Reading Sailing Club Members

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.     

Tonight was hot and sunny with a NE wind about 6 mph. Mike A used a CB start line on an East West axis near to No 5 with the first mark as A, then 5, 9, 4, 8, B and back though the start line.

There were 17 starters and 12 finishers with five retirements on the first of the two laps, which tells the story of a course that was too long and a wind that virtually disappeared!

Mike A (that’s me!) would like to apologise to all competitors for extending the expected duration of the race and keeping them out in the doldrums for so long! This apology also extends to the unlucky race team of Sam and Hadey; Sam who recorded the race times in her usual immaculate way and Hadey who provided a tow boat service to many of the stranded souls!

Back to the race and Emily & Newton (RS200) got away at the front and finished over 10 minutes ahead of Mike C (Solo) who had passed Karen on the second lap to take 2^nd place. Roland S in another Solo was 4^th with Mark (Laser) in 5^th place, a position he gained by passing Dave & Ann (Leader) on his second lap.  On the first lap Chris H (Comet) was in 7^th place but he was caught and passed by Steve S & Rick (RS200).

The rest of the fleet was finished (in more ways than one) at the end of their first lap with Thomas M just crossing the line in 9^th ahead of Nigel, both in Lasers. Young Jack & Ron were next to finish with Ron providing some valuable coaching for Jack and then Chris & Carol (Sport 14) made it to the finish line.  

The remaining boats got trapped in the black hole of Number 8, so Sally (Comet), Paul H (Laser), Chris & Hilary (Wayfarer), Rich F (Comet Duo) and Paul W (Morbic 12) all wisely decided to retire. Sorry to inflict that upon you.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Emily & Newton; 2^nd Mike C; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Roland S; 5^th Mark; 6^th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time the order of the first four remains the same, but Dave & Ann leapfrog Mark to take 5^th place  pushing him down to 6^th.

Thanks to Sam and Hadey for their help and to all SOODs a warning to beware of a long course with a chance of a dying wind on a Wednesday night (and avoid 8 if the Wind has an E in it!).

A hot sunny night with a NNW wind of 8-10 mph gave Ron some initial problems in setting the course, along with varied comments on not what to do! He settled on a Tektona start with a first leg up to A on the buoy line then 4, 2, 5,8, 6, 1 (not often used) and back through the start.

It was a good turnout with 23 boats taking to the water, but only 19 definitely racing and others following the fleet. These included Alex & Matt in a 470, James in a new RS300, Angus in a Mirror (who may have started racing and then decided to just enjoy the water and sail his own course) and Paul W (Morbic 12) who may have actually been racing but always sails his own course anyway!

With a light wind and a long course and the Wednesday evening threat of the dying wind, it was a two lap affair.

First back across the line were the Lasers of Darren, Karen, Mark and Mike T (sounds like a 60s pop group – well I might be the only one to know that!), followed by Emily & Newton in the RS200 and they were all in the same order crossing the line at the finish.  Ralph (Laser) came through in 6^th place ahead of Rick in another Laser followed by the motley crew of Chris H (Comet), Mike A (Lightning). and Mike C (Solo). These were followed by another three Lasers led by Jamie, then Jeremy and Richard H. Then along came the Jones boys in the Vago (who said they needed less weight in the light wind – presumably referring to the boat not to their sylph like persons!). Yet another pair of Lasers appeared next, manned by Nigel and Chris A, followed by the fair Aileen and two more Lasers with Paul H and Nick H helming (which goes to prove the best part of any sandwich is the filling!)

On the second lap, the movers were Chris H passing Rick and Ralph to move up to 6^th and Jamie passing Mikes A and C to move up to 9^th place. Richard H retired, so as a result of this and passing Dean & Nick, Nigel gained two places. Further back Nick H and Paul H both passed Aileen, but there were only two seconds in it as they crossed the line.

The order on the water was – 1^st Darren, 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Mark; 4^th Mike T; 5^th Emily & Newton; 6^th Chris H.

On corrected time Chris H moves up to 2^nd place pushing everyone else down one place.

Thanks to SOOD Ron and the race team of Sam, Ian S, Ann & Dave and young Jack.

Ron brought Jack along to check out the Mirror his family now owns and help him rig it.

They didn’t get a chance to sail before the racing, but Jack helped Ron with the race management and did a great job as Tektona did not have any ropes to hoist the flags, so Jack volunteered to stand on top of the cabin and hold them up by hand!!! It must have been quite tiring holding the Club Pennant aloft for 5 minutes!

After the racing Ron took him out for a sunset sail and encouraged him to helm for the first time rounding buoys 6 and 7 and back to the jetty successfully.  Ron thinks Jack enjoyed himself and had a great night. Good for you Ron!

Rick was SOOD and set the course from the shore with a port rounding of 4, back to 9 for another port rounding and then a reach to C near the buoy line (around the normal position of 5, but 5 seems to have drifted down the lake towards 6!). Anyway, starboard rounding of C and off on a broad reach/run to 7 for a port rounding and back over the start.

The wind was 6 – 9 mph from the south west shifting round to the south east and back again on a regular basis, so one minute it was a beat to 4 and the next a fetch. 

Pursuit Race

There were 13 starters this morning and it was a momentous occasion for Dave & Ann in their Leader as they managed to catch all the boats starting ahead of them and at the gun were in 1^st place.

Chris H (Comet) managed to stay ahead of the Lasers to take 2^nd place, with the Lasers of Mark, Mike T and Darren in 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th places. Ron and Jewels were 6^th and 7^th in Mirrors and Karen was 8^th sailing a Radial rig Laser.

Well done to Dave & Ann who have been going well all year in their Leader.

Handicap Race

No drop outs for the second race and Dave & Ann inspired by their first race result were first back across the line followed by the Lasers of Mike T and Mark. Karen (Radial) came through in 4^th place closely followed by Chris H (Comet) and Darren (Laser). About one minute later Adrian (Rooster) crossed in 7^th place with Sally in her Comet just 10 seconds behind him. Alistair S (Laser) was next in 9^th ahead of the Mirror duo of Ron and Jewels and Emily in her 4.7. Finally along came Paul W, in his distinctive gaff rigged Morbic 12, sailing his usual idiosyncratic course due to the nature of his rig.

By the end of the second lap Karen had taken the lead with Dave & Ann in 2^nd place and Mike T in 3^rd. Darren and Adrian were both up two places to 4^th and 5^th places and Ron was also up two places passing Jewels and Alistair. Emily, Alistair and Paul all received the gun at the end of two laps.

Darren crossed the line in 1^st place at the end of the last lap having caught and passed the three boats ahead of him, but he was only 10 seconds ahead of Karen in 2^nd place. Most other maintained station, but Sally had caught Dave & Ann to cross the line abreast in an equal 7^th place.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Mike T; 4^th Mark; 5^th Adrian; 6^th Chris H.

In the light wind the faster boats could not get sufficiently ahead of the slower handicap craft, so there were significant changes in order on corrected time – 1^st Ron; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Sally; 4^th Dave & Ann; 5^th Darren; 6^th Karen.

Thanks to SOOD Rick, who was ably assisted by Lottie, Alessandro, Sam and Jeremy. Thanks to you all.