Reading Sailing Club Members

With a SSW wind of around 10 mph Mark set a first beat to 4, then A (on the way to 2), 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There was a good turnout tonight with 23 starters and it was good to see Ella (Radial), Fleur (Topper), Chris K (Mirror 14892) and Laser 3139 join the Sunset fleet.

Karen (Laser) was first back across the line with Mike T (Laser) in 2^nd place. Early in the lap the fleet had split into two main groups, but the rear end of the first group sailed into a hole going down to 7 and the group behind closed the gap with a nice lift after they rounded 6. Emily (Radial) and Roland S (Solo) were very close together as they crossed in 3^rd and 4^th places with Newton & Sam (RS200)  about one minute behind them in 5^th place and Ralph (Laser) another 30 seconds further back in 6^th.

On the second lap Karen still led with Mike T holding 2^nd place and Newton & Sam moved up to 3^rd place with Emily 4^th. Ralph was up to 5^th and Chris H (Comet) was just ahead of Roland in the battle for 6^th place. At the end of this lap Paul W (Morbic), Ron (Mirror), Ella W (Radial) Fleur (Topper), Chris & Carol (Sport 14) and Alex & Matt (470) all received the gun having been lapped by Karen.

At the end of the final lap, Mike T crossed the line just 10 seconds ahead of Karen to snatch 1^st place. There was no change in order from 3^rd to 7^th and Steve S & Rick (RS200) crossed in 8^th spot with Mike C (Solo) getting ahead of Jamie (Laser) to take 9^th place, although Sally (Comet) finishing 11^th would take the three boats ahead of her on corrected time.

The final order on the water was -1^st Mike T; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Newton & Sam; 4^th Emily; 5^th Ralph; 6^th Chris H.

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

Thanks to SOOD Mark and the team of Nigel & Edward L.

A bit blustery for some of the juniors but they all made it round the triangular course several times despite the ‘I need my heart to slow down before I can pull in the sail again’ and ‘I made it round in one piece without capsizing’ comments that were heard!

Ella in a Laser 4.7 led the first lap closely followed by Fleur in her Topper. Toby in his Topper and Charlie in his Oppie came through close together, despite Charlie being 30 secs late for the start! Ollie followed along in his Oppie. 

Ella had done 3 laps before Pippa in her Oppie finally arrived at the start line and started her race (Dad – the race starts at 6pm, driving up with two Oppies on a trailer at 5.45pm is pushing it a bit!!!).

Ella maintained her lead throughout the race, Charlie had a great race overtaking Toby on Lap 2, then Fleur on Lap 3, who got her revenge on Lap 7 and then narrowly held her 2nd position to the end of the race. Toby and Ollie did really well to complete 3 laps, and Pippa crept closer and closer to the other boats in her efforts to make up for the late start.

Toby capsized on his 4th lap but Karen was feeling really kind and did some magic letting him finish on his 3rd lap, she also generously calculated Pippa’s result from when she actually started!

On the water the order was Ella, Fleur, Charlie, Pippa, Toby, Ollie but the order after applying handicaps was Charlie, Pippa, Ella, Fleur, Ollie, Toby.

Thanks to Karen for organizing the race and writing the race report.

This morning there was a SW wind of about 15 mph and a fleet of eleven. Not sure what the course was as SOOD Chris H decided to keep it to himself and not record it on the race sheet, (he probably did tell the competitors but not posterity!), but with a wind in that direction it was probably a first beat to 4 and then back up the lake by a variety of marks.

Pursuit Race

Everyone completed just over two laps before the 35 minute gun went and Emily (4.7) had managed to stay ahead of the chasing pack to take victory. Mark (Laser) was the leader of the pack and took 2^nd place ahead of early starter Ron in his Mirror. Newton & Sam (RS200) were 4^th with Chris K (Laser) 5^th and Steve S (Radial) 6^th. Rick (Laser) was back in his old favourite position of 7^th with William B in another Laser in 8^th position. Behind these were Mike C (Solo), Alex & Mike T (470) and Aileen (Comet).

Handicap Race

Aileen and Mike C sat the second race out, but Jamie in his Laser joined in the fun.

Newton & Sam were first back across the line and then Mark just two seconds ahead of Emily. About a minute later Steve s crossed in 4^th place followed by a close bunched group consisting of William B, Alex & Mike T, Jamie, Ron and Rick, Chris K retired on this first lap.

At the end of the second lap Newton & Sam had increased their lead and Emily was up to 2^nd place just ahead of Mark. Jamie had gained three places and was up to 4^th with Ron the only other mover up one place to 7^th.

On the third lap Mark regained 2^nd place and Jamie moved up to 3^rd, both of them passing Emily. Steve and William B were steady in 5^th and 6^th places, but Alex & Mike and Rick gained a place by passing Ron.

On the fourth and last lap there was no change in the positions, so the final order on the water was – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Jamie; 4^th Emily; 5^th Steve; 6^th William.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Emily; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Mark; 5^th Jamie; 6^th Steve S.

Thanks to SOOD Chris H and the race team of Karen, Dave & Ann.

Last week the Junior race had to be cancelled because of too much wind and this week there was hardly enough, but at least it was warm and sunny!

Seven starters out tonight in a mixture of 4.7s, Toppers and Oppies and Karen had wisely set a short course.

 Emily (4.7) was first back across the line well ahead of Fleur in her Topper. Ollie going well in his Oppie crossed the line in 3^rd place with Phoebe in another Topper in 4^th. Then along came Frances (Oppie) closely followed by Lucy (4.7) and then William in another Topper.

On the second lap Emily and Fleur were still leading, but Phoebe had moved up to 3^rd place by passing Ollie and Lucy had caught and passed Frances.

The final positions on corrected time were – 1^st Ollie; 2^nd Frances; 3^rd Fleur; 4^th Emily; 5^th Phoebe; 6^th Lucy; 7^th William.

Well done to all of you for finishing in the difficult wind conditions.

Thanks to Karen for organising the race and to Dan and Richard S for helping out.   

There was very little wind near the Clubhouse and Newton and Steve S ventured forth with a wind diviner (otherwise known as an old mast head pennant) to find some and set a course!

They managed to do this, but not without some last minute adjustments as the wind was Southish but veering around as start time approached. This turned out to be C (just NW of Tektona) with a starboard rounding up to A near the buoy line, then back towards B in the general direction of 2 and back through the start line round D (just behind the line) and back across the line to finish the lap.

There were 20 starters with. a bit of argy-bargy at the start (Mike C thought he was sailing a new slimline Solo!). First back across the line was Karen (Laser) followed by Rhys in another Laser and these two led for four of the five laps. Chris H (Comet) was in 3^rd place, about a minute ahead of Mike T (Laser), then there was a close group of boats led by Roland S (Solo), then Mark (Laser), Mike C (Solo), Newton & Sam (RS200), Dave & Ann (Leader) and James P (Laser). There was a bit of a gap before Jamie (Laser) crossed in 11^th place followed by Emily (Radial), Mike A (Lightning) and Steve S & Rick (RS200) with Jeremy (Laser) arriving a minute later. Will (Radial) who is usually further up the fleet came through in 16^th place and it was another three minutes before Chris & Carol (420) came along with Alex & Matt (470), Rich (Comet Duo) and Angus (Mirror) following on.

There was no change in the first four on the second lap, but Newton & Sam and Mike C gained three places to move up to 5^thand 6^th respectively. James P passed Dave & Ann and Mark to move to 8^th and Emily also got past Dave & Ann and Jamie to move up to 10^th place.

Further back both Jeremy and Will gained a place by passing Steve & Rick. Alex & Matt and Rich also gained a place by passing Chris & Carol. Angus received the gun at the end of his second lap.

By the end of the third lap Newton & Sam had moved to 3^rd place with Mike T still 4^th and Mike C was up to 5^th. Mark had regained two places and was now in 7^th place with Roland only six seconds behind him. The close battle in the middle of the fleet between James P,   Dave & Ann and Emily continued, as did the battle between Jeremy and Will and at the rear of the fleet Chris & Carol had repassed Rich who received the gun at the end of the lap.

On the fourth lap the leading five boats held position, but Mark had regained 6^th place by passing Chris H. Roland was holding 8^th spot with Emily up to 9^th passing Dave & Ann and James to gain this position. Behind them Jamie was unfortunate to capsize just before the line as Karen swooped past to lap him. Jamie, Mike A, Will, Jeremy, Steve & Rick, Alex & Matt and Chris & Carol all received the gun having been lapped by Karen.

At the finish Karen had increased her lead to over three minutes and Newton & Sam had managed to snatch 2^nd place from Rhys. Mike T and Mike C battling for 4^th place crossed the line together. Mark held on to 6^th place but crossed only 15 seconds ahead of Chris H. James and Dave & Ann had a good last lap gaining two places to finish 8^th and 9^th with Emily 10^th and Roland 11^th.

On corrected time the result becomes – 1^st Karen; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Mike C; 4^th Newton & Sam; 5^th Rhys; 6^th Mike T.

Thanks to SOOD Sally and the race team of Ian S, Monica and Paul H (who nearly escaped but got nobbled by Sally as he was about to get in his car!).

Sally would also like to thank Newton and Steve S for their help in setting the course

Not a lot of wind this morning with a forecast of 5 mph from the WNW, but actually varying in strength and direction from 2 – 5 and WSW to NW! Mike A set a short course with a standard flagpole start then 5, A (in the middle of the lake going towards 9), 8, B (near the bank behind the middle of the start line.

Pursuit Race

Only 6 starters this morning and at the end of the first lap Ron (Mirror) led followed by Chris H (Comet). Roland S (Solo) crossed in 3^rd place about five minutes ahead of Dave & Ann (Leader) in 4^th, who were nearly ten minutes ahead of Mark (Laser) and Newton & Sam (RS200). In the light wind it obviously paid to be an early starter and at the 35 minute gun the only change in order was Chris passing Ron.

Handicap Race

Mike shortened the course for the second race by taking 8 out and moving A a little further down the lake and William B joined the fleet in his Laser.

Roland was first back across the line nearly one minute ahead of Chris in 2^nd place with Mark 3^rdand Newton & Sam not far behind him. The rest of the fleet was evenly spaced with Dave & Ann in 5^th place followed by Ron and William.

With the wind threatening to disappear, Mike shortened the course even further by moving the finish line up to A!

At the finish Chris had taken the lead from Roland and Newton & Sam just snatched 3^rd place from Mark on the line. Behind them there was no change in order, but William decided that he had enough excitement and retired.

The order on the water was – 1^st Chris; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd Newton & Sam; 4^th Mark; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Ron.

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

Thanks to Mike A and the race team Alex, Emily and Gareth D.

With a fairly light NW wind Newton set the start near to Tektona and came back up the lake to A in the middle then B (near the buoy line) down to 2, 4, 1 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

At the end of the first lap the early starters were still ahead with Chris H (Comet) leading from Ron (Mirror) with Dave & Ann (Leader) in 3^rd place followed by Paul W (Morbic). Roland S (Solo) and Karen (Laser) were together contesting 5^th place, closely followed by Mike C (Solo) and Aileen (Comet.

At the gun the final order was – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Dave & Ann; 5^th Roland S; 6^th Chris K.

Handicap Race

Five Lasers nose to tail led the fleet back through the line, Karen, Mark, Darren, Chris K and Ralph. Roland S (Solo) crossed in 6^th place followed by Chris H (Comet), Dave & Ann (Leader) Mike C in the second Solo and Aileen in her Comet. Rick & Lottie were next along flying the flag for the RS200s, followed by Ron (Mirror), Milo (Radial) and Paul W (Morbic).

Darren was up to 2^nd place by the end of the second lap with Ralph up to 4^th and Chris H up to 6^th. Further back Ron and Milo had caught and passed Rick & Lottie.  Milo, Rick & Lottie and Paul W all received the gun at the end of this lap.

On the last lap there were no changes in position, so the final order was – 1^st Karen; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Mark; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Chris K; 6^th Chris H.

On corrected time the only change is Chris H moving up to 1^st place pushing everyone else down one.

Thanks to SOOD Newton and the team of Ainhoa, James C and Zetat.

It was quite frisky tonight with a 16 mph SW wind gusting to 25 mph. Mike A set the first mark as 5 then 4, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 19 boats out tonight, but Alex & Matt in the 470 and Ru in the Lightning were just out to have a good time and enjoy the swimming!

Richard H (Laser), Peter A (Topper), Angus (Mirror) and Nick H (Laser) all got into difficulties before the start, either capsized or blown into the bushes, although Nick H did manage to start. Ralph capsized shortly after starting and Mike C (Solo) retired at the end of the first lap.

The first two boats back across the line were Mark and Ed both using Radial rigs with Steve S in 3^rd place sailing a full Laser. Newton & Emily (RS200) were 4^th only 20 seconds behind Steve. Then a minute and a half later Gareth D (Laser) crossed in 5^th place with Jamie in another Laser a further two minutes back. Paul H was next along in his Supernova (opting for a bigger rather than a smaller sail to his Laser!) and he was followed by Chris H using his smaller sail on his Comet (initially he was undecided whether to go out, but when Aileen said she was braving it, he decided to do the same, but then Aileen decided against it!). Finally a determined Nick H crossed the line.

By the end of the second lap Ed had taken the lead and Steve had managed to get past Mark to move up to 2^nd place, there were no other changes as most were intent on just getting round. Nick received the gun at the end of his second lap having been passed by the leaders.

At the finish Ed and Steve were still in 1^st and 2^nd places, but Newton & Emily had got past Mark to cross in 3^rd place. Gareth was unlucky to capsize just before No 6 enabling Jamie to claim 5^th place and  Chris H just pipped Paul H for 7^th.

Newton & Emily and Steve S nearly got black flagged as they got carried away playing in the strong wind and very nearly impeded the boats finishing behind them!

The final order on the water was – 1^st Ed; 2^nd Steve; 3^rd Newton & Emily; 4^th Mark; 5^th Jamie; 6^th Gareth D; 7^th Chris H; 8^th Paul H.

Unusually there were no changes in position from the finishing order. Thanks to Mike A and Sam who managed the race from the bank, but special thanks to the Safety Boat teams, Chris & Carol, Chris & Toby B and Steve D & Aileen, who were particularly busy this evening.

The format for the July Cup this year was four races, each about 30 minutes duration with three to count. It was very hot and sunny, but there was only a light breeze. Paul R was SOOD and used the movable marks A, B, C and D to give himself more flexibility.

There were 15 competitors initially, but Jess, Jewels and Dave & Ann decided one race was enough for them and James and Mark opted out after two races.

The first race turned out to be a one lap affair as the wind dropped. Having said that, Newton & Sam in the RS200 finished in 1^st place in 28 minutes and the last finisher was Joe in 54 minutes and Sally and Paul W did not finish at all! The first six on the water were Newton & Sam (RS200), Mike C (Solo), Rhys (Laser), Mark (Laser), Jess (Laser) and Chris H (Comet).

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Mike C; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Rhys; 4^th Ron; 5^th Chris H; 6^th Mark.

Paul adjusted the course for the second race and got the timing spot on with two laps taking just over 30 minutes. Newton & Sam were first back across the line followed closely by Rhys and the old man battling for 2^nd place. Mike C was 4^th about one minute ahead of Mark in 5^th,  who in turn was one minute ahead of Aileen (Comet) in 6^th just ahead of Ron (Mirror) and Chris H in another Comet.  Behind them Joe (Laser) and Emily (Radial) were only split by 5 seconds with Paul W Morbic 12) and Sally (Comet) bringing up the rear. At the end of the second lap Mike C had moved up to 2^nd place with James 3^rd,Rhys 4^th, Chris H 5^th and Joe 6^th.

On corrected time the order changes to – 1^st Ron; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Mike C; 4^th Chris H; 5^th James; 6^th Rhys.

After a short lunch break Paul tweeked the course again and this time the fleet managed two laps in a slightly shorter time.  Chris H was first back across the line followed by Aileen, so a good start for the Comets. Newton & Sam were 3^rd with Rhys 4^th, Mike C 5^th and Emily 6^th.  Sally crossed in 7^th ahead of Joe with Ron and Paul W behind them. At the finish Newton & Sam were up to to 1^st, but there were no other changes in position.

The order on corrected time was – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Aileen; 3^rd Mike C; 4^th Newton & Sam; 5^th Emily; 6^th Rhys.      

The final race was also a two lapper and Newton & Sam were again first back across the line with Rhys in a good 2^nd place about one minute ahead of Mike C in 3^rd.  The Comets of Chris H and Aileen were next along with Emily in 6^th place and Joe in 7^th place. Ron and Paul W vying for the lanterne rouge. Unusually there were no changes at all in position at the end of the second lap.

The corrected order was – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Rhys; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Mike C; 5^th Aileen; 6^th Emily.

Interesting to note all the races were won by a different helm with a different class boat.

When the numbers were crunched and the discards made the final podium was

– 1^st Newton & Sam (RS200); 2^nd Mike C (Solo); 3^rd Chris H (Comet).

Congratulations to Newton & Sam the winners of the July Cup for 2021.

Thanks to SOOD Paul R and the race team of Hadey, Bill, Mike and Nando.

It was very hot and sunny with a NE wind about 8 mph. Karen used a triangle course with a start line on an East – West axis with 5 as the pinnacle and A and B marking the base line. She drew out the course on a whiteboard to show to the young sailors before they went on the water, perhaps something that some of our older sailors could benefit from!

7 young sailors started and the fleet reduced each lap as boats were lapped, so everyone completed the first lap with Thomas (Radial) crossing the line in 1^st place with Emily (4.7) in 2^nd place. Then came a trio of Toppers with Fleur leading William and Lucy followed by the Oppies of Frances and Ollie. Ollie received the gun at the end of his lap.

On the second lap the only change in the order was William overtaking Fleur to move up to 3^rd place and Fleur was finished at the ned of the lap.

The third lap saw no change in the order, but William, Fleur and Lucy were all finished at the end of the lap as they had been overtaken by Thomas and Emily.

The fourth lap was the last and Thomas retained the lead over Emily.

The final order was – 1^st Thomas; 2^nd Emily; 3^rd William; 4^th Fleur; 5^th Lucy; 6^th Frances; 7^th Ollie.

Well done to all of you.

Thanks to Karen & Stuart, Hadey, Richard S and Stan for helping out.