Summer Series 10         21st August 2022

With a light SW wind, SOOD Steve S was able to use a bank start with a course of 4, 9, 3, 2, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 17 starters and welcomed Lawrence & Miles in a Sport 14 to the fleet. In the light wind the 35 minute hooter went after most of the fleet had done just over a lap and the final order was – 1st Chris K/Radial; 2nd Chris H/Comet; 3rd Ralph/Laser; 4th Rhys/Laser; 5th Rick/Laser/ 6th James P/Laser.

Handicap Race

For the second race Steve shortened the course to 4, 2, 5, 6, 7, S.

Ralph/Laser was first back through the line followed 30 seconds later by Adrian/Rooster, then the Laser of James and Rhys battling for family honours. Chris K/Radial crossed in 5th place about 30 seconds ahead of Chris H/Comet, who was only just in front of Dave & Ann/Leader. Another two Lasers were next along with Rick in 8th place ahead of John W followed by Mike A/Lightning. Aileen/Comet, Ron/Mirror (having abandoned the Miracle and decide to stick to sailing on the water rather than walking), Sally/Comet and Alessandro/Aero were having a good battle of their own. Behind them came the Sadler family trio with William/Topper leading from Becky/Pico and Frances/ Topper and these three received the hooter at the end of the lap.

At the end of the second and last lap Ralph had increased his lead at the front with Rhys now up to 2nd place ahead of James (making it a double over the old man!). Chris K was up one place to 4th and Dave & Ann and Mike A were up two places to 5th and 8th respectively and Aileen and Sally both gained a place to move to 10th and 12th places.

The order on the water was – 1st Ralph; 2nd Rhys; 3rd James; 4th Chris K; 5th Dave & Ann; 6th Chris H.

On corrected time this changes to – 1st Ron/Mirror (up from 13th on the water); 2nd Ralph/Laser; 3rd Chris H/Comet; 4th Aileen/Comet; 5th Rhys/Laser; 6th Sally/Comet.

So three Comets and two Lasers in the top 6th, but the overall winner was a Mirror!

Thanks to SOOD Steve Sharp and the race team of Brian Moore, Frantz Callega (paying a flying visit from Perpignan) and Steve Mann (yet again).

Sunset Shield 3  17th August 2022

There was quite a brisk NNE wind this evening and SOOD Ralph used a Committee Boat start with a first beat to 5 then A (between 4 and 5), 9, 2 then B behind the line. (I may have missed a mark out, but the course was not recorded on the race sheet and I didn’t get that far round!).

We had a new addition to the fleet in a Marlin 33. Unfortunately, the helm and crew did not sign the Declaration Sheet so I cannot provide their names, but welcome to them.

There were 12 starters with Sally withdrawing just before the start and Mike A wondering if he should have done the same as he capsized round 9 on the first lap and embedded his boom in the horrible black mud (have you noticed how the smell of that mud seems to persist for ages!).

First back across the line was Jamie H/Laser followed by Mark in another Laser then Newton & Issy/RS200 (nice to see you back racing Issy). Chris K in a Radial and Dave & Ann/Leader crossed the line together battling for  4th place. Then there was a slight gap before Paul H/Supernova crossed just ahead of Steve & Rick/RS200 and they were about 20 seconds ahead of Mike T/Comet, who in turn was about 20 seconds ahead of Alessandro in his Aero 9. Then five minutes elapsed before Chris & Carol came through in their 420 and they were about 10 minutes ahead of the Marlin.

The race lasted for four laps and as the boats had been recorded in random order rather than positional order it would be too time consuming to try and sort out what happened lap by lap (life is too short!)  

Suffice to say that at the end of the last lap the order was – 1st Mark; 2nd Newton & Issy; 3rd Jamie H; 4th Dave & Ann; 5th Steve & Rick; 6th Chris K.

On corrected time this changes to – 1st Mark/Laser; 2nd Dave & Ann/Leader; 3rd Mike T/Comet; 4th Jamie H/Laser; 5th Newton & Issy/RS200; 6th Chris K/Radial

Thanks to SOOD Ralph Page (second time in three weeks!) and the race team of Anne Mir, John Windass, Richard Hobson and Rob Harrison.

Summer Series 9         14th August 2022

It was a warm sunny morning with a light wind and SOOD Adrian F set a box course down the West end, C, 4, B, 2.

Welcome to Tom Cann joining the race fleet for the first time.

Pursuit Race

There was not a great deal of overtaking throughout the 35 minute race and the final order was – 1st Chris H/Comet; 2nd Roland/Solo; 3rd Karen/Laser; 4th Newton/Solo; 5th Mike T & Alessandro/Enterprise; 6th Alistair/Laser; 7th Nigel/Laser 8th Tom/Laser.

Handicap Race

For this second race Adrian elongated the course to C, 4, 2, 5 .

Karen was first back across the line, but in the light wind she was going to have to work hard to get far enough ahead of the slower handicap boats to take the overall victory. The Solos of Newton and Roland crossed in 2nd and 3rd places with Chris H just ahead of Alistair in the battle (perhaps a gentle struggle in these conditions) for 4th place. Mike T & Alessandro were on their own in 6th spot with Tom just ahead of Nigel in 7th and 8th.   

In an exciting end to the second lap, Newton crossed the line just two second ahead of Karen! Mike T & Alessandro had glided up to 3rd place with everyone else either maintaining station or losing ground.

Newton manged to stay ahead on the last lap to cross the line in 1st place with Karen in 2nd place. Behind them the fleet resorted to their first lap positions with Roland regaining 3rd place.

The order on the water was – 1st Newton; 2nd Karen; 3rd Roland; 4th Chris H; 5th Alistair; 6th Mike T & Alessandro; 7th Tom; 8th Nigel.

On corrected time this becomes – 1st Chris H; 2nd Newton; 3rd Roland; 4th Karen; 5th Mike T & Alessandro; 6th Alistair

Thanks to SOOD Adrian Frost and the race team of Chris Meunier, Rich Fisher, Steve Mann and Tamsin Pagella.

Sunset Shield 2  10th August 2022

Another hot evening which saw 12 boats take to the water. SOOD Newton set a course of A, B, 3, 2, C (so your guess is as good as mine) and back through the start.

Ron was out in a Miracle, a sort of stretch limo version of the Mirror. A lot of us go out hoping for a miracle but rarely get the chance to sail in one! The Miracle has the same PY number as the Comet, so it will be interesting to see how that battle ensues. There was also a Mirror out bearing Ron’s normal sail number 70513, but this alter ego helm did not sign in, but then neither did Ron, perhaps he was hedging his bets!

First back across the line was Karen/Laser and she was followed by Steve & Rick/RS200 and Ralph/Laser, who crossed virtually together. About a minute later Dave & Ann/Leader were through in 4th place just ahead of Mike T/Comet, Mark/Laser and Alessandro & Matt/470. Sally/Comet crossed just behind them with Ron/Miracle and Paul H/Laser hot on her heels. Then another four minutes passed before Chris & Carol/420 hove into view followed by the incognito Mirror.

Mark was the mover on the second lap, gaining three places up to 3rd spot. Ron also gained three places to move to 7th but the group of Ron, Allesandro & Matt, Paul H and Sally were all very close together and having a splendid battle.

On the third lap the leading six did not change position, but Alessandro & Matt moved up to 7th place and Sally regained 8th place. Chris & Carol and 70513 received the hooter at the end of the lap.

At the end of the fourth and last lap there was no change in the order of the first seven boats, but Paul H gained two places up to 8th and Ron repassed Sally.

The final order on the water was – 1st Karen; 2nd Ralph; 3rd Mark; 4th Steve & Rick; 5th Mike T; 6th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time this changes to – 1st Karen/Laser; 2nd Mike T/Comet; 3rd Ralph/Laser; 4th Mark/Laser; 5th Dave & Ann/Leader; 6th Steve & Rick/RS200

Thanks to SOOD Newton and the race team of just Jacqueline Gummer and Patrick Crowley. Well done for coping!

Gillette Youth Series 5   10th August 2022

It had been a very hot day and there were just four starters tonight.

At the end of the first lap Alfred in his Topper led by quite a distance from Martha and Rowan with James a little further back and these three were all in Oppies.

There was no change in these positions in the second lap, but on the third lap James just pipped Rowan across the line to take third place. The Oppies were given the finish hooter at the end of the third lap as they had all been lapped by Alfred who went on to do another fourth lap.

The final positions were the same on the water and on corrected time – 1st Alfred/Topper; 2nd Martha/Oppie; 3rd James/Oppie; 4th Rowan/Oppie

Summer Series 8         7th August 2022

Another hot sunny morning with such wind as there was coming from the North. SOOD Rick used a Committee Boat start towards the buoy line somewhere just north of 4 the windward mark was A in the middle of the lake thirty meters or so this side of 5. Then to B by the buoy line coming back towards the CB. Port rounding and off on a broad reach to C (halfway across the lake on the southern side of the island). Starboard rounding to 4, starboard rounding and over the start.

Pursuit Race

By the time the Pursuit started there was very little wind and what there was seemed to have shifted around to the South West! Too late to change (only to have it veer round again). They did manage one lap before the 35 minute gun.

It was good to see John W back on the water and to see Mike T and Alessandro in the water! They managed to capsize Mike’s Ent from third position in the Pursuit race (gaining on Karen at the time) in about 2 mph of wind?!  It certainly provided a bit of amusement for the other racers! Perhaps he was suffering from sunstroke or just wanted to cool down?

The final order was – 1st Chris H/Comet; 2nd Karen/Laser; 3rd Aileen/Comet; 4th Newton/Solo; 5th Mark/Laser/6th Mike T & Alessandro/Enterprise (despite the capsize!

Handicap Race

For the handicap there was a little more wind at times and now it was coming from the south west so Rick reversed the course completely. Start to 4 to C to B to A and then a beat back over the line. What a struggle!

The fleet managed three laps and Newton managed to get away at the front taking 1st place on the water and on handicap.

Karen took 2nd place on the water but could not get enough of a lead on the slower handicap boats to keep thar position on corrected time.

The finishing order on the water was – 1st Newton; 2nd Karen; 3rd Aileen; 4th Mike T & Alessandro; 5th Chris H; 6th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time this becomes – 1st Newton/Solo; 2nd Ron/Mirror; 3rd Aileen; 4th Chris H; 5th Sally (all in Comets); 6th Karen/Laser; 7th Mike T & Alessandro/Enterprise; 8th Dave & Ann/Leader; 9th Mark/Laser; 10th John W/Laser.

A good day for Comets but not for Lasers!

Thanks to SOOD Rick and the race team of Richard Collins, David & Oliver Dommett, David Knight and Steve Mann.

Gillette Youth Series 4  3rd August 2022

Just five out tonight in a light SW wind.

Alfred/Topper led from Phoebe/Topper at the end of the first lap followed by the Oppies of Alex, Oliver and Rowan.

On the second lap Phoebe took the lead from Alfred, and Oliver passed Alex to move up to 3rd place.

There was no change in the positions on the third lap or the fourth lap. Alex and Rowan received the finish hooter at the end of their fourth lap.

Again no change in the order on the fifth lap, but Oliver received the hooter leaving the two Toppers to do one more lap.

The final order on the water and on corrected time was – 1st Phoebe/Topper; 2nd Alfred/Topper; 3rd Oliver/Oppie; 4th Alex/Oppie; 5th Rowan/Oppie/

Sunset Shield 1  3rd August 2022

It was another warm sunny evening with a SW wind 8-12 mph. SOOD Ralph set a course of A (between 4 and 5), 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 15 starters for what turned out to be a four lap race and first back through the line was Karen/Laser about 20 seconds ahead of Mark in another Laser. About one minute later Roland/Solo crossed in 3rd place just ahead of Newton & Sam/RS200 and Emily/Radial. Another minute elapsed before a close group came through, Jamie/Laser, Steve & Rick/RS200, Dave & Ann/Leader, Jeremy/Laser, Ron/Mirror and Sally/Comet. They were not far ahead of the Lasers of Paul H and Hattie who crossed the line together with Mike T/Comet only four seconds behind them and carrying the lanterne rouge was Cecilia in her Laser.

On the second lap Newton & Sam and Emily passed Roland to move up to 3rd and 4th places and Dave & Ann moved up two places to 6th. Mike T was the prime mover gaining five places to move to 9th spot and Pau H eased away from Hattie.

At the end of the third lap, Karen still led but Newton & Sam were in front of Mark and up to 2nd place. Further back Steve & Rick had regained 6th place from Dave & Ann and Sally had caught and passed Hattie. Cecelia received the hooter at the end of this lap.

On the last lap there was no change in the order of the fist five, but Dave & Ann had repassed Steve & Rick. The other movers on this lap were Jeremy passing Mike T and Paul passing Ron.

The final positions on the water were –

1st Karen/Laser; 2nd Newton & Sam/RS200; 3rd Mark/Laser; 4th Emily/Radial; 5th Roland/Solo; 6th Dave & Ann/Leader

On corrected time the order becomes – 1st Karen/Laser; 2nd Newton & Sam/RS200; 3rd Emily/Radial; 4th Mark/Laser; 5th Roland/Solo; 6th Mike T/Comet.

Thanks to SOOD Ralph Page and the race team of Chris & Carol Meunier, Chris Andrews and Ian Stewart.   

Summer Series 7         31st July 2022

Another warm morning with quite a frisky wind about 12 – 14 mph from the SW, but varying with gusts. Mark set the first mark as 4 then 3, 9, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

18 starters today and at the end of the first lap William in his Topper was still leading with Ron/Mirror in 2nd place. Chris K/Radial was up to 3rd place followed by Becky/Pico and the Comets of Chris H and Mike T. Roland/Solo was through in 7th with Dave & Ann/Leader 8th. Next were the Lasers of Jon, Jamie and Ken having passed Frances in her Topper who was just ahead of Alistair S/Laser. Sally capsized her Comet and retired and at the 35 minute hooter the final positions were –

1st William; 2nd Chris K; 3rd Ron; 4th Roland; 5th Jon; 6th Mike T.    

Handicap Race

Jon/Laser was first back across the line just ahead of Steve/Blaze, Dave & Ann/Leader and Roland/Solo.  Mike T/Comet was through in 5th place followed by Adrian/Rooster and Alistair S and Jamie in Lasers. Dan/Laser was heading the Sadler clan in 9th place with William and Frances in their Toppers 12th and 13th and Becky in a Pico in 14th place  with Rick/Laser and Ron/Mirror somewhere in the middle of them! Chris H/Comet and Ken/Laser retired on this lap.

Lap 2

By the end of the lap Steve had taken the lead and Roland was up to 2nd place with Jamie up to 3rd. Alistair had gained two places to move up to 5th but everyone else maintained station or dropped back. Frances and Becky received the hooter at the end of the lap.

Lap 3

Steve retired from the lead, so Roland crossed the line in 1st place to take victory on the water with Jamie and Jon 2nd and 3rd. The movers on this last lap were Adrian, Mike T and Rick who all gained a place in addition to the place gained by Steve’s demise.

The order on the water was – 1st Roland; 2nd Jamie; 3rd Jon; 4th Alistair S; 5th Adrian; 6th Mike T.

On corrected time there were some dramatic changes with the final order –

1st William/Topper; 2nd Roland/Solo; 3rd Mike T/Comet; 4th Ron/Mirror; 5th Dave & Ann/Leader; 6th Jamie/Laser

Well done to William on a double!

Thanks to SOOD Mark and the race team of Barry Stanton, Damian Mayer, David & Oliver Dommett and Steve Mann.