Author: jollysailor

A very temperamental North Easterly wind for the Commodore’s Cup last night. 15 sailors took the water for a great course set by Ralph. Unfortunately for him, just as the race started, the wind died, leaving most of the marks in the dead patches.

A short line gave way to a hectic start, with plenty of boats jostling for position.

James P and Steve S got great starts and made their way into clear air. Hugh caught James at the first mark along with Newton who all sailed off to the downwind mark.

The wind completely died at the windward mark after this, leaving the rest of the fleet drifting towards it. The top 4 boats sailed clear, with Steve S (Blaze) a leg ahead of the others who were all jostling for position.

Throughout the rest of the fleet, there were several battles between the Lasers and the Aero of Mark, who managed to sail clear and get far enough ahead to beat them on Handicap.

Elsewhere, the Comets of Aileen and Karen were ganging up of the 470 of Mike and Ale, who only pulled away on the final leg.

Steve S crossed the line first, followed by James P and Hugh. On Handicap, Steve was demoted to 6th, with Newton in 1st, followed by James P and Hugh.

It was a close race, despite the spread out fleet, with only one and a half minutes separating the top 7 boats.

A big thank you to Ralph and his team for running the racing last night.

The dinner for this week was a light meal of Enchiladas, followed by Banoffee Pie, made by Hugh.

We’re back racing on Sunday for the next two races of the Spring Series.

A great turnout for the Easter Cup today,

4 races across the day, with a 10kt breeze coming from the North East.

Hugh set a fantastic course with minimal beats for the first pursuit race. Karen (comet) and Will S (Feva) gained an early lead, which Karen held onto, finishing first. Will lost places to Chris H (comet) and Steve S (Blaze) who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Will managed to hold on to 4th place.

Elsewhere in the fleet, Aileen managed a spectacular and vocal capsize, allowing most of the fleet to pass her. There was some close racing in the midfleet, but the Solos of Darren and Ralph were able to keep ahead.

It’s rare to improve upon perfection, but the course was changed for the Morning’s handicap race. Rick (Laser) had a fantastic start, great wind shift to the first mark and subsequently sailed a flawless race, passed only by Steve in his much faster Blaze, finishing 1st overall. Ralph had similar luck and finished just three seconds behind on Handicap. Richard S finished 3rd in his Laser Radial.

A quick stop back on the shore for a fantastic lunch of Spaghetti Bolognese, Garlic Bread and Ice Cream, made by Ann, before heading back out for two short afternoon races.

Left quaking in their boots from the course in the morning, only 7 sailors made their way out for the afternoon’s racing.

The wind got even shiftier for the third race, Steve Sharp was way out in front but lost a lot of time to the wind dying at one of the marks. Karen and Richard S were close enough to beat him to 1st and 2nd. Steve meanwhile was in 3rd. Elsewhere in the race, Steve P and Will S started to go to the wrong buoy and both lost out on what could have been a good final position.

The final race had a near perfect start, with Will S and Steve S way clear of the rest of the Fleet. It all came apart at the second windward mark when the wind died (honestly, why did the SOOD put the bouy there). Steve managed to slip through, but the rest of the fleet caught up and overtook Will. The rest of the fleet remained close, with Will keeping up with the much faster boats.

Steve maintained his lead to take 1st, with Karen 2nd and Will S 3rd.

Karen was the eventual winner of the Easter Cup, with Steve S 2nd and Richard S 3rd.

A big thank you to Hugh and his team for organizing a great day of racing and for Ann for taking the time to cook a lovely meal of everyone.

We’re back for more racing… and food! On Wednesday for the Commodore’s Cup

Wednesday Evening Racing is back! The first race of the Commodore’s Cup was a shifty Force 4/5 from the South.

11 boats fought for position at the start, with almost every boat on the line when the gun went. Darren gained an early lead, but Karen got a great lift off of the island and managed to catch up again at the windward mark.

A long run back down to the leeward mark kept everyone on their toes. On the second lap, Emily caught up with the leaders and was fighting with Darren. James and Rhys got past Karen in their faster ILCA’s, and Ralph caught up with Hugh, fighting for 3rd place.

Hugh manged to catch up with the leaders, overtaking Emily on the final leg. James meanwhile caught up Ralph, but was unable to pass him.

Darren crossed the line 1st, with Hugh 2nd and Emily 3rd, all within 6 seconds of each other.

On Handicap, Emily took the win, with Darren 2nd and Karen 3rd.

Several capsizes tonight, Steve P (3), Tim (2) and Mark B with a spectacular and audible death roll in his Areo.

A big thank you to Chris H and his team for organising the racing yesterday.

More importantly than the race, Wednesday evening meals are back, tonight was a mixed bean and red pepper Chilli. Followed by either Rhubarb Crumble or Lemon Meringue Pie. Made by Ann.

We’re back racing on Sunday for the Easter Cup, 2 races in the morning, Lunch, followed by two races in the afternoon.

Finally, a return to a Southwesterly wind for the Spring series today. 13 boats took to the water in a Force 3/4 wind. Despite the return of our old faithful wind direction, the shifts were still present.

The Pursuit Race had several close battles, albeit spread across the fleet. Richard, Emily and Hugh, we’re jostling for an advantage throughout the race, Richard however remained ahead at the finish gun.

Up at the sharp end of the fleet, the Solo’s were right on the transom of Chris H in his comet for much of the race. Only Newton managed to get past him, taking 1st in his Solo. Chris H was therefore 2nd. Darren took 3rd.

The Handicap race began with a chaotic start, Mark B tried a port hand flier, but was met by several boats starting on starboard and had to take avoiding action. Darren meanwhile decided not to take part in any of the start procedures, and capsized on the buoy line, producing the only capsize of the day.

Steve S shot off in his Blaze, leaving the rest of the fleet behind. Newton and Hugh followed, fighting for position, with Emily skulking close behind.

Further back, the rest of the fleet were incredibly tight, with 5 boats finishing within 10 seconds of each other.

Steve crossed the line first, followed by Hugh and Newton. On Handicap, Emily took 1st Place in her ILCA 6, followed by Newton (Solo) and Chris H (Comet)

A big thank you to Karen and her team for organizing some great racing today.

A reminder that all of our race teams are sailing club members and volunteers, it costs nothing to thank them at the end of the race to show our appreciation for them giving up their Sunday to run the races for us.

We’re back on Wednesday for the first race of the Commodore’s Cup, with a meal afterwards, hope to see you all there.

Three weeks until our Open Day! Make sure to share with anyone you know who may like to try sailing.

Monday social sailing, a great chance to get out on the water, practice, and meet other people.

Four boats out this week, with plenty of help available for rigging, launching and safety boat cover.

Every Monday afternoon from 13:00-17:00

Another day of shifty winds from the North East as we settle into the Spring Series. A Force 3/4 for most of the race with the odd lull dotted about.

It was great to see 17 boats out today which gave some fantastic racing.

The Pursuit Race started with Adrian in his Avon Scow, followed by Will S in a Topper. They both had a great early race, and it took the rest of the fleet most of the race to get near them. Only in the last minute did Karen get through to finish first in her Comet. Will was second, and Chris H third, also in a Comet. Elsewhere in the race, James P set off too early, who to his credit admitted his error and retired from the race. Darren and Newton in their Solos had a great fight for 4th, but it was Darren who won that particular battle.

An adjusted course for the second race led to a large port end bias, a few in the fleet took advantage of this and sailed clear of the rest of the fleet. Particularly Mark in his Aero, who sailed off into the distance. The pressure must have got to him, as he promptly capsized and ended up retiring.

Hugh and James sailed clear of the fleet, having a great fight the whole way. Not clear enough though, as despite crossing the line 1st and 2nd, the slower boats were too close on Handicap and both were relegated to 4th and 5th.

Will S kept up with the fleet in his much slower Topper, taking advantage of tactics and racing rules to push the much faster boats out at each of the marks.

Will ended up finishing 1st on Handicap by more than a 2 minute margin, followed by Karen 2nd and Newton 3rd.

Thanks to Ron and his team for running the racing today.

Bacon Rolls were also on offer after the racing today, due to popular demand. Made by Ann.

Some lovely sun and force 3 winds from the west today. 11 sailors made it out in some testing winds.

The Pursuit Race was won by Newton (Solo), who extends his lead in the series. Followed by Richard & Louise (2000) and Karen (Comet) in third.

I have no idea what happened in the handicap race, the results haven’t been published due to a query in the results. I’ll leave you to speculate but the only logical explanation I can think of is some form of match fixing by high level figures in organized crime.

Detective Dave is on the case, and the results will be posted in due course.

Plenty of capsizes today, with Ralph, Steve P and Harry P all sampling the water. Rick also had to retire after his rigging broke.

A big thank you to James and his team for organizing the racing and for providing some much needed safety boat cover.

The last Soup Sunday today was Leek and Potato, made by Ann, who also brought cake along.

Congratulations to Reading Sailing Club member and volunteer instructor Emily. Who has been accepted into the British Keelboat Academy. The BKA sponsors and trains young sailors to prepare them for competitive yacht racing. Previous members of the academy have raced around the world including the Vendée Globe and The Ocean Race.

Well done Emily, we are all very proud of you and look forward to seeing where this takes you.

The next round of applications opens in the summer, so if you are aged between 18-25, you can apply. Follow British Keelboat Sailing for more information.

You can find out more about the Keelboat Academy & the training Emily is taking part in here: https://www.rya.org.uk/news/keelboat-academy-2025?utm_campaign=1021603_Member%20News%20-%2028%20Mar%2025&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Royal%20Yachting%20Association%20%28RYA%29&dm_i=7T75,LW9V,39J3GD,1XA94,1

Another day of light winds for the Spring Series. A millpond greeting the 11 racers today with plenty of shifts in the non existent breeze.

The Pursuit Race was won by Karen (Comet), who wasted no time in getting back up to speed returning from her seasonal emigration. Newton (Solo), who, despite heading to the wrong mark, managed to sail back up through the fleet to take second place. Third place was claimed by Richard S (ILCA 6)

The Handicap race was initially led by Ralph, who also managed to miss a mark and subsequently decided he had better places to be and retired. Maybe there’s not enough space to write the course down on these Solo’s!

Karen was therefore first across the line, followed by Newton and Rick (ILCA 7). The only change to the podium once Handicap was calculated kicked was Richard S taking the 3rd place from Rick.

A massive thank you to Steve S and his team who stepped in at the last minute to run the racing today.

The penultimate soup of the day was Carrot and Coriander, made by Ann. All to play for next week as it’s the last Soup on Sunday, and I’ll have no food to report on until the Commodores Cup starts on the 16th April.

Hope to see you all next Sunday for another two races of the Spring Series.