Author: jollysailor

Another great turnout of 21 boats for the next rounds of the Summer Series yesterday.

A nice force 2 from the northwest, Ron (Mirror) was off first in the Pursuit Race, with the rest of the fleet giving chase. Karen & Chris H (Both Comets) got ahead of Ron by the end of the first lap. Meanwhile, Newton (Solo) had passed Aileen (Comet), who was trying to stay ahead of the much faster boats coming from behind.

Elsewhere, there was a close battle between Richard, Rick & James P (All ILCA).

At the finish gun, Karen was 1st, followed by Newton & Chris H.

A very tight handicap race followed, with Newton & Darren (Solo) both getting ahead of the rest of the fleet. There was a very tight group that followed, with Chris K leading battle for 3rd, the next 4 boats of Rick, James, Rhys & Karen all finished their first lap with identical times.

By the end of the second lap, the fleet had spread out. Newton & Darren were still ahead but James P (ILCA) had emerged out the front of the rest of the ILCA fleet to settle in 3rd.

Newton crossed the line 1st, with Darren 2nd and Rick 3rd. On Handicap, Ron finished 1st, with Newton & Darren finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

A big thank you to Peter and his team for organizing the racing yesterday.

We’re back on Wednesday for the next rounds of the Gillette and Junior Gillette Series.

Another batch of trainees have completed their RYA level 1 at Reading Sailing Club. Now it’s time to practice those skills.

Want to learn how to sail? You can find out more by going to https://www.readingsc.org.uk/training/ or by emailing training@readingsc.org.uk

A big thank you to Mark, Adrian, Gareth and the rest of the volunteer team for running the course

A lovely force 3 for the latest round of the Gillette Series.

18 boats took to the water, a port bias on the line for much of the race sequence, the wind suddenly shifted with a starboard end now the favoured start.

A close start amongst the boats led to Hugh (ILCA7) reaching the windward mark first, followed by Rhys (ILCA6), then Emily (ILCA6). Hugh was forced to retire due to a boat breakage.

Emily took the lead, but Mark (Aero caught up and passed her on the second lap, holding onto position for the rest of the race.

The wind dropped off after the second lap, and Rhys was overtaken by Joel (ILCA6),Roland S (Solo) & Steve and Rick (RS200).

Mark crossed the line 1st, with Emily 2nd & Joel 3rd.

On Handicap, Emily finished 1st, with Joel 2nd & Rhys 3rd.

A big thank you to Ralph and his team for running the racing on Wednesday.

After the race, there were chicken wraps, followed by cherry pie. Made by Ann & Sally.

We’re back on Sunday for the next rounds of the Summer Series

A lovely force two wind for the next two rounds of the Summer Series on Sunday. An unusual direction of a South East led resulted in a lovely reach across the lake for part of the course. The wind kept shifting and there were several lulls which caught several sailors out.

The pursuit race was started by the Comets of Aileen and Chris H, before the rest of the fleet set off in pursuit. Hugh (ILCA7) & Mike (470) caught up with the rest of the fleet, having set off later, but couldn’t get past. Aileen got ahead of Chris H and held onto the lead for the rest of the race, holding off Newton (Solo) behind her. Elsewhere, Chris K (ILCA 6), Roland S (Solo) and Rhys P (ILCA 6) were having a close battle, before Rhys snapped his mast, forcing a retirement.

Aileen finished 1st, with Newton 2nd and Chris H 3rd.

The Handicap Race had a hectic start, with a wind shift causing a heavy starboard bias. Chris K was forced out to avoid hitting the committee boat, Aileen tried to sneak in but hit Newton and had to complete turns.

Roland S, Mike and Hugh emerged the clear winners at the start, the three of them being first to the windward mark. Hugh managed to pull clear after the first lap and took advantage of the battle between Roland & Mike to increase his lead.

Newton meanwhile had recovered from his bad start and caught up with Roland & Mike, passing Roland on the 3rd lap.

Hugh crossed the line first, with Mike 2nd and Newton 3rd.

On Handicap, Hugh finished first, beating Chris H into 2nd by just one second. Newton was 3rd. There was just over a minute separating the top 6 boats in what was an incredibly close race.

A big thank you to James and his team for organizing the races.

After the race, there were Bacon Rolls, made by Ann

We’re back on Wednesday for the next rounds of the Junior Gillette and the Gillette Series

Some very light winds for the Junior Gillette on Wednesday.

8 boats made it out to the course, with all the sailors fighting for position on the start line. The wind dropped just before the start, with Milo (Optimist) first to the windward mark, this was followed by Ilya (Topper 4.2) and Misha (Optimist). By the end of the first lap, Fergus (Optimist) had overtaken Misha for 3rd place. Molly (Topper 4.2) surged through the fleet, overtaking several boats to make her way up to 3rd. By the final lap, Milo crossed the line first, with Fergus 2nd and Molly 3rd. On Handicap, the results remain the same.

A big thank you to Karen and her team for organising the racing on Wednesday.

The wind picked up slightly for the start of the Gillette, with 26 boats lining up for the start. A clear starboard end bias, but many chose to start away from there to avoid the crowds. Will S (ILCA4) was over at the start. Upon returning he collided with another boat, having to complete turns before setting off. Steve S (Blaze) was first to the windward mark, followed Mike & Alé (470) & Hugh ILCA7. Elsewhere in the race, Emily had passed Rhys (Both ILCA6) and was catching up with Mark B (Aero7). Rhys, Roland S (Solo) & James P (ILCA7) we’re having a close battle further back. The wind all but died after lap two, with several boats retiring and the last finisher crossing the line at over 1hr 20. Steve S crossed the line 1st, with Mike & Alé 2nd and Newton (Solo) 3rd. On Handicap, Newton finished 1st, with Steve S 2nd and Mike & Alé 3rd.

A big thank you to Jess and her team for organising the racing on Wednesday.

After the race, there was Chilli & Jacket Potatoes, followed by Ice Cream, made by Sally.

We’re back on Sunday for the next rounds of the Summer Series.

Another great practice session on Sunday, with 15 boats on the water. It was great to see so many people from the training courses sharpening their skills on the water.

A big thank you to Aileen and the rest of the volunteers that made the afternoon possible.

A very light wind for the July Cup yesterday. 15 boats made it out for a lovely one race drift.

Most sailors started at the pin end due to the port bias The ILCAS of Emily & Jess, and Darren in the Solo got great starts on starboard. Emily was first around the first mark but then started sailing the wrong course, losing out on several boats lengths. The 470 of Mike and Alé made it into the lead and maintained this for the race of the race.

Close behind was Emily who made gains on the beats of each lap, before being overtaken by Darren on the run. Elsewhere, Aileen (Comet) had made it past Richard S (ICLA6) but was unable to catch Chris H (Comet) in 4th.

At the end of the race, Mike and Alé finished first, with Darren 2nd and Emily 3rd.

On Handicap, Darren won the July Cup, with Emily 2nd & Chris H 3rd.

A big thank you to Chris K and his team for organizing the racing yesterday.

After the race, there was Quiche & Salad, made by Ann.

We’re back on Wednesday for the next rounds of the Gillette & Gillette Junior races.

Light winds gripped the lake for the first round of the Gillette Junior race. 6 juniors made it out for a short 3 lap race.

Ilya (Topper 4.2) had a great start and led for much of the race, before stalling. This allowed Molly (Topper 4.2) to pass into the lead.

Elsewhere, Fergus (Optimist) led the oppie fleet.

Molly was first across the line, followed by Ilya & and Fergus. On Handicap, Fergus took the win, with Molly 2nd & Ilya 3rd.

A big thank you to Karen & Will S for running the race for the juniors.

The main Gillette race was next, with several juniors opting to race again with the adults. 15 sailors were met with a light breeze from the west.

A wind shift just before the start led to a very biased line, with the best position to start at the pin end. Will S (ILCA4) had a great start before stalling on the downwind leg. Steve S (Blaze) and Hugh (ILCA7) meanwhile were forced out by Aileen (Comet) who had to do penalty turns due to her infringement. This allowed Roland S (Solo) and Mark B (Aero) to get past.

Elsewhere in the race, Will S was passed by Joel (ILCA6) & Aileen.

The wind died almost completely, resulting in just a 2 lap race. Steve S crossed the line 1st, with Roland 2nd. Mark finished 3rd.

On Handicap, Roland finished 1st, with Steve S 2nd and Mark 3rd.

There were several retirements as the wind completely dropped, but Tim (ILCA7) persevered, finishing at just over the hour mark.

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

After the race, there were chicken enchiladas, followed by cheesecake, made by Chris & Carol.

We’re back on Sunday for the July Cup.