Author: jollysailor

19th April Spring Series 6

With a 10 mph NE wind Mike N used a Tektona start with a first beat to 8 then up to 7 on the buoy line, down to 9, back up to 5 then 2 then 4.
There were 23 starters although Bob decided to start much later than everyone else. Welcome to Simon T, a new member starting his first race with us in his Laser and to Charlotte appearing for the first time this year. Karen had also rejoined us along with Chris and Phil A
The first boat back past the clubhouse was William (Topper) followed by Peter S (Byte), Hadey (4.7), Mike A (Lightning), Steve S (Solo) and Sylvia (Radial).
After two laps Peter S had moved up to 1st with Hadey 2nd and William now 3rd and Steve S 4th. The first of the later starters was David C (Laser) in 5th and Karen had moved up three places to 9th and Ian was up four places to 18th.
At the end of three laps David C came through in 1st with Steve S 2nd and Peter S 3rd, but Karen in 4th place was catching him and Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) were up to 5th.
After four laps David C still led but Karen was now 2nd with Steve S 3rd, Jon (Laser) 4th and Richard S (Laser) up to 5th, Newton & Ellen were 6th with Ian closing in on them.
At the gun David had held on to the lead but Steve S had just retaken Karen to take 2nd with Jon 4th and Ian 5th. Phil A (Laser) and Charlotte (Radial) did well in their first outings this year to take 8th and 10th respectively.
Thanks to Mike & Sally N, Mike C, Roland L, Tracey, and Paul W for running the race.
 
The final positions were 1st David; 2nd Steve S; 3rd Karen; 4th Jon; 5th Ian; 6th Richard.

 

Gillette Series 2015

Well you may have noticed that the Wednesday evening Gillette Series has now started

(some of us had not !).
 
The first race on 8th April saw the return of Bob L in his Solo and Chris & Carol in their Sport 14.  It also saw the debut of Newton in a Solo.
The first six in the twilight were 1st David C–Laser; 2nd Paul R–Aero; 3rd Ian C–Supernova; 4th Sally & Nev–Leader; 5th Curtis–Laser; 6th Newton–Solo. It was certainly a mixed leader board for the start of the series.
 
The second race on the 15th April saw an increase in starters, the word must have got around ! Ellen cast out of the Laser 2000 by Newton’s switch to a Solo appeared in a Laser Radial. Paula & Angela came out in their Comet Duo, Gordon got his Mirror out and Dean his Laser and Karen had returned from her winter hibernation refreshed and ready to go.
Unfortunately just after the leaders had completed three laps the wind disappeared completely leaving many of the fleet struggling to finish and in fact 10 of them called it a night and retired.
The first six were 1st Karen –Laser; 2nd Paul–Aero; 3rd Newton–Solo; 4th Bob– Solo; 5th Ian-Supernova; 6th James-Laser.
 
The third race on 22nd April saw more sailors returning, Tracey appeared in her Comet, Paula in her Radial and Paul H in his Supernova and Julian joined the growing Solo fleet.
Karen won again with Ian 2nd; Julian 3rd; David C 4th; Monica 5th and Newton 6th.
 
So after three races the overall leader is Ian-Supernova with Paul-Aero 2nd; Newton– Solo 3rd; Mike C-Solo 4th; Bob-Solo 5th and the first Laser of David C 6th.
Now that’s a turn-up only one Laser in the first six, but three Solos !

12 April Spring Series 5

This was another windy Sunday with a SSW rising from about 12 mph to plus 20 with some strong gusts coming through.
Mike A set a beat down to 2, then on to 3, back along the buoy line to 4 then across to a gybe at 8, back up to 5 on the buoy line with another gybe, then toward the clubhouse and No 7 and back through the start line.
Before the start Peter S and Jon C got entangled and at one point Jon had Peter captured underneath the sail of his Laser !  Fortunately they sorted things out before Peter was due to start.
Most of the Laser sailors had opted for the radial rig and some were wishing they could opt for a 4.7 ! Mike C decided to team up with Hugh in the Leader.
There were 13 starters and William was first away as usual in his Topper followed nine minutes later by Peter S (Byte), then Hugh & Mike C three minutes later.
Alistair (Laser – full rig) came to grief on the first lap and eventually had to leave his boat to be retrieved later – the first but not the last !
William still led by quite a distance at the end of the first lap with Steve S in 2nd and Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) 3rd. About two minutes later Hugh & Mike crossed the line closely followed by a pack of Lasers, David C, Richard S, Curtis, Jon C, then the late starters Paul R (Aero) and Ian C (Supernova) and finally Dave L (Laser) and Peter S.
On the second lap the wind really started to get up and there were numerous capsizes all over the lake. Steve S looked as if he would cross the line in first place, but he capsized round 5 and the cleats on his foredeck pulled out so he toured in (quite quickly !) to retire. Newton & Ellen who were not far behind Steve then crossed the line 1st with David C 2nd and Paul R 3rd.
At this point there were more boats over than upright and the two Safety Boats were struggling to cope. Mike A as SOOD reluctantly made the decision to abandon the race.
 
Steve S, Jon C and Hugh set out in a third Safety Boat to help retrieve helms and boats.
James P & Steve P in one Safety Boat and Ross B & Issy in the other Safety Boat did a great job all morning and many thanks to them for their great efforts.
Once all the helms were safely ashore the Safety Boats set out again to retrieve all the boats that had been abandoned around the lake.
 
Quite an eventful morning !

 


Gillette Series Starts This Week

This week sees the start of the Gillette Wednesday evening series. This a couple of weeks earlier than previous years, and the available light may be an issue. The race will start promptly with the start gun at 19.00 ( 5 minute warning at 18.55). The race may be a restricted to around 45 mins depending on the light levels at the time. 

6th April Easter Cup Monday

 First of all a correction to the Sunday report, Newton & Ellen were out in Mark’s RS 200 not in the Laser 2000.

 
The wind was a 10 mph Northerly, slightly brisker than Sunday’s light wind. Dave L was SOOD, but a special thank you to Lynne &  Steve P and Neville R who were all on duty yesterday and again today.
They were joined by Paul R who was not scheduled for duty but stepped in to help.
Another Tektona start with the first mark as 5, then a run down the buoy line to 4, a beat back to 9, round 9 with another run to 1 and then up to 2 and back through the start line.
The plan was another two back to back races, but in fact there was actually a preliminary practice race when the original first race of the day was abandoned after one lap as the SOOD’s timer packed in!
The race was restarted and at the end of the first lap Ian C (Supernova)  crossed the line first followed by Peter R (Enterprise), Steve S (Laser), David C (Laser), Newton & Ellen (RS200) and Mike C (Solo). Further back Hugh (Byte) was going well just ahead of Alistair (Laser), Hadey (Radial), Monica (Europe) and Peter S (Byte).
The second lap leaders were the same five boats, but Steve S and David C were having a terrific battle and crossed the line together. The only mover up the fleet was Monica who gained two places up to 9th place.
At the finish gun Ian C was still in 1st place but David C just squeezed past Steve S to take 2nd place.
Newton & Ellen had made up a place to 4th with Peter R 5th and Rod B 6th. Mike C was still in 7th place, but Monica had managed to get past Hugh to take 8th.
Dave P decided it was not quite windy enough for   his Wayfarer and retired before the end of the lap.
The final positions on the water were 1st Ian; 2nd David; 3rd Steve S; 4th Newton & Ellen and these are not likely to change on handicap, but Mike C and Hugh should move up to 5th and 6th respectively
 
For the second race of the day we had lost Peter R, but gained Curtis (fresh from a bit of mast bending with Roland). The wind had freshened a little more and it was a glorious day for sailing with a bright sun and a good wind.
Ian C was first back through the start line again and continued to lead for the rest of the race. Behind him David C and Steve S had renewed their battle and this also continued for the rest of the race!
Curtis came through in 4th with Newton & Ellen 5th, Rod 6th and Monica 7th ;.behind these there was a close battle between Peter S and Mike C with Bob L (Solo), Hadey, Hugh and Mike A in close attendance.
At the end of the second lap Newton & Ellen had moved up to 4th but there were no other movers up the fleet, but we had lost Bob, who capsized and impaled his mast in the mud. It took most of the rest of the race to extricate him from this predicament!
By the third lap Ian still led with David C and Steve S locked together behind him. Curtis had managed to get back in front of Newton & Ellen, but there were no other changes throughout the fleet.
At the finish gun the leading six boats had maintained position but Mike C had made up two places to 7th by passing Hadey and Peter S.
The final positions on the water were exactly the same as for the earlier race, 1st Ian; 2nd David; 3rd Steve S, however in this case the Lasers were close enough to push Ian down to 3rd on handicap.
 
The overall results for the Easter Cup will be based on the best three positions out of the four races and it looks as if Ian and David will finish on the same number of points with Newton & Ellen coming 3rd. Not sure how the eventual winner will be decided, perhaps on the results of the discard race, but watch this space !  
 


Easter Cup Sunday 5th April

 Mark B, ably assisted by Nev, Steve & Lynne P, Bill C and Paul R, set a fairly short course as there was only a light 5 mph ENE wind and that was quite fickle. From a Tektona start there was a beat to 5, down to 9 then up to 4, down to 2 and back through the start line.

The plan was for two back to back races and there were 15 starters for the first race, (eventually as some of them were still coming down the lake to the line when the start gun went). There should have been 16 starters but not sure what happened to Dean and Nick in the Laser 2.  They were seen approaching the start line and then they were spotted at various points during the race but seemed to be sailing a different course to everyone else !
At the end of the first lap Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) were first back through the start line with Peter R (Enterprise) 2nd, David C (Laser) 3rd. Peter S was leading the battle of the Bytes in 5th with Hugh back in 10th. Towards the back of the fleet the two Mirrors of Pat and Gordon were having a good tussle with John C in his Topaz. These three and Hadey (Radial – who obviously likes stronger winds with her 4.7 rig) received the gun at the end of their first lap.
By the end of the second and final lap, Newton & Ellen were still leading but David C had moved up to 2nd with Peter R now 3rd. Ian C (Supernova) had moved up four places from 9th to 4th.  The only other mover up the fleet was Alistair S (Laser) who had gained one place.
The final positions on the water were 1st Newton & Ellen; 2nd David C; 3rd Peter R, but on handicap it is likely that Mike A (Lightning) will move up to 2nd pushing Peter R down to 4th with Peter S 5th and Ian 6th.
 
The second race over the same course saw a reduced field of 12 start the race. This time Ian C got away to a flyer and lead all through the race.
At the end of the first lap Peter R was 2nd, Newton & Ellen 3rd, David C , Jon C 5th and Rod (Laser) 6th.
Peter S, Mike C (Solo) and Mike A were battling for 7th, 8th and 9th places, then there was another close scrap between Hadey, Alistair and Hugh for the final positions.
At the end of the next lap the first four remained in the same positions with Rod 5th, but Jon C had retired. Mike C just pipped Mike A for 6th place with Peter S coming in 8th. Hugh just beat Hadey over the line with Alistair bringing up the rear.
The positions on the water were 1st Ian; 2nd Peter R; 3rd Newton & Ellen, but on handicap Peter S should take the honours with Ian down to 2nd and Mike A up to 3rd.


Easter Cup

This weekend is the Easter Cup. There are two races back to back on both Sunday and Monday, with the first starting at 10.30. There are 4 races in total with 3 to count.
 
With light winds forecast now is the time to get your boat out. 

29 March Spring Series 4

This was a really windy morning, 24 -28 mph Westerly with gusts of up to 50 mph which restricted the starters to only 10 boats. Peter S set a long beat down to 4 and then across to 9, down to 3 then back to 1, up to 5 on the buoy line, along to 6 and finally 7.
Dave L decided to team up with Hugh in his Leader and others decided to watch from the bank !
At the end of the first lap Steve P led Hadey, both in 4.7s, with Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) in 3rd with high wind ace Jon 4th, Curtis 5th, Adrian 6th and James P 7th all in Lasers. Hugh & Dave L had come to grief in the Leader and impaled the mast, unfortunately bending it in the process. William managed the first two marks before capsizing his Topper and retiring and Ken P also decided to call it a day before the end of the lap.
On the second lap Newton & Ellen also embedded their mast in the mud and that was the end of their race. When Ellen was exhausted and sitting on the centreboard for the third time she looked down the lake and every single boat was capsized ! James even managed to get from 4 to 9 with his Laser upside down and that was the end of his race ! Steve P was still in the lead but Jon had come through to 2nd with Hadey 3rd and Curtis and Adrian 4th and 5th.
Only three boats actually completed the third lap and at the gun Jon took the victory with Steve 2nd and Hadey 3rd with Curtis and Adrian still 4th and 5th  
Well done to all the brave souls who ventured out, especially young William and Hadey and a big thank you to the OOD team who did a good job in difficult and arduous conditions.
 
This was actually more of a duathlon with sailing and swimming in place of the usual cycling and running! Perhaps we should put this forward as an event for Rio in 2016.

22 March Spring Series 3

Well it was more like Spring this morning, a beautiful sunny day with a 9 mph ENE wind. The race team of Keith, Katherine, Alistair and Peter set out in the safety boats for Tektona and established base camp. The first beat was down to 6 followed by a run back to 5, a reach down to 9 and then a run up to 4 and on to 3, round 3 and close hauled to 2 and back through the start line.

There were 21 starters and it was good to see Monica back with us and also the appearance of Frantz in his Contender and Dean & Nick in the Laser 2 and Mark & Ellen in a RS 200. Before getting on the water Steve S and Mike C decided to swap boats for the day. Steve has a Solo of his own so would be in his element, but it was Mike C’s first outing in a Laser.
There was the usual staggered start with William P (Topper) first away and Steve P (505) last away with everyone else at their allotted times in between.
At the end of the first lap William was still leading with Peter S (Byte) 2nd, Monica (Europe) 3rd and Steve S (in Mike C’s Solo) coming up fast in 4th place. Hadey (4.7) was in 5th place with Mike A (Lightning) 6th, Newton & Roz in their Laser 2000 (nice to see you back Roz) 7th and then Nev & Sally (Leader) in 8th.  The first Laser through was Richard S who had just caught Peter R in his Enterprise, then there were the five Lasers of Ken, Jon, Mike T, Mark B and James P being closed down by Ian C (Supernova) who had just passed Mike C (who was trying to get to grips with Steve S’s Laser).Then came the late starters of Dean & Nick, Mark & Ellen, Steve P and Frantz.
Peter S was leading at the end of the second lap and had managed to round all the marks of the course !  Steve S had moved up to 2nd but William was still hanging on to 3rd place with Newton & Roz moving up to 4th  pushing Monica down to 5th. Nev & Sally had moved up one place to 7th, Mark B was up four places to 10th  and Ian C was up five places to 11th. Frantz in his Contender had decided to call it a day.
On the third lap Jon clipped No 5, did his turns and got to 9 without losing a place! Mike A tried to squeeze between Mark B and No 2, but brushed the buoy, did his turns but he lost two places !
On the same lap the boats in the middle of the fleet rounded 9 and the wind completely disappeared and then came up in completely the opposite direction before veering round again to the original direction !
By the end of the third lap Steve S had taken the lead with Peter S 2nd and Newton & Roz 3rd. Ian had now moved through from 11th to 4th with Monica still 5th. Richard S was the leading Laser in 6th followed by the Lasers of Jon, Mark and Ken. Peter R had moved up two places to 11th and Mike T and James P were up three places to 12th and 13th. Steve P had moved up two places to 18th.
Monica decided three laps were enough and joined Frantz on the bank.
At the finish gun Steve S was still in 1st place but Ian had moved up one more place to 2nd with Newton & Roz just pipping Richard for 3rd by about half a boat length. Peter S was 5th and Jon C 6th.   
Ken and Mark had scrapped all race and Ken just managed to lead Mark at the gun to finish in 7th.
Steve P had moved up two more places but could not quite catch Hadey ahead of him. William managed to stay ahead of Dean & Nick and Mark & Ellen.
Final Positions were 1st Steve S (Solo); 2nd Ian C (Supernova), 3rd Newton & Roz (Laser 2000), which must be the first time this year a Laser has not been in the first three !


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