Author: jollysailor

Report: RSC at NSSA Team Racing at Oxford

 A short report on the National Schools Sailing Assoc team racing event at Oxford Sailing Club that RSC took part in this Saturday 21st March.
 
The Event:  NSSA Match Racing Championships, with 20 teams from as far afield as Lancashire and Worchester.  
 
The Location:  Oxford Sailing Club Farmoor Reservoir (its big folks, I mean really big !)
 
The RSC Team:  Team 1  Hadey (helm), Louis (crew),  Team 2 William (helm), Joe (crew).  
 
The Happenings:   A grey blustery day greeted the team at Oxford, the first challenge being how to rig their Fireflies.  Ably assisted by the Commodore and Boat Park Marshall who ensured that all the ropes that looked as if they needed to be attached were attached to something that looked at least meaningful if not necessary. The adult helpers then eying the wind and the weight of the crew decided that loads of kicker and outhaul was the order of the day. Then they were off ! with the briefest instruction on how use the complicated pulley system to lower the steel centre-boards.    
 
The first race against West Oxford A was won, on account of one of the other boats capsizing and then turtling – which gives you some idea of the wind conditions!  The second race was more confused with William and Joe drifting off to one of the less frequented parts of the reservoir as they attempted to re-rig their jib sheets. Meanwhile Hadley and Louis in a surfeit on enthusiasm, ended up starting in the race before theirs !  At this point common sense broke out in the race committee and there was a hiatus while all the boats were re-rigged with storm mains.  This pause was enlivened with the launching of an International Moth, who then proceeded to demonstrate some truly spectacular capsizes. 
 
Not sure I can remember much about the third race against Worchester, other than I am happy to report that Oxford Sailing Club does a smashing line in bacon sandwiches!  Fourth race against OTRA, saw OTRA ‘s two boats in the lead after the windward mark. But with some good downwind sailing and gaining starboard rights on the final approaches to the finish line saw Hadley & Louis squeaking into first.  William and Joe were very close behind and could have squeaked 3rd place if they had called their rights as well – but politeness got the better of them !           
 
1 win and 3 losses didn’t see them through to the quarter finals. Anyhow it is not the result, that counts,  both Alastair and I were very impressed with the way that both crews handled in what were to them very unfamiliar and large boats in very trying conditions. Unlike other teams, no one capsized (we aren’t counting Hadey falling out her boat before the start of the first race !). Also worth bearing in mind that for Joe and Louis this was the first sailing for them this season – a baptism of fire ! So well done to everyone, and a particular well done to Hadey for organizing the entry and the teams.
 
Photos:

Best Regards
 
James Primrose

15 March Spring Pursuit 2

The second race of the Spring Series, but not much like Spring weather as there was a brisk 10 mph North Easterly with a cold edge. Chris A  used a Tektona start with a beat to X (set in the middle of the lake NW of 8) then across to 8 a run up to 5, a nice reach to 2 and then another run to 3 and back through the start.
 
There were 17 starters and first away again at 3 minutes was William P (Topper) followed at 12.5 minutes by Peter S in his Byte and Mike A (Lightning) at 14.5. At 15.5 minutes the Leaders of Neville & Sally and Hugh & Hadey sallied forth with Sylvia (Radial) and Mike C (Solo) going 30 secs later and Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) another 30 secs after them. At 19 minutes the eight strong Laser pack set out with Ian C (Supernova) going at 20.5 minutes.
At the end of the first lap Peter S came through in the lead with William P 2nd, Mike A 3rd and Newton & Ellen 4th.
Peter S was still in the lead at the end of the second lap but then realised he had not been going down the lake as far as No 3 !  It was a long way back to re-round so he decided to retire. William was still 2nd but Newton & Ellen had come through to take 3rd.
By the third lap David C (Laser) had taken the lead with Newton & Ellen 2nd and Curtis in another Laser (What – no Otter !) was up to 3rd with Mike A hanging on to 4th but being closed down by the rest of the Lasers.
In the meantime Hugh & Hadey had capsized twice and had a boat full of water so decided that was enough water for one day !
The fourth lap leaders were the same, but Richard S (Laser) had moved up to 3rd pushing Curtis down to 4th  with Ken P (Laser) 5th and James P (Laser) 6th. Ian had caught some of the Lasers and was 7th followed by Sylvia in 8th.
After five laps the first five boats had maintained their positions but Ian C had moved up one more place to 6th. Jon C (Laser) had gained two places and Steve P and Alistair S both in Lasers had  gained one place.
The final gun went before the end of the sixth lap with most boats maintaining their position, but Ian C made up one more place to 5th and Steve P also gained another place.   
The final positions were 1st David C; 2nd Newton & Ellen; 3rd Richard S; 4th Curtis.
 
It was definitely a Laser day with only two other boats in the top ten.
Hugh and Hadey had a terrible day, not only did they capsize twice but Hugh put his elbow through the aft buoyancy tank inspection cover and then one of the stub axles on their trolley broke !

 


08 March Spring Pursuit 1

Simon B set a beat up to 3 then back along the buoy line to 4, towards the island and round 9, across to 2 then back towards the island and around 1 finishing the course round 6 and 7.
 
There were 23 starters but being a pursuit race they did not all go off together and first away were William P and William D in their Toppers followed four minutes later by Curtis in his Otter (yes an Otter on the lake !), two  minutes later John C  went off in his Topaz and then three and a half minutes after that by Hadey (4.7). Mike & Sally (Leader) were next away followed one and a half minutes later by Mike C (Solo) and the two Radials of John W and Steve S. Then it was the turn of Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) to set off with Peter R (Enterprise) following one minute later and the pack of 11 Lasers starting one and a half minutes after Peter and finally Ian C another one and half minutes after the Laser pack. 
James P got pushed the wrong side of the start mark by David C (legally) (note for those that don’t know, you can’t claim water at the start mark). James then turned hit someone else and ended up doing a 720. Not the best of starts and his head must have been spinning by the time he got going. (Not to worry – he’s quite used to that !).
Mike and Sally somehow managed to capsize gybing at 4, some technical problem with the sheets ! always a good idea to blame the equipment, it never answers back.
At the end of the first lap William P was still in the lead with Curtis 2nd and John C 3rd but Steve S in his Radial was closing in and had just passed Hadey to take 4th place from her.
By the end of the second lap Curtis had taken the lead, William P was still in 2nd  but David C in the first of the Lasers had moved up to 3rd  pushing Steve S to 4th with Jon coming up to 5th.
At the end of the third lap and approaching the full time whistle David C was 1st, Jon C 2nd and Newton & Ellen had moved up to 3rd and Ian C to 4th.  The Lasers had come through and occupied the middle of the fleet and were having a terrific battle.
Ian eventually caught Newton & Ellen with about 5 minutes to go and called for water at 9, but he got hit by a gust and promptly capsized right at the mark. Newton & Ellen managed to slip through the gap and left him behind. Steve S and Richard S in close battle behind thought that that this was their chance but Ian got the boat up quickly, (he has had lots of practice) and kept his place
At the hooter the final positions were 1st David C; 2nd Jon C; 3rd Newton & Ellen; 4th Ian C; 5th Steve S and 6th Richard S.     


Spring Is Here !

Sunday is the start of the Spring Pursuit Series. Perfect wind and warm weather forecast. Race starts at 10.30 for Mirrors and later for faster boats. New handicaps for 2015 apply and can be found under racing on the Web Site. The start intervals have been shortened to every 30 sec so check your times carefully. There will be gun ever 30 seconds (hopefully).  

1st March Frostbite 15

 

There was a strong West wind about 20-25 mph with even stronger gusts, so not surprisingly there were only 11 starters this morning. Dave L and team set a beat down to 4 then across to 2, back up to 3 then a run down to a gybe at 5 a fast run/reach down to another gybe at 8 up to yet another gybe at 6 down to 7 and back through the start line.

Young William actually rigged his Topper but when it blew over before even getting on the water he wisely decided not to go out. Mike A (Laser) started the fun off by capsizing just before the start gun and in his haste to get up and get started pulled it over for a double capsize. He then drifted into the bushes and by the time he got free and crossed the start line the leaders were rounding No 3 at the other end of the lake !  

On the first lap there were numerous capsizes and Mark C (RS 200) called it a day after three dips.

James P (Laser) capsized after gybing round 6, shot out of the boat and disappeared beneath the surface. Newton & Ellen who rounded just behind him were suddenly alarmed when James reappeared immediately in front of them and they had to take emergency avoiding action!

Jon C (Laser) came back through the start in 1st position with David C (Laser) 2nd and Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) 3rd. Adrian (Laser) was next through, followed by Paul (Aero), who had also been swimming. Then Hadey in her 4.7 came through in 6th place, some four minutes ahead of Mike who was just ahead of Steve P (Laser).

On the second lap David C double capsized and in the process his main sheet came out of the blocks and by the time he had sorted his rigging out Jon had lapped him!

So at the end of the second lap Adrian had moved up to 2nd position behind Jon with Newton & Ellen still 3rd and Paul 4th. Hadey had moved up one place to 5th with a re-rigged David 6th and Mike and Steve still 7th and 8th.

The three leaders retained their positions to the end of the race and in fact were the only boats to complete four laps. The rest of the fleet were finished after completing three laps.

At the end of the third and last lap for some, the only change in position was that David had managed to catch and pass Hadey.

Mike A having had an eventful start to the race decided to finish in the same fashion. After gybing round 5 he death-rolled and lost his rudder, got going again and gybed round 8 whereupon he was T-boned by Newton & Ellen and rolled over losing his rudder again! It turns out the black tube protruding from the front of the Laser 2000 is not spinnaker pole but actually a battering ram !

The final positions on the water were 1st Jon; 2nd Adrian; 3rd Newton & Ellen; 4th Paul. On handicap Newton & Ellen will take 2nd pushing Adrian down to 3rd, but Hadey who sailed a good race will take 4th place from Paul.

However Paul was a clear leader in the capsize league with about 9, Steve was credited with 5, Mike 4 including a double, Hadey 4, Mark 3, David a double with complications, James 2 plus a dive.

Newton & Ellen did not actually capsize but had two boatfuls and a ramming !

Adrian was an unknown quantity and Jon was the only one who definitely did not to capsize. Jon  claimed that he had not capsized because when it got gusty  he hung about near the buoy line and then pressed on when the gust had passed. As he finished some 6 minutes ahead of the next boat he obviously did not do enough loitering on the buoy line !

22nd February Frostbite 14

 There was a nice 10 mph SW breeze with the forecast predicting 13-14 mph by the end of the race for the 19 starters. Dave L set a first beat down to 2, back up to 5, then down to 3, back to 9 then up round 6 down to 7 and back through the start.

Just before the start Peter R (Enterprise) had to cross the orange buoy line to avoid a collision and found himself stuck behind the buoys when the start gun went. It was quite an eventful first lap as the four leaders David C, Jon and Steve S in Lasers and Newton & Ellen in their Laser 2000 all rounded the first mark No 2 the wrong way round, i.e. they took it to port when they should have rounded with the mark to starboard.  They all went back round the mark but David and Jon did not realise that they had incorrectly re-rounded until later.
Sylvia capsized gybing round 5, which forced Mike A who was just behind to her to take avoiding action and he finished pinned on the orange buoy line by Steve P. It took Mike and Steve some time to work themselves free of the buoy line (there seemed to be a fatal attraction to the orange buoys today !)  
At the end of the first lap Ian C (Supernova) crossed the line in first place followed by Jon, who subsequently retired when he discovered his infringement on the first mark. Curtis (Laser) came through in 3rd place closely followed by Ken, James and Adrian in Lasers then Newton & Ellen followed by three more Lasers, Steve S, John W and Sylvia. Next through the line was Peter S (Byte), Mike C (Solo) and Hugh (Byte) followed by the orange buoy huggers, Mike A, Steve P and Peter R. Then Alistair S (Laser) came through in 17th place, but was fast being caught by David C who had to go back half a lap to re-round No 2. The fleet was completed by William in his Topper.
By the end of the second lap Ian was well clear of the Laser pack, but they were having a really close battle. Ken was now 2nd with James 3rd and Steve S up to 4th. Newton & Ellen had moved up to 6th and John W had moved up two places to 7th. Towards the back of the fleet Mike A had moved up four places and David five places.
William received the finish gun at the end of his second lap.
At the end of the third and final lap the two leaders were the same but Steve S had moved up one place to 3rd.  The only other movers on this lap were the tangerines, Mike A, Steve P and Peter R and the late re-rounder David who all made up one more place.
Final positions on the water were 1st Ian; 2nd Ken; 3rd Steve S; 4th James; 5th Curtis; 6th Newton & Ellen.
However Peter S had sailed a good race in his Byte hanging on to the back of the Laser pack and although Ian is safe in 1st place, Peter should take 2nd place on handicap with Ken pushed down to 3rd  and Newton & Ellen coming up to 4th.
 
An interesting point to remember about Mark Rounding –  
Today at No 2 the first 4 boats rounded it the wrong way. David, Jon, Steve and Newton. After realising their mistake all four went back round it the right way. However this only undoes the incorrect rounding so you have still round it again correctly. It is like considering your track as a piece of string that if you pull it tight it ends up wrapped around the buoy. Steve and Newton did this but David and Jon did not, although David did go back when he got past No 5 ! Jon decided to retire as he had completed the first lap by the time that he was informed.
 
 


15 February Frostbite 13

 

With a light North East wind Ian C used a Tektona start with a beat to X (middle of the lake NE of No 8), then back to 5, down to 9 then 2, 3 and back through the start.
There were 22 starters and Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) came through in 1st at the end of the first lap, followed by a quartet of Lasers, Jon, David C, Ken P (making a welcome appearance) and Dave L then Peter R in his Enterprise came through in 6th with Curtis (Laser) 7th and Steve S (Solo) in 8th closely followed by Sylvia (Laser).
There was a trio of Leaders out (boats not pathfinders) and Neville led this particular battle crossing the line in 10th with Mike & Sally 11th and Hugh a little further back in 18th. Just in front of Hugh we had a new competitor in a new boat, Mark C in his RS 200 (pleased to have you join us Mark). Ahead of Mark were Peter S (Byte) and Mike C (Solo).
By the end of the second lap David C had moved up to 1st and Peter R up to 2nd with Jon 3rd and Newton & Ellen now 4th.  Steve P had gained the most places moving up from 13th to 7th, Alistair S gained four places, but James P decided to retire after a number of close encounters had resulted in penalty turns and young William who was out again in his Topper received the gun at the end of his second lap.
 At the end of the third and last lap David was still in the lead but Jon had retaken Peter R for 2nd with Newton & Ellen 4th. Ken P and Steve P had passed Dave L and they finished 5th, 6th and 7th respectively with Steve S coming through in 8th. Neville had gained two places to finish in 9th and Peter S gained two places and was close enough to the boats in front of him to move up considerably on handicap. Hadey was also close enough to make significant gains on handicap.
The final positions on the water were 1st David C; 2nd Jon; 3rd Peter R, but on handicap Newton & Ellen should take 1st with David 2nd and Peter R 3rd.
Peter S and Hadey on handicap should move up to 8th and 9th respectively.

8th February Frostbite 12

A nice breeze and the sun was shining, it could almost be Spring apart from the ice on the lake ! Despite the ice there were 19 starters.
John W and team used a Tektona start and the bottom end of the lake to avoid the ice near the clubhouse. First mark was No 5, then down to 2, across to 3, along the buoy line to 4, down to No 1 and back through the start line.
David C (Laser) was leading at the end of the first lap followed by Jon (Laser), Steve P (505), Paul R(Aero) and then Adrian in another Laser. The middle of the fleet was a closely contested Laser pack with Mark B, Dave L, Rod B, Sylvia and James P all within 50 seconds of one another. Hugh in his Byte came next with Mike & Sally (Leader) a little further back in close company with Peter R in the Enterprise. Mike C (Solo) and Hadey (4.7) were very close together  being chased by Alistair S (Laser), Peter S (Byte) and William in his Topper.
Steve P had taken the lead on the second lap with Paul up to 2nd pushing David and Jon down to 3rd and 4th. Rod B had moved through the Lasers from 9th up to 5th with Sylvia also going well moving up three places to 7th. Peter R had also moved up three places passing Mike & Sally, Hugh and James P. Peter S moved up two places by passing Hadey and Alistair.
Another new leader at the end of the third lap as Paul came through the line in 1st place followed by David 2nd, Jon 3rd and Steve 4th. Rod had retained 5th spot but Sylvia had moved up another place to 6th.
David C had regained the lead on the fourth lap and the Laser pack battle continued with Mark B coming through to 5th pushing Rod and Sylvia back to 6th and 7th. Peter R and Mike & Sally had moved up another place and Hugh and Hadey were now alongside one another, not sure if they were battling it out or simply having a good chat!.
On the last lap David missed his toe strap and capsized which let Paul through to 1st and Jon to 2nd with David just managing to pip Steve for 3rd place. Mark had managed to hang on to 5th with Sylvia coming through to 6th. The other movers on the last lap were Alistair and Peter S who both moved up two places by passing Hugh and Hadey who crossed the line virtually together.
The final positions on the water were 1st Paul, 2nd Jon, 3rd David, but on handicap both Jon and David should leapfrog Paul.

01 February Frostbite 11

A cutting 20 mph N to NW wind reduced the number of starters to 13, but in such conditions it was a tribute to their enthusiasm and bravery that they started at all !
Bob L and team had set the first beat up to 6 then down to 9 back up to 5 on the buoy line, down to 3 and then down to 2, up round the island to 8 and back through the start line.
David C (Laser) decided to give everyone a chance by capsizing 10 seconds before the start gun and Steve P (Laser) capsized three times and took a mouthful of water before the first mark ! This focussed his mind considerably and he finished the race without further mishap.
First back through the start line was Jon (Laser) followed by David who had recovered quickly from his pre-start spill to work his way up to 2nd.  Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) came through in 3rd with Steve S (Laser) 4th. Then the Lasers of Curtis, James and Adrian came through locked together with Sylvia and Hadey close together a little further back . Next through was Peter S in his Byte and then there was quite a gap back to Steve P trying to make up ground after his three early capsizes and he was followed by William (Topper) who had done well to complete the lap despite four capsizes on his way round. Ian C had impaled the mast of his Supernova and did not make it back through the start line.
Steve S decided to call it a day as he had tweaked his back and William also decided that was enough swimming for one day. Sylvia came to grief rounding 6 and also impaled her mast in the mud so that was the end of her day.
At the end of the second lap the first three were in the same order but Curtis had suffered a couple of capsizes letting James and Adrian through to 4th and 5th respectively. Hadey had moved up two places to 7th with Peter S 8th and Steve P 9th.  
There was an interesting diversion when the orange buoy line came adrift. The rescue boat fixed it once but it came adrift again and at one time it looked as if it would cut off No 5 from the course !
On the third lap Curtis capsized again injuring his arm which forced him to retire.
Jon was still leading David at the end of the lap but Newton & Ellen had dropped back slightly but they were some way ahead of James and Adrian who were having a terrific battle for 4th place. Hadey was going well in 6th place but being gradually caught by Steve P who had got past Peter S, who had suffered a number of capsizes.
By the end of the fourth lap David had managed to pass Jon with Newton & Ellen still in 3rd. Adrian crossed the line just ahead of James and then promptly capsized on the way up to 6. Steve P had managed to get past Hadey  and they were given the gun at the end of their fourth lap along with Peter.
At the end of the final lap none of the positions had changed, but Adrian was back ahead of James who presumably had capsized to let him through again.
The final positions on the water were 1st David C, 2nd Jon, 3rd Newton & Ellen, 4th Adrian, 5th James, 6th Steve P, 7th Hadey, 8th Peter S .
The only change on handicap will probably be Hadey taking 6th from Steve.
 
The only finishers not to capsize were Jon and Newton & Ellen, although David’s capsize was before the start gun !
Top of the Capsize League was Peter with 5, including two double capsizes, then William with 4 wet capsizes and James with 4 dry capsizes. Curtis and Steve had 3 each and Adrian had 2, one of which was a double.
Well done to all who sailed !!


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