30th July Summer Series 9

There was a reasonable SW wind about 12 mph, which increased throughout the morning.
Today was a race within a race as eleven club racers were joined by nine Leaders competing in an open meeting which had started with three races on Saturday and continued with another three races today. This report covers the club racers and the Leaders will be covered separately.
 
Pursuit Race
At the finish gun the positions were –
1st Jon (Laser); 2nd Peter S (Byte); 3rd Adrian (Rooster); 4th Sylvia(Radial) 5th Mark (Laser); 6th Richard S (Laser)
 
Handicap Race
Jamie sat the second race out, so the club fleet was down to 10 and first back through the line on the first of three laps was Jon (Laser) just ahead of Mark (Laser) who was 30 seconds ahead of Richard S (Laser) in 3rd place and it was interesting to note that the first Leader actually crossed the line not far behind Mark. Adrian (Rooster) and Rick (Laser) came through close together in 4th and 5th places with Jess B (Radial) 30 seconds behind them in 6th. Sylvia (Radial) and Peter |S (Byte) came through close together (as you might expect) followed by Alistair (Laser) and finally Dave P (Mirror).
 
There was little change in position on the second lap or the final lap apart from Sylvia gaining two places to move up to 5th.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Jon; 2nd Mark; 3rd Richard S; 4th Adrian; 5th Sylvia; 6th Rick
 
On handicap Jon should keep 1st place, but Sylvia should move up to 2nd with Mark and Richard down to 3rd and 4th places and Jess and Peter S up to 5th and 6th.
 
However if the Leaders had been included in the handicap race positions they would have finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places!
 
Thanks to SOOD Chris A and the OOD Team of Mike C, Bill C, Katrina R, Chris S and Tony R’s replacement (sorry your name was not recorded on the race sheet) 
 

26th July Gillette series Race 15

Tonight there was quite a frisky westerly, about 13 – 15 mph, with stronger gusts coming through.
 
Karen, Ellen, Sylvia, Paula, Mike T and Cecilia all decided to go for Radial rigs, which was probably the right move in the conditions.
 
Ellen got a good start and led from start to finish with Karen never far behind. Mark who was lying 3rd capsized on his way to the first mark on the second lap. After recovering he had passed Karen and was almost up with Ellen when he capsized again. His mast came out of the boat and he retired.
Newton in his Solo had a close battle with Sylvia just managing to stay ahead of her throughout the race.
Jamie (Laser) was going well moving up from 8th on the first lap to finish 5th on the water and he had a good battle with Dave & Ann (Leader) and Peter S (Byte) who finished just behind him in 6th and 7th places.
Not far behind these there was another good battle between Paul H (Supernova), Sally & Stuart (Leader) and Dean & Nick (Vago) and they eventually finished in 8th, 9th and 10th places respectively with Paula (Radial) a little way behind them in 11th place.
Hugh & Hadey (Leader), Mike T (Laser), Angela & Crew (Comet Duo) and Chris & Carol (Sport 14) all finished one lap early.
Cecilia (Radial) unfortunately missed a mark and retired after the first lap.  
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Ellen; 2nd Karen; 3rd Newton; 4th Sylvia; 5th Jamie; 6th Dave & Ann
 
On handicap Newton should take the victory and Sylvia, who was sailing on the Radial handicap figure,  will move up to 2nd place past Ellen and Karen, who although using Radial rigs were sailing on the full Laser handicap. Peter S should move up to 5th with Dave & Ann retaining 6th place.
 
Thanks to SOOD Steve S and the OOD Team of Monica, Mark and Patrick
 

Leaders at Reading SC

On Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July the Leaders will be racing at Reading SC.
There will be three races on each day and any help with running these races on either day would be appreciated.
Please let Sally Newlove know if you can help out or just turn up on the day.
 
 

23rd July Summer Seris 8

With a SW wind of about 10 mph (eventually going up to about 15 mph), the OOD Team (there was no designated SOOD!) set a first beat to 4, then 2, 6, 7, and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 17 starters and we had a mini fleet of Comets this morning with Sally and Nev abandoning their Leaders and joining Chris H. At the end of the first lap the early starters were still ahead with Dave P (Mirror) in 1st place followed by the Comets of Chris H and Nev, but ominously Jon and Karen in Lasers were fast approaching having just got past Dave & Ann (Leader).  Will S in his Enterprise was DSQ, presumably he sailed the wrong course, but not sure of this.
At the gun the final positions were –
1st Jon; 2nd Nev; 3rd Karen; 4th Newton & Ellen; 5th Chris H; 6th Sylvia
  
Handicap Race
The wind had increased considerably for the start and in fact continued to increase throughout the race. Will, Sally and Peter S decided to sit this one out so the fleet was down to 14 starters.
First back through the line was Karen (Laser) followed 30 seconds later by Jon and Richard S both in Lasers, who crossed together. Another 30 seconds elapsed before Sylvia (Laser) came along with Hadey (Radial) not far behind her. Then along came a tight pack led by Chris A (Solo) consisting of Dave & Ann (Leader), Mike A (Laser), Dean & Nick (Vago) and this pack was just ahead of the Comet battle between Nev and Chris H. Behind them Rick (Laser) was ploughing a lonely furrow or should that be a wake and then further back Dave P had his Mirror surfing.
 
At the end of the second lap the same four boats led with Karen and Jon very close and Richard S and Sylvia well-spaced out (must have had a good Saturday night!). Mike A had gained three places to move up to 5th just ahead of Hadey and everyone else maintained position, apart from Rick who seeking company had caught and passed Chris H. Dean & Nick and Nev meanwhile were in very close company and could not be separated as they crossed the line in a “man age de trois?”
 
On the third lap the first three remained the same, but Mike A had passed Sylvia to move up one place to 4th. Hadey, Chris A and Dave & Ann continued on in 6th, 7th and 8th places as they had been for most of the race. Nev had come to an amicable separation by pulling out a 20 second lead on the dynamic duo J Boys and two minutes behind them Rick and Chris H were battling on together.
Dave P’s race came to a premature end when he was given the gun at the end of the lap.
 
As the wind got up then Jon (as usual) got going and turned a 10 second deficit on the previous lap to a one minute lead at the end of the race. Richard S (taking over Rick’s solitary role) crossed the line in 3rd some three minutes behind them but two minutes ahead of Sylvia, who had regained 4th place from Mike A and this was the only change in position throughout the fleet.
 
Final positions on the water were – 1st Jon; 2nd Karen; 3rd Richard S; 4th Sylvia; 5th Mike A; 6th Hadey.
 
On handicap the first three should be safe, but Nev should zoom up the placings to 4th with Hadey 5th and Sylvia 6th.
 
Thanks to the OOD Team of Jan & Paul H, David P and Tony R, who coped admirably in the absence of the SOOD.
 

19th July Gillette Series Race 14

The SW wind got quite frisky before the race but dropped down to about 14 mph at the start and continued to drop throughout the race. David C (fresh from the Triathlon circuits, if fresh is the right descriptor for someone doing triathlons!) set the first beat to 4 then 2, 9, X (which was in the middle of the lake just further up from Tektona), 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.
 
There were 23 starters and first back through the start was Mark (Laser) followed by Curtis (Radial) and Richard H (Laser). Then there was a slight gap back to Ellen (Laser) who was just ahead of the two Solos of Newton and Steve S and then another gap back to Joe (4.7). Some 30 seconds later Dean & Nick (Vago) crossed the line in 8th place just ahead of Rick (Laser), William (Radial) and Nev & Mike (Leader). Next along were Mike A (Lightning), Dave & Ann (Leader) and Paul H (Supernova) who all crossed the line together. Chasing these was Alistair S (Laser) who was followed by another close group consisting of Jeremy (Laser), Sally & Suzi (Leader) and Ed (Topper). Then a minute and a half behind Ed came Paula & Angela (Comet Duo) who were comfortably clear of a Mirror battle between Ron V and Dave P. Then two more minutes back there was another great tussle between the Oppies of Jemima and Rhys.
 
At the end of the second lap there was no change in the order of the first six boats, but William had gained three places to move up to 7th place with Joe slipping down to 8th. Paul H gained two places to move up to 12th position and Sally & Suzi moved up three places to 14th with Jeremy gaining one place to move up to 15th. Further back Paula & Angela gained two places up to 19th and Rhys had passed Jemima in the Oppie battle.
Rhys and Jemima received the finish gun at the end of this lap.
 
At the end of the final lap Mark had increases his lead at the front and Richard H had got past Curtis to take 2nd place on the water, but that was the only change in the top seven boats. Mike A gained five places to move up to 8th and Nev & Mike and Paul H gained one place to move up to 10th and 11th. Jeremy and Paula & Angela gained two places to 13th and 15th respectively and Dave P took the honours in the Mirror battle finishing just ahead of Ron.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st; Mark; 2nd Richard H; 3rd Curtis; 4th Ellen; 5th Newton; 6th Steve S
 
On handicap the position becomes less clear as there is some talk of splitting the Juniors’ results away from the Seniors so that they have their own series within the Summer Series, as last year.
 
In a combined fleet Mark should hold onto 1st place, but Rhys should be 2nd with Curtis 3rd, Richard H 4th, Jemima 5th and Newton 6th
 
In a Seniors only fleet the positions should be –
1st Mark; 2nd Curtis; 3rd Richard H; 4th Newton; 5th Steve S; 6th William (if William is now a Senior not a Junior !) or Ellen
 
In a Juniors only fleet the positions would be –
1st Rhys; 2nd Jemima; 3rd William (if he is still a Junior); 4th Joe; 5th Ed
 
Thanks to David C and the OOD Team of Hugh, Bob, Cliff, Lynne and Julian W.

16th July Summer Series 7

With quite a strong SW wind Richard S set the first beat to 4 then 2, 9, 5, 8, 6, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 18 starters the same as last week, but not exactly the same set of sailors!
Early starters Chris H (Comet) and Dave P (Mirror) were 1st and 2nd at the end of the first lap with Hadey sailing a Radial next through in 3rd place. Then came the first of the chasing pack with Jon (Laser) already up to 4th having just caught and passed Steve S (Solo). Next through were the three Lasers of Mark, Rick and Ken being rapidly caught by Paul R (Aero) who had just passed James and Ralph (both in Lasers) and Nev (Comet). William (4.7) was next through followed by Ellen & Newton (RS200) who were lagging behind (for them at any rate!) and they were followed by Dean & Nick (Vago), Alistair S (Laser), Adrian (Rooster and last to start) and Jeremy(Laser).
At the finish gun it was Jon who had come to the fore with Paul behind him and Hadey still hanging on to 3rd place. 
Final positions were –
1st Jon; 2nd Paul R; 3rd Hadey; 4th Steve S; 5th Ken; 6th Ellen & Newton.
  
Handicap Race
There were no drop outs, but Al E joined the fleet in a Buzz (first time out in a race this year for this combination)
First back through the line was Paul R with a good lead on Jon in 2nd place. The next pack crossed the line in close order led by Newton & Ellen just ahead of James, Adrian, Mark, Al, Steve S, Hadey, Ken and Rick (a bit of a nightmare for the OOD team to get the order and times sorted). Then there was a 30 second gap back to Chris H, who was clear of Alistair S, Dean & Nick, Nev, Jeremy and William who were all evenly spaced out, with Dave P bringing up the rear.  
Ralph retired before the end of the lap, but reason unknown.
 
At the end of the second lap the three leaders were the same, but Adrian had moved up to 4th place and Al up to 5th. Mark was still 6th but Ken had Rick both gained three places to move to 7th and 8th. Further back Jeremy had moved up a place by passing Nev.
 
Again on the third lap the three leaders remained in the same positions, but they had stretched out a bit. Al had passed both Adrian and Mark to move up to 4th position. Hadey and Steve S both regained one place to move back up a bit to 9th and 10th places. Dean & Nick were the only other movers and they gained two places.
 
At the end of the fourth and last lap Paul crossed the line well ahead of Jon who in turn was well clear of Newton & Ellen in 3rd place. Al kept his 4th place and Mark gained a place to take 5th spot with Ken also moving up one place to 6th. Rick and Chris H both regained one place, but there were no other changes in an upward direction.
 
Final positions on the water were –
1st Paul; 2nd Jon; 3rd Newton & Ellen; 4th Al; 5th Mark; 6th Ken
 
On Handicap the first three should retain their positions, but Mark and Ken should move up one place to 4th and 5th with Al down to6th.
 
Thanks to Richard S and the OOD Team of Phil M, Ferdinando M, David P, Paula S and Chris S.  
 
 

12th July Gillette Series Race 13

Another pleasant sunny evening with a tricky ENE wind about 7- 8 mph, so Mike A used a CB start (level with Tektona but more in the middle of the lake) with a first beat to O (in the middle of the lake about level with No 8), then 5p, 2s, 4s and back through the start.
 
There were 20 starters and Karen (Laser) was first back through the line with Newton (Solo) in 2nd place, then the Lasers of Hugh, Mark, Ellen, Alistair S and Richard H  occupying the next five  places.
After a little gap Mike T in another Laser came through in 8th place closely followed by William (Radial), Chris S (Laser), Rick (Laser), Dean & Nick (Vago) and  Paul H (Supernova) and this group was enjoying a close contest. Then 20 seconds later Jamie H (Laser) and Sally & Stuart crossed the line virtually abreast with Jeremy T (Laser) slightly further back. Ed in the first of the Toppers was next through the line some way ahead of Rhys in the second Topper and Carol M in a Radial. Julian W (Solo) who started did not make the first lap, so presumably retired, but reason unknown.
 
The same two leaders at the end of the second lap, but Ellen had moved up to 3rd with Hugh now 4th and Mark 5th. Alistair S and Richard H were still 6th and 7th, but Rick had gained three places to move to 8th and Paul H had moved up four places to 9th. Chris S was steady in 10th place and Jamie and Sally & Stuart had gained a place to move to 13th and 14th. In the Topper battle Ed had stretched his lead on Rhys, who had also been caught and passed by Carol.
 
Third lap and no change in the top five boats, but Richard H had got past Alistair to move up to 6th.
William and Jamie had both gained three places to move to 8th and 10th respectively and there were no other movers in the right direction!
Rhys and Carol received the finis gun at the end of this lap.
 
At the end of the last lap Karen crossed the line well ahead of Ellen, who had moved up to 2nd place pushing Newton down to 3rd. Mark and Richard H had both managed to get past Hugh to move up to 4th and 5th. Alistair S was still 7th and some way ahead of Mike T who had gained three places to move up to 8th and the only other movers were Sally & Stuart who gained three places to move up to 11th. The midfield fleet from 8th to 15th were  changing places every lap and no single boat actually held 8th place for more than one lap!
 
The final order on the water was – 1st Karen; 2nd Ellen; 3rd Newton; 4th Mark; 5th Richard H; 6th Hugh.
 
On Handicap the only change in the top six finishers will be Newton leapfrogging Ellen, but Ed may pip the lot of them.
 
Thanks to Mike A and the OOD Team of Paula S and Mike C.
 

9th July Summer Series 6

It was a hot sunny morning with a 6 mph wind from the South, but as usual this veered considerably and at times increased and then dropped off again. Adrian set the first beat to 9 then 5p, 4p, 2p, 7s and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
18 starters for the pursuit race and at the end of the first lap Karen (Laser) came through in 1st place followed by Paul R (Aero), Chris H (Comet), Mark (Laser) Ellen & Newton (RS200) and Richard S (Laser). Will S (Enterprise) retired at the end of the lap.  At the gun about half a lap on the order was the same apart from Mark passing Chris.
Final Positions – 1st Karen; 2nd Paul; 3rd Mark; 4th Chris H; 5th Ellen & Newton; 6th Richard S 
  
Handicap Race
There was one more starter for the second race as Jamie H (Laser) joined the fleet and the course was changed to 9s, 4s, 6s, 7s and back through the start.
 
First back through the line was Paul (Aero) followed by Karen (Laser) and Newton & Ellen (RS200) who crossed the line together. Jon (Laser) and Hugh (Laser) came through the line together about a minute later in 4th and 5th positions closely followed by Richard S (Laser) in 6th place. Mike A (Laser) who had been in 6th round No 6 contrived a double-capsize when the wind backed on him (at least that’s his story!), this let Chris A (Solo) through to 7th, but only just ahead of Dave & Ann in their Leader, who in turn were only just ahead of Mark (Laser) and Jamie H (Laser). Slightly behind these Rick (Laser) and Chris H (Comet) were having a good battle, then there was a long gap before Laser 163287 came through on his own. (163287 did not sign the Declaration Sheet, but the sail number was Rod B’s, but it was definitely not Rod sailing unless he is on HRT!) Not far behind him Nev (Comet), Alistair S (Laser and Dean & Nick (Vago) were having their own battle and bringing up the rear of the fleet were the two double handed boats (being sailed single handed) of Mike C (Wanderer) and Will S (Enterprise).
 
On the second lap Newton & Ellen had taken 2nd place from Karen and Richard S had moved up two places to 4th with Chris A, Mark B and Rick all gaining a place to move to 6th ,8th and 10th respectively..
Mike A gained two places to move to 11th and Jamie H gained three places to move up to 13th with everyone else maintaining station or slipping back.
Mike C and Will S received the finish gun at the end of this lap.
 
At the end of the third and last lap there was no change in the leading five boats, but Mark, Mike A and Chris H all gained two places to move up to 6th , 9th and 12th and Nev gained one place to move to 14th.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Paul; 2nd Newton & Ellen; 3rd Karen; 4th Richard S; 5th Jon; 6th Mark
 
On handicap Newton & Ellen should take the win with Paul 2nd , Karen 3rd, Richard S 4th and Jon 5th, but Chris A should take 6th.
 
Thanks to Adrian and the OOD Team, unfortunately none of the OODs were listed on the race sheet, but it should have been Chris B, David M, Dave W and Ferdinando.
If you did turn up thanks, if you didn’t you missed a pleasant morning by the lake!
 
 

5th July Gillette Series Race 12

A very hot sunny evening with initially very little wind, but Newton managed to set a course which captured the available wind, which eventually did get up to about 8 mph from the NE. He used a Committee Boat start in the vicinity of Tektona but slightly further down the lake and the first mark was X (about level with No 8 but in the middle of the lake) then 5p, 9s, 4p, Op ( slightly down from No 2 but further towards the middle of the lake) and back through the start.
 
There were 17 starters and Ellen (Laser) was first back through the start line followed by the Solos of Chris A and Julian W and these three had opened up a useful lead. About a minute later Chris H (Comet) came through with Mike A (Lightning) not far behind him, but being caught rapidly by Karen (Laser). Then James P was next in his Laser with Bea on the foredeck giving him instructions and also cajoling William who was a couple of boats back from them. Close behind James were Sally & Stuart (Leader) and Mike C (single handed in his Wanderer) and then came William who was trying to ignore his sister’s “helpful” comments. There was then quite a gap before Nick & Dean (Vago) came through the line and they were well ahead of Ed and Rhys (Feva), Chris & Carol (420) and Jeremy (Laser). Bringing up the rear of the fleet were Jemima (Oppie), Chris S (Laser) and Paul H (Supernova). 
 
On the second lap the first three boats maintained their lead, but Karen had got past Chris H to move up to 4th. Sally & Stuart, Nick & Dean and Chris & Carol all gained two places to move to 6th, 9th and 11th respectively. Jeremy also gained one place and Paul H gained two places, but Chris S decided to retire. With the wind starting to drop Jeremy, Jemima and Paul H all received the finish gun at the end of the lap.
 
During the last lap the wind dropped even more, but Ellen finished well ahead of everyone else. Karen had gained another place to move up to 2nd place pushing Chris A down to 3rd, who just managed to beat Mike A across the line. Julian W who had been holding 3rd place sailed straight into a patch of weed and stopped dead, but he did manage to extricate himself to finish in 5thplace. All the boats behind him were unlucky as they got caught by the dropping wind and fell back. Chris H who had been battling for 4th place lost six minutes in the last half of the lap to finish 6th, but Nick & Dean did gain another two places to finish in 7th position.
 
The final positons on the water were –
1st Ellen; 2nd Karen; 3rd Chris A: 4th Mike A; 5th Julian w; 6th Chris H
 
On handicap Mike should move up to 1st place with Ellen 2nd, Chris A 3rd, Julian 4th, Karen 5th and Jemima 6th.
 
Thanks to Newton and the OOD Team of Bob H, Matt M and Mike T
 

July Cup Sunday 2nd July 2017

It was a nice sunny morning with light NNW wind about 8 mph, which was very shifty and up and down. Karen used a Tektona start and set the first beat to X (between 5 and the club house) then 4p, 9p, 6p, 5p, 2p, and back through the start.
 
There were 17 starters and it was good to see two new Mirrors (well new to us) take to the water with  Grandad Ron and Grandson Shilol in one boat and Daughter Jewels in the other. (apologies if your names are incorrectly spelled – we will get it sorted!).
 
First back through the line was Julian B (OK) who had already established a useful lead over Jon C (Laser) who was closely followed by Newton (Solo), Peter R (Enterprise) and Sylvia (Laser). There was then a gap before Hadey (Radial) came through in 6th place only just ahead of Peter S (Byte), Chris H (Comet) and Chris A (Solo). About 30 seconds behind them were Alistair, Jeremy and Rick all in Lasers. There was quite a large gap before Mike C (Wanderer),Nev (Comet) and Adrian (Vago single handed)  came through and they were well ahead of the two Mirrors of Ron & Shiloh and Jewels.
 
On the second lap the two leaders remained the same, but Peter R had managed to get past Newton to move up to 3rd place. Further back the movers were Nev who had gained five places to move up to 9th and Jewels who had gained three places to move up to 13th. Everyone else either maintained their position or slipped back!
 
At the end of the third and last lap Julian B crossed the line well clear in 1st place, but behind him Peter R, Newton and Sylvia had all managed to get past Jon . Hadey was still 6th and there was no change in the next three places, but Chris A had passed Alistair to move to 10th and Mike C had gained three places to move up to 12th. Ron & Shiloh won the battle of the Mirrors gaining two places by passing both Jewels in the other Mirror and Jeremy.
 
Final positons on the water were –
1st Julian B; 2nd Peter R; 3rd Newton; 4th Sylvia; 5th Jon; 6th Hadey 
 
On handicap Newton should take the victory with Julian down to 2nd place and Peter to 3rd. Hadey should move up to 4th with Chris H up to 5th and Sylvia down to 6th.
 
Thanks to Karen and the OOD Team of Barbara, Richard M, David P and Brian M who kindly stepped up to help although not on the rota for today.    
 
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