Reading Sailing Club Members

There was quite a strong wind this morning about 16 mph from the SW. Paul R set the first mark as A then B, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 11 out today and early starters Rhys and Will were still leading at the end of the first lap with Jon in 3^rd, Karen 4^th, Newton & Ellen 5^th and James 6^th. At the gun Julian B had come through to take the victory with the final order as –

1^st Julian B -D Zero; 2^nd Jon – Laser; 3^rd Will – Radial (but flying a 4.7 rig); then three boats which could not be split Rhys – 4.7, Newton & Ellen – RS200, Karen – Laser

Handicap Race

Everyone stayed out for the second race and Julian B was first back across the line with Ellen & Newton 30 seconds later in 2^nd place. The fleet behind them was tightly packed with everyone within one minute from 3^rd to 11^th. The Lasers of Jon and Karen were 3^rd and 4^th, then 10 seconds later Rhys came through in 5^th place just two seconds ahead of the old man James (Laser). Jamie in another Laser crossed in 7^th just ahead of Adrian (Rooster) and behind him Ralph and Rick both in Lasers crossed the line together with Will just six seconds further back.

On the second lap Jon passed Ellen & Newton to move up to 2^nd place with Karen still 4^th, but Jamie, Adrian and Ralph all gained two places to move to 5^th, 6^th and 7th respectively. Behind them Will gained three places to move up to 8^th and the losers in this shuffle were James and Rhys. Rick brought up the rear of the fleet in 11^th place.

At the end of the second lap Ellen & Newton were back up to 2^nd and Karen up to 3^rd courtesy of a capsize by Jon, who nevertheless had recovered well to cross in 4^th place. Ralph gained another two places to move up to 5^th with Adrian holding 6^th and James making up two places to move to 7^th. Rick gained a place by passing Rhys.

The fourth lap was the last and Julian had increased his lead at the front to three minutes with no change in the order of the next six boats. Further back Rick had passed Will and Jamie to move to 8^th.

The final order on the water was -1^st Julian; 2^nd Ellen & Newton; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Jon; 5^th Ralph; 6^th Adrian.

On corrected time the only change is Rhys taking 6^th place.

Thanks to Paul R and the OOD Team of Alistair S, Amanda, Barbara M, Issy, Leon, Nev, Richard M and Roland L.

As for last week the wind was higher than forecast about 16 mph from the WSW with stronger gusts coming through. Mike A set a first beat down to 4 then 2, 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Julian B (D-Zero) was first back through the line and gradually increased his lead over the four laps of the race. Mike Tr (Laser) came through about a minute later in 2^nd place followed closely by Ralph, Hugh and Karen all in Lasers. Dean & Nick (Vago) were next across the line not far ahead of Mark (Laser) with Newton (Solo) just behind him in 8^th place and 10 seconds later Alistair S (Laser) in 9^th spot. Ed in a Radial crossed in 10^th just six seconds ahead of Jeremy (Laser) and Rhys (4.7). After a slight gap Rick (Laser) came along in 13^th with Dave & Ann (Leader) on his transom. About a minute later Paul H (Supernova) was just in front of Nigel L (Laser) and unfortunately Nigel capsized just after crossing the line and as he was close to the bank had no room to manoeuvre and had to retire. Twenty seconds after this Ben & Mike T (Laser 2000) came through closely followed by Ron (Mirror) and Emily (Topper) with Jemima (Oppie) just 15 seconds behind her. Then there was a long gap before Bea crossed the line in her Oppie and finally Rich F (Pico) and Phoebe (Oppie) came along.

No change in the three leaders at the end of the second lap but Karen had passed Hugh to move to 4th and Newton was up to 6^th. Ed gained a place as Alistair had come to grief earlier in the lap and Rhys gained a place by passing Jeremy. Rick leapfrogged them both to move up three places to 10^th.

Dave & Ann and Paul H also gained a place at Alistair’s expense, who having got going again came through just 8 seconds behind Paul. Emily had passed Ben & Mike T and Ron to move up two places.

Phoebe and Bea received the finish gun and Rich retired on his second lap.

On the third lap the first three and the 6^th to 8^th placed boats maintained station whilst in the middle of these two groups Hugh repassed Karen. Rick passed Ed to move up another place to 9th and Jeremy repassed Rhys to move back to 11^th place. Alistair caught Paul H and crossed the line just one second ahead (well overlapped actually). Further back Ron had caught and passed Ben & Mike T and these and Jemima received the finish gun at the end of this lap.

Julian had increased his lead to nearly four minutes by the end of the last lap, but there was no change in the order of the first five boats. Mark who had a race long battle with Dean & Nick managed to get past them on this last lap to claim 6^th place. Rick passed Newton to move up to 8^th spot and behind them Ed and Jeremy, who had also enjoyed a race long battle retained 10^th and 11^th places. Dave & Ann passed Rhys and Paul H repassed Alistair.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Julian; 2^nd Mike Tr; 3^rd Ralph; 4^th Hugh; 5^th Karen; 6^th Mark

On corrected time Jemima does it again! – 1^st Jemima; 2^nd Julian; 3^rd Mike Tr; 4^th Ralph; 5^th Hugh; 6^th Newton

Thanks to Mike A and the OOD Team of Gareth E, Richard H, Sally, Stuart and Victor.

The wind this morning was a light East to SE variable, probably about 5–8 mph. Mike N had the difficult task of setting a course in the tricky wind conditions and settled on A, B, 3, 2, 5 and back through the start. Not quite sure where A and B were, but would guess somewhere near the buoy line with a Tektona start?

Pursuit Race

24 starters, which in the light winds led to some close encounters. No one caught the early starters Ron (Mirror) and Chris H (Comet) and the next three boats were the Lasers of Mark, Jess and John W with Peter R (Enterprise) just managing to stay ahead of Adrian in his Rooster. In the juniors Phoebe (Oppie) was ahead of Emily (Topper) and Jemima (Oppie). In the not so juniors now, Joe (Laser) finished ahead of Will (Radial) and Rhys (4.7), which was about what you would expect given the sail sizes in a light wind.

The final order was -1^st Ron; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Mark; 4^th Jess; 5^th John W; 6^th Peter R

Handicap Race

No course change for the second race, but Julian B joined the fray in his Devoti -Zero and duly crossed the line in 1^st place after three laps.

No times were recorded for the first and second laps so I cannot tell you who passed who, or if anyone did at all (some say thank heaven for that!).

In the battle of the RS200s Paul & Lottie took the honours finishing 2^nd on the water, whilst Karen took the Laser honours ahead of Jess, Richard S and Jon. The only other craft to constitute a fleet (well two actually) were the Comets and the Oppies. In the former Chris H finished ahead of Nev and in the latter Jemima finished ahead of Phoebe, although in the race of the juniors Emily in her Topper finished in front of the Oppies and these three received the gun at the end of the second lap.

As in the pursuit Joe finished ahead of Will and Rhys, but Will pipped him on handicap. Chris K with Charlie & Pippa crewing in his Mirror retired, but not sure of which lap.

The finishing order on the water was – 1^st Julian; 2^nd Paul & Lottie; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Newton & Sam; 5^th Jess; 6^th Richard S

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Karen; 2^nd Ron; 3^rd Jemima; 4^th Paul & Lottie; 5^th Julian; 6^th Jess

Thanks to Mike N and the OOD Team of Doug H, Nigel J, Patrick C and Sally

The wind tonight was slightly higher than forecast about 16 mph with gusts of 20 coming from the West, but less shifty than on last Sunday, Steve S set the first mark as A (about level with Tektona, but out near the buoy line).

With the fairly strong wind the fleet became evenly spaced out and there was very little overtaking over the four laps of the race.

Karen (Laser) was first back across the line followed 15 seconds later by Mark in another Laser and he was 20 seconds ahead of Rick (Laser) in 3^rd place. Alistair (Laser) came through in 4^th place followed by Dave & Ann (Leader), who were just ahead of Paul H in his Supernova. These six maintained their positions for all four laps. Chris H (Comet) was 7^th and Ron (Mirror) 8^th on the first lap, but Jeremy (Laser) overtook both of them on the second lap to move up to 7^th and these positions were unchanged for the rest of the race. Mike A (Lightning) did briefly get past Ron but then touched a mark and Ron repassed him when Mike was doing his penalty turns. At the back of the fleet Chris & Carol (Sport 14) led Mike T (Radial) and Lottie (4.7) and again these positions were unchanged throughout the race and these three boats were finished one lap early.

The order on the water was – 1^st Karen; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Rick; 4^th Alistair; 5^th Dave & Ann; 6^th Paul H

On corrected time, the first two keep their positions, but Ron moves up to 3rd place with Dave & Ann up to 4^th, with Rick 5^th and Alistair 6^th.

Thanks to Steve S and the OOD Team of Ben , Bob H, Chris M, Cliff P, Dean and Simon (good to see you again Simon – where’s that yellow Laser?)

It was a bit frisky this morning, blowing 13-16 mph from the SSW with stronger gusts coming through and sudden shifts in direction. Peter R used a clubhouse bank start with the outer pin near 8 and the first mark was A (just South of 6 on the buoy line), then 1, 3, 4, 8 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

.As a result of the uncertain conditions there were a number of dropouts, but there were still 16 starters.

At the end of the first lap the early starting Mirrors of Ron, Jewels and Christopher, Pippa & Charlie and the 4.7 of Rhys were still ahead with the two 1161s next in line; Dave & Ann leading Newton & Ellen. On the second lap, Mike A became the first casualty when he capsized on the way down to No 1 and unshipped his rudder. At the gun the order was –

1^st Newton & Ellen -RS200; 2^nd Jon-Laser; 3^rd Dave & Mike N-Leader; 4^th Karen-Laser; 5^th Richard S-Laser; 6^th Christopher, Pippa and Charlie-Mirror.  

Actually, at the gun, Ron was still leading Jewels, but apparently, he had decided to sail a shorter course and led Jewels and Rhys astray, so all three voluntarily retired leaving Christopher K as the only survivor of the early starters!

Between the races Mike A gave the Rescue Boats something to do by capsizing again and then Ken decided to follow suit.

Handicap Race

Christopher K and Ken opted out of the second race and Ellen & Newton retired on the first lap (not sure of reason). Dave L & Mike N (Leader) collided with Mike A (Radial – not his day!) just after the start and had to do turns. Mike A is giving Dave a red ribbon to tie on his left hand for future events. There was quite a crowd round the first mark, but Paul & Lottie (RS200 – the other one) got away and were first back across the line. They were followed by the Laser convoy of Mark, James, Richard S, Jon, Karen and Rick. Then along came Bulldozer Bill and his mate in the Leader closely followed by the Laser of Alistair S. Next across the line was Jewels (Mirror) about 30 seconds ahead of Mike A, who had Rhys (4.7) and Ron (Mirror) not far behind him.

On the second lap Paul & Lottie increased their lead on Mark at the front of the fleet and Jon moved up two places to 3^rd. Further back Dave & Mike moved up one place by passing Rick and Mike A got past Jewels, who received the gun at the end of the lap along with Rhys and Ron.

The first three finished in the same order, but Richard S managed to pip James for 4^th place. The only other change in order was Mike A gaining a place on Alistair as a result of Alistair capsizing first after rounding 1 and again when approaching 3. The second capsize was caused by a terrific squall which came through and caught Alistair at just the wrong moment!

The order on the water was -1^st Paul & Lottie; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Jon; 4^th Richard S; 5^th James; 6^th Karen.

On corrected time the order becomes – 1^st Jewels; 2^nd Mark; 3^rd Jon; 4^th Ron, Equal 5^th Paul & Lottie and Richard S.

Congratulations to Jewels on her victory and thanks to Peter R and the OOD Team of Ann L, Brian M, Dean, Maggie B, Patrick C, Robbie H and Sally.

As an aside to this event, in a previous report I referred to “swinging a seal” as being more nautical than “swinging a cat”, which is absolute rowlocks.

Swinging a cat refers of course to swinging a cat’o’nine tails, which was a whip used to administer flogging on HMS ships of war in the 1800s. So, it could be said that a “cat” is more nautical than a seal, which is more marine? In fact, sailors do actually like a pussy, and this is probably where the term “matelots” comes from!  Most warships of the period did carry a cat to catch the rats, but that is another story.

Keep taking the tablets!

Apologies – I need to correct the corrected time!

I gave the order as – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Ellen; 3^rd Hugh; 4^th Mike Tr; 5^th Jemima; 6^th Curtis

Unfortunately, when I made the calculation, I used the old RYA PN Number for the Oppie 1665 instead of the new number 1642.

This means that the first four remain the same, but Curtis was 5^th and Dave & Ann were 6^th with Jemima down to 7^th.

Sorry Jemima! i

It was shorts and T shirts tonight for most, as it was warm and sunny with a light wind (about 8 mph) from the SSW. Newton set the first mark as A (down past Tektona in the middle of the lake), then 2, 9, 6,7 and back through the start.

There were 20 starters and the Lasers of Mark and Mike Tr were a little over eager and across the line when the horn sounded, so both had to restart.

Ellen (Laser) was first back across the line followed 30 seconds later by Hugh in another Laser. It was over a minute before Dave & Ann (Leader) crossed in 3^rd place and they were just ahead of Curtis and Mike Tr in another two Lasers. There was a slight gap before Chris A (Solo) and Chris H (Comet) came along battling for 6^th place with a tight group close behind them led by Richard H (Laser) then Mike A (Lightning), Sally & Mike N (Leader), Paul H (Laser) and Mark (Laser). Then a minute later Rick (Laser) came through on his own in 13^th place with Emily & Eidra (Feva) another minute further back and only just ahead of Alicia (Radial). Another minute later Jemima (Oppie) crossed in 16^th  place closely followed by Chris & Carol in their Sport 14 and they were about 30 seconds ahead of Ron (Mirror), Sam (Radial) and Chris S (Laser), who was having his first outing for some time (good to see you back on the water Chris).  

At the end of the second lap Ellen and Hugh were still ahead, but Curtis and Mike Tr had passed Dave & Ann pushing them down to 5^th but they were all still very close on the water. No change with the two Chris’s, but Mark had gained four places to move up to 8^th and the four boats behind him were enjoying a close battle, which was being joined by Rick. Emily & Eidra were steady in 14^th place but Chris S had gained five places to move to 15^th.  Sam was up to 16^th just ahead of Jemima in 17^th with Ron, Chris & Carol and Alicia behind them.

The two leaders crossed the finish line well ahead of Mike Tr, who just got the better of Curtis to take 3rd spot. Mark had gained another three places to finish 5^th with Dave & Ann 6^th. Chris H and Richard H managed to pass Chris A to finish 7^th and 8^th with Mike A just pipping Paul H for 10^th. Rick gained a place by passing Sally & Mike to take 12^th place and Chris S gained another place to move to 14^th. Alicia regained five places to finish 15^th with Emily & Eidra 16^th ahead of Sam in 17^th. Chris & Carol repassed Ron and they both got past Jemima. It was a pleasant evening of sailing with close battles and lots of overtaking all through the fleet.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Ellen; 2^nd Hugh; 3^rd Mike Tr; 4^th Curtis; 5^th Mark; 6^th Dave & Ann

Corrected time produces a few changes with the order – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Ellen; 3^rd Hugh; 4^th Mike Tr; 5^th Jemima; 6^th Curtis

Thanks to Newton and the OOD Team of Ben E, Bob H, Dean, Jill G and Monica.   

It was a fair wind this morning, 12-14 mph from the SW. Mark set the first mark as 5 then 9, 3, 2, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

12 starters and at the end of the first lap the early starters were still ahead with Ron (Mirror) leading from Chris H (Comet), Dave & Ann (Leader), Sally & Mike (Leader) and Chris A (Solo) with the RS200s of Paul & Nev and Newton & Ellen chasing them.

At the gun the order was – 1^st Simon (Blaze); 2^nd Ron; 3^rd Jon (Laser); 4^th Chris H; 5^th Dave & Ann (Leader) 6^th Sally & Mike (Leader)

Handicap Race

Everyone started the second race and Simon was first back through the line a minute ahead of Ellen & Newton, who were only just ahead of Jon in 3^rd place, who in turn was closely followed by Paul & Nev and James (Laser). A minute later Chris A and Dave & Ann crossed the line together battling for 6^th place. Then came Chris H and Rick (Laser) with only a second between them with Mike & Sally not far behind and bringing up the rear of the fleet were Alistair S (Laser) and Ron (Mirror).

At the end of the second lap Simon had increased his lead to three minutes and Jon and Paul & Nev had passed Ellen & Newton. James, Chris A and Dave & Ann had maintained station, but Rick had gained one place to move to 8^th and Alistair two places up to 9th. Ron received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the finish Simon and Jon retained 1^st and 2^nd positions, but Ellen & Newton had regained third place. James claimed 4^th spot from Paul & Nev. Rick gained another place by passing Dave & Ann to finish in his favourite position of 7^th (well not actually his favourite – he would prefer 1^st!). Chris H also regained a place by repassing Alistair.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Simon; 2^nd Jon; 3^rd Ellen & Newton; 4^th James; 5^th Paul & Nev; 6^th Chris A

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Simon; 2^nd Jon; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Ellen & Newton; 5^th James; 6^th Chris H

Thanks to Mark and the OOD Team of Chris S, Loti, Richard C and Roland L

Another pleasant evening with a light SW wind of about 8 mph. Ellen set the first mark as A (somewhere near Tektona – at a guess – can’t see that far!) then 9, 3, 2, 5, 7 and back through the start.

It was another good turn out with 18 starters and Dave & Ann (Leader) were first back across the line with Mark (Laser) in 2^nd place some 30 seconds behind them. Will (Radial) was going well in 3^rd place but the following boats were all close to one another with Nigel L (Laser) leading the procession of Dean & Nick (Vago), Curtis (Laser), Jon (Laser), Paul H (Laser), Joe (Radial) and Chris H (Comet) without any room to swing a seal between them (sounds a bit more nautical than a cat!). Then there was a huge gap (for tonight) of one minute before Chris A crossed in his Solo, aptly named as he was nearly two minutes ahead of next man Mike T (Laser), who in turn was 20 seconds ahead of Rhys (4.7) and Ron (Mirror), then the girls at the back were even more spaced out with Jemima (Oppie) ahead of Emily (Topper) , Phoebe (Oppie) and then Levi (Oppie).

Second lap and no change in the 1,2,3, but Dean & Nick moved up to 4^th with Jon up to 5^th, Chris H up to 7^th and Chris A up to 8th. Further back Ron passed Rhys. Emily received the gun at the end of this lap and Phoebe and Levi had decided to come in for refreshments earlier on.

The third lap was the last and Mark B had found the booster button and pulled out a lead of nearly two minutes on Dave & Ann, and Dean & Nick gained another place to finish 3^rd. Further back Chris H gained two places to 5^th and Chris A, Paul H, Rhys, Ron and Jemima all gained a place due to the retirement of Curtis.   

The final order on the water was – 1^st Mark; 2^nd Dave & Ann; 3^rd Dean & Nick; 4^th Will; 5^th Chris H; 6^th Nigel L

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Jemima; 2^nd Dave & Ann; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Mark; 5^th Ron; 6^th Will

Thanks to Ellen and the OOD Team of Ken, Ralph, Sally and Sam

It was quite a light wind this morning, about 5-8mph from the Ne, but shifting considerably. Mike T used a Tektona start with a first mark A then 5, 3, 2, 4 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 12 starters and first away was Lucy in her Topper followed by Chris H (Comet) then Chris A (Solo) and Sally & Mike (Leader). At the end of the first lap Chris H was leading with Newton &Ellen (RS200) up to 2^nd with Chris A 3^rd and the Lasers of Jess, Jon, Thomas, Rick and John W following. At the gun the final positions were –

1^st Newton & Ellen; 2^nd Chris H; 3^rd Jon; 4^th Jess; 5^th Paul & Nev (RS200); 6^th Chris A

Handicap Race

For the second race, Lucy dropped out, but Joe joined in, so the numbers remained the same.

In the light shifty conditions, there were only two laps and at the end of the first Jess was leading Jon by one minute with Adrian in 3^rd, just ahead of Ellen & Newton. Rick came through in 4^th closely followed by Paul & Nev and Joe (Laser). Chris A, Chris H and Sally & Mike crossed the line in a tight group with John W and Thomas a further 30 seconds back.

Jess held on to her lead and crossed the finish in 1^st place with no change in the next three positions. Paul & Nev leapfrogged Rick to cross in 5^th place and Chris A got past Joe to take 7^th. There were no other changes in position, so the finishing order was – 1^st Jess; 2^nd Jon; 3^rd Adrian; 4^th Ellen & Newton; 5^th Paul & Nev; 6^th Rick   

On corrected time the order changes to – 1^st Jess; 2^nd Jon; 3^rd Chris H; 4^thllen & Newton; 5^th Chris A; 6^th Adrian

Thanks to Mike T and the OOD Team of Jan & Paul H, Phil M and Stuart