 3rd Ralph; 4th Karen; 5th Richard; 6th Adrian
 
Thanks to Newton and the OOD Team of Andy B and John C.
 
Easter Monday 17th April
Another two races today and Chris H had relinquished the helm of his Comet to take up SOOD duty.
Notable absentees were Paul, Jon and Ralph from the original starters on Friday.
 
Race 3
There were 9 starters and first back through the line was Adrian (Rooster) followed by Karen and Richard S in Lasers. Steve S (Solo) came through in 4th place just ahead of Hadey (Radial), then there was a gap back to Alistair S (Laser), Dave I (Laser), Sylvia & Peter (RS200) and Chris & Carol (420),
good to see them back on the water after their winter hibernation!
The only changes in position on the second and last lap were Sylvia and Peter gaining two places and Dave I one place.
Final positions on handicap should be –
1st Steve S; 2nd Karen; 3rd Richard S; 4th Hadey; 5th Adrian; 6th Sylvia & Peter
 
Race 4
With Dave I dropping out there were 8 starters for the second race and as for the first race Adrian and Karen were first back through the line. Steve S came through in 3rd with a gap back to Richard S in 4th with Sylvia & Peter 5th and another gap back to Hadey in 6th. Chris & Carol were 7th just ahead of Alistair S.
The only change on the last lap was Alistair getting past Chris & Carol.  
Final positions on handicap should be –
1st Steve S; 2nd Karen; 3rd Adrian; 4th Richard S; 5th Sylvia & Peter; 6th Hadey.
 
Thanks to Chris H and the OOD Team of Bill C, Sophie F-P and Richard H.
 
With three races to count for the Easter Cup it looks as if Karen with three second places should take the cup with Richard S as runner up and Adrian in overall 3rd place.
 
 

16th April Spring Series 7

With a 10 mph and freshening West wind Bob set the first beat to 5, then 9, 4, 2, 6, 8 and back through the start. He was a bit short handed as only two of the OOD team turned up, Issy and Jeremy T, but Issy phoned son Ross and he turned up trumps by coming out and helping Bob to run the race.
It was good to see the return of Karen from her winter migration and to see the reappearance of Dave P and Phil A.
 
Pursuit
There were 16 starters and first away Chris (Comet) was still ahead at the end of the first lap, but Jon (Laser) was already up to 2nd place with second away Peter S (Byte II) hanging on to 3rd, but being caught by Karen (Laser), Paul R (Aero 7) and Richard S (Laser), who had all caught and passed Mike A (Radial).
Next along came Ralph and Hugh in Lasers and Sylvia using a Radial rig followed by Dean & Nick (Vago), Franz, Phil and Rick all in Lasers, then Adrian (Vago – single handed) and Alistair S (Laser).   
 
By the end of the second lap Paul had come through to take the lead with Jon still 2nd and Karen up to 3rd.  The other movers (in the right direction were Richard up one place to 5th, Ralph up two places to 6th,  Phil up two place to 11th and Adrian up one place to 14th.
 
At the finish gun the final positions were –
1st Paul – Aero; 2nd Jon – Laser; 3rd Karen – Laser; 4th Richard S – Laser; 5th Chris – Comet; 6th Ralph – Laser.
 
Handicap
For the second race Franz and Phil dropped out, but the fleet was joined by Dave P in a Mirror. There was a slight course change with No 1 being used as the second mark in place of No 9.
 
First back through the line was Karen just ahead of Jon with Richard and Paul not far behind them.
Then there was a slight gap back to Hugh in 5th place with another gap back to Sylvia in 6th. Ralph came through in 7th place ahead of Adrian, Chris H, Mike A and Peter S. Further back Rick, Dean & Nick and Alistair were having a good battle with Dave P bringing up the rear of the fleet.
 
By the end of the second lap Jon had taken the lead and Paul had moved up to 2nd pushing Karen down to 3rd. Further back Mike A had gained two places by passing Adrian and Peter S and these three were having fun contesting 8th spot. Behind them Rick had got past Chris H and Dean & Nick had taken Alistair S. Dave P retired on this lap.
 
On the third and last lap there were some dramatic changes at the head of the fleet as Karen capsized and retired and Paul sailed the wrong course and also retired. Jon crossed the line well ahead of Richard S in 2nd place with Hugh further back in 3rd. As a consequence of Karen and Paul’s demise everyone moved up two places, so the only real changes in position were Adrian and Chris H who both gained another place.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Jon – Laser; 2nd Richard S – Laser; 3rd Hugh _ Laser; 4th Sylvia – Radial; 5th Ralph – Laser;
6th Adrian – Vago
 
On handicap Jon and Richard should retain their places but Sylvia should leapfrog Hugh to take 3rd with Ralph still 5th, but Chris H moving up to 6th
 
Thanks to Bob and the OOD Team of Issy and Jeremy and a special thanks to Ross who turned out at the last minute.
 

Easter Cup

The Easter Cup takes place this weekend with two races on Friday and two on Monday. The first race takes place at 10.30 on each day. All races are 45 minute handicap.

Spring Series 6 9th April

Well the wind was forecast to be S – SSW about 10 mph rising to 12 by 13.00. In the event there was very little wind and what there was seemed to be coming from the NE!
This gave Bob a problem in setting a start line and setting a course and he decided to opt for an Island start. However once out there the wind started to change and come from the South, which cause further head scratching.  By this time it was fast approaching what would be the normal finish time for the pursuit race, so it was decided to abandon the pursuit and run the handicap race. Bob set the first beat to 1, then 5, 2, 4, 9 and back through the start line.
 
There were 24 starters and 18 finishers. Dave I (Laser) and John C (Topaz) dropped out early on, not surprisingly as they normally go for an early cuppa. DP in Mirror 70231 did at least one lap before retiring and Dean & Nick (Vago) were circulating for quite a time. Peter R (Enterprise) was going quite well until he dipped it in about the third lap and presumably retired after that. Ralph (Laser) was still going on the penultimate lap, but then recorded as DNF, so not sure what happened to him on the last lap.  
 
First back through the line on the first lap was Peter S (Byte CII) followed by Jon and Richard S in Lasers then |Curtis (Radial), Newton & Ellen (RS200) and James (Laser).
By the end of the second lap Jon had moved ahead of Peter S with Richard S still 3rd.
 
On the third lap Richard, Newton & Ellen and Sylvia (Laser) had all got past Peter S moving up 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. James was now 6th and Jessica B and Dave L in Lasers crossed the line together in joint 7th.
 
On the fourth lap Newton & Ellen had moved up to 2nd with James up to 4th. Hugh (Laser) gained a place up to 8th and Nev (Leader) moved up two to 10th. Hadey was going along in 11th place and Chris A (Solo) had moved up three places to 12th. Alistair S had gained a place to move to 13th pushing Curtis down to 14th. Behind them Mike A (Radial), William (4.7) and Gareth (Laser) were having a good battle with Adrian (Vago) bringing up the rear of the fleet.
 
At the end of the last lap the first five boats maintained their positions, but Jessica had gained a place moving up to 6th. Dave L moved up two places to 7th, Hadey passed Nev to move up to 10th and Alistair and Curtis both gained a place to move to 12th and 13th. William and Gareth also both gained a place.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Jon; 2nd Newton & Ellen; 3rd Richard S; 4th James; 5th Sylvia; 6th Jessica.
 
On handicap there should be some significant changes with Hadey moving up to 2nd, Peter S to 3rd and Nev up to 4th, pushing Newton & Ellen and Richard S down to 5th and 6th.   
 
Thanks to Bob and the OOD Team (apologies to the team for not mentioning them by name, but none of them were entered onto the race sheet and under the new rota system it is not possible to look back on the duty roster)
 

Monday Social Sailing

Monday Social Sailing has started. 13 people attended. 6 boats out on the water. The others watching, helping onshore or tinkering with their boats.

As a group it was decided to cover safety by having two safety boats out, one manned by a rota system of hourly slots. The other on the pontoon if needed. (Paperwork on notice board)

Thanks to Nev for volunteering to cover safety for the whole afternoon.

He was much needed when the Enterprise nearly sunk. With the help of Bob and Sally in the 2nd boat the Ent was towed back to shore in one piece.

Easter Monday next week. No reason not to sail. Anyone can join in.

Just remember Keep Safe.

Sent from my iPhone

Spring Seriaes 5 2nd April

With a NNW wind about 8-10 mph Peter R used the usual flagpole start and set the first beat to 6, then 2s, 5p, 4p, 8p and back through the start.
Poor Chris A launched his Solo for the first outing of the year only to find that it was making water round the centreboard housing and had to retreat to land before even starting.
 
Pursuit race
There were 13 starters and Franz had opted for his Contender in favour of his Laser, but found the conditions were not conducive to a high speed trapeze boat, so decided to look for enough wind to sail in rather than complete the course!
Early starter Chris H (Comet) was first back through the start followed by Richard S (Laser), William (4.7), Mark (Laser), Newton & Ellen (RS200) and Peter S (Byte CII). Then came a trio of Lasers, James, Gareth and Dave I followed by Mike A (Radial), Dean (Vago – single handed) and Alistair S (Laser).
At the gun Richard had not managed to catch Chris, but Newton & Ellen had moved up two places to 3rd and the only other mover was Mike A up two places to 8th.
The final positions were –
1st Chris; 2nd Richard S; 3rd Newton & Ellen; 4th Mark B; 5th James; 6th Peter S
 
Handicap Race
Dave I as usual went for an early cup of tea and Gareth and Franz did not complete the first lap, but presumably they were enjoying the sun and playing.
The wind had dropped slightly for the start of the race and Peter R changed the course to 6, 9, 5, 4, 8 and back through the start line. Ellen & Newton got a really good start and rounded the first mark well clear of the rest of the fleet. By the end of the lap James was 2nd, Peter S 3rd, Richard S 4th and close behind him was Mark in 5th. Then there was a slight gap back to Mike A in 6th just ahead of Dean, Chris and Alistair with William bringng up the rear.
 
At the end of the second and final lap the first two maintained their lead, but Richard had got past Peter to move up to 3rd. The other movers on the last lap were Chris who gained two places to 6th and Alistair who managed to get ahead of Dean.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Ellen &Newton; 2nd James; 3rd Richard; 4th Peter S; 5th Mark; 6th Chris
 
On handicap it is a little more difficult to predict. If Peter is sailing off the old Byte Handicap of 1190 he will take the victory, but if the new Byte CII handicap is applied he will take 2nd with Ellen & Newton taking the win. Chris will move up to 3rd pushing James down to 4th with Richard 5th and Mark 6th.
 
Thanks to Peter R and the OOD team of Patrick C, Sophie F-P, Colin H and Rick.