Author: jollysailor

Summer Series 10 – 14th August

A lovely morning, but not much wind about 2 – 5 mph from NNW. Paul R set an Olympic style course starting somewhere above Tektona then down to Xp, 5p, 4p and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were only nine starters which was probably due to the absence of wind and summer holidays. After everyone had rounded the first mark the wind dropped off completely for about 10 minutes, but gradually picked up again. There was only one lap and the gun went shortly after the last boat had crossed the line.
The final positions were –
1st Karen – Laser; 2nd Nev – Leader; 3rd Jess B – Laser; 4th Ellen & Newton-RS200; 5th Dave I – Laser; 6th Dean & Nick – Vago.
 
Handicap Race
Jess and Dave I decided that they could not take any more excitement so sat this one out.
Newton & Ellen were first back through the start line with Nev 2nd and Karen 3rd. Then there was quite a gap before Dean & Nick came through in 4th place with Paul W in a Radial 5th, Mike A – Lightning 6th and Chris H – Comet 7th.
The only change on the second lap was Karen getting past Nev to move to 2nd place and the fleet had split into two groups with the first three boats pulling away.
There were no changes on the last lap, but Dean & Nick did make up some ground on the three boats ahead of them.
Final positions on the water were –
1st Newton & Ellen; 2nd Karen; 3rd Nev; 4th Dean & Nick; 5th Paul W ; 6th Mike A
 
On handicap Nev should move up to 2nd and Chris H move up to 5th.
 
Thanks to Paul R and the OOD Team of Bob H, Chris S, David M, David P and Maggie W. 
 

Gillette Series 18 – 10th August

Steve S had difficulty in setting a start line and a course as the wind was swinging round so much. Eventually just before the start it settled down to a WSW about 5- 8 mph and Steve used X as the first mark, close to 5 on the buoy line, then 9s, 5p, 4p, 8p and back through the start line.
 
Karen (Laser) was first back through the start followed by Newton (Solo) and these two had pulled a slight gap on Hugh (Laser), who came through in 3rd place. Bob (Solo) had got away well and was right behind Hugh with another gap back to Dean & Nick (Vago) in 5th place. Julian out in the third Solo was 6th but only just ahead of Paul H (Supernova). At the rear of the fleet Mike A (Lightning), Rick (Laser), Dave I (Laser) and Sally & Stuart (Leader) were having a good battle.
 
At the end of the second lap the two leaders came through in the same order, but Karen had eased out slightly. Bob had managed to get past Hugh to move up to 3rd. Paul H had gained two places to move up to 5th place and Rick had gained a place to 8th.
 
On the third lap the first four had maintained station, but Julian had moved up to 5th and the boats behind these five were constantly changing position.
 
At the end of the fourth and last lap Karen crossed the line well ahead to take the victory. The only movers behind her were Dean & Nick regaining 6th place and Rick reclaiming the 8th place he had lost on the lap before.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Newton; 3rd Bob; 4th Hugh; 5th Julian; 6th Dean & Nick
 
On handicap the first three should keep their places, but Julian should move up to 4th and Mike A to 5th pushing Hugh back to 6th.
 
Juniors
The juniors were back in action tonight with Edward and Joe in their Toppers and Jemima in her Oppie.
The honours on the water went to Joe who led for the whole of the race with Edward in 2nd place and Jemima 3rd, but the sting is in the tail because on handicap Jemima should take the final victory.
 
Thanks to Steve S and the OOD Team of Bill C, Peter C, Robert B and Steve P. 
 

Gillette Series 17 – 3rd August 2016

It was very lively tonight with a WSW wind about 15 mph, but gusting considerably more than that !
Mike N set a first beat down to 4, then 3p, 9p, 5s, 6s, 7s and back through the start.
 
Some decided that the best place was the clubhouse deck, but 12 hopefuls took to the water.
Ellen (Radial) and Rick (Laser) both capsized before the start. Ellen manged to get going again but Rick had impaled his mast in the mud and did not make the start line. Angela & Paula (Comet Duo) also had problems, but did finally manage to get away some distance behind the rest of the fleet.
 
First back though the start line was Paul R (Aero with the 5 sail)) followed by Steve S (Laser – but using a Radial rig). Curtis (Radial) came through in 3rd place with Newton (Solo) 4th, Hadey (4.7) 5th and Nev & Sally (Leader) 6th just ahead of Ross (Laser), who was followed by the second Leader of Dave & Ann. Ellen after her late start had already made up some ground and came through in 9th place ahead of Richard H (Laser) and Mike A (Lightning) with Angela & Paula bringing up the rear.
 
The first five retained position at the end of the second lap, but Ross had moved up one place to 6th, Ellen was up two places to 7th and Dave & Ann had managed to get past Nev& Sally in the battle of the Leaders. Angela and Paula decided to call it a night after one lap.
 
Newton retired on the third lap when his boom came out of the gooseneck, but family honour was upheld as Ellen had gained another three places to move up to 4th. The only other mover  was Richard H who had caught and passed Nev & Sally.
 
On the fourth lap and last lap the only changes in position were Ross taking 5th place from Hadey and Richard H passing Dave & Ann.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Paul R; 2nd Steve S; 3rd Curtis; 4th Ellen; 5th Ross; 6th Hadey.
 
On handicap there should be a number of changes resulting in –
1st Paul; 2nd Hadey; 3rd Curtis; 4th Ellen; 5th Steve S; 6th Ross
 
Thanks to Mike N and the OOD Team of Jessica W, Chris A, Nick J, Hugh L, James C and Nigel J.
 
An amusing and at the time perplexing occurrence was the appearance of a fountain in Mike A’s Lightning. This happened several times during the race and Mike could not understand why this was happening. On reflection the only explanation would seem to be that the pressure of the wind was forcing the nose of the boat down into the water (the mast is set well forward on the Lightning) and to counter this Mike was leaning out to the back of the boat. The combined effect was to force the hull of the boat down into the water and the resultant displacement pressure forced water up the self bailer causing a fountain !
If anyone out there has a more viable explanation Mike would be interested to hear from you.  
 

Sunday Racing 31st July Another Reminder

As you hopefully will have seen in the news letter this Sunday the club will be hosting a RYA open day. This will start at 11.00 and to fit in with this the Sunday racing will consist of a single one hour handicap starting at the EARLIER TIME of 10.00. This will count towards the summer handicap series,

Gillette Series 16 – 27th July

The forecast was for a WNW wind of about 8 mph, but as usual the wind kept changing direction and strength. For all that it was a very pleasant evening for a sail and Curtis used an Island Start with a first beat to X (between 4 and 5 on the buoy line) then 4p, 9s, 2s,1p and back through the start. Obviously not playing to the gallery in the clubhouse!
 
There were 17 starters plus 3 juniors.
 
Seniors (some more than others!)
Mark (Laser) was first back through the line followed by the usual suspects of Karen (Laser) and Newton (Solo). Roland & Ryan (National12) came through in 4th place with Simon (Laser) 5th and Monica (Europe) 6th.
 
By the end of the second lap Karen had taken over the lead and Monica had moved up to 5th and Hadey (Radial) was up to 6th (Here come the girls – again!). Behind these a terrific mid-fleet battle had developed with Simon, Mike A (Lightning) and the Solos of Chris A, Julian W and  Bob swapping places at every mark. Further back Mike T (Laser) was trying to hold off Dave & Ann (Leader), Paul H (Supernova), Rod (Laser), Sally & Stuart (Leader) and Richard H (Laser).
 
On the third lap the leaders remained in the same positions, but Hadey had moved up another place to 5th and Julian W had gained four places to 6th. Bob and Rod had also gained one place and Richard H two places.
 
By the end of the fourth lap Hadey had moved up again to take 4th spot and Bob had gained three places to move up to 7th. Richard H had gained another two places and Paul H had passed Sally & Stuart and these and Mike T received the finish gun at the end of the lap.
 
At the end of the fifth and final lap the only change in the leading nine boats was Roland & Ryan regaining 4th place from Hadey. Chris A had passed Monica to take 10th and the only other mover was Rod who had gained another two places.
 
The final positions on the water were – 1st Karen; 2nd Newton; 3rd Mark; 4th Roland & Ryan; 5th Hadey; 6th Julian W
 
On handicap Newton will snatch victory from Karen with Mike A moving up to 4th with Hadey and Julian keeping 5th and 6th places.
 
This means that in the Gillette Series, Newton and Karen currently lead with exactly the same number of points but Karen’s first discard is a 2nd place whereas Newton has a 3rd.    
 
Juniors
At the end of the first lap Joe (Topper) led Edward (Topper) with Jemima (Oppie) in 3rd place and these positions were maintained through the whole of the race.
Jemima received the gun after two laps and Joe and Edward after four laps.
 
In the Junior and Youth Series Jemima actually leads the table (on discard) – more girl power at RSC

 
Thanks to Curtis and the OOD Team of Hugh, Ian S, Andy B and Chris M.
      
 

Summer Series 7 – 24th July

There were 14 starters today with a reasonable SW wind and first back through the line was Chris A (Solo) followed by Richard S (Laser), Chris K (Radial), Bob (Solo), Mark B (Laser) and Ellen & Newton (RS200).  Then there was a whole stream of chasing Lasers led by Karen then Luke, John W, Steve P, Gareth and Alistair S with the Rooster of Adrian and the Enterprise of Peter R mixed in the middle.
At the gun the final positions were –
1st Ellen & Newton; 2nd Richard S; 3rd Mark; 4th Karen; 5th Adrian; 6th Steve P
 
Handicap Race
Peter R decided not to contest the second race so the fleet was down to 13.
 
Adrian got away well and at the end of the first lap was clear of a trio of Lasers, Karen, Luke and Richard S with Newton & Ellen just behind them followed by Mark.
 
By the end of the second lap Adrian still led, but Newton & Ellen had moved up to 3rd and Steve P and John W had managed to get past Chris K to move up to 7th and 8th respectively. In the battle of the Solos towards the back of the fleet Chris A had managed to stay ahead of Bob and Gareth had managed to get past Alistair.
 
At the gun Karen and Newton & Ellen crossed the line together just ahead of Adrian and this was the only change with the rest of the fleet keeping station.
 
Final positions on the water were –
1st; Karen; 2nd Newton & Ellen; 3rd Adrian; 4th Richard S; 5th Luke; 6th Mark
 
On Handicap the first two will not change but Richard S will move up to 3rd with Chris K 4th , Luke 5th and Chris A 6th.
 
Thanks to SOOD Dave P and his team of Brian M, Mark P and Nick L
 

Gillette 15 – 20th July

On one of the hottest days of the year the wind was described as “fresh to scary” by SOOD Roland, but despite this there were 19 starters and everyone finished bar two.
He set a first beat down to 3 then 2p, 8p, 5s, 6s, 7s and back through the start.
 
First back through the start was Steve S, sailing his Laser instead of his Solo followed by Karen (Laser), Richard H (Laser), Nev & Mike (Leader), Hugh (Laser) and Newton (Solo).
Steve and Karen maintained their leading positions for all five laps of the race, but Sammy (a guest sailor) moved steadily up from 7th to cross the line in 3rd at the end of the race. Other steady movers up the fleet were James (Laser) who moved from 9th on the first lap to finish 4th and Ellen who went from 16th to 9th.
For the first three laps Richard H had 3rd place, but retired somewhere on the fourth lap, not sure if he came to grief or suffered gear failure. Mike T had gone a lap earlier but again, reason unknown!
Further back in the fleet Chris A and Julian W in Solos were having a good battle with Sally & Stuart (Leader) and Paul H (Supernova) and they were always being chased by Dave & Ann in another Leader.  
In the middle of the fleet Hadey (4.7) had a steady race swapping places with Rod (Laser) who just managed to pull ahead on the final two laps.
Bringing up the rear were Paula (Laser) and William (back in his Topper), but Paula did manage to catch and pass Dave & Ann on the last lap.
Paula, William, Sally & Stuart and Dave & Ann received the finish gun after four laps.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Steve S; 2nd Karen; 3rd James P; 4th Hugh; 5th Newton; 6th Nev & Mike
 
On handicap the first two will keep their positions but Hadey will move up to 3rd with Newton 4th, Neville & Mike 5th and William 6th.
 
Thanks to Roland (liked his comment on the bottom of the race sheet – “Wish I was sailing”) and the OOD Team of Ryan, Simon, Paul B and Tony R.
 

Summer Series 6 – 17th July

With a good SSW wind, James set a first beat to X then 2, 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 18 starters and it was good to see Sylvia back sailing and going well. Peter S, Luke and Josephine were given DNFs with “Missed start” as the reason. Presumably they started outside the designated start line rather than not getting to the line in time!  .
 
There were no really early starters this week (William had abandoned his Topper and was getting to grips with a 4.7 rig Laser) and late starter Paul R (Aero) was already in the lead at the end of the first lap with Ellen & Newton (RS200 in 2nd and Julian B (OK) 3rd .
 
The final positions at the gun were  –
1st Paul R; 2nd Ellen & Newton; 3rd Julian B; 4th Roland & Ryan (National 12); 5th Karen (Laser); 6th Sylvia B (Radial)
 
Handicap Race
There were 13 takers for the second race and Luke and Peter successfully negotiated the start!
 
Paul led from start to finish followed by Newton & Ellen who retained 2nd place for all four laps.
On the first lap Karen and Luke (Laser) came through together  in 3rd place but Julian B had moved up to 3rd at the end of the second lap and kept this position to the finish, leaving Karen, Roland & Ryan and Richard S (Laser) to battle for 4th spot.
Hadey retired from 8th place on the second lap, but not sure of the reason. Gareth and Steve P both in Lasers were having a good battle for the vacated 8th place with Gareth just pulling away towards the end of the race. Peter S could not quite make up the gap and William was going steadily behind him and actually getting Past Peter on the second lap.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st, Paul R; 2nd Newton & Ellen; 3rd Julian B; 4th Richard S; 5th Karen; 6th Roland & Ryan
 
On handicap William will take 6th place from Roland & Ryan.
 
Thanks to James and the OOD Team of Paula, David H, Mike T and Rachel C.
 
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