Author: jollysailor

20th October Cobley 7

 

Well what a difference a week makes, no wind last week and a 14 – 18 mph Westerly this week.  Chris A set a long beat down to No 3 then across to 2, up to 4 and a run down to 8, a gybe into a reach across to 6 with a nice gybe round this mark and back up to 3. A good course for a windy day.
Two Mirrors set off right on the start gun, Gordon P in one and young Joe & William in the other.  After 13 minutes Hugh set off in his Byte followed by Mike A (Lightning) 2 minutes later, with Mike C (Solo) and Nev and Sally (Leader) 1 minute after that and Newton & Ellen (Laser 200) another minute back. . Two minutes later the 10 strong Laser pack set out with Adrian setting out 3 minutes behind them in his Vago. Finally Steve P in the 505 started 10 minutes behind Adrian.
First back through the start was Gordon going well in the Mirror followed by Nev & Sally then Mike A and Hugh behind the Leader. At this point Newton had caught Mike C with David C in the first of the Lasers next. Joe & William were just ahead of the chasing Laser pack. Adrian had come to grief in the Vago, not all that surprising with all that sail area in a blow like that !
On the second lap, Joe & William decided to retire and the Lasers relentlessly moved up through the fleet with David and Jon C enjoying a family squabble towards the front.
On the third lap Gordon decided discretion was the order of the day and retired and after a capsize Hugh decided the same. Alistair’s boom came clean off the gooseneck and he was struggling in the wind to get it back in place. He actually managed to fix it and carry on, but shortly afterwards capsized. However showing indomitable spirit he got going again and persevered to the finish.
In fact all of the remaining fleet made it to the final gun. It got very frisky towards the end of the race and Mike C decided to take an early bath when gybing round 8 with only about 5 minutes to the finish then Mike A demonstrated the death roll on his way back to shore after the race had finished !.
The final positions were 1st David C, 2nd Jon C, 3rd Newton & Ellen


12th October Cobley 6

Last week we had a light wind Sunday and this week we had a no wind Sunday, with a 0 – 1 mph Northish ! Ian C had a real problem setting any sort of course in these conditions.
The lack of wind obviously put some off, as only 10 boats mustered for the off. First away at 4 minutes was young William P in his Topper followed 6 minutes later by Hadey (4.7), with Monica going 2 minutes later. Peter R was next away in the Enterprise with the reduced Laser pack of James P, Phil A, Dave I, Eddie B and Alistair S following one minute later and Steve P in his 505 11 minutes after the Lasers.
First through the start line after one lap was Peter followed by Monica then Hadey. Next came the three Lasers of James P, Dave I and Phil A pretty close together. Then there was a gap to William who was still holding off the Lasers of Eddie and Alistair with Steve bringing up the rear.
After two laps Monica and Eddie had retired, but Peter was still in the lead with James P moving up to 2nd, Dave I to 3rd,  Phil A to 4th  and Hadey  5th.  Steve P had by now passed Alistair and William to move up to 6th.
At the gun the first four were still the same but Steve had made up one more place to finish 5th.
The final podium was 1st Peter, 2nd James, 3rd Dave I.

 


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 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.
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