Reading Sailing Club Members

Hot and sunny, but there was hardly any wind. Rick set a box course with 5 as the first mark then down to A, diagonally back up to 6 then down to B and back through the start (got it?).

Only four starters, but with Rick’s wise decision to use a short course three of them actually managed two laps. Monica started in her Europe, but tired of going nowhere, packed in before the end of the first lap. Sally & Nev were out in a Leader and received the gun at the end of their first lap as there was a danger of turning the morning race into an all day affair.

At the end of the first lap Chris H (Comet) led from Hadey in her Radial with Ron (Mirror) bringing up the rear.  On the second lap this order did not change, but on corrected time Ron leapfrogged Hadey.

The final order was -1^st Chris H; 2^nd Ron; 3^rd Hadey

Thanks to Rick and the OOD Team of Andy B, Bill C, Cliff P and Susannah M

It was very hot and sunny with the temperature forecast to rise to 30 C in the afternoon. Unfortunately, there was only a light wind, nominally 5-7mph from a SE direction, but it went up and down a fair bit and shifted around all over the place. With a series victory in the bag, Newton volunteered to step up and run the race in the absence of a scheduled SOOD. He set a box course with a Committee Boat start and the first mark as A (just past 9 but in the middle of the lake) then 5, 4, B (due East of 4) and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

11 starters, the same as last week, with the lack of wind putting some off and others busy on the Bank Holiday weekend.

At the end of the first lap Chris H (Comet) had caught Ron (Mirror) who started in front of him. Julian W (out in his brand new Solo – nice looking boat) was 3^rd, with Jon (Laser) up to 4^th and Chris A (Solo) 5^th and Peter R (Enterprise) 6^th. Mike A (Radial) came through in 7^th place about 3 minutes ahead of Sally & Nev (Leader) who were just ahead of last starter Adrian (Rooster) and Rick and Lottie in Lasers.

It was slow going up to 5 and a bit of a raft developed as boats tried to round the mark. Sally & Nev coming up from behind spotted an opening and came right through the fleet to move from 8^th up to 2^nd place which they held until the gun with only Chris H ahead of them.

The final order was – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Sally & Nev; 3^rd Ron; 4^th Jon; 5^th Julian W; 6^th Adrian.

Handicap Race

Julian W sat the second one out so 10 started and first back across the line was Adrian well ahead of Peter R in 2^nd place who in turn was clear of Sally & Nev in 3^rd. Chris H came through in 4^th place with Chris A in 5^th and Jon 6^th. Next along was Ron ahead of Mike A, Rick and Lottie.

The boats were fairly evenly spaced out, so the only shuffles on the second lap were Jon passing Chris A, and Mike A passing Ron. It was much the same on the third lap, but Ron repassed Mike, who along with Rick and Lottie received the gun at the end of the lap.

On the last lap Chris H snatched 3^rd place from Sally & Nev but everyone lese maintained station, so the final order was –

1^st Adrian; 2^nd Peter R; 3^rd Chris H; 4^th Sally & Nev; 5^th Jon; 6^th Chris A

On corrected time the order changes to – 1^st Chris H; 2^nd Sally & Nev; 3^rd Peter R; 4^th Adrian; 5^th Ron; 6^th Chris A

Thanks to Newton and the small OOD Team of Ben E and Brian M.

 This was the last race of the Summer Series and the Pursuit Series was won by Newton & Ellen (RS200) with Karen and Jon (Lasers) tied for 2^nd place. The Handicap Series was won by Ellen & Newton with Chris H (Comet) in 2^nd place and Jon in 3^rd place.

Congratulations to all of them.

It was a warm sunny evening with a WSW wind of about 10 mph Curtis set the first mark as A (down past Tektona) then 2, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

20 starters tonight and first back through the line was Ellen (sailing Julian B’s Devoti-Zero) and she was already 30 seconds ahead of Ralph (Laser) and Newton (Solo), who was just ahead of Hugh (Laser).  20 seconds later a trio of Lasers crossed the line, Jess, Jamie and Rick, who was 7^th again. Then along came a motley mix of boats, Chris H (Comet), Dean & Nick (Vago), Chris A (Solo), Mike A (Lightning) and Sally & Sam (Leader). Mike T (Laser) was through in 13^th place and behind him Emily (4.7) and Jeremy (Laser) crossed the line together.  A minute later Bob L (Solo) crossed in a lonely 16^th place some five minutes ahead of Phoebe (Oppie), Chris S (Laser) and Olliver (Topper) with Rich F (Pico) bringing up the rear of the fleet.

On the second lap no change with the first two, but Ellen had increased her lead. Newton and Hugh crossed together battling for 3^rd place and there was no change in the 5^th to 10^th placed boats. Sally & Sam had moved up one place by passing Mike A to move to 11^th and Jeremy, Bob L and Chris S also gained one place. Phoebe, Olliver and Rich received the gun at the end of this lap.

At the end of the third lap Ellen and Ralph still led but Hugh had now established himself in a clear 3^rd place and Jess had moved past Newton to 4^th place. Jamie and Rick were still 6^th and 7^th, but Dean & Nick had moved up to 8^th by passing Chris H. There were no other changes in position and Emily and Chris S received the gun at the end of the lap.

The fourth lap was the last lap and Ellen crossed the line four minutes ahead of Ralph to take the victory. The only changes in position were with the double handers as Dean& Nick moved up another place passing Rick and Sally & Sam gained a place by passing Chris A. The final order on the water was -1^st Ellen; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Hugh; 4^th Jess; 5^th Newton; 6^th Jamie.

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Ellen; 2^nd Ralph; 3^rd Newton; 4^th Chris H; 5^th Hugh; 6^th Jess

Thanks to Curtis and the OOD Team of Chris & Carol M, Chris M, Karen T, Susannah M and Nick JJ.

The forecast was for WSW winds of about 15-16 mph, but in the event it was probably only about 10-12 mph. Mike A set the first beat as A (in line with Tektona but not as far down the lake) then 2, 4 and then a slalom back down the lake with 9, 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race

There were 11 starters as for last week and first away was Hadey (4.7) followed by Chris H (Comet) then Dave & Ann (Leader) followed by the four Lasers of Jon, Karen, Rick and Jamie along with Newton & Ellen in the RS200 and finally Adrian (Rooster) and Julian (D-Zero).

At the end of the first lap Chris was still ahead followed by Dave & Ann then Newton & Ellen then Hadey, Karen and Jon. At the gun the final order was -1^st Julian; 2^nd Chris; 3^rd Newton & Ellen; 4^th Jon; 5^th Karen; 6thDave & Ann.

Handicap Race

Chris was suffering with an arm strain so decide to sit the second race out. First back was Julian about one minute ahead of Adrian in 2^nd place, who was not far in front of Karen, then Ellen & Newton and Jon crossed the line together. Just 15 seconds later Dean & Nick crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of Rick in 7^th place. A minute later Jamie came through just ahead of Dave & Ann and finally Hadey (probably wishing she had gone for a Radial rig rather than 4.7).

Julian doubled his lead on the second lap, but Adrian was still holding 2^nd place. Ellen & Newton and Jon had passed Karen (but only just!) to move to 3^rd and 4^th.  Dean & Nick were still 6^th and Rick was still 7^th (again!). Behind them the only change was Dave & Ann passing Jamie. Hadey received the gun at the end of the lap.

The only changes on the last lap were Julian increasing his lead to 3 minutes, Karen repassing Jon to take 4^th and Jamie repassing Dave & Ann to take 8^th. The final order on the water was – 1^st Julian; 2^nd Adrian; 3^rd Ellen & Newton; 4^th Karen; 5^th Jon; 6^th Dean & Nick.

On corrected time the order changes to – 1^st Julian; 2^nd Karen; 3^rd Jon; 4^th Ellen & Newton; 5^th Dean & Nick; 6^th Dave & Ann

Thanks to Mike A and the OOD Team of Bob H, Colin H, also to Doug H, Mike C and Roland L who volunteered at the last minute.

Another good wind tonight about 13 mph from the SW although it did drop off towards the end of the race. Curtis used A for the firs mark (just further down the lake than Tektona) then 8, 1, B (middle of the lake down from 5), 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There was a light mizzle at the start of the race, which was quite refreshing, but unfortunately this turned into a heavy drizzle as the wind dropped.

Ellen (Laser) was first back through the line followed by Karen (Laser) Newton (Solo) and Richard H (Laser). About two minutes later Hugh (Laser) came through in 5^th place with a slight gap back to Dean & Nick (Vago) in 6^th and right behind them were Dave & Ann (Leader) not far ahead of Ralph (Laser) and Mike A (Lightning).  Then 30 seconds later Alicia (Radial) crossed in 10^th place chased by Jeremy (Laser) followed by Rhys (4.7) and Paul H (Supernova). Next to come along was Hadey in her Radial (good to see you back Hadey, it’s been quiet on the lake without you!) and finally MH in a Topper who received the gun at the end of the lap.

At the end of the second (and last) lap there was no change in the order of the first six boats, but Ralph had passed Dave & Ann to take 7^th place. Alicia retired and Paul H and Hadey both managed to get past Rhys.

The final order on the water was – 1^st Ellen ;2^nd Karen; 3^rd Newton; 4^th Richard H; 5^th Hugh; 6^th Dean & Nick

On corrected time this becomes – 1^st Newton; 2^nd Ellen; 3^rd Karen; 4^th Richard H; 5^th Hugh; 6^th Ralph

Thanks to Curtis and the OOD Team of Cliff P, Chris S, Gareth E and Sophie

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!