Author: jollysailor
Firework Party 8th November All Members, Juniors and Pirates Welcome
We are having a FIREWORK PARTY and YOU are invited!
When Saturday 8th November
Where Reading Sailing Club
Time 6.30pm till 8.30pm ish.
Cost £2.00 for a slice of yummy Pizza and a glass of squash
Lucky wine and beer raffle
Wear warm clothes and BRING A LARGE FIREWORK or TWO !
Let us know you are planning to join us, so we can make sure there is plenty of Pizza!
Email laura@spacreators.co.uk
5th October Cobley Race 5
Another sunny light wind Sunday, quite a change from the work party on the previous day at which everyone got soaked! The wind was forecast to be SSW 5 mph, but for the first half of the race it was barely more than a whisper.
Mike A set a beat down to 4 and then came back up the lake via 9, 5, X, 6 and 7 then back down to 4.
First off at 3 minutes was a Pico manned by a returning member, but in fact John C in his Topaz setting off at 10 min crossed the line before the Pico. Sally (Comet) should have gone at 12 min but joined in the general lethargy and let Hugh in his Byte cross the line just ahead of her. Monica next away must have found her Europe quite small as she was fresh back from racing tall ships down to Cherbourg. Nev (Leader) and the Radials of Jess and Paul W set out 2 min later, followed by Peter R (Enterprise) and then 1 min after Peter, was a diminished Laser pack consisting of Karen, Curtis, Dave L, James P and Eddie B. Last man away at 21 min should have been Adrian in his Vago, but James decided to join in the lethargy and let Adrian cross before him.
For a time it looked as if no-one would even get to 4 never mind back up the lake, but eventually Monica led the way down to X having passed John C who was hanging on in 2nd place. Having rounded X, Monica stalled and could not find any wind, which allowed the Lasers of Curtis, Dave and Karen to slip past. Coming away from 7, Karen had snatched the lead with Dave L 2nd and Curtis 3rd. Monica was still in 4th with Nev 5th, Hugh 6th and Peter 7th and Adrian 8th.
Curtis led coming down to X for the second time but Karen and Dave were not far behind and Karen managed to slip inside Curtis at No 6 to take the lead down to 7.
These three then engaged in a tactical tacking battle as they set out for No 4. Karen had a slight lead but with the end imminent she tacked just before the gun went giving the victory to Dave. Another second and she would have also ceded 2nd place to Curtis, who was outside her going down the buoy line, but the side of her boat was just ahead of Curtis’ bow at the gun. A really, really close finish at the end of 90 minutes.
Behind these Nev just managed to take 4th ahead of Peter, with Adrian coming just ahead of Monica. In the battle of the Radials Jess managed to get ahead of Paul.
Final positions were 1st Dave L, 2nd Karen, 3rd Curtis, all in Lasers.
28th September Cobley Pursuit Race 4
A beautiful sunny morning and with a light SE wind Tony R used a Tektona start with a first leg down to 8, then 6, 5, 9, 3, 4. It might have been a beat to 8, but the wind was constantly changing so for some it was a beat, but for others it could pretty well be anything !
There were 19 starters and first away was Sally in her new Comet, so at least she can say that she led her first race in her new boat. Hugh (Byte) and Hadey (4.7) followed 1 minute later, not strictly true as although Hugh started on time Hadey decided to give it another minute before she crossed the line! Mike A (Lightning) set out next followed a minute later by Chris A and Mike C in their Solos and then Nev and Mike in the Leaders. Next away were the 8 Lasers of David C, Dave I, Dave L, Karen, Curtis, Richard S, Ken P and Phil A with Adrian in the Vago going 3 minutes later and then big Steve P another 9 minutes after that.
Paul R started somewhere amongst this, but not exactly sure of the time as he was in a new RS Aero which is not in our current Pursuit Race times.
The wind was all over the place and the fleet kept stretching out and then coming together again and individual boats could lose or gain on every leg.
At the first checkpoint David C had crept into the lead with Dave I 2nd, Mike C 3rd and Karen a very close 4th, although there was no guarantee in these conditions that anyone could claim their place was safe.
After rounding 9 on what would be the last lap the fleet was fairly well stretched out. Then the leading group of boats ran out of wind about 2/3 of the way to No 3. Meanwhile the wind picked up for the boats at the back of the fleet and pretty well the whole fleet approached No 3 with about six boats abreast in rows ! There was much calling for water and windward boat ! Steve P tried a novel approach by rounding on port when everyone else was rounding on starboard!
This mass eventually got sorted and set out for No 4 and then on the final run/reach/beat to No 8 (it depended upon where you were at the time) the finish gun went.
The final positions were 1st Paul R (Aero), 2nd Dave L, 3rd Dave I (Lasers).
Bart’s Bash Results
Bart’s Bash at RSC
We had a brilliant turn out for Bart’s Bash today. We had 39 boats sign up and enter for this race which has been officially adjudicated for the purposes of being entered to participate in the Guinness World Book of Records !
Well done every one who took part and a huge thank you to Newton and his team of helpers on Race Officer Duty and Safety boat rescue.
There was a good breeze ! Official results to follow ! We raised £210 just at the club alone with donations to enter the race and cakes – (this excludes the final figures for all the just giving donations) Final fundraising figures to follow too !
PS You can find lots of images from the event on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Readingsailingclub
Alistair Johnson
Commodore
Sunday 21st Racing – Bart’s Bash – Cobley Series
The format for this Sunday’s racing has been changed from a short race for Bart’s Bash followed the normal Cobley series race. The Cobley series race has now been CANCELLED to make way for a longer Bart’s Bash race. The Bart’s Bash race will now be a handicap race of just over a hour for the lead boats. It will be shorter for slower less experienced racers. There will be a briefing at 10.10 and the race will start at 10.30.
For those who have not aware this is a charity race please find details online at www.bartsbash.co.uk You need to register for this race. This can be done online up to the 19th.
Last Pirates / Pink Fleet Saturday 13th September
Last Pirates Sept 4th.
The last Pirates of the year saw some 26 youngsters on the water with little wind. After the safety briefing, the boats launched in pairs, aided by the parents, and proceeded under Gary’s guidance to ‘hunt for treasure!’
They made a ‘raft’, did a lot of capsizing and had a lot of fun as ever!! The stunning sunset was a perfect back drop for the boats – see Face Book for pictures.
Everyone enjoyed hot chocolate amid the thanks and cheers for Gary and Monica – bottles of wine were gratefully received and vouchers for Haweli. A great end to another fantastic season of Pirates.
Pirates Halloween / Fireworks celebrations is likely to be Nov 8th….watch this space for more details.
Pink Fleet Sat 13th Sept.
The day dawned grey but that did not deter 20 boats from rigging and taking to the water. After a hearty breakfast and a briefing in the clubhouse, a motley selection of boats with youngsters and oldies, sailed down the lake for a Tektona start.
Amy and Tracey, closely followed by Richard and Alice were right on the line at the start. Alice, despite doing some penalties or not…??one the race by mile, but was disqualified of course!!
It was good to see Lily in an Oppie, Alistair and Laura in their Laser, Sally going well in Newton’s Laser and lots of youngsters in Toppers, including William and Patrick having so much fun in the water, instead of on it!!
The ladies made a great showing – by way of an excuse for being behind them, Richard was heard to say …… “he would rather not have a lot of ladies looking at him…!!”
There was a bit of crowding, bumping and shouting at 8…..but a very high standard of sailing overall.
The Pink Fleet cup went to Steve for sailing his First ever race….well done Steve, who had to settle with a kiss from Monica in lieu of the cup which had not been returned…. I wonder who that was…???
Thanks were given to James, Pat, Brian and Monica for manning the safety boats.
NEXT PINK DAY IS 11 OCTOBER.
14th September Cobley Pursuit 3
Nice to see Mark back on the water, but let’s hope we see him next in his Laser rather than in the Safety Boat. There was quite a good wind, 10-11 mph but it was in a slightly tricky ENE direction and Mark opted for a Tektona start coming down to X, then back up to 5, 1, 4 and 3.
There were 16 boats under starter’s orders and first away was young William P in his Topper followed 9 min later by Hadey in the 4.7, then 3 min after Hadey, Mike C (Solo) and Bob & Roland (Leader) set forth. Then 2 min later it was the turn of Newton & Ellen (Laser 2000) and Issy (Radial). Great to see Issy back on the water, another prodigal returning to us. Peter R & Colin H (Enterprise) started soon after followed by the Laser pack, with Paul H (Supernova) 1 min later. Adrian had to wait another minute before he could get away in his Vago and marking time for another 10 min were Steve & Lynn in the 505. Another welcome back, this time to Lynn who has had to stay away through an injury. It seemed to be a day for returning sailors !
After one lap Newton & Ellen had passed the boats ahead of them and came through in 1st place, Hadey was still hanging onto 2nd, but the Laser of David C was already ominously close in 3rd with Peter & Colin 4th, then the Lasers of Karen, Dave P, Curtis and James P closing in on the Enterprise. Obviously a good day to be in a Laser ! Mike C came through in 9th chased by Issy, Adrian and Paul H. Adrian was flying his kite when he could, but the runs were not long enough to make a significant difference, still it looked great. Next came the last starter, the 505, which had passed Bob & Roland, Mike T (Laser) and William P.
Newton & Ellen still led at two laps, but David C had moved to 2nd with Peter &Colin 3rd and the Lasers of Karen, Curtis, James P and Dave P in the next four places. The highest mover on this lap was Paul H who had gained three places.
At the end of the third lap David C and Karen had passed Newton &Ellen to take 1st and 2nd places respectively. James P had passed Curtis to move up to 5th and the other movers (upwards!) were Mike C and Paul H who each gained one place and Steve & Lynn who had gained two places.
On the final lap Curtis broke his tiller extension and had to retire before the finish gun.
At the gun the first three were the same, but the main mover was Dave P who had passed Peter & Colin and James P to take 4th place. Well done to William who persevered in his Topper to the end.
The final podium was 1st David C, 2nd Karen, 3rd Newton & Ellen
