Reading Sailing Club Members

The forecast was for a SSE wind of 5 mph, but this dropped to near zero as the evening wore on. This resulted in a two lap race with the second lap being over four times longer than the first!

At the end of the first lap Karen/Laser led from Emily/4.7 with Ralph/Laser in 3^rd place. Then 30 seconds layer Darren/Laser crossed the line followed by Chris H/Comet and Mark/Laser and Aileen/Comet. Steve S & Rick/RS200 were through in 8^th about one minute further back and then it was another two minutes before Ron came along in his Mirror. He was closely followed by Sally/Comet and Nigel and Hattie in Lasers, but it was another 20 minutes before Paul W in his Morbic hove into view (he had probably been exploring the hinterland) and he received the gun at the end of this lap.  

On the second lap the air was still, which obviously suited the Comets as Chris had taken the lead with Aileen moving up to 3^rd sandwiching Karen.  There was a bit of shuffling mid-fleet but Steve & Rick and Ron retained their 8^th and 9^th places. Sally, Nigel and Hattie abandoned all hope of completing the lap as they did not want to face the dawn chorus on Thursday morning.

The order on the water was – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Aileen; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Emily; 6^th Mark; 7^th Darren; 8^th Steve & Rick

On corrected time this changes to 1^st Ron/Mirror (never write him off until the dealing is done); 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Aileen/Comet; 4^th Emily/4.7; 5^th Karen/Laser; 6^th Ralph/Laser.

Thanks to SOOD Mike Trussler and the race team of Bob Hine, Martin Lewin, Nick Heaven and Roland Smith.

Last year there were three back-to-back races and 13 starters, but this year there were two races and only two starters!.

SOOD Peter Rose had a difficult task of trying to set a course with virtually no wind and the conditions on the race sheet were listed as – Calm/Nada/ Zilch/2 mph?

Nevertheless he persevered and used a triangular course 6, 5, 8 and back through the line.  

Race 1

This was a thrilling affair and Chris H/Comet increased the tension by being over the line at the start. This gave Aileen in her Comet the chance to get away and she took the victory

Race 2

You will never guess what happened in the second race!

Chris H was only over the line again (is this the Helm of the Year?).

Aileen again took the victory.

Corrected time took a bit of working out, but Aileen was declared the winner of the May Day Pennant for 2022.

Perhaps we should rename this the Comet Cup Race!

Thanks to Peter Rose and the race team of Hadey Lines, Bill Coulter, Brian Moore and Stephen Morton.

Chris H was on duty again this morning and with a light NW wind set a course of B, 9, 4, C, 5, 8, S.

Pursuit Race

Only seven starters this morning, but perhaps not surprising with it being a Bank Holiday weekend. (We were hosting a family lunch, so this Jolly Sailor was acting sous chef and waiter!)

No intermediate positions or times were recorded on the race sheet, but the final order was – 1^st Richard S/Laser; 2^nd Karen/Laser; 3^rd Nigel/Laser; 4^th Alessandro & Mike T/470; 5^th Rick/Laser; 6^th Nick H & Nick T/Fireball.

It is a long time since I have seen a Fireball on the water. The last time was when the bow of the Fireball was through the side of my Enterprise having well and truly T-boned us!  I hasten to add that it was not this Fireball!

Handicap Race

Chris changed the course for the second race and there was an interesting addition to the fleet when Adrian joined with his Avon Scow (wish I was down there to see what it was like). It was a pity the Morbic and the Goat Island Skiff were not out as well.

Karen was first back through the line closely followed by Richard S. Then just over one minute later Nicks H & T in the Fireball crossed in 3^rd place ahead of Alessandro & Mike T in the 470. Rick and Nigel in their Lasers were next across the line having a good scrap for 5^th place and then along came Adrian in his Avon Scow.

On the second lap Alessandro & Mike passed the two Nicks and Nigel squeezed past Rick. Adrian received the gun at the end of the lap.

On the third lap and last lap there was no changes in order, so the final positions were –

1^st Karen; 2^nd Richard S; 3^rd Alessandro & Mike T; 4^th Nick H & Nick T; 5^th Nigel; 6^th Rick; 7^th Adrian.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Karen/Laser; 2^nd Richard/Laser; 3^rd Nigel/Laser; 4^th Rick/Laser; 5^th Alessandro & Mike T/470; 6^th Adrian/Avon Scow; 7^th Nick H & Nick T/Fireball

Thanks to SOOD Chris H and the race team of Ann & Dave; Anthony, Ken P and Nick.

Another NE wind about 8-10 mph dictated a start down the lake and SOOD Chris H set a course of A, 5, 9, 4 and back through the start line.

First back across the line was James C/RS300 just ahead of Thomas/Radial and Karen/Laser. Darren/Laser was through in 4^th place with Steve S/Blaze only five seconds behind him and they were closely followed by Emily/4.7 and Mike T/Laser. Next along in 8^th place was Mark/Laser and then the trio of Ed/Aero 5, Ralph/Laser and Paul H/Laser crossed close together battling for 9^th place. Aileen in the only Comet out tonight was in 12^th followed by Hattie/Laser and Hilary/Radial. Dave L trying to get used to sailing a Laser after a long break was through in 15^th followed by Dermot in another Laser and Matt in a Pico (quite a change from the 470!).

Lap 2

James C had stretched his lead and Steve was up to 2^nd place with Karen and Darren retaining 3^rd and 4^th and Thomas down to 5^th. Mike T moved up to 6^th by passing Emily. Ralph and Ed both gained a place by passing Mark and behind them the only change was Dermot getting past Dave.

Lap 3

James and Steve were away at the front and Darren claimed 3^rd spot by passing Karen. Emily gained three places to move to 5^th and Ed and Ralph moved up to 6^th and 7^th places. Further back Aileen and Hattie both got past Paul H but there were no other changes in position. Matt received the gun at the end of this lap.

Lap 4

At the front of fleet things had settled down a bit and there was no change in the order of the first five, but Mike T had regained 6^th place. Paul H regained two places by passing Aileen and Hattie, who themselves had changed places with Hattie passing Aileen and these three along with Hilary, Dermot and Dave received the gun at the end of the lap. In fact, it was a very close finish with only one second separating Dermot and Hilary at the line and they were only three seconds behind Aileen!

Lap 5

The fleet was now down to ten boats and the only positional change on this last lap was Mark getting past Thomas.

The final order on the water was – 1^st James C; 2^nd Steve; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Karen; 5^th Emily; 6^th Mike T; 7^th Ralph; 8^th Ed.

On corrected time this becomes-

1^st Emily/4.7; 2^nd Darren/Laser; 3^rd Karen/Laser; 4^th James C/RS300; 5^th Thomas/Radial; 6^th Ed/Aero 5

Thanks to SOOS Chris H and the OOD Team of Andy B, Chris & Carol M, Gareth D, Hadey L and Monica.

Quite a good breeze this morning about 12 – 14 mph coming from the North but veering NW to NE at times. Mike A set a course of A (middle of lake between 8 and 5), 5, 9, 2, 4 and back through the start.  

Pursuit Race

A slight increase in numbers to twenty four starters.

At the end of the first lap, the early starters were still leading the way with William S/Topper in front followed by Ron/Mirror, Becky S/Pico, Dan S/Pico, Frances S/Topper, Chris H and Aileen in their Comets and Paul W/Morbic. The next group was the intermediate starters with Thomas M and Nigel in Radials and Ed in his Aero 5.   

The first of the Lasers was Hugh battling with Karen, Jon, Darren, Ralph and James P, then there was a slight gap back to the second group of Lasers, Chris K, Richard S, Rick, Adrian and Alistair with Steve S/Blaze sitting in the middle of them. Last man away was still last, Mike T having gone from a Comet via a 470 to an Aero 9, he could be in a Mirror next week!

Ron had taken the lead by the end of the second lap with William S down to 2^nd place, Chris H up to 3^rd and Thomas up to 4^th, Chris K up to 5^th and James P 6^th.

At the 35 minute gun the final order was – 1^st Ed/Aero 5; 2^nd Thomas/Radial; 3^rd Ralph/Laser; 4^th Chris H/Comet: 5^th Chris K/Laser; 6^th Steve/Blaze.

Five different boats in the first six!

Handicap Race

Jamie/Laser joined the fleet for the second race.  

Lap 1

Darren/Laser  got a flyer and crossed the line 30 seconds ahead of second place man Steve S in his Blaze and these two were never caught and led for all four laps of the race with Darren gradually increasing his lead every lap. Chris K/Laser and Ed/Aero 5 crossed the line together in the battle for 3^rd place with Karen/Laser (although using a Radial rig) and Hugh/Laser were also very close together competing for 5^th. Mike T/Aero 9 was through in 7^th place just ahead of the Lasers of Ralph and Alistair and the Radial of Thomas. Then there was another bunch of Lasers all very close together, Richard S, James P, Rick, Jon and Adrian (lucky to have Hadey recording the times and placers as she can write very quickly!). Next along were Nigel/Radial and Jamie/Laser being chased by the Comets of Chris H and Aileen with Ron/Mirror a little further back. Then came the Sadler family fleet with William/Topper leading Becky/Pico, Dan/Pico and Frances/Topper followed some minutes later by Paul W/Morbic who had declined to start at the same time as everyone else.

Lap 2

In the battle for 3^rd place Chris K had eased away from Ed as had Hugh from Karen in the 5^th place battle. Further back Jon was the star man gaining five places to move up to 9^th and Rick was up two places to 11^th. Jamie came through in 17^th place and cheerfully disqualified himself as he had missed a mark but informed us he would continue to sail on for the fun of it (well done that man).  There were no other changes in position but Dan said he was dropping out of the race as his kicker was broken. Frances and Paul W received the gun at the end of this lap.

Lap 3

No change in the first three, but Hugh had passed Ed to cross the line in 4^th place. Ralph was up one place to 7^th by passing Mike T and Richard S was up three places to 10^th. James P gained a place by passing Rick and Adrian was up two places. Alistair was the loser in this group dropping to the back of the Laser pack just behind Nigel and just in front of fast finishing Darren on his last lap.

At the end of this lap Alistair received the gun along with Chris H, Aileen, Ron, William S and Becky.

Lap 4

The first eleven crossed the line in the same order as the previous lap, although Darren had increased his lead over Steve S in 2^nd place to nearly two minutes. Karen and Ralph contesting 6^th place were sailed off the line by young William, who was also finishing albeit a lap down. The result was that Karen and Ralph had to tack back towards the CB to cross the line and had a lively discussion about right of way when finishing (not sure that we grasped the niceties, but perhaps Karen will interpret the rules for us). The only change in position was Thomas regaining two places by passing Rick and Adrian.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Steve; 3^rd Chris K; 4^th Hugh; 5^th Ed; 6^th Karen.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Ed; 3^rd Chris K; 4^th Hugh; 5^th Karen; 6^th Steve

Thanks to SOOD Mike Arnott and the race team of Hadey Lines, Hilary Sharp, Issy Jenkins, Janos Ratkai, Leo Coppens and Nick Jones.

With a Northish wind about 10 mph, SOOD Ralph set the first beat to A (between 8 and 5), then 5, B (near 9), 4 and back through the start.

Mike T/Laser got pushed out at the start line and relived his frustration with a mild execration referring to the nether regions! First across the line was James C/RS300 followed a minute later by Steve S/Blaze then 30 seconds behind him were the Lasers of Darren, Karen, Mike T and Mark B. Chris H/Comet was next through in 7^th place with Alessandro & Matt/470 in 8^th and Paul H and Nigel in two more Lasers were battling for 9^th spot. Just over a minute later Sally/Comet and Ron/Mirror crossed the line almost together and yet so far apart and four geese flew over the fleet. Some 3 minutes on and the indominable Waterman in his Morbic meandered across the line followed at a distance by Carol & Chris Meunier in their Sport 14.

Lap 2

With the first two fast men easing away at the front, the fast lady Karen had passed Darren to move to 3^rd. Mike T and Mark were steady in 5^th and 6^th places, but Alessandro & Matt had passed Chris H to move up to 7^th with Nigel passing Paul H to cross in 9^th. At the rear of the fleet Carol & Chris (despite clobbering the start pin!) had passed the lanterne rouge to Paul W.

Lap 3

As you were on the previous lap for the first seven, but towards the end of the lap Karen took to dancing on her transom (apparently the clew hook came unhooked and she had to stand up to refasten it whilst pulling the sail in at the same time – it’s a good thing that women can multi-task!). Nigel had got a move on and passed both Paul H and Chris H to move up to 8^th place.  No change behind them, but Chris & Carol and Paul W received the hooter at the end of their third lap. After finishing Chris & Carol almost wiped out Sally, but disaster was averted by a loud cry of “careful” from Carol (presumably directed at Chris if experience with my wife is anything to go by!).   

Lap 4

Remarkably there was again no change in order on this lap, but the boys at the front increased their lead slightly. Chris H, Paul H, Sally and Ron all got tooted.

Lap 5

The fleet was now down to eight and we did get one change in position when Mike T passed Darren to snatch 4^th place from him.

The final order on the water was – 1^st James C: 2^nd Steve S; 3^rd Karen (horizontal pole dancer); 4^th Mike T; 5^th Darren; 6^th Mark B (he has still not saved up enough pennies to treat himself to a number!); 7^th Alessandro & Matt; 8^th El commodore

On corrected time the order is disturbed by the intrusion of Chris (finish a lap earlier Hilson) into second spot, pushing everyone behind him down one place.

Thanks to SOOD Ralph Page and the race team of Chris & Toby Beresford, Hadey Lines (again), Stephen Morton and Phil

The wind today was coming from the South East, about 10-12 mph but varying in both direction and strength throughout the morning.

Darren used a CB start out towards the buoy line halfway between 4 and 5 with the first mark as A (West of No 1)), 1, 4, 2, B (near the CB)) and back through the start.

It was good to see the Sadler clan out in force with Frances and William in Toppers and Becky and Dan in Picos.

Pursuit Race

There were 20 starters this morning, the highest of the series so far.

At the end of Lap 1 the early starters were still in front with Ron/Mirror leading from Jewels & Tahlia/Mirror, William S/Topper, Chris H/Comet and Will P and Mike A in Radials, Mike C/Solo and Dave & Ann/Leader. However, the Laser pack led by Karen was fast approaching.

At the gun it was still the earlier starters who were leading and the order was –

1^st Will P/Radial; 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Jewels & Tahlia/Mirror; 4^th Ron/Mirror; 5^th Karen/Laser; 6^th Dave & Ann/Leader.

In the Sadler family battle young William took a 7^th place with Dan, Frances and Becky finishing 17^th, 18^th and 19^th respectively.

Handicap Race

Lap 1

Karen/Laser was first back across the line followed by James P in another Laser and Will P in his Radial. Alessandro & Mike T/470 crossed in 4^th place with a gap back to the Lasers of Ralph, Richard S, Rhys P (making three Primroses in the first six places!), Nigel and Jeremy.  Dave & Ann/Leader were through in 10^th place just one second ahead of Chris H/Comet. Further back Jewels & Tahlia were ahead of Ron in the battle of the Mirrors and William was leading Dan, Becky and Frances in the Sadler family battle. Paul W/Morbic and friends were sailing along serenely at the rear of the fleet.

Lap 2

No change in the first two but Richard had moved up to 3^rd and Nigel up to 4^th and Ron has passed Jewels & Tahlia. Frances received the finish hooter at the end of this lap.

Lap 3

At the front Richard had passed James to move up to 2^nd place and Rhys had moved up to 4^th by passing Nigel and Alessandro & Mike T. The latter pair were also passed by Jeremy moving up two places to 7^th and were joined across the line by Dave & Ann easing up from 10^th place. Chris H was challenging Will for 10^th place and they also crossed the line abreast. Dan had got past William and they and Becky received the hooter when they crossed the line.

Lap 4

No change in the first three across the line, but Ralph had passed Rhys to take 4^th place and he was also passed by Alessandro & Mike T and Dave & Ann who claimed 5^th and 6^th places. Will had managed to repel Chris H to take 10^th place but there were no other changes.

The order on the water was _ 1^st Karen; 2^nd Richard; 3^rd James P; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Alessandro & Mike t; 6^th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time this changes dramatically to –

1^st Ron; 2^nd Jewels & Tahlia; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Karen; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Richard S.

Thanks to SOOD Darren and the race team of Leo Coppens, Sally & Mike Newlove and Steve Mann.

It was a lovely sunny day but unfortunately there was hardly any wind, which made the job of SOOD Peter R very difficult. He set a short course of A, 9, 7 and back through the start.He decided to run three short races, which turned out to be one lappers, with all to count.

Race 1

The order on the water at the end of the first and only lap was – 1^st Richard S/Laser; 2^nd Karen/Laser; 3^rd Chris H/Comet; 4^th Sally/Comet; 5^th Mike C/Solo; 6^th Mike T/Comet (yes sailing a Comet!); 7^th Alessandro/Aero 9; 8^th Ron/Mirror

Race 2

This turned out as –

1^st Ralph/Laser; 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Darren/Laser; 4^th Mike T/Comet; 5^th Mike C/Solo; 6^th Alistair/Laser; 7^th Richard/Laser; 8^th Karen/Laser

Race 3

1^st Karen/Laser; 2^nd Alessandro/Aero; 3^rd Chris H/Comet; 4^th Darren/Laser; 5^th Mike T/Comet; 6^th Ralph/Laser; 7^th Richard/Laser; 8^th Ron/Mirror

As you can see the order changed considerably for each race and the only two not mentioned in above despatches were Hattie/Laser and Paul W/Morbic

When all the numbers were crunched to obtain corrected times the overall order became –

1^st Chris H/Comet; 2^nd Ron/Mirror; 3^rd Mike T /Comet

Congratulations to Chris H on winning the Easter Cup to add to his collection and I believe he is setting up a website to deal in second hand trophies.

It was a good start to the Commodore’s Cup series with a warm sunny evening and a good SW wind 10-12 mph. SOOD Ron set the course but did not record it for posterity but with a SW wind we can pretty well guess where it went.

First back across the line was James C in his super-fast RS300 about a minute ahead of Steve in his also fast Blaze. Mark/Laser crossed in 3^rd place just ahead of Alessandro & Matt/470 with Alessandro’s Sunday partner Mike T/Laser keeping an eye on them from 5 seconds further back. Dave & Ann/Leader trundled though in 6^th place followed by Hattie/Laser and Emily/4.7 with Helm of the Year Chris H/Comet languishing at the back of the fleet with Paul W in his Morbic behind him. Paul disappeared off the radar after this first lap, but perhaps he decided to raid the Pinsent rowing centre!

The first two increased their lead on the second lap and Mike T moved up to 3^rd. Further back Chris found the right button and passed Emily.

On the last lap everyone maintained station and the order on the water was – 1^st James C; 2^nd Steve; 3^rd Mike T; 4^th Alessandro & Matt; 5^th Mark; 6^th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time this changes to –

1^st James C; 2^nd Mike T; 3^rd Steve; 4^th Mark; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Chris H

Thanks to SOOD Ron and the race team of Ainhoa Monteros, Carol & Chris Meunier; Rich Fisher and Russ Harrison.

Another light wind today coming from the South but veering throughout the morning. Mike A used a CB start out towards the buoy line halfway between 4 and 5 with the first mark as A (towards 2 but further out), 1, 9, 5, B (middle of the lake) and back through the start. It was good to see Karen back on the water returning from her Winter migration to France.

Pursuit Race

There were 12 starters for the third race in a row and as usual Ron/Mirror was in the lead at the end of the first lap. Steve Sharp having an outing in his Solo was next through but only one second ahead of Richard S/Laser. Aileen came through in 4^th place and was the leading Comet with Chris H back in 7^th and Sally 10^th. James C/RS300 was making rapid progress through the fleet and was already up to 5^th having just passed Karen/Laser. Nigel/Laser was going steadily in 8^th with Dave & Ann/Leader 9^th and bringing up the rear were Alessandro & Mike T/470 and Rick & Lottie/RS200.

At the end of the second lap Richard was leading but it looked as if he was about to be caught by James C, but unfortunately for James he snagged the outer start line pin and stalled.

The order at the gun was – 1^st Richard; 2^nd James C; 3^rd Steve; 4^th Karen; 5^th Aileen; 6^th Dave & Ann.

Handicap Race

At the start most had opted for a pin end start which resulted in a spot of argy-bargy, some shouting and banging! Everyone eventually got under way, but Mike T & Alessandro and Rick & Lottie were left doing turns.

First back across the line was James C about one minute ahead of Karen and Richard and the latter pair had a race long battle for 2^nd place. Nigel was through in 4^th place just ahead of Dave & Ann, Steve and Mike T & Alessandro (recovering from their dodgy start). Then came the battle of the Comets with Chris H leading from Aileen and Sally with a light gap back to Rick & Lottie and Ron.

At the end of the second lap James was still leading but the Lasers were slightly closer. Mike T & Alessandro had gained three place to move to 4^th and Steve was up one place to 5^th. Nigel and Dave & Ann lost two places to drop back to 6^th and 7^th and behind them there were no other changes in position.

On the third lap the only change in the order of the first six was Richard just getting past Karen to move up to 2^nd place. Chris H passed Dave & Ann to move up to 7^th place and Rick & Lottie gained two places to move to 9^th. Sally moved up to 10^th passing Aileen and Ron received the gun at the end of the lap.

James C crossed the finish line in 1^st position with an increased lead and Richard managed to just stay ahead of Karen in the battle for second. Everyone else maintained station but the closest finish of the day was between Sally and Aileen. Sally had rounded the final mark with what looked to be a comfortable lead but as she approached the line she slowed and Aileen’s speed increased and they were overlapped as they crossed the line, but Sally just had her nose ahead    

The order on the water was – 1^st James C; 2^nd Richard S; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Miker T & Alessandro; 5^th Steve; 6^th Nigel.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Richard; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Chris H; 5^th James C; 6^th Sally

Thanks to SOOD Mike Arnott and the race team of Chris Andrews, Helen Juon, Paul Waterman, Philip Markham and Steve Mann.