Reading Sailing Club Members

The wind this morning was a tricky ENE 8-11 mph. SOOD Dave L set a course of A, 5, 4, B and back thought the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 14 starters and we welcomed Theo Valmis in his Solo to the fleet.

At the end of the first lap the early starters were still well to the fore with Ron/Mirror leading from Will S/Topper, Newton/Solo, Chris K/Radial and Frances/Topper. Mark in 6^th position led the Laser pack of Darren, Richard, Nigel, Rick and Adrian followed by Becky/Pico with Theo/Solo and Mike T & Alessandro/Enterprise together at the rear of the fleet.

At the gun the final order was – 1^st Newton; 2^nd Chris K; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Mark; 5^th Richard; 6^th Ron.

Handicap Race

Frances and Theo opted out, but the fleet was joined by Christine in her Mirror.

At the end of the first lap the fleet was still quite bunched with only two minutes between the first and 9^th positions. Darren led from Richard, Newton, Mark, Rick, Nigel, Mike & Alessandro and Adrian. One minute later Ron crossed the line and then there was a gap back to Will S, Christine and Becky.

By the end of the second lap Newton and Mark had passed Richard to move up to 2^nd and 3^rd places and Adrian was up two places to 6^th. Christine and Becky received the hooter at the end if the lap.

The third lap saw Mark take the lead with Newton following him to 2^nd place pushing Darren down to 3^rd.  There were no other changes in position and Will received the hooter at the end of this lap.

On the fourth and last lap there was no change in position, so the final order on the water was – 1^st Mark; 2^nd Newton; 3^rd Darren; 4^th Richard; 5^th Rick; 6^th Adrian; 7^th Nigel; 8^th Mike & Alessandro; 9^th Ron.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Newton/Solo; 2^nd Mark/Laser; 3^rd Ron/Mirror; 4^th Darren/Laser; 5^th Richard/Laser; 6^th Rick/Laser

Thanks to SOOD Dave Lomas and the race team of Ann Lomas, Bill Coulter, Bob Hine and Ian Hall.

There were only four young sailors out tonight.

Alfred/Topper was first back across the line followed by the Oppies of Alex,  Rowan and Molly.

On the second lap Molly moved up to 2^nd place pushing Alex and Rowan down to 3^rd and 4^th.

There was no change in position on the third lap and just Alfred was sent round for another lap!

The final order was – 1^st Alfred; 2^nd Molly; 3^rd Alex; 4^th Rowan

Tonight there was a light and variable wind from the NW and we welcomed Alex in a Laser, Theo in a Solo and James M in a 4.7 to the racing fleet.

Newton & Emily/RS200 were first back across the line well ahead of Mike T/Comet, who was clear of the double handers of Alessandro & Matt/470 and Rick & Steve/RS200 who crossed the line together battling for 3^rd place. Just as well Mike was clear ahead or it would have been like getting caught by a tanker in the Channel! Some 30 seconds later Jamie H/Laser crossed in 5^th place closely followed by Chris K/Radial and Dave & Ann/Leader, then about one minute elapsed before Ron cam along in his Miracle. It was nearly three minutes before Jeremy/Laser and Sally/Comet crossed in 9^th and 10^th places and then another minute before Alex/Laser, Theo/Solo and Paul H/Laser came along with James M/4.7 bringing up the rear of the fleet.

On the second lap Rick & Steve moved up to 2^nd place, Chris K up to 5^th and Dave & Ann up to 6^th. Further back Alex passed Sally and Paul passed Theo to move up to 11^th and 12^th. Ron, Jeremy, Alex, Sally, Paul, Theo and James M all received the finish hooter.

At the end of the third and last lap Newton & Emily crossed the line in 1^st place well ahead of the rest of the fleet. Dave & Ann gained two places to finish in 4^th spot, which meant that the first four boats across the line were all double handers. It is a long time since this last happened!

The order on the water was – 1^st Newton & Emily; 2^nd Rick & Steve; 3^rd Alessandro & Matt; 4^th Dave 7 Ann; 5^th Chris K; 6^th Mike T; 7^th Jamie H

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Newton & Emily/RS200; 2^nd Mike T/Comet; 3^rd Dave & Ann/Leader; 4^th Chris K/Radial; 5^th Rick & Steve/RS200; 6^th Jamie H/Laser  

Thanks to SOOD Darren Ballard and the race team of Aileen Moore, Mark Buckle and Steve Mann

With a light wind from the SW, SOOD Sally set a short course of D, 8, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 14 starters and first back across the line was Newton/RS200 followed 20 second later by Mike T/Comet then a gap back to Jess/Laser and Emily/Radial. Chris K in another Radial came through in 5^th place being chased by Alessandro & Matt/470 followed by a quartet of Lasers, Steve, Jeremy, Mark and Jamie H. Next along in 11^th place was Aileen in her Comet just 10 seconds ahead of Paul H/Laser and Ron/Miracle with Jorge & Mate bringing up the rear in his Marlin 33.

On the second lap there was no change in the first six, but Mark had passed Jeremy and Steve to move up to 7^th place. Further back Paul gained two places passing Jamie and Aileen and Ron had also got past Jamie who had a bad lap losing three places. Jorge received the hooter at the end of this lap.

By the end of the third lap Jess had taken 2^nd place from Mike T and the only other change was down to Steve retiring from 8^th place. Paul, Aileen, Jamie and Ron all received the hooter.

The movers on the last lap were Alessandro & Matt taking 3^rd place and Mark 5^th place by passing Emily and Chris K.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Newton &Sam; 2^nd Jess; 3^rd Alessandro & Matt;  4^th Mike T; 5^th Mark; 6^th Emily

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

Thanks to SOOD Sally Newlove and the race team of Dave Lomas, Mike Newlove and Stephen Morton. A small body of men but not as perfectly formed as the SOOD!  

Tonight there were four Toppers and six Oppies on the water.

At the end of the first lap Shiloh/Topper was leading followed closely by the Toppers of Phoebe, Alfred and Rohan. The first Oppie across the line was Oliver P in 5^th place just four seconds ahead of Alex. Molly came through in 7^th place followed by Harry, Rowan and Oliver R.

By the end of the second lap Phoebe had taken over at the front with Alfred and Rowan also getting past Shiloh to move up to 2^nd and 3^rd places. Behind them there was no change in the order of the Oppies who were now well spaced out.

There were no other changes in position for the rest of the race, but Rowan and Oliver R received the gun after three laps and Alex, Molly, and Harry were finished after four laps and Oliver P after five laps.

The four Toppers went on to do a sixth lap with no change in order.

After the times were corrected the final order was – 1st Phoebe/Topper; 2^nd Alfred/Topper; 3^rd Oliver P/Oppie; 4^th Rohan/Topper; 5^th Alex/Oppie; 6^th Shiloh/Topper

There were seven out tonight, three Oppies, three Toppers and a Topaz.

Archie/Topper finished first on the water and was first on corrected time. Lola/Topaz was second on the water followed by Emily and Rohan in Toppers, but on corrected time Emily leapfrogs Lola to take 2^nd place. These four completed four laps whilst behind them Oliver and Molly in Oppies completed three laps and Rowan completed two laps.

With a light SW wind, SOOD Steve S was able to use a bank start with a course of 4, 9, 3, 2, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 17 starters and welcomed Lawrence & Miles in a Sport 14 to the fleet. In the light wind the 35 minute hooter went after most of the fleet had done just over a lap and the final order was – 1^st Chris K/Radial; 2^nd Chris H/Comet; 3^rd Ralph/Laser; 4^th Rhys/Laser; 5^th Rick/Laser/ 6^th James P/Laser.

Handicap Race

For the second race Steve shortened the course to 4, 2, 5, 6, 7, S.

Ralph/Laser was first back through the line followed 30 seconds later by Adrian/Rooster, then the Laser of James and Rhys battling for family honours. Chris K/Radial crossed in 5^th place about 30 seconds ahead of Chris H/Comet, who was only just in front of Dave & Ann/Leader. Another two Lasers were next along with Rick in 8^th place ahead of John W followed by Mike A/Lightning. Aileen/Comet, Ron/Mirror (having abandoned the Miracle and decide to stick to sailing on the water rather than walking), Sally/Comet and Alessandro/Aero were having a good battle of their own. Behind them came the Sadler family trio with William/Topper leading from Becky/Pico and Frances/ Topper and these three received the hooter at the end of the lap.

At the end of the second and last lap Ralph had increased his lead at the front with Rhys now up to 2^nd place ahead of James (making it a double over the old man!). Chris K was up one place to 4^th and Dave & Ann and Mike A were up two places to 5^th and 8^th respectively and Aileen and Sally both gained a place to move to 10^th and 12^th places.

The order on the water was – 1^st Ralph; 2^nd Rhys; 3^rd James; 4^th Chris K; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Chris H.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Ron/Mirror (up from 13^th on the water); 2^nd Ralph/Laser; 3^rd Chris H/Comet; 4^th Aileen/Comet; 5^th Rhys/Laser; 6^th Sally/Comet.

So three Comets and two Lasers in the top 6^th, but the overall winner was a Mirror!

Thanks to SOOD Steve Sharp and the race team of Brian Moore, Frantz Callega (paying a flying visit from Perpignan) and Steve Mann (yet again).

There was quite a brisk NNE wind this evening and SOOD Ralph used a Committee Boat start with a first beat to 5 then A (between 4 and 5), 9, 2 then B behind the line. (I may have missed a mark out, but the course was not recorded on the race sheet and I didn’t get that far round!).

We had a new addition to the fleet in a Marlin 33. Unfortunately, the helm and crew did not sign the Declaration Sheet so I cannot provide their names, but welcome to them.

There were 12 starters with Sally withdrawing just before the start and Mike A wondering if he should have done the same as he capsized round 9 on the first lap and embedded his boom in the horrible black mud (have you noticed how the smell of that mud seems to persist for ages!).

First back across the line was Jamie H/Laser followed by Mark in another Laser then Newton & Issy/RS200 (nice to see you back racing Issy). Chris K in a Radial and Dave & Ann/Leader crossed the line together battling for  4^th place. Then there was a slight gap before Paul H/Supernova crossed just ahead of Steve & Rick/RS200 and they were about 20 seconds ahead of Mike T/Comet, who in turn was about 20 seconds ahead of Alessandro in his Aero 9. Then five minutes elapsed before Chris & Carol came through in their 420 and they were about 10 minutes ahead of the Marlin.

The race lasted for four laps and as the boats had been recorded in random order rather than positional order it would be too time consuming to try and sort out what happened lap by lap (life is too short!)  

Suffice to say that at the end of the last lap the order was – 1^st Mark; 2^nd Newton & Issy; 3^rd Jamie H; 4^th Dave & Ann; 5^th Steve & Rick; 6^th Chris K.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Mark/Laser; 2^nd Dave & Ann/Leader; 3^rd Mike T/Comet; 4^th Jamie H/Laser; 5^th Newton & Issy/RS200; 6^th Chris K/Radial

Thanks to SOOD Ralph Page (second time in three weeks!) and the race team of Anne Mir, John Windass, Richard Hobson and Rob Harrison.

It was a warm sunny morning with a light wind and SOOD Adrian F set a box course down the West end, C, 4, B, 2.

Welcome to Tom Cann joining the race fleet for the first time.

Pursuit Race

There was not a great deal of overtaking throughout the 35 minute race and the final order was – 1^st Chris H/Comet; 2^nd Roland/Solo; 3^rd Karen/Laser; 4^th Newton/Solo; 5^th Mike T & Alessandro/Enterprise; 6^th Alistair/Laser; 7^th Nigel/Laser 8^th Tom/Laser.

Handicap Race

For this second race Adrian elongated the course to C, 4, 2, 5 .

Karen was first back across the line, but in the light wind she was going to have to work hard to get far enough ahead of the slower handicap boats to take the overall victory. The Solos of Newton and Roland crossed in 2^nd and 3^rd places with Chris H just ahead of Alistair in the battle (perhaps a gentle struggle in these conditions) for 4^th place. Mike T & Alessandro were on their own in 6^th spot with Tom just ahead of Nigel in 7^th and 8^th.   

In an exciting end to the second lap, Newton crossed the line just two second ahead of Karen! Mike T & Alessandro had glided up to 3^rd place with everyone else either maintaining station or losing ground.

Newton manged to stay ahead on the last lap to cross the line in 1^st place with Karen in 2^nd place. Behind them the fleet resorted to their first lap positions with Roland regaining 3^rd place.

The order on the water was – 1^st Newton; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Alistair; 6^th Mike T & Alessandro; 7^th Tom; 8^th Nigel.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Newton; 3^rd Roland; 4^th Karen; 5^th Mike T & Alessandro; 6^th Alistair

Thanks to SOOD Adrian Frost and the race team of Chris Meunier, Rich Fisher, Steve Mann and Tamsin Pagella.

Another hot evening which saw 12 boats take to the water. SOOD Newton set a course of A, B, 3, 2, C (so your guess is as good as mine) and back through the start.

Ron was out in a Miracle, a sort of stretch limo version of the Mirror. A lot of us go out hoping for a miracle but rarely get the chance to sail in one! The Miracle has the same PY number as the Comet, so it will be interesting to see how that battle ensues. There was also a Mirror out bearing Ron’s normal sail number 70513, but this alter ego helm did not sign in, but then neither did Ron, perhaps he was hedging his bets!

First back across the line was Karen/Laser and she was followed by Steve & Rick/RS200 and Ralph/Laser, who crossed virtually together. About a minute later Dave & Ann/Leader were through in 4^th place just ahead of Mike T/Comet, Mark/Laser and Alessandro & Matt/470. Sally/Comet crossed just behind them with Ron/Miracle and Paul H/Laser hot on her heels. Then another four minutes passed before Chris & Carol/420 hove into view followed by the incognito Mirror.

Mark was the mover on the second lap, gaining three places up to 3^rd spot. Ron also gained three places to move to 7^th but the group of Ron, Allesandro & Matt, Paul H and Sally were all very close together and having a splendid battle.

On the third lap the leading six did not change position, but Alessandro & Matt moved up to 7^th place and Sally regained 8^th place. Chris & Carol and 70513 received the hooter at the end of the lap.

At the end of the fourth and last lap there was no change in the order of the first seven boats, but Paul H gained two places up to 8^th and Ron repassed Sally.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Karen; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Mark; 4^th Steve & Rick; 5^th Mike T; 6^th Dave & Ann.

On corrected time this changes to – 1^st Karen/Laser; 2^nd Mike T/Comet; 3^rd Ralph/Laser; 4^th Mark/Laser; 5^th Dave & Ann/Leader; 6^th Steve & Rick/RS200

Thanks to SOOD Newton and the race team of just Jacqueline Gummer and Patrick Crowley. Well done for coping!