Author: jollysailor

25th January Frostbite 10

With an 8 mph South West wind, Phil M surprisingly used a Tektona start with a short one tack beat to 2, up to 4 then a run down to 8, across to 6 and back up the lake to 5 then down to 9 and back through the start.

There were 20 starters of which 12 were Lasers, but the first boat back through the start line was Steve P in his 505 followed by Ian C in the Supernova, then the first Laser was Steve S but he was followed by Newton & Ellen in their Laser 2000. The next seven boats were Lasers then came the Leaders of Neville in 12th and Hugh 14th sandwiching Sylvia in her Laser. Mike C (Solo) and Peter S (Byte) were having a close battle just ahead of Hadey in her 4.7 and bringing up the rear were Alistair S (Laser) and William in his Topper.
At the end of the 2nd lap the leaders were still the same, but Steve P did not come back through the start line and was disqualified (not that he knew this until the end of the race !).
David and Jon C had managed to slip past Mark B to take 4th and 5th spots respectively and Curtis and Adrian had moved past Mike A to 7th and 8th. Peter S and Mike C continued their battle with Peter crossing the line just ahead of Mike C.
Ian C was still leading at the end of the third lap in company with the disqualified 505 with Steve S 2nd and Jon C up to 3rd. Curtis and Adrian were still very close together in 7th and 8th places. Rod B had gained a place moving up to 9th and Sylvia had escaped the clutches of the Leaders moving up two places to 10th. James P had also passed the Leaders and gained two places to 12th. This time round Mike C was just in front of Peter S. At the end of this lap young William received the gun.
At the finish the first two had held their positions, but David C managed to pip Jon to take 3rd, but Newton & Ellen were ominously close in 5th place with Mark B 6th. Adrian managed to nip past Curtis to take 7th.  Further back James P had gained one more place and Peter S had retaken Mike C.
The final positions on the water were 1st Ian C, 2nd Steve S, 3rd David C, but on handicap it is likely that Newton & Ellen will take the second spot from Steve S. Neville, Hugh, Mike C and particularly Hadey should move up quite a few places as they were not far from the back of the Laser pack.
Bad luck for Steve P who sailed the whole of the race, only to find that he was disqualified, but well done to Hugh sailing the Leader single handed and to William who got another finish under his belt in the Topper.

18th January Frostbite 9

 With a North wind about 8 mph, Peter R and team set a first beat up to 6, then down to 2, up to 4 then 5 down to 9 and back through the start. It was a tricky choice which end of the line to choose, the far pin had more wind, but the bank end was probably nearer to 6 in a straight line.

19 boats started and it looked like the far pin was the better choice, although Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) did well starting from the middle of the line.

There was a certain amount of turmoil as a large number of boats attempted to round 2 at the same time but they seemed to sort themselves out on the way up to 4 !

First back through the line were David C then Mark B in Lasers. It was good to see Mark back on the water after a little break. Newton& Ellen came through in 3rd, very closely followed by the Lasers of Adrian and Jon then Ian C (Supernova).  Sylvia (Laser) was next, going well just in front of Steve S (Laser) and Steve P (505). Rod B (Laser) and Neville (Leader) came through together in 10th and 11th with Curtis (Laser) in close attendance in 12th place. There was then a slight gap to James P (Laser), Mike C (Solo) and Andy B (Laser) followed by Mike A (Laser) who had suffered a slight problem rounding 9 when he discovered his tiller was no longer attached to his rudder!   Not far behind Mike were Hadey (4.7), Alistair (Laser) and William in his Topper.

At the end of the second lap the two leaders were the same but Ian had moved up to 3rd. Steve P had moved up from 9th to 6th, Curtis had got past Neville, Andy B had got past Mike C, Mike A had moved up from 16th to 13th and Alistair had passed Hadey. All the other boats maintained station.

The end of the third and last lap saw David cross the line in 1st place; Ian was now 2nd and Steve P 3rd. Others gaining places on this last lap were Jon C moving up from 7th to 5th, Neville who had repassed Curtis and James who had repassed Mike A on the run down to 9.

The final positions on the water were 1st David C, 2nd Ian C and 3rd Steve P; on handicap the first two are safe but Steve P will lose his 3rd place to Mark B.

The other movers on handicap will be Newton & Ellen who should take 4th, Neville who should get 7th, Hadey 8th and Mike C 9th.


Flood alert

The river Thames just beyond the club now has a flood alert warning, with the forecast for more rain over the next few days levels will continue to rise. Please visit the club this weekend and ensure your boat is secure and tethered so it doesn't take a trip down stream.

Video Of Last Sundays Race

Ellen has edited footage from last Sundays race, if you want to see it follow the link below. We got a bit spread out so but most boats come into view at some point. The camera was on the end of the boom and there is a nice under water shot when the end of the boom went into the water. It all looks a bit more under controlled than I remember, I am sure there was more wind on the day.
Newton

11th January Frostbite 8

Bright and cold with a 16 mph SW wind and quite gusty made a change from last week.
All the Laser sailors decided to go for Radials apart from Adrian who came down to a full sail from his Rooster booster! Steve P abandoned his 505 and joined the Laser Radials and Hugh and Sally got together in Hugh’s new Leader, as Hadey had gone for her 4.7. The only other boat out was young William who bravely ventured forth in his Topper.
Roland S set a beat down to 4 then 3, back to 2 and across to 5 with a run down to 6 and back through the start. In the gusty conditions 3, 2 and 6 were interesting gybe marks!
14 Boats started and the leaders away from the line were David and Jon C and Steve S, all in Lasers, closely followed by Ian C (Supernova) and Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000). Slightly further back came Hugh & Sally (Leader) then James P, Adrian and Mike A (Lasers) with Curtis in another Laser still further back followed by Steve P and Dave L (Lasers) then Hadey 4.7 and William in his Topper.  
On the first lap Ian came to grief and got his mast stuck in the mud and was passed by most of the fleet as he tried to free himself. At the front of the fleet the first four boats were having terrific battle with David C leading the way. James P dry capsized, which allowed Adrian and Mike to slip past him.
On the second lap Dave L suffered a double capsize and disappeared from view eventually retiring on the third lap. Steve P had a few capsizes but kept plugging on. 
By the third lap Adrian had pulled away from Mike who was being caught by James, but these Lasers had managed to get past Hugh & Sally. The four leaders were still locked together at the front of the fleet. Hadey had suffered a number of capsizes and managed to dredge a considerable amount of mud from the bottom of the lake! William was given the gun at the end of his third lap.
There was little change in position on the fourth and fifth laps, but the racing was still tight. The leg from 2 to 5 was a really exciting high speed plane. Hadey was given the gun at the end of her fourth lap and Hugh & Sally and Steve P were finished at the end of their fifth lap.  
Hugh & Sally had survived a near capsize and managed to fill the Leader with water up to the gunwales.
At the end of the sixth and final lap Steve S won the battle of the leaders crossing the line in first place with Jon 2nd, David 3rd and Newton & Ellen 4th. Adrian finished slightly behind this group in 5th and James who has passed Mike the previous lap just managed to hold him off on the last run to take 6th.
The final positions on the water were 1st Steve S, 2nd Jon C, 3rd David C, but on handicap it looks like Newton & Ellen will take all three Lasers for the eventual honours.
The Capsize League was in operation for this race and Steve P was the clear winner with five, followed by Hadey with three and a double, Ian C claimed three, Dave L had at least one double and James had one dry capsize. Hugh & Sally and probably others had near capsizes and there were numerous instances of trailing booms
An invigorating Sunday morning !  


4th January Frost Bite 7

A frosty dull morning with light SE wind reduced the starters to only 7 boats, but did see the first outing for Hugh and Hadey in their new Leader.

Richard S took the wise precaution of setting a short course, in case the wind disappeared completely, with a first beat to 5 then down to X (just North of Tektona), back to 9 and across to 6 and back through the start line.
Steve S (Solo) led at the first mark with Mike A (Laser) next followed by Steve P in the 505 and this was the order at the end of the first lap. Newton & Roz (Laser 2000) were 4th, Curtis (Laser) 5th, Hugh & Hadey (Leader) 6th and Alistair S (Laser) 7th.
On the second lap Steve P passed Mike, who in turn had passed Steve S, to come through the line in the lead. The positions behind these three remained unchanged.
At the end of the third and final lap Mike A crossed the line in 1st place with Steve P in 2nd and Steve S in 3rd, however on handicap Steve S will take the honours with Newton & Roz 2nd and Mike 3rd with Hugh & Hadey pipping Curtis for 4th.


Follow David & Paul live

The Jolly Sailor has learnt that following the lead of the Leaders (Mike, Sally, Nev & Hugh) back in September in trying to improve performance by attending open meetings, an anonymous tip-off said David and Paul will be racing in a fleet of 150 on Saturday.  The Jolly sailor has hidden GPS trackers on their boats an you will be able to watch them compete live from the comfort of your armchair at http://events.sailracer.org/eventsites/sailracer.html?196297

New Years Day Cup

Come down and blow away the hangover, and blame any sickness on the sea state! New Years Day Cup starts at 11.00 and is a 1 hour handicap race. Alternatively come and watch the entertainment.
 
 

21 December Frost Bite 5

 It was a strong wind this morning, about 15 -16 mph from the SW and quite gusty. Jon M set a long beat down to 3 then back along the buoy line to 4 down to 2, across to 5 down to 8 then 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 16 starters which was good considering the brisk wind and David C (Laser) was first back through the start line followed pater JC in another Laser then Newton & Roz in the Laser 2000 with Ian C (Supernova) close on their heels.  Paul R (Aero) came through next in 5th place followed by Steve & Lynn in the 505 (nice to see you back on the water Lynn). The next group was the mid-fleet Laser pack who enjoyed a terrific scrap all through the race, led initially by Simon B followed by Mike A, Dave L, Dave P and Curtis. There was a slight gap back to Hadey who was going well with her 4.7 rig (some of the others were wishing they had the same rig!). Hadey was closely chased by Rod B (Laser) then further back was the sole Solo of Mike C just ahead of Hugh (Byte) with Paul D (Radial), who was persevering well in the challenging conditions.

At the end of the second lap the Laser Cs were keeping it in the family and still leading, but Ian had nipped in front of Newton & Roz with Paul R and Steve & Lynn still running 5th and 6th. The leader of the Laser pack was now Dave L and Dave P had slipped to the rear by virtue of just touching Dave L’s boom at No 5 and having to do penalty turns, at the same time taking Mike A down the lake with him! Further back Rod B had got past Hadey and Hugh was practising capsize drills.

By the end of the third lap Paul R had gained three places to move up to 2nd behind David C with Jon C 3rd and Ian 4th trying to shake off Newton & Roz with Steve & Lynn not far behind them. Dave L and Mike A were leading the midfield Lasers and Dave P had gained two places to move up to 9th. Curtis came to grief on this lap inverting his Laser and impaling the mast in the mud, so it was an early bath for him (literally). Rod B also capsized gybing round No 6 allowing Hadey and Hugh to slip past him.

Having led from start to finish David C came through the line to take victory with Paul R a little behind in 2nd , but Ian had moved up to take 3rd with Newton & Roz 4th and Jon C 5th.

Dave L took the honours in the midfield battle, but Simon B retired presumably capsized (but not sure of this). Hugh also retired after a quadruple capsize! Mike A also capsized by pulling the boat over on to himself (difficult to do in these windy conditions), the end of his boom got embedded in the mud and by the time he got going again he had been passed by the whole of the fleet. Rod had made up two places and crossed the line in 9th. In sight of the finish Mike C capsized gybing round No 8 allowing Mike A to get past him on the water.

The final positions on the water were 1st David C, 2nd Paul R, 3rd Ian C, but on handicap Ian will probably be pipped by Newton & Roz. Hadey sailed well and by not capsizing will probably take 6th place on handicap. Paul D did well to keep going and get a finish.

It was considered that we should have a capsize league as well as a normal leader board but as with all sailing procedures there are numerous complications. It looked as if Hugh would take the capsize honours with 6, then Ian C and Jon C with 4, Mike C with 2½ (what’s half a capsize !), Paul D 2, then Simon B, Rod B, Curtis and Mike A with 1 each., but then along came Paul R with “too numerous to count”.  It then turned out that Hugh had 3 separate capsizes but the last of these was a quadruple capsize. Now does this count more or less than four separate capsizes and does a capsize to windward count more than a “dry” capsize to leeward? Also does a capsize resulting in a retirement count more than one which just results in a time loss.  Ian was using his capsizes as part of his normal technique for gybing around 4, so should he be penalised for improper capsizes ?, Sally suffered a virtual capsize – she thought she might capsize if she went out so kindly volunteered to prepare soup and rolls. This probably counts less than an actual capsize but definitely deserves bonus points.

Hadey, Dave P, Steve & Lynn and David C did not capsize at all and probably should be disqualified for this. David C said that he would have capsized, but could not see the capsize flag so considered that he was not entitled to do so.

We may have to rewrite the rules to sort this issue out.

Have a Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2015.

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