Reading Sailing Club Members

It was another warm sunny evening with a SW wind 8-12 mph. SOOD Ralph set a course of A (between 4 and 5), 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 15 starters for what turned out to be a four lap race and first back through the line was Karen/Laser about 20 seconds ahead of Mark in another Laser. About one minute later Roland/Solo crossed in 3^rd place just ahead of Newton & Sam/RS200 and Emily/Radial. Another minute elapsed before a close group came through, Jamie/Laser, Steve & Rick/RS200, Dave & Ann/Leader, Jeremy/Laser, Ron/Mirror and Sally/Comet. They were not far ahead of the Lasers of Paul H and Hattie who crossed the line together with Mike T/Comet only four seconds behind them and carrying the lanterne rouge was Cecilia in her Laser.

On the second lap Newton & Sam and Emily passed Roland to move up to 3^rd and 4^th places and Dave & Ann moved up two places to 6^th. Mike T was the prime mover gaining five places to move to 9^th spot and Pau H eased away from Hattie.

At the end of the third lap, Karen still led but Newton & Sam were in front of Mark and up to 2^nd place. Further back Steve & Rick had regained 6^th place from Dave & Ann and Sally had caught and passed Hattie. Cecelia received the hooter at the end of this lap.

On the last lap there was no change in the order of the fist five, but Dave & Ann had repassed Steve & Rick. The other movers on this lap were Jeremy passing Mike T and Paul passing Ron.

The final positions on the water were –

1^st Karen/Laser; 2^nd Newton & Sam/RS200; 3^rd Mark/Laser; 4^th Emily/Radial; 5^th Roland/Solo; 6^th Dave & Ann/Leader

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Karen/Laser; 2^nd Newton & Sam/RS200; 3^rd Emily/Radial; 4^th Mark/Laser; 5^th Roland/Solo; 6^th Mike T/Comet.

Thanks to SOOD Ralph Page and the race team of Chris & Carol Meunier, Chris Andrews and Ian Stewart.   

Another warm morning with quite a frisky wind about 12 – 14 mph from the SW, but varying with gusts. Mark set the first mark as 4 then 3, 9, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

18 starters today and at the end of the first lap William in his Topper was still leading with Ron/Mirror in 2^nd place. Chris K/Radial was up to 3^rd place followed by Becky/Pico and the Comets of Chris H and Mike T. Roland/Solo was through in 7^th with Dave & Ann/Leader 8^th. Next were the Lasers of Jon, Jamie and Ken having passed Frances in her Topper who was just ahead of Alistair S/Laser. Sally capsized her Comet and retired and at the 35 minute hooter the final positions were –

1^st William; 2^nd Chris K; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Roland; 5^th Jon; 6^th Mike T.    

Handicap Race

Jon/Laser was first back across the line just ahead of Steve/Blaze, Dave & Ann/Leader and Roland/Solo.  Mike T/Comet was through in 5^th place followed by Adrian/Rooster and Alistair S and Jamie in Lasers. Dan/Laser was heading the Sadler clan in 9^th place with William and Frances in their Toppers 12^th and 13^th and Becky in a Pico in 14^th place  with Rick/Laser and Ron/Mirror somewhere in the middle of them! Chris H/Comet and Ken/Laser retired on this lap.

Lap 2

By the end of the lap Steve had taken the lead and Roland was up to 2^nd place with Jamie up to 3^rd. Alistair had gained two places to move up to 5^th but everyone else maintained station or dropped back. Frances and Becky received the hooter at the end of the lap.

Lap 3

Steve retired from the lead, so Roland crossed the line in 1^st place to take victory on the water with Jamie and Jon 2^nd and 3^rd. The movers on this last lap were Adrian, Mike T and Rick who all gained a place in addition to the place gained by Steve’s demise.

The order on the water was – 1^st Roland; 2^nd Jamie; 3^rd Jon; 4^th Alistair S; 5^th Adrian; 6^th Mike T.

On corrected time there were some dramatic changes with the final order –

1^st William/Topper; 2^nd Roland/Solo; 3^rd Mike T/Comet; 4^th Ron/Mirror; 5^th Dave & Ann/Leader; 6^th Jamie/Laser

Well done to William on a double!

Thanks to SOOD Mark and the race team of Barry Stanton, Damian Mayer, David & Oliver Dommett and Steve Mann.

The nine young sailors had to cope with a very light fickle wind this evening.

At the end of the first lap, Molly/Oppie was leading from Lola/Topaz with Emily/Topper in third place and Oliver/Oppie in fourth place and Alfred/Topper in fifth place. Rowan/Oppie came through in 6^th place but was closely followed by Lily Topper, William/Topper and Alex/Oppie.

In the light wind they were all closely bunched and it was a case of being in the right place at the right time!

At the end of the second and last lap, Lola crossed the line in first place followed by Emily and William. There was a good battle between Lily and Alfred for fourth place, Molly and Rowan for sixth place and Alex and Oliver for eight place.

On corrected time, the final order was – 1st Molly; 2^nd Rowan; 3^rd Emily

It was a warm evening with a light SW wind and Chris H set the first mark as 4, then 9, 5, A (just in from 6) and back through the start.

Newton & Sam/RS200 were first back across the line followed by the Lasers of Darren, Ralph, Rick and Mark. Next along in 6^th place was Emily/Radial just ahead of Dave & Ann/Leader then the new team of Hadey & Alessandro in his 470followed by Mike A/Lightning and Chris & Carol/420.

Lap 2

There was no change in the first three, but Rick who was in 4^th place had a disastrous lap letting everyone past apart from Chris & Carol. Mind you he did decide to extend his lap by rounding as well as A! Chris & Carol received the hooter at the end of the lap having just been lapped by Newton & Sam

Lap 3

The last lap was uneventful with no change in position, so the order on the water was – 1^st Newton & Sam; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Mark; 5^th Emily; 6^th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Newton & Sam/RS200; 2^nd Darren/Laser; 3^rd Emily/Radial; 4^th Ralph/Laser; 5^th Mark/Laser; 6^th Dave & Ann/Leader.

Thanks to SOOD Chris Hilson and the race team of Chris Smith, Paul Dunlop, Paul & Terry Hutton and Steve Cleverley.

It was warm but windy this morning with a SSW wind of around 15 mph, but rising at times and some strong gusts coming through. Mike A set the firs mark as A (about halfway between 3 and 4 close to the buoy line), then 9, 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 13 starters and at the end of the first lap the first away, young William in his Topper was still leading with Hadey/4.7 in 2^nd place. Chris K/Radial came through in 3^rd place followed by Chris H/Comet, Newton/Solo, Darren/Laser and Mike T in another Comet.

At the end of two laps Hadey had taken the lead with Chris K in 2nd place and Paul R in his Aero 7 was up to 3^rd place and catching the leading two rapidly. It seemed certain that he would snatch victory but then he capsized after rounding A and they escaped but Chris K just managed to get past Hadey to take 1^st place. Paul recovered well and manged to retain 3^rd place just in front of Richard S/Laser.

The final order was – 1^st Chris K; 2^nd Hadey; 3^rd Paul R; 4^th Richard S; 5^th Newton; 6^th Darren.

Handicap Race

Hadey decided to sit the second race out. The start was quite hectic and Darren on port tack was nearly put into the bank by Paul steaming down the line on starboard!

At the end of the first lap Paul/Aero 7 crossed the line first with Darren/Laser a minute behind him and closely followed by Chris K and Jon in Radials. Richard S/Laser came through in 5^th place followed by Jamie MF/Laser and Mike T/Comet, the latter two crossing the line virtually together. Next along were Chris H/Comet and Adrian/Rooster (as usual Adrian using his largest sail when the wind gets up rather than dropping down to a smaller sail!). These two were followed about a minute later by William S in his Topper and Becky S in a Pico and they continued to battle for the Sadler family honour throughout the race! William had actually capsized earlier in the lap as had Jamie MF and Newton called it a day.

Lap 2

No change in the position of the first five, but Darren was keeping Paul honest at the front and Chris K and Jon were having a terrific scrap for 3^rd place. Jamie came in to retire from 6^th place and Adrian passed Chris H to move to 7^th and Becky passed William to move up to 10^th.

Lap 3

Again, no change in the first five but the battles continued and Adrian moved up another place by passing Mike T. Further back William had repassed Becky and these two along with Chris H ahead of them received the hooter at the end of the lap. Mike T just missed the hooter crossing the line just 30 seconds ahead of Paul who was close to lapping him.

Lap 4 and last

Paul crossed the line in 1^st place to take victory on the water, but Darren was only 30 seconds behind him. The old strong wind maestro Jon pipped Chris K for 3^rd place in the battle of the Radials.

The order on the water was – 1^st Paul R; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Jon; 4^th Chris K; 5^th Richard S; 6^th Adrian; 7^th Mike T

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Darren/Laser; 2^nd Paul/Aero 7; 3^rd Chris K/Radial; 4^th Jon/Laser (opted to apply full rig PY); 5^th Richard S/Laser; 6^th Mike T/Comet.

Well done to all for persevering in testing conditions, particularly William and Becky.

Thanks to SOOD Mike Arnott and special thanks to the race team of Alistair & Laura Johnson, Christine Hunt, Chris & Toby Berresford, Frances & Dan Sadler. These all volunteered at the last minute to enable the race to be run – thanks again!

Another lovely sunny evening with a 9 mph WSW wind. SOOD Mark set the first mark as 5, then 9, A, and back through the start.

There were 13 starters including young O Wrobel out in his 4.7 joining the racing fleet for the first time. (I think it might have been Oliver but no name on the Declaration Sheet – then again none of the following signed in either – Emily, Cecilia, Alessandro and worst of all Steve & Rick and Newton & Sam – the latter four all veterans who instead of standing on the podium might find themselves on the naughty step!)

First back across the line was Darren/Laser over a minute ahead of Newton & Sam/RS200, but they were only 20 seconds ahead of Ralph in 3^rd place. Emily/Radial came through in 4^th closely followed by Chris H/and Aileen in their Comets. Steve & Rick/RS200 were 7^th well ahead of Paul H/Laser and Sally and Mike T in their Comets. Bringing up the rear of the fleet were Alessandro/Aero, Wrobel/4.7 and Cecilia/Radial.

Lap 2

No change in the leading four, although Ralph was now on Newton & Sam’s transom and Steve & Rick were up to 5^th place. Then there was a quartet of Comets with Aileen leading Chris, Mike T and Sally, but Paul H in his Laser was ahead of Sally spoiling the line astern of Comets!.

The 4.7 received the hooter at the end of the lap.

Lap 3

At the finish Darren was clear ahead and Ralph had taken 2^nd place from Newton & Sam with Emily still in 4^th. Chris H had got his skates on and crossed in 5^th place regaining the bragging rights in the Comet battle.

The order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Newton & Sam; 4^th Emily; 5^th Chris H; 6^th Steve & Rick

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Darren/Laser; 2^nd Ralph/Laser; 3^rd Emily/Radial; 4th Newton & Sam/RS200; 5^th Chris H/Comet; 6^th Aileen/Comet.

Thanks to SOOD Mark Buckle and the race team of Chris Beresford, Patrick Crowley, Robert Wrobel, Steve Chege and Steve Mann.  

It was a lovely hot sunny morning with a SW wind about 12 mph and there were just nine starters for three races, each of two laps with each lap averaging about 12 minutes.

Race 1

The winner was Steve S in his Blaze with Karen/Laser in second place and Newton/Solo in third. However, there were only 8 minutes between the first and last boats, so on corrected time this will change!

Race 2

Newton won this race with Karen again second and Chris H/Comet in third place. This time there was only a four minute gap covering the fleet.

Race 3

Steve S dropped out, so the fleet was down to eight and Karen upped her second spot to first place with Newton down to second and Rick/Laser appearing on the podium in 3^rd place.

Overall

When the number were crunched the podium positions were – 1^st Chris H/Comet; 2^nd Newton/Solo; 3^rd Karen/Laser

The order of the rest of the fleet was – 4^th Chris K/Radial; 5^th Ron/Mirror; 6^th Aileen/Comet; 7^th Rick/Laser; 8^th Mike C/Solo with Steve S/Blaze only sailing two races.

It was remarkable that the first five were all sailing a different class of boat.

Thanks to SOOD Mike Trussler and the race team of Alessandro, Bill Coulter, Catriona Clark and David Knight.  

We are going to have a whip round for Chris H as he is running out of silver polish for his trophies! Congratulation on yet another Chris.

With a trick NNW wind Karen set a devilish course for the young sailors!  Glad that I was not sailing it as I would have never found my way round.

There were seven out tonight and at the end of the first lap Lucy/4.7 led from Molly in an Oppie with Jazmine in a Topper in 3^rd place. She was followed by Oliver, Alex and Rohan all in Oppies.

On the second lap the only change in position was Jazmine overtaking Molly for 2^nd place. Oliver, Alex and Rohan all received the finish hooter at the end of this lap.

At the end of the third lap Lucy was still leading with Jazmine in 2^nd place and Phoebe in 3^rd after overtaking Molly. Everyone but Lucy was finished at the end of three laps and she completed four laps.

On corrected time the final order is – 1^st Molly/Oppie; 2^nd Lucy/4.7; 3^rd Jazmine/Topper; 4^th Oliver/Oppie; 5^th Alex/Oppie; 6^th Phoebe/Topper; 7^th Rohan/Oppie.

Well raced all of you and thanks as ever to Karen and Martin L and  Richard S.

Tonight was lovely and sunny with a 5-7 mph NNW wind. SOOD Ron set the first mark as 6, then 9, 5, C (just behind the line) and back through the start.

The fist beat was quite tricky because to approach the mark on starboard tack you had to be careful not to go too far into the lee of the trees. There were 15 starters (but only 12 signed the Declaration Sheet – come on guys, you run the risk of not being included in the runners and riders!).

Jess/Laser was fist back across the line followed closely by Chris H/Comet , Rhys/Laser, Newton & Sam/RS200 and Emily/Radial. These first six were pretty close together crossing at about 10 second intervals. About one minute later MikeT/Comet crossed in 7^th place and 40 seconds behind him came another close group consisting of Alessandro & Matt/470, Mark/Laser, Aileen/Comet and Mike A/Lightning. Then there was a gap before Paul H and Rick in Lasers and Sally/Comet came through, slightly ahead of Cecilia in her Laser (nice to see you racing again Cecilia).  

Lap 2

At the end of this lap Jess was still leading, but Newton & Sam had moved up to 2^nd place by overtaking Chris and Karen was up to 4^th passing Rhys. Emily maintained her 6^th place but had slipped back from the leading five and was now in a battle with Mike T. Mark had passed Alessandro & Matt to move up to 8^th and behind them Aileen was sailing serenely along in her own patch of water. Paul H also gained a place by passing Mike A. Rick also passed Mike A, but then gave the place back to him when he became too closely acquainted with No 9! Sally and Cecilia received the hooter at the end of this lap.

Lap 3

No change in position for the first five finishers, but Mike T had passed Emily to cross in 6^th place and there were no other changes.

The order on the water was – 1^st Jess; 2^nd Newton & Sam; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Karen; 5^th Rhys; 6^th Mike T

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Chris/Comet; 2^nd Mike T/Comet; 3^rd Jess/Laser; 4^th Newton & Sam/RS200; 5^th Emily/Radial; 6^th Karen/Laser.

Thanks to SOOD Ron and the race team of Andrew Steele, Anthony & Puja Sharma McLachlan and Steve & Terry Hutton.

Apologies to the unidentified young man from last week, who was sailing a Pico. Welcome to the racing fleet Steve Chege and don’t forget to sign in.

Another sunny morning with a light WSW wind around 5 mph. SOOD Richard S set the first beat to 4, then C, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 22 starters including Adrian B in his classic Avon Scow and Chris K had somewhat surprisingly opted for a Radial and Mike T & Alessandro were out in Mike’s Enterprise.

There was little change from the fist lap positions to the 35 minute gun and the final order was – 1^st Newton/Solo; 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Karen/Laser; 4^th Chris K/Radial; 5^th Darren/Laser; 6^th Mike T & Alessandro/Enterprise

Handicap Race

Richard shortened the course for the second race so it became a four lap race of about 10 minutes per lap (to start with!).

Newton was first back across the line with Karen and Darren not far behind and crossing together. Chris H was ominously close in 4^th place and about a minute ahead of Mike T & Alessandro and they were 40 seconds ahead of Chris K and Ron/Mirror in battling for 7^th place.  The Lasers of Rick and Nigel were next across the line with Sally/Comet and Alistair/Laser about one minute further back and they were followed by Adrian in his Avon Scow.

Lap 2

No change in the first six places, but Rick and Nigel had passed Ron to move up to 7^th and 8^th and Alistair had got past Sally. Adrian had decided to go off piste and enjoy the sun.

Lap 3

The only changes on this lap were Nigel moving up two places to 6^th and Ron repassing Rick. Alistair and Sally received the hooter at the end of the lap.

Last Lap

With the wind dropping, this last lap took nearly twice as long as any of the previous laps, but Newton eventually crossed the line in 1^st place ahead of Karen in 2^nd  with Darren just pipped on the line by Chris H for 3^rd place.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Newton; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Darren; 5^th Mike T & Alessandro; 6^th Chris K; 7^th Ron; 8^th Nigel; 9^th Rick.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Chris H/Comet; 2^nd Newton/Solo; 3^rd Karen/Laser; 4^th Darren/Laser; 5^th Sally/Comet (one lap down); 6^th Ron/Mirror

Thanks to SOOD Richard Stanley and the race team of Andrew Steele, David Knight, Gareth Evans, Hadey Lines (again), Jamie Harris and Jason Beeldere.