November Cup Race 12th November 2017

A bitterly cold wind of 15-18 mph from the NW with stronger gusts meant that it was a day for the brave. With the wind in this direction it is always difficult to set a start line, but James used X up near the buoy line for his first mark, then 9, 5, 2, 4, 8 and back though the start . He managed to avoid any nasty gybe marks, which at least was some solace to the hardy sailors.
Most of the fleet had opted for a smaller sail, but Jeremy and Franz in Lasers had stuck to the full rig as had Adrian, but he was coming down from his Rooster rig!
As it was Remembrance Sunday a minute of silence was observed before the start of the race.
At the end of the first lap David C was just ahead of Jon, both in Radials, with Paul R in his Aero 5 in 3rd place. Karen (Radial) was just ahead of Adrian (Laser – full rig) and they were quite a way ahead of William (Radial), Chris H (Comet –small rig) and Franz (Laser) with Jeremy (Laser) bringing up the rear.
No change in the front three on the second lap, but Karen retired moving everyone behind her up one place.
On the third lap David still led, but Paul had moved up to 2nd place with Jon, Adrian and Franz occupying 3rd to 5th. William and Chris were having a great tussle for 6th place with Chris just ahead on this lap. Jeremy had dropped back and retired at the end of the lap, but still continued to sail around.
At the end of the fourth lap David and Paul crossed the line together but behind them Jon, Adrian and Franz had become spaced out (probably the cold!). The battle for 6th place continued with William now leading Chris, but by this time they had actually been lapped by the leading three boats.
Paul had a good fifth lap and managed to draw away from David at the front of the fleet, but there were no actual changes in position. William and Chris received the finish gun as they completed their fifth lap.
No changes on the 6th lap although Franz did make up some ground on Adrian and the final positions on the water were –
1st Paul; 2nd David; 3rd Jon; 4th Adrian; 5th Franz; 6th William; 7th Chris
On handicap Chris should move above William, but there should be no other changes, so Paul will take the November Cup.
On a footnote as Chris came into the jetty his boom bracket sheared off his mast, this is bad enough but it could have been much worse if it had happened in the actual race!
Well done to all who sallied forth in these taxing conditions.
Thanks to James and the OOD Team of Catherine B, Tracey T, Newton and Roland L and especially Bea P.

Cobley Series 9 5th October

It was a similar wind to last week veering around WNW and about 12 mph with some stronger gusts coming through. John H used the normal flagpole start with the pin near to 7 with a short beat to 5 then 9, 4, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 14 starters today and at the end of the first lap the early starters were still up front with Chris H (Comet) leading from Peter S (Byte), Newton (Solo) and Mike A (Lightning), but they were being caught rapidly by the Laser pack led by Jon and James.
At the gun the positions were –
1st Jon; 2nd James; 3rd Newton; 4th Mark; 5th Karen; 6th Peter S
 
Handicap Race
Ken P decided to sit the second one out and Chris H only just made the start after making hurried repairs to his tiller extension which came adrift during the first race.
 
Jon was first back through the line followed closely by Ralph and Mark with Gareth and James together a little further back and Karen not far behind them, all in Lasers. Newton (Solo) came through in 7th with Peter S (Byte) in 8th and they were followed by the Lasers of Rick and Franz. Then at the back of the fleet Adrian, Mike A and Chris H were pottering along in their own race.
 
There was no change in position on the second lap, but on the third lap Newton passed Karen to move up to 6th, Rick and Franz both gained one place,
 
At the end of the last lap Jon crossed the line first having led from start to finish. James had got past Gareth to move up to 4th place and Karen had repassed Newton. There were no other changes in the fleet.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Jon; 2nd Ralph; 3rd Mark; 4th James; 5th Gareth; 6th Karen
 
On handicap the first two will keep their positions, but Newton should move up to 3rd place with Mark 4th and James 5th with Peter S moving up to 6th.
 
Thanks to John H and the OOD team of Pat G, Helen I and Gordon P and Cecilia.
 
 

Cobley Series 8 29th October

The wind was 12 mph NNW veering N and quite strong in the gusts, but not as strong as last week. Dave L set the start from shore with the pin end towards 8 and first mark X up by the buoy line a bit down from 6, then 4, 2, 5, 8 and back through the start. . All the Lasers went for full rigs, except William and Milo who normally sail Radials anyway
 
Pursuit Race
There were 13 starters with Dave P first away in his Mirror followed by Rhys (Topper) and then Chris H (Comet). Julian W who had got away well in his Solo suffered a failure with his main sheet block and had to retire. Ellen who was out for the first in a while time in her Laser capsized a few times as she got to grips with jibing the full rig in the gusts. She then decided to retire and regroup for the second race. In the fresh wind the early leaders had been caught by the time the gun went and the final positions were –
1st Mark – Laser; 2nd Jon – Laser; 3rd James – Laser; 4th Newton – Solo; 5th Franz – Laser; 6th Chris H – Comet
 
Handicap Race
Milo (Radial) joined the fleet for the second race.
James made a good start and led at the first mark from Newton with Jon and Ellen not far behind. James, Jon and Ellen had passed Newton by the end of the first lap with Alistair S and Mark B in Lasers not far behind. Then there was a slight gap back to Franz who was easing away from Chris H, William and Milo. Then along came Adrian sailing his Vago single handed with spinnaker as usual and further back were Dave P and Rhys.
 
On the second lap the three leaders were having a good battle with Newton following a short distance behind. Mark B moved up a place to 5th by getting past Alistair. William. Milo and Adrian all gained two places moving up to 7th, 8th and 9th   
 
By the end of the third lap Ellen had taken the lead and pulled a small gap on the others and Franz was the only other mover by regaining two places. Dave P and Rhys received the finish gun at the end of this lap.
 
At the gun Ellen had increased her lead and crossed the line well ahead, but there were no other changes in position on this last lap.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Ellen; 2nd Jon; 3rd James; 4th Newton; 5th Mark; 6th Alistair.
 
On handicap Ellen will retain her victory, but Newton was close enough to Jon and James to pip them making it a daughter, father one two! The only other change will be William pushing Alistair out of 6th place.
 
Thanks to Dave L and the OOD Team of Pat G, Nick J, Gordon P and Ian S.
 

Cobley Series 7 22nd October

With a West wind of 15 to 17 mph and gusts of over 30, it was a day for the brave, but there were a surprising number of takers and it brought Julian B out in his OK and Dave P in his Mirror.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 10 starters and at the end of the first lap early starter Dave P (Mirror) was still in the lead, but being rapidly caught by Julian B (OK) with Newton (Solo) in 3rd place. At the gun the final positions were –
1st Julian – OK;  2nd Jon – Laser (Radial rig); 3rd Newton – Solo); 4th  James – Laser (full rig!); 5th Nev & Sally – Leader; 6th Dave P – Mirror; 7th Chris H – Comet; 8th Dave & Ann –Leader (despite capsizing towards the end of the race); 9th Rick – Laser (Radial rig); 10th Franz – Laser (full rig)  
 
Handicap Race
Nev and Sally decided to call it a day after surviving in the first race. Dave and Ann decided to call it a day having not survived the first race ! Jeremy decided to join the fray (he must have fancied a spot of swimming.
The wind had increased even further for the second race with white horses on occasions.
 
At the end of the first lap Julian came through in 1st place just ahead Jon with James in 3rd place. Newton had capsized just before the start filling his boat with water and it took most of the lap for the self bailers to clear, but despite this he came through in 4th place well ahead of Rick in 5th. Chris H and Jeremy were only just behind Rick and they were some way ahead of Dave P. Franz was forced to retire when his mast broke!
 
Jon and Julian were having a really good battle for the lead and Jon just led by a whisker at the end of the second lap. James was still in 3rd just over a minute ahead of Newton in 4th. Further back Rick had suffered a number of capsizes letting Chris H, Jeremy and Dave P past him and Dave P and Rick received the gun at the end of the lap.
 
On the last lap there were no changes in position and Jon held onto his slender lead to cross the line in 1st place.
Final positions on the water were – 1st Jon; 2nd Julian; 3rd James; 4th Newton; 5th Chris H; 6th Jeremy
 
On corrected time Julian took the victory with Jon in 2nd place. James had gone well in third with a full rig and would have taken third place on handicap if he had not had a number of capsizes, which allowed Newton to close the gap and leapfrog him for 3rd place. Chris H retained his 5th place, but Jeremy lost 6th place to Dave P in spite of sailing the extra lap.
 
There were many capsizes in the second race and poor Franz was dismasted. Rick claimed eight capsizes and gets the prize for perseverance (I think that’s the right word!), but well done to everyone who ventured out. 
 
Thanks to SOOD Richard and his team of Mike C, Pat G, Paul H and Billy I.
 
 

Cobley Series 6 15th October

With the SOOD missing, Chris kindly stepped up to the mark (well the flagpole) to act as SOOD. There was a good SW wind about 11 mph, which actually increased for the second race. The first beat was down to 4, then on to 3, 1, 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 12 starters this morning, 6 Lasers, 3 Solos, 2 Radials and a single Comet. The Comet of Chris H went off at 4.5 minutes followed by the Solos and Radials at 6 minutes and the Laser one minute later. At the end of the lap Chris was still in the lead, but being rapidly caught by the Lasers of Jon and Karen who had just got past the three Solos of Newton, Julian W and Chris A. Ralph (Laser) was next through just ahead of Milo (Radial) who was still well clear of the Lasers of Rick, Richard S and John W who had all caught and passed Cecilia (Radial).
 
At the gun the final positions were –
1st Jon; 2nd Karen; 3rd Newton; 4th Julian; 5th Chris H; 6th Ralph
 
Handicap Race
The wind increased throughout this race resulting in a number of capsizes towards the end.
Before the race started Rick kindly pointed out to Jon that the traveller/horse rope on his Laser was on its last legs. Jon promptly fixed it before going racing. You can guess what happened next – on the first beat Rick’s traveller broke and he was forced to retire  and Jon was first back across the line at the end of the lap!
Karen came through in 2nd place with Newton in 3rd nearly one minute ahead of Richard S in 4th place. Ralph was 5th only just ahead of Julian in 6th. Then there was a tight group with John W leading Milo,  Chris A and Chris H, across the line with Cecilia in the lantern rouge position. (In case anyone gets the wrong idea that is a cycling term for the rider in last position!)
 
At the end of the second lap the order of the first five boats had not changed, but Julian, John W and Chris A had capsized letting Milo through to 6th. Julian managed to get going again and finished 7th with Chris H in 8th, Cecilia 9th and John W 10th.  Chris A retired gracefully or should that be gratefully.
 
The final order on the water was –
1st Jon; 2nd Karen; 3rd Newton 4th Richard S; 5th Ralph; 6th Milo
 
On handicap Newton takes the victory pushing Jon and Karen down to 2nd and 3rd places with Richard S still in 4th.  Chris H moves up to 5th with Ralph 6th.
 
Thanks to the OOD Team of Chris, Dean, Nick and Robbie
 

Cobley Series 5 October 8th

It was a mild dry morning, but with a light 5-6 mph breeze from the NW, which was an awkward direction for setting a start line. Mike A settled on a short first beat to 6 then X (between 4 and 5), 2, 5, 8 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
Only 9 starters this morning as many of the regular races were away for the weekend sailing slightly bigger boats (think they may be called yachts) – 70 ft Challenger Yacht Sailing!
 
Chris H was first away in his Comet followed a while later by Milo in his Radial. In the light wind no-one could catch Chris and at the gun he was still well ahead of Karen in second place.
The final positions were
1st Chris – Comet; 2nd Karen – Laser; 3rd Peter R – Enterprise; 4th Dave I – Laser;  5th Jon – Laser; 6th Sally & Stuart – Leader
 
Handicap Race
There was a change of course for the second race as the wind had shifted more to the West, X, 2, 4, 8, S.
Chris H got a flyer and led by some distance at the end of the first lap with Peter second, but only just ahead of Karen in third. There was then a slight gap back to Jon in fourth place closely followed by Dave I, Sally & Stuart and John W (Laser). Adrian came through next in his Vago, sailing single handed as usual and playing with his spinnaker. No you can’t get arrested for that! Bringing up the rear was Milo.
Unusually there were no changes in position on the second lap, but by the end of the third lap Karen had overtaken Peter and Chris to cross the line in first place. The rest of the fleet maintained station.
 
Final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Peter; 3rd Chris; 4th Jon; 5th Dave I; 6th Sally & Stuart
 
On handicap Chris H will take the victory with Karen and Peter tied for second place. Sally & Stuart will move up to fourth with Jon fifth and Dave I sixth.
 
So an impressive double for Chris this morning, which he put down to his breakfast. I thought All Bran kept you regular, but not that it made you go faster!
 
Thanks to Mike A and the OOD Team, Chris B, James C, Roland L and Marcin T, the latter three stepping into the breech at the last minute.
 

Coley Series 4 1st October 2017

Not a bad morning with a SW wind of 10-12mph. David C set the first beat down to 3 then 2, 4, X (towards 1), 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 18 starters with Bea and William first away in their Oppies followed by Rhys in his Topper.
The wind was sufficiently strong to allow the Lasers to come though and at the gun there were four Lasers in the top six.
1st Karen – Laser; 2nd Mark – Laser; 3rd James – Laser; 4th Dave & Ann – Leader; 5th Ken – Laser; 6th Chris H – Comet
 
Handicap Race
There was a course change for this second race with the first beat shortened to 4 then 2, X, 5, 8, 6, 7.
Bea and Ken decided to sit this one out and William joined Grandad Mike in the Leader!
First back through the start was Karen closely followed by Mark and James. Nev & Mike came through in 4th, obviously benefiting from advice from young William, but the fellow Leaders of Dave & Ann and Sally & Stuart were pressing them. Alistair S (Laser) was through in 7th place just ahead of Milo (Radial) with a small gap back to Mike A (Lightning) and Adrian (Vago) with the other Vago of Dean & Nick not far behind. Chris A (Solo) and Chris H (Comet) were next through with Rhys and Laser 155920 bringing up the rear.
 
At the end of the second lap the first three were unchanged, but Dave & Ann had got past Nev, Mike & William. Milo gained two places to move up to 6th and Chris A was up five places to 7th. Mike A and Adrian were both up one place to 8th and 9th and Chris H was up two to 11th. Laser 155920 received the finish gun at the end of this lap.
 
No change in the first four on the third lap, but Milo was going well and up to 5th with Chris A taking another two places to move up to 6th. Dean & Nick had got a shuffle on and moved up three places to 9th. There were some close battles all through the fleet  and Rhys received the gun at the end of this lap.
 
At the end of the last lap the three leading boats had held their positions, but Chris A had gained another two places to move up to 4th place (he was pleased to hear the gun as his battery was starting to run low! ). Nev, Mike & William had regained a place to finish in 6th. Dean & Nick and Sally & Stuart gained a place when Mike A contrived to capsize round 6 in sight of the finish! Chris H also gained a place when Adrian also capsized midway round the lap.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Mark; 3rd James; 4th Chris A; 5th Dave & Ann; 6th Nev, Mike & William
 
On handicap  Karen and Mark will keep their positions, but Dave & Ann will move up to 3rd with Chris still 4th ,  Nev, Mike & William up to 5th pushing James down to 6th.
 
Thanks to David C and the OOD Team of Jess B, Jon and Rick.
 

Cobley Series

Cobley Series 1 & 2    3rd and 10th September
Pursuit Races
The first two races in this series produced two entirely different leader boards with the 3rd September  race showing the first three as Richard S, Chris H and Hadey and the 10th September showing the first three as Newton, Jon and Karen, so it promises to be a keenly contested series.
 
Handicap Races
Again the two leader boards for races 1 and 2 were different with 3rd September showing Chris H, Ralph and Richards S and the 10th Newton, Jon and Karen.
 
One interesting point was that on the 10th September the first three were the same for both the Pursuit and Handicap Races, something which does not happen very often.   
Cobley Series 3         24th September  
 It was a nice sunny morning with a SE wind of about 8 mph, but this increased slightly for the second race and changed direction throughout both races! Richard S was SOOD and used a Tektona start with the first leg down to 1, then 3, 9, 6, 5 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 21 starters with Bea first away in her Oppie followed some time later by Ron (Mirror) then Rhys in his Topper. With such a light wind there was only a lap and a half before the finish horn sounded and the positions at the gun (horn) were –
1st Chris H–Comet; 2nd Ralph-Laser; 3rd Ron-Mirror; 4th Bea-Oppie; 5th Newton-Solo; 6th James-Laser
 
Handicap Race
In the light wind most of the fleet was closely bunched and on the first lap about nine boats approached No 6 line abreast. Alistair (Laser) was in pole position on the inside and should have had water rights, but trying to get that many boats to yield water proved impossible and inevitably resulted in a raft! Probably half the fleet with the notable exception of Alistair should have done penalty turns, but in the event there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that it was a “racing incident” and everyone sailed on! 
At the end of the first lap Karen (Laser) was first back through the line closely followed by the Lasers of Ralph and Mark with Jess (Radial) 4th, Newton (Solo) 5th and Sally & Stuart (Leader) 6th. Less than 30 seconds covered the next eight boats who were led by James (Laser), then Adrian (Vago s/h), Chris H (Comet), Dave & Ann (Leader), Mike C (Wanderer), Rick (Laser), Hadey (Radial) and Julian W (Solo).  Further back were Mike A (Lightning), Ron (Mirror) and the unfortunate Alistair, who must have lost well over a minute by being forced to re-round No 6. Dean (Vago s/h) and Rhys retired on this lap.
 
There were only two laps and Karen retained her lead crossing the line well ahead of Mark, who had moved up to 2nd with James who had gained four places coming through in 3rd. The other movers on the last lap were Hadey up seven places to 6th, Dave & Ann up two places to 8th, Julian and Mike A both up five places to 9th and 10th respectively, Rick up one to 11th, Alistair up four places to 13th and Laser 155920 (did not sign on) up one place to 17th.
Bea did not complete the second lap, but not sure if she received the gun one lap early or whether she retired.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Mark; 3rd James; 4th Ralph; 5th Newton; 6th Hadey
 
On handicap there should be some surprising changes particularly in the case of Ron who finished last on the water, but should take 1st place!
Newton should move up to 2nd, Mike A up to 3rd, Chris H 4th, Hadey 5th and Dave & Ann 6th.
 
Thanks to Richard S and the OOD Team of Tracey T and Gareth D.

Race Reports

Apologies for the lack of race reports during August, this jolly sailor was not so jolly and could not get down to the club.

Back in business now, but a few requests.

All sailors – please make sure you sign in on the Declaration Sheet 

OOD Team – make sure you enter your names on the race sheet and if you finish someone a lap early please note this on the sheet by entering FIN 
and enter retirees as DNF or RTD
Thanks

 
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