Reading Sailing Club Members

With a light SW wind, Adrian set a sort of box course using B, 9, A, 5 and back through the start

 Pursuit Race

18 starters this morning and first away was Paul W in his Morbic 12, followed by Christine in her Mirror, then the Topper of William and the Comets of Aileen, Chris H and Richard F. Next to go were Mike C in his Solo and Martin and Carston in Radials followed later by the Laser pack. At the end of one lap Mike C was leading ahead of Chris H and William with the Laser pack led by Richard S chasing, not forgetting Newton & Sam in the RS200.  At the gun the final order was –

1^st Mike C; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Richard S; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Darren; 6^th Jess

Handicap Race

Chris K (Laser) was first back through the line followed by Newton & Sam (RS200) and Richard S (Laser) and they maintained these positions for the three laps of the race, (so that is them sorted). Mike C was going well in 4^th place ahead of the Lasers of Jess, Darren, Rick and Nigel. Alessandro & Mike T (470) crossed in 9^th place and they were two minutes ahead of Chris H (Comet) in 10^th. A minute later Aileen came along in her Comet and she was a minute ahead of Martin (Radial) with Christine (Mirror) not far behind him. William (Topper) was through 30 seconds later and a long way ahead of Paul W (Morbic) and Richard F (Comet), who were battling for the lanterne rouge!

By the end of the second lap Darren was up to 4^th place by overtaking Mike C and Jess. Nigel has passed Rick to move up to 7^th and Chris H moved up to 9^th passing Alex & Mike T. Further back William had passed Christine and Richard F had passed Paul W. Aileen just escaped the chop, but Martin, Christine, William Richard and Paul all received the finish hooter (or gun if you prefer that – my experience of fire arms is limited to the little guns with a flag which pops out of the barrel with BANG written on it! (Never join the army as the enemy may not be able to read English).

The last lap saw Jess cross in 4^th place about  25 seconds ahead of Darren. Nigel was steady in 7^th place, but Chris H and Rick both gained a place to finish 8^th and 9^th with Alessandro & Mike T 10^th and Aileen 11^th.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Chris K; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Richard S; 4^th Jess; 5^th Darren; 6^th Mike C.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Chris K; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Richard S; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Jess.

Thanks to SOOD Adrian, who must have had his hands full as no other OOD names were down on the race sheet. If you were there – thank you very much.

This morning the wind was NNW about 6 mph for the first race but increasing slightly for the second race. Mike A used a Tektona start with the first mark as A (roughly halfway between 4 and 5), then 4, B (in the direction of 2 but nearer to the start line) and back through the start line.

There were 16 starters, which was the same as last week, but entirely different wind conditions!     

 Pursuit Race

Thanks to young Edward L at the start for balancing on the roof of Tektona to raise and lower race flags. Mike A had got up to lash the race flagpole to Tektona’s mast, but decided once on the roof was enough for one day!

At the end of a lap, the earlier starters were still ahead and Chris H (Comet) was well away at the front. Mike C and Roland in their Solos were in 2^nd and 3^rd places with Aileen in another Comet 4^th. Newton & Ainhoa (RS200) were the first of the “fast fleet” just ahead of Sally in her Comet. There was also another Comet out today as Richard Flood joined the growing fleet and he was towards the back with Rick & Lottie (RS200), who were practicing extreme roll tacks.

At the 35 minute gun Chris was still ahead and the final order was –

1^st Chris H (Comet); 2^nd Newton & Ainhoa (RS200); 3^rd Mike C (Solo); 4^th Roland (Solo); 5^th Darren (Laser); 6^th Ralph (Laser).

Handicap Race

The wind increased slightly and veered to the North, so the course was changed to 5, 4, 2, 3 and S for this race.

Nathan kindly replaced Edward on the roof to keep the owl company and do flag duty.

Ralph was flying and first back across the line with a decent lead on Darren who was in 2^nd place and he was followed by Newton & Ainhoa and Chris K (Laser). Alessandro & Mike T (470) were going well and crossed in 6^th place 30 seconds ahead of Richard S (Laser). Over a minute passed before Adrian came along in his Rooster (hoping for the wind to get stronger) followed by Chris H and Mike C who were having a tussle for 9^th place.  Rick & Lottie crossed in 10^th place, looking much steadier having reduced the roll on the tack. Alistair S (Laser) was in a Comet sandwich as he battled with Aileen and Sally and bringing up the rear were Richard F in another Comet and Christine in her Mirror.  

By the end of the second lap Newton & Ainhoa and Chris K had moved up to 2^nd and 3^rd by passing Darren. Roland was still in 5^th place, but Richard S had moved up one place to 6^th. Further back Mike C had got past Chris H (but only by 5 seconds across the line) and Alistair had moved ahead of Aileen. Richard F and Christine received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the finish Ralph crossed the line in 1^st place, but it was a close call with Chris K and Newton & Ainhoa right on his transom.  There was a bit of repassing going on as Alessandro & Mike T regained 6^th place from Richard and Chris H regained 9^th from Mike C. Rick & Lottie, Alistair, Aileen and Sally all maintained station. The final order on the water was –

1^st Ralph; 2^nd Chris K; 3^rd Newton & Ainhoa; 4^th Darren; 5^th Roland; 6^th Alessandro & Mike T

On corrected time the positions change to – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Chris K; 5^th Newton & Ainhoa; 6^th Darren.

Thanks to Mike A and the race team of Helen and Nathan with Nigel & Edward L, Hilary S and Alistair J (and crew – sorry did not get your name) in the PBs. Thanks also to Aileen who too time from putting her Comet away to help get the PBs out of the water.

There was quite a stiff SW wind about 16 mph initially but getting even stronger and gustier by the time the second race started.

 Pursuit Race

16 starters this morning, which was good considering the conditions. Early starter Chris H (Comet) was leading at the end of the first lap, but Karen (Laser) was getting ominously closer. First man away this morning Paul W in his gaff rig Morbic was still holding onto 3^rd place with Emily (4.7) in 4^th, Sally (Comet) 5^th and Paul R (Aero 7) 6^th.

At the finish gun, the final positions were –

1^st Karen (Laser); 2^nd Paul (Aero); 3^rd Emily (4.7), 4^th Newton & Sam (RS200); 5^th James (Laser); 6^TH Chris K (Laser).

Well done to Jasmine in her Topper and Christine in her Mirror for hanging in there and finishing the race.    

Handicap Race

It was now time for the white horses to appear and Jasmine, Karen, Sally and Ken prudently decided to sit this one out.

It turned out to be a battle of attrition with only four boats completing all three laps. Chris K started off the fun with a capsize before the start and then was over the line at the gun!

At the end of the first lap, strong wind maestro Jon (Laser) was in his element and crossed the line well ahead of James (Laser) in 2^nd place. Mark was through in 3^rd place despite declining a gybe and Chris K was 4^th (but not sure if he restarted or pressed on with his jump start). Newton & Sam (RS200) crossed in 5^th place and Emily (4.7) and Alessandro & Mike T (470) were abreast across the line battling for 6^th. Richard S (Laser) came through 10 seconds later in 8^th place and he was over two minutes ahead of Chris H (Comet) who was the last of the survivors. Paul R called it a day because of the weed, Paul W’s mast came down and Christine retired before the end of the lap.

On the second lap Mark and Chris K retired to terra firma. Alex & Mike T capsized and retired from the race but decided to stay out and play with the white horses. Jon capsized but quickly got going again and was still ahead at the line. James who was in 2^nd place suffered a death roll and Newton & Sam moved up to 2^nd place with Emily just behind them in 3^rd. Richard was through in 4^th place about 30 seconds behind Emily and two minutes ahead of a recovering James who in turn was five minutes ahead of Chris H, who was pleased to get the gun at the end of the lap.

Richard retired on the last lap and at the gun Jon had increased his lead and crossed the line in 1^st place with Newton & Sam taking 2^nd spot with Emily 3^rd and James 4^th.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Jon; 2^nd Emily; 3^rd Newton & Sam; 4^th James; 5^th Chris H  

Thanks to SOOD Rick and the team of Lottie, Mike C, Gareth and Rich F (and possibly others who were not mentioned in despatches)

It was a pleasant sunny morning with a SSWish wind of 10 mph. Richard S set a first beat down to 4, then 3, 9, 5, 6,7 and back through the start.

 Pursuit Race

There were 13 starters and remarkably there were only two Lasers out today, so the dominant class was the Comet with Aileen, Chris H and Sally all sailing. At the end of the first lap Chris H was still leading with Newton & Sam (RS200) through to 2^nd place followed by the Solos of Mike C and Roland. Darren was up to 5^th in his Laser and Dave & Ann (just back from flotilla sailing around the Greek islands) were 6^th. At the gun Newton & Sam had the lead but Chris H and Mike C were still 2^nd and 3^rd. Darren and Dave & Ann had passed Roland to take 4^th and 5^th places. Alex & Mike T (470) and Nigel (Laser) had gained three places from the first lap, passing Rick & Lottie (RS200) and Sally and Aileen in their Comets. Paul W (Morbic) and Chris (Mirror) were sailing serenely on at the back of the fleet.

Handicap Race

Thomas and Jasmine in a Feva and Lucy in a 4.7 joined the second race to bring the fleet up to 15.

Darren was first back across the line and stayed there for all three laps of the race. Roland came through about 30 seconds later closely followed by Nigel, Newton & Sam and Alex & Mike T. Another 30 seconds and Dave & Ann crossed the line ahead of Mike C. Then along came the Comets line astern with Chris H ahead of Sally and Aileen. Thomas & Jasmine brought the Feva through in 11^th place, a minute in front of Rick & Lottie, who in turn were comfortably ahead of Lucy in her 4.7 (well as comfortable as you can be in a RS200 in a light wind!). Paul W and Christine brought up the rear of the fleet.

On the second lap Newton & Sam moved up to 2^nd place and Alessandro & Mike T up to 3^rd. Nigel crossed the line just two seconds ahead of Roland in the battle for 4^th. Further back Aileen and Sally continued their battle in the Comets with Aillen just 10 seconds ahead of Sally. There were no other changes in position and Lucy, Paul W and Christine received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the end of the last lap the first two maintained their positions, but Nigel pipped Alessandro & Mike T to take 3^rd place by just two seconds. There was another close finish behind them with Dave & Ann getting past Roland to take 5^th place, but no further changes further back.

The order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Nigel; 4^th Alessandro & Mike T; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Roland.

On corrected time this changes to 1^st Darren; 2^nd Dave & Ann; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Newton & Sam; 6^th Nigel.

Thanks to SOOD Richard S and the small race team of Issy and Gareth E.    

Tonight, was nice and clear with a brisk wind from the West. The forecast was 10 mph, but it was stronger than that before the start, enough to prompt the race team to launch a third safety boat ! Sally used a Tektona start with the line parallel to the buoy line and the first mark was 4 then 3, A (behind the line) and back through the start.

There were 22 starters, a good turnout for the last evening race of the year. Darren (Laser) was first back across the line followed by Karen (using a Radial rig) and Mike T (Laser), then the Solos of Roland and Mike C. Ralph came through in 6^th place (he was also going to opt for a Radial rig, but then found that he had not brought the sail with him!). Paul H in another Laser crossed in 7^th, just ahead of Alex & Matt (470) and Rick & Steve (RS200). These double handers enjoyed a battle throughout the race.

We had a good mixture of young sailors and newer members contesting the remaining places. Thomas & Jasmine (Feva) were 10^th followed by Ainhoa (Radial), Nick H (Laser) and Hattie (Laser). Aileen was next along in the only Comet out tonight and she had opted for a smaller sail as well. The following trio, Carston and Martin in Radials and Rich in his Comet Duo crossed very close together battling for 15^th place. The came the battle of the Toppers with Lucy leading William S and bringing up the rear was Paul W & Steve of Goat Island fame in Paul’s Morbic and Jonas in his Lightning.

Actually, that was not the whole of the fleet as Nigel our Commodore turned up in the middle of the second lap to join the fray (not sure where he had been, but his Laser was fully rigged at 18.00!)

The movers on the second lap were Ralph up one place to 5^th, Rick & Steve up one to 8^th by passing Alex & Matt. Further back Nick H gained two places to move up to 10^th and Carston gained three to move to 12^th.

By the end of the third lap Darren still led, but Mike T had passed Karen to move up to 2^nd place. Everyone down to the 12^th place boat of Carston maintained their position and the only change further back was Rich F gaining four places to 13^th.

Only the first nine went round for a fourth lap and at the line, the first three remained in the same order. In fact, the only change was Ralph passing Roland to cross in 4^th place. Paul H had been a steady 7^th for the whole of the race and Rick & Steve had eased away from Alex & Matt.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Mike T; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Roland; 6^th Mike C.

On corrected time the only change is Roland moving up to 3^rd place.

Thanks to SOOD Sally and the race team of Catriona, Chris S, Nick J, Richard H, Russell H, Dave L and Mike A.

This was the final race of the Sunset Shield Series so congratulations to the series winner Karen.

A reasonable SW wind of 8-10 mph at the start of the race but this gradually dropped as the evening wore on. Hadey (on duty again!) set a first beat to 4 then 2, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.In the dropping wind it turned out to be a two lapper with the unfortunate boats towards the back of the fleet taking twice as long to complete the last lap as they did the first!

Newton & Sam (RS200) were first back across the line followed by Mike T (Laser), Roland (Solo) and Ralph and Darren in Lasers. A minute later Mike C (Solo) crossed in 6^th place and he was a minute ahead of Nigel in another Laser. Mike A (Lightning) was through in 8^th just ahead of Dean & Nick (Vago) who earlier had encountered our version of the Sargasso Sea near No 2. Alessandro & Matt (470) were next along in 10^th place followed by Sally (Comet) who had Paul H (Laser) sitting on her transom. In fact he was in a Comet sandwich as Aileen in her Comet was not far behind him (there are worse places to be !). Ainoah (Radial) was just ahead of Carston and Hattie in Lasers and bringing up the rear of the fleet were Paul W (Morbic), Unknown in Laser RSC 22 (apologies) and Angus in his Mirror.

On the last lap there was no change at the front, but Darren moved up three places to take 2^nd with Roland still 3^rd. Further back Dean & Nick gained a place to take 8^th and Aileen gained five places to finish 10^th with Paul H and Carston also moving up one place.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Mike T; 5^th Ralph; 6^th Mike C.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Mike C; 5^th Mike T; 6^th Ralph.

Thanks to SOOD Hadey and the team of Karen, Suzi, Jeremy and Rich.

It was a lovely evening, but there was only a 4-5 mph wind from the NNW. Darren used a CB start down near Tektona with a first beat to 5 then to A (on the buoy line halfway between 5 and 4), C (towards no 2) and back through the start.

Newton & Sam (RS200) led Mike T and Karen in Lasers by 10 seconds at the end of the first lap.  Mike C and Roland in Solos were having a good battle for 4^th place with Mike just ahead as they crossed the line. Nigel (Laser) came through in a lonely 6^th place being chased by Emily (4.7) who was also on her own. Alex & Matt (470) crossed in 8^th place being chased by Sally (Comet) who was four minutes ahead of Martin in a Radial. He was two minutes ahead of Aileen in another Comet, who in turn was two minutes ahead of Jack & Ron (Mirror), Carston (Laser) and Angus (Mirror). Alex & Matt and everyone behind them were finished at the end of this lap.

At the end of the second and final lap the only change in position of the remaining seven boats was Roland passing Mike C to take the Solo honours.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Mike T; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Roland; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Nigel.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Mike T; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Karen; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Emily.

Thanks to SOOD Darren and Mike A and Jamie H.

With a SW wind about 6 mph Adrian set a first beat to 5, then 2, 8, A,9 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 14 starters, the same as last week and Mike C (Solo) managed to stay ahead of the late starting boats to take 1^st place. Newton & Sam (RS200) were 2^nd with Roland in another Solo in 3^rd place. Then the Lasers of Darren and Mark were 4^th and 5^th ahead of an earlier starting trio, Emily (4.7), Ron (Mirror) and Sally (Comet).

Handicap Race

Adrian tweaked the course for the second race, dropping 5 and using A for the first mark then 4, 2, 8 and through the start.

First back across the line were Newton & Sam (RS200) followed by Mike C (Solo), then Alessandro & Mike T going well in the 470 in 3^rd place. Then a close group of three boats came along with Roland (Solo) just ahead of the Lasers of Mark and Darren. There was quite a gap before Ron (Mirror) crossed in 7^th place followed 30 seconds later by Richard S and Alistair both in Lasers. Emily (4.7) and Aileen (Comet) were having a ding-dong for 10^th spot with Sally (Comet) and Rick and Lottie (RS200) crossing the line abreast just behind them. The racing at the back of the fleet being more keenly contested than at the front! Last, but not least was Jasmine in her Topper, the youngest sailor out today and she received the gun at the end of the lap.

At the end of the second and last lap Newton & Sam crossed the line ahead of the fleet. Roland had moved up to 2^nd place, but Alessandro & Mike T were still 3^rd. Mark was up one place to 4^th pushing Mike C down to 5^th with Darren steady in 6^th place, but it was very close with only 15 seconds covering the three of them. Richard S had gained a place by passing Ron to take 7^th place and Rick & Lottie had also passed Ron and gained five places to finish 8^th, they must have found the switch to the auxiliary motor! Alistair crossed next, just one second ahead of Emily and behind her Sally won the battle of the Comets by pipping Aileen.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd Alessandro & Mike T; 4^th Mark; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Darren.

On corrected time this becomes –

1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Ron (old smoke & Mirrors does it again! 3^rd Roland; 4^th Mike C; 5^th Mark; 6^th Darren

Thanks to SOOD Adrian and the race team of Hadey and Christine.

It was a lovely evening, but there was only a 4-5 mph wind from the NNW. Darren used a CB start down near Tektona with a first beat to 5 then to A (on the buoy line halfway between 5 and 4), C (towards no 2) and back through the start

.Newton & Sam (RS200) led Mike T and Karen in Lasers by 10 seconds at the end of the first lap followed by the Solos of Mike C and Roland S battling for 4^th place. Nigel (Laser) was next across the line in a lonely 6^th with Emily (4.7) a further two minutes behind him. Sally (Comet) and Alessandro & Matt (470) came through in close company followed by Martin (Radial) and Aileen (Comet). Next across the line was young Jack being mentored by Ron in one of the growing fleet of Mirrors and finally Angus in another Mirror and Carston in a Laser. Everyone behind 7^th man Nigel received a finish at the end of this first lap.

On the second and last lap there was only one change in position with Roland just pipping Mike C across the line to take 4^th spot. The final order was –

1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Mike T; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Roland S; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Nigel.

On corrected time this becomes –

1^st Mike T; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Roland S; 4^th Karen; 5^th Mike C; 6^th Emily

Thanks to SOOD Darren and Mike A and Jamie H for running the race and thanks to Jeremy for helping us to put the safety boats away.

This is the annual event to raise funds for the charity set up in memory of Andrew (Bart)

Simpson, a former GB Olympic sailor. Unfortunately, there was very little wind this morning, despite an earlier forecast for NE winds of 6 mph, but we still had 8 Juniors and 10 adults turning out.

Junior Race

As the wind was so light, this was a one lap race and the order at the finish was –

1^st Rhys (Laser); 2^nd William (Topper); 3^rd Emily (4.7); 4^th Rowan (Oppie); 5^th Sebastian (Oppie); 6^th Jasmine (Topper); 7^th Issy (Topaz); 8^th Phoebe (Oppie).

On corrected time, Rhys retains his first place with the Oppies of Rowan and Sebastian in second and third places.

Well done to all of you for competing in difficult light wind conditions.

Thanks to Newton, Alessandro, Dan and Karen for running the race.

Adult Race

There were 10 starters and at the end of the first lap Newton & Sam (RS200) crossed the line in 1^st place followed by the Lasers of Rhys and Karen. Five minutes later Alessandro, sailing a Radial in place of his usual 470, came through in 4^th place then there was a gap back to Hannah (Laser), Emily (4.7) and Aileen (Comet) in 5^th, 6^th and 7^th places. William (Topper) was next along with Christine in her Mirror a further six minutes behind him. Sally (Comet) retired on the first lap and everyone apart from the first four received the gun at the end of the lap.

The only change on the second lap was Karen passing Rhys to take 2^nd place with the finishing order as – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Rhys; 4^th Alessandro and there was no change to these positions on corrected time.

Thanks to Ron, Hadey, Mark and Martin for running the race.