Author: jollysailor

Two youth teams entered the Thames Valley Challenge on Saturday, a beginner event organised by local clubs to promote team racing and give young sailors their first experience of sailing events in a friendly environment. Team racing isn’t just about sailing fast, boats have to work together to make sure that they cross the line ahead of the other team. Our teams had been practicing their skills in Feva’s during their Monday Evening Training Sessions.

Maidenhead Lake was the venue for this event, a small bit of water, with a tendency for wind shifts. This proved to be the case during the whole event, our teams struggled with the wind shifts during the morning, but showed incredible perseverance and put down some great results during the afternoon.

Reading Port, Helmed by Eliza & Emily, with crews of Alex & Molly. Whilst Reading Starboard was Helmed by Phoebe & Archie, with crews of Fergus & Ilya.

The first race of the day saw both teams head to head against each other, with Reading Starboard the overall victors.

A mixed set of results throughout the day, with some great 1/2 finishes from both teams.

Reading Port finished 9th overall, with Reading Starboard just behind in 10th, out of 16 teams.

This is a great first event for these competitors and provides a stepping stone up to other events. Reading sailors that have previously sailed in this event have gone on to race across the country in University Team Racing.

Congratulations to the competitors on their hard earned result in the challenging conditions. Thank you to all the supporters who turned up on the day & for Karen and Hugh for managing both teams.

A big thank you to Claire’s Court School & Maidenhead Sailing Club for hosting this great event.

A light force 2 wind greeted sailors for Sunday’s rounds of the Summer Series. 14 racers made it out for the pursuit race. In addition to this, there were several sailors out for a practice, after completing their courses over the last few weeks.

Ron (Mirror) was first to set off, with the rest of the fleet close behind. The wind eased off slightly, with several boats caught out. Newton (Solo) eased ahead of the rest of the fleet. Further back, there was a close battle between Chris H (Comet), and the Solo’s of Ralph & Roland. Will S & Hugh (RS200) & Steve S (Blaze) were last to see off. Steve got caught in a lull but Hugh & Will hit a gust and made their way through the fleet.

At the end of the race, Newton finished 1st, with Roland S 2nd & Chris H 3rd.

The wind picked up for the Handicap race, with a hectic start line.

Steve S & Will & Hugh broke off from the rest of the fleet, with the Solo’s not far behind.

Steve extended his lead from Will & Hugh, whilst Newton had a great lift and broke free of the battle between the Solo’s of Roland & Ralph & ILCA7 of Mike T. Chris H meanwhile was keeping up with the rest of the ILCA6’S.

Steve S crossed the line first, with Will & Hugh 2nd and Newton 3rd.

On Handicap, Steve retained his first place, with Chris H 2nd and Newton 3rd.

A big thank you to Rick and his team for stepping up at the last minute to run the racing yesterday.

After the race, there were bacon rolls, made by Ann.

We’re back on Wednesday for the next round of the Gillette, it’s also the 1st round of the Junior Gillette Series.

A lovely force 3 from the west for the first race of the Gillette series.

Last night’s race was full of action as 11 boats took to the water. There was plenty of action at the start as Emily arrived late, crossing the line several minutes after the gun went. Most boats got away well, with Steve S in his Blaze making light work of the first beat, earning an early lead. Hugh (ILCA7) was second around the windward mark, followed by Richard & Sally (2000).

After the first lap, there was confusion amongst some of the boats whether the start line was included in the course (it wasn’t) but nevertheless, 3 boats lost out on several boat lengths as the turned around to head back through the line.

Elsewhere, Richard & Sally & Mark (Aero7) had a close battle, before Mark managed to pull away on the 3rd lap. The ILCA6 of Joel was reeling in the 2000, but Richard managed to stay ahead by the final gun.

Steve S crossed the line 1st, with Hugh 2nd and Mark 3rd. On Handicap, Hugh took the win, with Steve S 2nd and Joel (ILCA6) 3rd, beating Richard and Sally into 4th by just one second.

Capsizes from Richard W, and 2 from Steve P.

A big thank you to James for organising the racing yesterday.

After the race, there was Sticky Honey and Garlic Chicken, with New Potatoes and Salad, made by James.

This was followed by homemade scones, made by Suzi.

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

Congratulations to the latest group of trainees who passed their RYA Level 1 & 2 courses at the weekend. We look forward to seeing you all at the club to practice what you have learnt.

A big thank you to all the instructors and volunteers who gave up their time to run the course.

There are still spaces on our courses later in the year, why not book onto one by contacting training@readingsc.org.uk

A very light force one for the latest rounds of the summer series. 11 boats took to the water, despite the light conditions.

The Comets of Aileen and Chris H were first to set off, followed by the rest of the fleet. Aileen broke away from Chris, and stayed in front for the rest of the race.

Hugh was second to the windward buoy, followed by Rhys. Further back, both Newton and Chris H hit areas of no wind, dropping back down the fleet. By the end of the race, Aileen held on to her lead to take first. Rhys and Hugh had a close race, with Rhys edging ahead to take second. Hugh was 3rd. Just behind was a close finish between Mike & Alé & Chris H, with Chris finishing ahead.

The wind picked up slightly for the start of the Handicap race. With Hugh 1st around the windward mark. Newton managed to get past on the downwind leg and stayed ahead for the rest of the race. Further back, Rhys, Aileen, Chris, & Mike & Alé were all locked in a tight battle. Newton finished first on the water, with Hugh second & Rhys 3rd. On Handicap, Newton held onto 1st, with Aileen 2nd and Rhys 3rd.

A big thank you to Steve S for running the racing on Sunday.

After the race, there were bacon rolls, made by Ann.

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

A light wind from the southwest yesterday for the final race in the Commodore’s Cup.

A relatively short figure of 8 due to the light winds, but that wasn’t going to stop 16 boats heading out to race.

A pin end biased led to a cluttered start, with Will S (Topper), Hugh (ILCA7) and the Solos of Ralph & Roland getting great starts. Mark B tried to sneak in at the pin end, but was forced out by Hugh.

Steve S (Blaze) was first to the windward mark, followed by Mike & Alé in their 470. By the end of the first lap, Steve remained in the lead, but Hugh had passed the 470 to reach second place. The two Solos were hot on the heels of the leaders, whilst Nigel, Rhys, Joel (All ICLA6) & Aileen (Comet) were all having a close battle in the midfleet.

Steve S crossed the line first, with Hugh 2nd and Mike & Alé 3rd. On Handicap, Steve held onto the win, with Hugh 2nd & Ralph 3rd.

The top three for the Commodore’s Cup were:

1st Newton

2nd Steve S

3rd Hugh

A big thank you to Ron & his team for organizing the racing yesterday.

After the race, there was Cottage Pie with vegetables, made by Sally. That was so nice, it all went before someone remembered to take photos.

This was followed by Morrisons Choc Ices (Sponsorship incoming?)

We’re back on Sunday for the next races in the Summer Series.

A very nice force 4 from the Southwest for yesterday’s races as part of the Summer Series.

15 boats made it out onto the water in what we’re trying conditions. There was drama before most of the fleet even set off as Will S (Topper) set off at the wrong time, making it halfway up the lake before being told of his mistake. The majority of the rest of the fleet set off at the same time, with the Solo’s and ILCA6’s jostling for position.

Rhys (ILCA6) had a flying first lap, pulling away from Newton, Darren and Chris K. Falling out of the boat twice allowed the rest of the fleet to catch up, but he maintained his lead for much of the race.

Steve S in his Blaze powered through the fleet, overtaking Rhys just before the finish gun to take the win. Richard and Louise also got past to finish 2nd, with Rhys 3rd.

Retirements from Ian H, Sally and James C.

The handicap race had a typically hectic start, with all the boats aiming to start at the pin end. Will S was OCS and had to return, whilst most of the remaining fleet got through. Hugh was first around the first mark and maintained his lead for the whole of the first lap. He lost out on the second lap, allowing Newton, Chris K and Darren to all get past.

Chris K crossed the line first, with Newton 2nd and Darren 3rd. On Handicap. Chris kept his win, with Will S 2nd and Newton 3rd.

Retirements from Hugh, Rhys & Richard & Louise.

Karen would like it to be known that Hugh and Rhys retired because they were too tired, despite being young…

Capsizes a plenty yesterday with death rolls from Chris K, Hugh, & Will P. Capsizes also from Tim, Ian H, James C, Darren… There would have been more but Mark B decided not to sail today.

The capsize queen was Emily, with 6 capsizes, two of which were after the finish in front of everyone.

A big thank you to Aileen and her team for running the racing yesterday.

We’re back on Wednesday for the next round of the Commodore’s Cup

A non existent breeze for Wednesday’s Commodore’s Cup race. Despite this, 10 boats ventured out, with the occasional puff of breeze.

A jam packed start at the committee boat end, Darren and Richard were pushed out by Rhys & Hugh, whilst Joel was pushed out by Aileen. Ralph managed to sail clear towards the pin end but came across a massive header, and starting sailing away from the first mark, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the boats sailing.

The rest of the fleet had a great lift up to the first mark. Steve S was first around the mark followed by Hugh and Darren. Hugh and Steve S were level pegging and holding each other up on the second best, before Steve decided to retire, leaving Hugh in clear air.

In what must’ve been karma, Darren completely stalled on the reach, allowing Ralph to catch up. As Hugh came around for the end of the 1st lap, the wind filled in, leading to the SOOD to send everyone round a second time. Hugh was closely followed by Aileen and Rhys, before building up a large gap between them.

On the final leg of the race, several racers caught up to Aileen and Rhys, with Joel, Richard, Darren & Ralph all fighting to get ahead. Such close racing caused issues at the final buoy, where all the boats collided. There was much debate afterwards on who was at fault, the whiteboard even made an appearance.

Hugh crossed the line first, with the wind filling in not long afterwards. Richard W was 2nd and Rhys 3rd.

On Handicap, it was Ron in his Mirror that took the win, with Aileen 2nd and Hugh 3rd.

A big thank you to Newton for running the racing on Wednesday.

After the race, there was Coronation Chicken, with Jacket Potato and Salad. Followed by Ice Cream. Made by Mark.

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

A nice consistent force 3 for Sunday’s Summer Series.

11 boats took to the water, with Ron (Mirror) setting off first in the pursuit race, with the rest of the fleet chasing to catch up. There was plenty of opportunities to overtake on the beat, with the frontrunners of Chris K & Rhys (Both ILCA 6), and Newton & Ralph (Both Solo) vying for first place.

At the finish gun, Newton was in first, followed by Chris K 2nd, Ralph was 3rd.

The handicap race had an eventful start, with Hugh and Alé (470) attempting to sneak into a gap that clearly wasn’t there. They got shoved out at the pin end and had to head back round, infringing Aileen in the process.

By the end of the first lap, Newton was out in front, followed by Hugh & Alé, with Ralph 3rd. With the 3 of them trading places one again, by the end of the race, Ralph had got past Newton and finished 1st, with Hugh & Alé 2nd, and Newton 3rd.

On Handicap, Ralph was 1st, Newton 2nd & Rhys 3rd.

A big thank you to Adrian and his team for running Sunday’s Racing.

After the race, there were Bacon Rolls, followed by Cake.

We’re back on Wednesday for the next round of the Commodore’s Cup