Reading Sailing Club Members

The wind was in a tricky direction tonight, NE about 5-10 mph, which forced SOOD Chris H to use a Committee Boat start.

It turned out to be a four lapper and Dave & Nikki (National12) were in the lead across the line at the end of the first lap with Newton (Solo) just 10 seconds behind them. Mike T (Laser) was 3^rd with Will (Radial) 4^th and Karen (Laser) 5^th. Adrian (Rooster) was next through in 6^th place just ahead of Dave & Ann (Leader), Ralph (Laser) and Gareth (Laser).  The Lasers of Mark and Darren were next across the line in 10^th and 11^th places, a change for them to see so many boats in front of them!

In 12^th place were Chris & Hilary (Wanderer, but where was our other Wanderer – Mike C where are you, we could have a fleet!).  Rick and Nigel in two more Lasers crossed the line together battling for 13^th place and they were about a minute ahead of Sally in her Comet who was only just ahead of fellow Comet helm Aileen (Cum on Aileen). Paul H, our sole remaining Supernova star, was next through a long way ahead of our only gaff rigger Paul W (Morbic12) and finally came the only Oppie out tonight with brave Phoebe at the helm.

Emily (4.7) seemed to have slipped under the radar and was not picked up for the first two laps but reappeared on the third lap!

At the end of the second lap there was no change with the first two, but Karen moved up to 3^rd with William still 4^th. Ralph gained three places to move up to 5^th and Darren gained two to move to 8^th.

Nigel moved up one to 13^th and Aileen passed Sally to gain 14^th place with Paul H also moving up one to 16^th spot. Paul W and Phoebe received the gun at the end of the lap.

Dave & Nikki increased their lead on the third lap with no change in the 2^nd and 3^rd places, but Mike T had got going again to move up to 4^th. Darren and Adrian had also got the boosters on, moving up  three and five places respectively to 5^th and 6^th. Then hurrah, up popped Emily in 7^th spot, but bad news for everyone else as they either held or lost places and Sally (who had repassed Aileen), Aileen  and Gareth received the gun.

The last lap saw no change at the front, but Newton lost his 2^nd place to Karen and Darren gained another two places to finish 3^rd. Ralph had a storming last lap gaining five places to take 4^th. Mark and Dave & Ann moved up a place to finish 10^th and 11^th. Nigel who had a race long battle with Rick manged to beat him across the line but they both gained a place by passing Chris & Hilary.  

The final order on the water was –

1^st Dave & Nikki; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Newton; 6^th Adrian

On corrected time this becomes-

1^st Dave & Nikki; 2^nd Newton; 3^rd William; 4^th Karen; 5^th Darren; 6^th Sally  

Although there may be a Steward’s enquiry as I thought Karen was sailing a Radial, rather than a full rig, but perhaps this is only for the Spring series.

Thanks to SOOD Chris H and the team of Angus, Nick and Rich.

There was a light wind tonight and 16 starters for the first of the new evening series.

Mike T (Laser) was first back through the line, followed 10 seconds later by Hugh (Laser), Karen (Radial) and Adrian (Rooster – a Laser with a bigger sail!) only one second ahead of Dean & Nick (Vago) who came through in 5^th place. 15 seconds later, Mark (Laser) crossed only just ahead of Rick in another Laser and then there was a gap back to Emily (4.7) and Paul H (Supernova) who came along together in 8^th and 9^th positions. Nigel (Laser) was 10^th, not far ahead of Chris H (Comet), Jeremy (Laser) and Rhys (4.7). Quite a gap then before Phoebe (Oppie) crossed the line and she was four minutes ahead of Paul W (Morbic12) and Gareth (Laser) who may have lost their way.

Mike T still led but, Hugh had a dodgy second lap as Karen, Adrian and Mark all got past him. Rick moved up one place to 6^th. Paul gained two places to move up to 7^th with Dean & Nick slipping back to 8^th with Nigel up to 9^th.  Further back Gareth moved up two places to 14^th. Paul W received the gun at the end of this lap.

By the end of the third lap Adrian had taken the lead with Karen pushing up to 2^nd and Mike T down to 3^rd. There was no change in the next three positions, but Dean & Nick regained a place to 7^th with no further changes behind them. Phoebe received the finish gun this time round.

Fourth and last lap saw Karen getting past Adrian to cross the line in 1^st place. Movers further back were Dean & Nick gaining two places to finish 5^th and Jeremy after a race long battle with Nigel just pipping him for 9^th place.  

The order on the water was –

1^st Karen; 2^nd Adrian; 3^rd Mike T; 4^th Mark; 5^th Dean & Nick; 6^th Rick

On corrected time this changes to –

1^st Karen; 2^nd Mike T; 3^rd Phoebe; 4^th Mark; 5^th Chris H; 6^th Adrian.

Thanks to SOOD Darren and his team of Chris S, Paul R and Ralph.

Mark was SOOD today with the help of Mike A and Sally & Mike N manning the safety boat.

It was a very light wind, which unfortunately kept veering from NNE to NNW.

After several pre-race course changes Mark eventually set a start line on an East-West axis (near to 5) with the first mark as B (towards 6) then 9 and back through the start. Got it?   

Pursuit Race

10 starters this morning and Chris H Comet was well ahead at the end of the first lap with Emily 4.7 in 2^nd place, Dave & Ann Leader 3^rd, Aileen in another Comet 4^th. The first Laser through was Richard S followed by Mike T, Ralph, and Darren, then came Chris and Hilary in their Wanderer with Paul Waterman bringing up the rear in the gaff rigged Morbic12.

At the gun, the Laser of Mike T was well ahead Ralph, but Chris H had hung onto 3^rd place with Darren in 4^th, Dave & Ann Leader 5^th and Richard S 6^th.

Handicap Race

Although the wind was light the course was short, so we had a three-lap race (well for about half the fleet!)

At the end of the first lap Mike T was back through the line well clear of Ralph and Richard S in 2^nd and 3^rd places. Dave & Ann were next in 4^th place just ahead of Darren, then there was a gap back to Chris H in 6^th and Chris & Hillary in 7^th. Next across the line were Aileen and Emily who were enjoying a really close battle and then finally Paul who was having trouble getting his Morbic12 to point (well hardly at all, but the gaff rig looked very picturesque).

On the second lap Mike increased his lead over the two chasing Lasers and Darren and Chris had overtaken Dave & Ann to move up to 4^th and 5^th respectively, with Chris & Hilary 7^th and receiving the gun as they crossed the line. Behind them Emily just pipped Aileen across the line as they also received the finish gun along with Paul.

The third lap saw Mike T cross the line some four minutes ahead of Ralph in 2^nd place with Darren gaining another place to finish 3^rd with Richard 4^th. Chris came across in 5^th place with Dave & Ann finishing in 6^th place.

On corrected time the order becomes –

1^st Mike; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Darren; 5^th Richard; 6^th Dave & Ann

Thanks to Mark, Sally & Mike N and Mike A.

Spring Series 1 – 4^th April 2021

It was a light wind for the first race of the 2021 Spring Series. Ron and Jewels had volunteered to run the race and there were 12 starters including Paul Waterman in his Morbic12, a new addition to the racing classes at RSC. The Morbic12 is a traditional clinker built boat with a gaff rigged mainsail and it looked very nice.

Pursuit Race

The light wind favoured the early starters and Aileen in her Comet made a fine start to the Spring Series by taking the victory ahead of Chris H also sailing a Comet. Hugh was the first of the Lasers in 3^rd place with Newton &Sam RS 200 in 4^th and Dave & Ann in their Leader 5^th with Darren in another Laser in 6^th place.

Handicap Race

Because of the light wind this turned out to be a one lap race with Lasers taking the first three places on the water.

1^st Mark; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Hugh; Equal 4^th Newton & Sam RS200 and Chris H Comet; 6^th Jon Laser.

However,r on corrected time the order becomes –

1^st Mark; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Aileen; 5^th Emily 4.7; 6^th Hugh.

Thanks to Ron & Jewels, Adrian B, Hilary and Mike C for managing the races.

Spring Series 2 – 11^th April 2021

Sam & Newton stepped up to the plate today, ably assisted by Ann & Dave L.

There were even more startersthis week with 18 boats taking to the water.  

Pursuit Race

Karen Radial managed to stay ahead of the full rig Lasers to take 1^st place at the gun, as did Chris H Comet to take 2^nd place.  Then the next four places were all Lasers with Mark leading Jon, Mike T and Ralph.

Handicap Race

With a bit more wind and a shortish coursethis turned out to be a six lapper and a Laser benefit.

The order on the water was –

1^st Mike T; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Mark all in full rig Lasers; 4^th Karen Radial; 5^th Jon and 6^th James in two more Lasers.

On corrected time the 4.7s of Emily and Rhys get into the act with the final positions as-

1^st Mike T; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Emily; 5^th Mark; 6^th Rhys

Ooops 9th is a Monday !

Due to the COVID lockdown this work party has been cancelled.

It was a pleasant morning with a SSW wind around 12 – 15 mph. Mark B set the first mark as 2 then 4, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

The Comets of Aileen, Sally and Chris H were first away along with Emily in her 4.7. Then the next group was Will (Solo), Dave & Ann (Leader) and Karen (Radial) followed by the Lasers of Alistair and Ralph and the Vago of Dean & Nick with Paul R last away in his Aero 7.

At the end of the first lap Chris H was leading with Dave & Ann up to 2^nd place with Karen in 3^rd.

On the second lap Paul came through to lead with Dave & Ann and Karen keeping their positions with Chris H down to 4^th andEmily and Ralph level in 5^th place.

At the gun, the final order was – 1^st Paul; 2^nd Dave & Ann; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Chris H; 6^th Emily.

Handicap Race

Nick T joined the second race bringing the fleet up to 12.

At the end of the first lap Paul (Aero 7) led across the line with Karen (Radial) about 30 seconds behind just in front of Ralph (Laser). Dave & Ann (Leader) came through in 4^th place just 15 seconds ahead of Chris H (Comet) in 5^th place with Emily (4.7) only 10 seconds further back. Alistair (Laser), Dean & Nick (Vago) and Nick (Laser) crossed close together battling for 7^th place. Next across the line was Sally ((Comet) in 10^th place followed by Will (Solo) and Aileen (Comet).

On the second lap there was no change in order for the first four boats, but Emily, Alistair and Nick had got past Chris to move up to 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th respectively. Sally gained a place by passing Dean & Nick and Aileen retired.

The third lap saw Paul cross the line two minutes ahead of Ralph who had passed Karen to move up to 2^nd. Alistair gained a place by passing Emily and Dean & Nick regained a place by passing Sally. Sally and Will received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the end of the last lap the first four boats retained their positions, but Nick moved up to 5^th by passing Alistair and Emily and there were no other changes.

The order on the water was –

1^st Paul; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Dave & Ann; 5^th Nick; 6^th Alistair.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Karen; 2^nd Paul; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Emily; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Chris H.

Thanks to Mark, Ken, and Nigel for volunteering for OOD duty.

This week there was no wind when everyone turned up and there was not a lot of interest but then the wind filled in a little so they decided to venture out. The OOD volunteers today were Karen and Stuart and with a light shifty WSW wind they set a course of A, 8, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

First away were Chris H, Nev and Sally in Comets followed by Dave & Ann (Leader) then finally the Lasers of Newton, Mark, Darren and Ralph.

At the end of the first lap the Lasers had caught and passed the rest of the fleet so Mark led from Newton, Darren and Ralph. Chris H came through in 5^th place ahead of Nev with Dave & Ann 7^th and Sally 8^th.

At the gun the order was –

1st Newton; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Darren; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Nev 

Handicap Race

Unfortunately the wind died off for the second race and it became a slow one lap affair.

The finishing order on the water was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Mark; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Newton; 6^th Sally; 7^th Jess; 8^th Dave & Ann; 9^th Nev.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Sally; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Nev; 6^th Mark.

Thanks to Karen and Stuart for running the races and as Karen recorded on the race sheet “Glad I was SOOD!”

4^th October

Initially it was not quite as windy as forecast, but still strong enough to deter most from going out. Four Lasers decided to give it a go, three with full rigs and Ralph with a Radial rig.

Pursuit Race

With only Lasers out, this was a class time trial and the finishing order was – 1^st Darren; 2^nd Newton; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Mike T.

Handicap Race

The wind increased for this second race and at the end of the first lap Darren led across the line followed by Mike T then Ralph in 3^rd and Newton 4^th.

On the second lap Mike T took the lead with Darren now 2^nd and Ralph 3^rd and Newton retired.

The order did not change over the next two laps of the race, so the final result was –

1^st Mike T; 2^nd Darren; 3^rd Ralph.

Thanks to SOOD Chris H and Chris K and Dean for running the races.

11^th October

It was a lovely morning with perfect conditions for sailing and as a consequence 17 boats turned out. Sam and Peter R were the OOD volunteers and set a course of 6, 9, 5, 8, 2 and back through the start line.

Pursuit Race

Phoebe was first away in her Oppie and then about 11 minutes later  the 4.7s of Emily and Rhys and the Comets of Chis H and Nev got away.

At the end of the first lap Karen (Radial) had come through to take the lead with Chris H (Comet) hanging on to 2^nd place. Darren (Laser) was up to 3^rd with Nev in the second Comet still 4^th and Emily (4.7) 5^th being caught by Newton (Laser).

Karen managed to retain her lead to the gun and the final positions were –

1^st Karen (Radial); 2^nd Darren (Laser); 3^rd Richard S (Laser); 4^th Newton (Laser); 5^th Chris H (Comet); 6^th James (Laser).

Handicap Race

At the end of the first lap it was a bit of a Laser shut out with the first six five boats crossing the line all Lasers, led by Mark then Newton, James, Ralph, Richard S and Chris K.

Next along in 7^th place was Chris H (Comet) followed closely by Alistair (Laser), Karen (Radial) then about 10 seconds later the Lasers of Darren and Rick only 5 seconds ahead of Dave & Ann (Leader) and Dean & Nick (Vago).

Emily (4.7) and Nev (Comet) were less than 10 seconds further back, so it was close racing all down the fleet.

Just over a minute later Adrian B came through in his Crescent followed by Phoebe in her Oppie. (This may have been the first appearance of a Crescent in a race at RSC, so it extends  further the number of classes we have)

By the end of the second lap Newton had taken the lead (but only just) and the leading bunch of Lasers were still very close together and Chris K and Richards S actually crossed the line abreast.

Karen, Darren and Rick had all squeezed past Alistair and Emily had move up two places by passing Dean & Nick and Dave & Ann.

On the third lap there was no change in the position of the two leaders, but Ralph moved up to 3^rd passing James and Karen moved up three places to 5^th by getting past Chris K, Richard S and Chris H.

At the back of this battle Darren gained a place by also passing Chris H. Behind them Dave & Ann more than made up the places lost on the previous lap by repassing Emily and Nev and also getting past Rick. In this melee Nev inched ahead of Emily beating her across the line by just one second! (showing my age here but centimetred ahead just does not sound right!)

At the end of this lap Adrian B retired and Phoebe received the hooter.

The fourth lap saw James regain 3^rd place from Ralph by just 4 seconds at the line. No change in places 5 to 8, but further back Dave & Ann gained another place to move to 9^th and Alistair and Rick were having a real ding dong with Alistair first across the line on this lap and both of them getting past Chris H.

At the end of the last lap Newton crossed in 1^st place not far ahead of Mark who had pushed him all race long. Darren gained two places to move up to 6^th, Rick and Chris H repassed Alistair and behind them Emily repassed Nev, so there was close racing and lots of changes in position all race long.

The final order on the water was –

1^st Newton; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd James; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Karen; 6^th Darren.

On corrected time this becomes –

1^st Newton; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Karen; 4^th James; 5^th Ralph; 6^th Chris H.

Thanks to Sam and Peter for volunteering for the OOD duties.

Cobley Series    27^th September 2020

Before the racing there was a lot of debate and prevaricating as to whether to venture out or not. The conditions initially were not that bad, but the forecast was for 30 mph gusts and it was nothing like the tee shirt and shorts weather we had the previous week. It was going to be a shock to the system!

Pursuit Race

In the end 8 boats ventured out with Rick and Newton deciding to go for Radial sails, although racing on their full rig handicaps. 

Ralph set a course of 6, 4, A, 5, 8, S with a well angled start line from the shore.  Mark A was positioned near Tektona (that’s the buoy not a person!).

Emily and Chris led off first in their slower handicap boats several minutes before the Lasers set off to hunt them down. Mark was over enthusiastic in this endeavor and was over the line at the start and had to return. Emily had got away well and had a reasonable lead as the others headed down wind to 4. By now the forecast had started to fulfil its promise and Mike T, Chris and Newton were hit by a substantial gust. Newton just about managed to control it but Mike and Chris both capsized losing them a lot of ground by the time they had recovered. Newton continued on his quest to catch Emily, but it never looked likely before time ran out. Emily finished first with a comfortable lead. Congratulations to her in winning her first adult race. 

The finishing positions were – 1^st Emily – 4.7; 2^nd Newton – Laser; 3^rd Mike T – Laser; 4^th Mark – Laser; 5^th Chris H – Comet; 6^th Rick – Laser

Handicap Race

Dean and Nick were out in the Vago in the first race, but decided to give the second a miss. Dean remarked “it’s not nice out there”)

It was close racing at the front with Mike T leading Mark by just 2 seconds at the end of the first lap. Rick crossed the line 30 seconds later in 3^rd place and he was just 7 seconds ahead of Newton in 4^th. Then there was quite a gap before Chris H came though in his Comet followed by Thomas in a Radial and then Emily in a 4.7.

On the second lap Mike had drawn away from Mark who dropped back and was briefly passed by Newton who had moved up to 3^rd when Rick came to grief on the second lap with a broken tiller extension.

Thomas moved up a place by passing Chris and Emily unfortunately capsized getting her mast stuck in the mud!

No change with the positions of the first two on the third lap, but Newton capsized also embedding his mast in the process allowing Thomas to move up to 3^rd place.

The fleet was now down to just the four boats and as there were no changes in position on the final lap the order on the water remained 1^st Mike; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Thomas; 4^th Chris

On corrected time Chris pips Thomas for 3^rd place, but a 4^th place position in these conditions was very creditable.

Sally “kindly” asked Newton why his hair was wet on his return to shore! (he really wanted a shampoo and set but had to settle for a wet rinse)

Thanks to Ralph and the OOD team of Darren, Dave & Anne.

Overall, in the Series, the Pursuit is led by Newton with Mark 2^nd and Mike T 3^rd. The Handicap leaders are the same three but Mark leads from Newton with Mike T 3^rd again and all in Lasers.