Reading Sailing Club Members

After two light wind Sundays it was blowing a hoolie this morning! The BBC weather forecast had 20 mph with stronger gusts, but it may have been more than that. The safety boats were very busy and the OOD team (plus Ralph) were keeping a rough tally of capsizes as well as race positions.

Pursuit Race

Seven hardy souls set out and at the end of a lap Rhys/4.7 was in the lead with Chris K/Laser in 2^nd place and Paul R/Aero 7 in 3^rd. There had already been a number of capsizes and Chris H/Comet said it was the windiest he had ever sailed in and retired after only half a lap or so. Chris K/Laser also retired later in the race. The rest of the fleet persevered to complete the 35 minutes and the order at the gun was – 1^st Darren/Laser; 2^nd Rhys/4.7; 3rdPaul R/Aero 7; 4^th Ed/Aero 5; 5^th James/Laser

All the racers were incredibly brave to go out and some very talented sailors did remarkable well to only capsize once or twice.

Capsize Tally (approximate – may have been a few missed!)

James            17

Rhys               4

Chris K           3

Paul R            3

Chris H           2

Darren            1

Ed                   1

Full marks for perseverance go to James P who somehow had the energy to finish the race despite capsizing approximately 17 times! Don’t know how he did it, but definitely the leading contender for the Capsize Cup.

The Handicap Race did not run as everyone decided to come off the water after the first race, apart from Paul and Ed in the Aeros. Well you have to be a bit mad to sail an Aero anyway!

Well done to everyone for facing such challenging conditions.

Thanks to SOOD Steve Sharp and the race team of Aileen, Dave Royse, Carsten Pieser, Colin Heaven, Mike Caton, Nigel Lacey and Ralph Page.

It was a light wind last week, but it was even lighter this morning! Last week James used four letters (No – not that four!) and this week Mike T used three letter and one number making an extended rounding of Number 5 before returning through the traditional start line. Next week it may well be a circuit of the outer start line mark!

Pursuit Race

There were 12 drifters out for this race and with only 35 minutes to go it was not surprising that the faster handicap later starting boats did not catch the early starters, although Rhys and Chris K in their Lasers did get past Chris H/Comet, despite Chris sporting a crisp looking new sail. Rhys has joined James in the black sail gang, perhaps the black absorbs energy from the sun like mobile solar panels?

At the gun Mike C/Solo led from Aileen/Comet and Roland/Solo and with Rhys 4^th and Chris K 5^th. Chris H was next just in front of black sail James followed by Nigel/Laser and Newton & Sam/RS200. Next was Ron, usually much further up the order in a light wind, but he is still working off the Christmas puddings! Behind him were Hilary/Radial and Paul W & Robin/Morbic.

Handicap Race

Thomas and Lucy M in Radials joined the fleet for the second race and notably Alessandro in his smart new Aero.

Unfortunately, the wind was still largely absent, and it became a one lap race with the fleet split into small groups.

First back across the line was Chris H who had obviously got to grips with his new sail. Then two minutes later Mike C crossed just in front of Aileen having managed to get past her just after the last mark before the finish.

There was a gap of four minutes and Chris K just pipped Alessandro for 4^th place by just one second. Newton & Sam were 6^th, two minutes ahead of Rhys. Then five minutes later there was a tight group led by Roland ahead of James P, Thomas, Hilary and Lucy. Two minutes later Nigel crossed the line with Ron another two minutes later.

In the midst of the gently moving dinghies the fastest boat on the water was Paul W’s Morbic, propelled by the enthusiastic use of oars.

On corrected time the order is – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Aileen; 3^rd Mike C; 4^th Chris K; 5^th Newton & Sam; 6^th Ron.

The only proviso would be if Alessandro was sailing an Aero 7 or Aero 9. If it was an Aero7 he would be 5^th ahead of Newton & Sam!

Thanks to SOOD Mike Trussler and the race team of Adam & Gill Brash, Bea Primrose, Chris Sharp, Marcin Tiela and Peter Strobel.

It was a very light wind this morning coming from the SSE and varying from 0 to 3 mph! In the absence of a breeze James P decided to use a letter course, using the right letters but not necessarily in the right order (to quote Mr Morecambe!), A, D, B, C and back through the S.

It was also one of those rare occasions when the numbers of the race team matched the numbers on the water.

Pursuit Race

With the light wind and the fiendishly short course there were just over three laps before the 35 minute gun sounded. For the first two laps the order remained the same with early starter Ron/Mirror leading from the Comets of Chris H and Aileen with Roland/Solo in 4^th place. The Lasers of Mike T and Chris K were next with Paul W/Morbic ahead of Nigel/Laser.

Not sure what happened, but Chris H had a disastrous third lap dropping from 2^nd to 5^th. Ron was still leading but Aileen was now 2^nd and Mike T had moved up to 3^rd ahead of Roland and Chris K. Nigel and Ron did not actually complete their third lap before the gun sounded.

The final order was 1^st Aileen; 2^nd Mike T; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Roland; 5^th Chris K; 6^th Chris H.

Handicap Race

The wind did pick up slightly on the second lap, which resulted in a six lap race for the leaders.

Chris H was first back across the line just ahead of Mike T, who was followed closely by Aileen, Chris K and Roland. Ron was next across followed by Nigel and Paul W in his usual position.

By the end of the second lap the two Lasers of Mike T and Chris K had moved to the front pushing Chris H down to 3^rd with Roland passing Aileen to move to 4^th with no further changesbehindthem.

On the third lap Chris K and Chris H passed Mike T to move to 1^st and 2^nd. The only other change was Nigel passing Rom to move to 6^th place. Paul received the gun at the end of his third lap.

The fourth and fifth laps saw no change in the order, but Nigel and Ron were finished at the end of their fifth laps.

So, the fleet was down to five for the final lap and perhaps unsurprisingly in the light conditions there was still no change in the order which was – 1^st Chris K; 2^nd Chris H, 3^rd Mike T; 4^th Roland; 5^th Aileen with Nigel and Ron one lap short in 6^th and 7^th and Paul 8^th.

On corrected time the order changes to – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Chris K; 3^rd Aileen; 4^th Mike T; 5^th Roland; 6^th Ron.

Thanks to SOOD James Primrose along with Bea & Rhys Primrose, Ainhoa Montero de Espinala, Graham Kneebone, James Coombs, Joanne Holden and Marcin Tiela.

With a light SW wind varying 2-5 mph, Ron set pretty well the same course as last week, 4, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

11 starters this morning and it was good to see Chris and Toby out in their Omega.

In the light wind the earlier starting boats could not be caught by the faster handicap boats and the order at the gun was –  

1^st Mike C/Solo; 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Roland/Solo; 4^th Dave & Ann/Leader; 5^th Newton & Sam/RS200; 6^th Aileen/Comet

The only Laser out today was Chris K and he was 7^th with Alessandro & Mike T/470 next followed by Paul W/Morbic, Rick &Lottie/RS200 and Chris & Toby/Omega.

Handicap Race

Emily joined the second race, which turned out to be a one lapper with the first six boats fairly close together. Chris & Toby, Rick & Lottie and Paul retired leaving nine to finish.

The order on the water was – 1^st Alessandro & Mike T; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd Mike C; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Chris K; 6^th Aileen; 7^th Emily; 8^th Newton & Sam; 9^th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd Aileen; 4^th Mike C; 5^th Emily; 6^th Chris K

Thanks to SOOD Ron Vass and the race team of Dean Jones, Georgina Howell, Hadey Lines, Luke Dixon, Mike Todd and Paul Hyde.

With a SW wind about 10 mph, Ralph set the first beat down to 4, then A (going towards 2), 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 15 starters and at the end of a lap the order was still pretty well the order that they had started, with the Comets of Aileen and Chris H followed by the Solos of Roland S and Mike C with Karen/Radial in 5^th place and the first Laser of Mike T in 6^th. At the gun the order was -1^st Chris H; 2^nd Aileen; 3^rd Mike C; 4^th Roland; 5^th Paul R (who was last to get away in his Aero); 6^th Karen

Handicap Race

Mark opted out of this one, so the fleet was now down to 14.

First back across the line was Paul/Aero and he led for all three laps of the race. The boats behind Paul were very close at the end of the first lap with Roland S in 2^nd place leading James P/Laser, Newton & Sam/RS200, Darren/Laser and  Mike T/Laser , all covered by 45 seconds. Karen/Radial crossed in 7^th place just one second ahead of Mike C/Solo with Chris H/Comet, Rick/Laser and Dave & Ann/Leader not far behind them.  Jon/Laser came through 30 seconds later in 12^th place, surprising for him as he is usually up towards the front. Also surprising was Aileen/Comet back in 13^th after her stellar second place in the first race! At the back Paul W was sailing merrily along in his Morbic.

By the end of the second lap, Paul had increased his lead at the front and Darren had moved up three places to 2^nd with James still in 3^rd with Roland down to 4^th. Newton & Sam had a bit of a fracas at No 4 and had to do turns resulting in Mike T, Mike C and Chris H all getting past them. Further back Jon gained two places getting past Dave & Ann and Rick. Paul W received the gun at the end of his second lap.

Paul finished in 1^st place and James managed to pip Darren for 2^nd spot. There was a really tight battle for 4^th place with Roland crossing just one second ahead of Mike T. Jon had a good last lap moving up four places to 6^th and Dave & Ann gained a place by passing Karen.

The order on the water was – 1^st Paul; 2^nd James P; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Roland; 5^th Mike T; 6^th Jon.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Roland; 3^rd James P; Equal 4^th  Paul and Darren; 6^th Mike T

Well done to Chris H with another double in his Comet.

Thanks to SOOD Ralph and the team of Alessandro, Bea, Chris Knt, Gareth E, Hadey and Jewels.

It was quite a pleasant morning for the cup race with a SW wind about 15 mph. Mike A set the first mark as 4 then 2, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 32 boats out, which may be a record for the New Year Cup and will take some beating as we go through 2022. It was good to see some new racers out and some returning after a spell away.

At the end of the first lap, James C/RS300 was already well in the lead with the Lasers of Mark and Ralph chasing followed by Newton & Sam in the RS200 and Roland in his Solo. Ed/Radial came through in 6^th not far ahead of Ken/Laser and Karen and Richard S in Radials and Chris K in another Laser. Then there was a large group battling for the mid-fleet positions with Emily/4.7, Dave & Ann/Leader, James P, Adrian, Jeremy and Rick in Lasers, Ella and Will in Radials and Mike C/Solo all in the mix. About a minute later Jewels/Mirror crossed the line leading Hattie/Radial and the Comets of Aileen and Chris H with Ron in his Mirror another minute further back. William/Topper and Dan S/Pico were having a good battle ahead of the Toppers of Francis, Peter A and 47518 (sorry we did not get your name down) and the Pico of Rebecca S. Paul W in his Morbic was the lanterne rouge holder, which was not surprising as he decide to change his rigging on the water during the start sequence!

Lap 2 saw no change in the order of the first five, but Chris K had moved up to 6^th. Further back Adrian gained two places passing Ken and Dave & Ann and Mike C, Jewels and Hattie got past Ella. In the battle of the Comets Chris was just ahead of Aileen and William in his Topper was just holding off Dan in the Pico.

On Lap 3, Richard S moved up to 5^th with no change in the positions ahead of him. Ken and Adrian and Will were fighting for 12^th place with Dave & Ann in 14^th and they were managing to stay ahead of Rick and Jeremy. Mike C was ploughing a lonely furrow and behind him Hattie had passed Jewels. Then there was a really close battle for 19^th place between Chris H and Aileen with Ron not far behind them. By this time a number of the back markers had retired, but Peter A and Paul W had persevered and were finished at the end of their third circuit.   

The end of Lap 4 saw James C even further ahead, but Mark, Ralph and Newton & Sam still retained their positions behind him. Roland had regained 5^th spot with Chris K still 6^th and Ed had moved past Karen to 7^th with Richard S and Emily behind her. Adrian, Will and James P (recovering from an earlier capsize) passed Dave & Ann to move up places and these were the last to avoid being lapped by James C finishing his race, although Rick did a bit of wiggling to ensure he was lapped! So, Rick, Jeremy, Mike C, Hattie, Chris H, Jewels, Aileen, Ron, Dan, William all received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the end of the fifth and last lap James C crossed the line in 1^st place some four minutes ahead of Mark in 2^nd. Chris K and Karen both gained places on this last lap to finish 5^th and 6^th.  The final order on the water was –

1^st James C; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Newton & Sam; 5^th Chris K; 6^th Karen. 

On corrected time there were some significant changes with the order becoming –

1^st Mark/Laser; 2^nd Emily/4.7; 3^rd Jewels/Mirror; 4^th Ralph/Laser; 5^th Karen/Radial; 6^th Chris K/Laser.

Thanks to SOOD Mike A and the race team of Adrian B, Bea P, Chris & Toby B, Frantz C, Jess B and Marcin T.

Not much wind this morning and only seven made it to the line for the post- Christmas dinner workout !

At the end of the first lap, Rhys/Laser led from Newton & Crew/RS200 with Chris K/Laser in 3^rd place. Then along came the Solos of Steve S and Roland followed at a distance by Chris H/Comet and Ron/Mirror.

By the end of the second lap Rhys had slipped back to 5^th place being overtaken by the four behind him who actually maintained their order, but all five were only separated by a few seconds.

With the wind disappearing the third lap took longer than the previous two laps together! Chris K crossed the line in 1^st place with Steve 2^nd, Rhys 3^rd and Newton 4th. Significantly Chris H had passed Roland to finish in 5^th place and Ron had decided not to bother with this lap!

On corrected time the Pennant will be waved by Chris H with his Comet handicap.

Thanks to SOOD James P and the race team of Bea, Brian M, Constanta and Peter A.

This morning there was a gloomy mist and very little wind and as a result there were only six venturing forth.

It turned out to be a Comet morning with Aileen winning the Pursuit race and Chris H the Handicap race.

The Pursuit very nearly finished in the starting order as at the gun it was –

1^st Aileen/Comet; 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Roland/Solo/ 4^th Chris K/Laser; 5^th Emily/4.7 6^th Newton & Sam/RS200

With very little wind the Handicap race was a one lapper and the finishing order was similar to the Pursuit, except that Chris won this one with Aileen in second place. Emily opted out but Paul W/Morbic joined in, but retired along with Newton & Sam leaving just four finishers.

1^st Chris H; 2^nd Aileen; 3^rd Chris K; 4^th Roland.

The order on the water remained unchanged on corrected time.

Thanks to SOOD Paul R, who managed to set a course despite the vagaries of the wind!  Thanks also to the race team of Andrew S, Angus N, Christine H, Paul D and Steve M.

Sunshine and a gentle breeze meant it was much warmer than previous weeks and it definitely brought out a few more sailors, with 15 boats starting the first ever Frostbite Pursuit race. 

SOOD Mark set a course, then Karen who had volunteered to help changed it slightly, resulting in 4P, 9P, 5S, 7S, 6S, S!!

First away Ron in the Mirror, was followed quickly by William in a Topper, Dad Dan in a Pico, and Paul in the Morbic. Then the Comets of Aileen and Chris set off, before Roland in the Solo and Ann/Dave in the Leader. The Lasers of Chris K, Darren, James, Adrian and Rick and the RS200 of Newton/Sam all set off in their normal mass start before finally the 470 with Mike T/Alessandro. 

William in his Topper came round the first lap in the lead closely followed by the Morbic and the Mirror, Aileen was in front of Chris H and Roland in the Solo was between them. Dave/Ann were next followed by Newton/Sam and the Lasers of Chris K, Darren, Adrian and James. The Pico with Dan on board was still ahead of Rick in the final Laser and the 470. 

The second lap saw Newton/Sam leaping to the front of the fleet, followed by Roland, and then the two Chris’s Comet still before Laser. Darren was in front of Aileen, Ann/Dave still holding onto to 7th and William who was starting to slip back, but not as far as Paul and Ron who now only had the Pico behind them with the 470 and the rest of the Lasers getting past them. 

The end of the race saw Newton/Sam in podium position, with Roland still holding onto 2nd from Chris K in 3rd.

Jeremy in his Laser decided to join in for the first Frostbite Handicap race making 16 starters. An interesting start from the 470 caused a bit of chaos, when they attempted a port flier but didn’t succeed! Darren definitely was not happy!! 

Chris K in a Laser came round the first lap just in front of the RS200 of Newton/Sam, then another Laser with Darren onboard. Roland was going really well in the Solo, followed by James in a Laser, then the 470 and the Leader. Adrian, Rick and Jeremy were all close together, followed by the Comets with Aileen just in front of Chris. The Topper, Mirror and Mobic were also all close together a bit further back and Dan in the Pico bought up the rear. 

Lap 2 saw Chris K pulling out a lead of a minute from Darren, who was followed by the 470, then the RS200. Roland was still there in the Solo, but James was very close behind, just in front of Dave/Ann in the Leader. Rick had passed Adrian to be the first of the next Laser trio, and Aileen was beginning to pull away from Chris in the battle of the Comets. A fair gap back to the slower boats but the Mirror was now leading the Topper and the Morbic with Dan falling a bit further behind. 

Lap 3 saw only a few changes in position, Newton/Sam overhauled the 470, and William in the Topper got past Ron as the four slower boats were finished having been lapped by the front runners who were already on Lap 4.

Lap 4 was the final lap and no one changed position, Chris K taking first on the water followed by Darren, Newton/Sam, Mike T/Alex, Roland and James. 

Memorably Aileen lowered Chris Hilson’s colours in the battle of the Comets crossing the line neatly one minute ahead of him!!

Corrected times saw podium place going to Chris K in a Laser, Darren 2nd in a Laser and Roland 3rd in a Solo. 

Thanks to the Race Team of Karen, Ben and Bea, the Rescue Boat teams of Mark and Ken, Adrian and Dick and Trolley Man Chris. 

Yet another cold, windy day (but not as bad as forecast) and the number of OODs exceeded the number of sailors!! 

Four brave souls started the Pursuit race, two Lasers Darren braving the full rig and James opting to reduce sail, Chris in a reduced sail Comet and Ron in his Mirror. 

SOOD Karen had set a course starting at Tectona of Ap (close to 4), Bp ( between 4 and 2), 8p, 5p, 1s. Ron was first away and stayed in front for the first 2 laps, Chris kept his place for the first lap. By the end of the second lap Darren was right on Ron’s transom and Chris was the tail ender. Darren finished in podium position with Ron second, and James third. Not really sure why James decided to celebrate with a capsize, including wrapping his mainsheet around mark 1 just as the gun went, because it was definitely too cold for swimming!! 

With no hanging around Karen and Bea got the Handicap race started (they were cold and wanted to get ashore, the rescue boat crews had both had brief respites ashore to warm up!) 

In the first lap shifting, gusty wind near 5 was the cause of a capsize for Darren who fell out the boat to windward in a lull, and then in a shift and gust the boat went over allowing James to catch up a bit, but not for long. No tactical racing for anyone as each sailor did their best to stay upright and just got round the course as best they could. 

Four laps for Darren and James, who lost a lot of ground in irons after a gusty shift (Push, Push, Wait, Pull, Pull is the quickest method for getting out of irons James!) and, probably relieved that they had been lapped, three for Chris and Ron. 

Order on the water was Darren, James, Chris, Ron, On corrected time Ron leapfrogs to second behind winner Darren. 

A very big thank you to the race team of Karen and Bea, and the Rescue boat team of Alistair S, Ainoha, Bill C and Alessandro. 

These were the last races of the Cobley series. 

Cobly Pursuit winners are Newton and Sam (plus various other crews), with Darren second and Chris H third. 

Cobley Handicap winner is Chris K, with Darren second and Newton and Sam (plus various other crews) third. 

Thanks to Karen for this entertaining report.