10th December Frostbite Series 1

Well the Frostbite Series is upon us with a 11.00 start and a single one hour handicap race.
With the snow coming down and a forecast of gale force winds only four boats ventured out this morning. In fact the gale force winds did not materialise and the wind was light and very changeable in both direction and strength!  It was difficult for Dave I to set a course from the shore but he used the normal flag pole with a short beat to 7 (which was OK with so few boats), then 6, 8, 4, 9 and back through the start.
 
At the end of the first lap Newton (Solo) was first back through the line followed by Adrian (Laser) then Chris H (Comet) and quite a bit further back Dean & Nick (Vago).
There were no actual changes in position during the whole of the three lap race, so the finishing order was –
1st Newton; 2nd; Adrian; 3rd Chris H; 4th Dean & Nick
 
On handicap Chris H will leapfrog Adrian to move up to 2nd place.
 
Thanks to Dave I and the OOD Team of Brian and Richard M. None of the other members on the OOD rota turned out!   
 

3rd December Cobley Series 12

It was the last of the Cobley Series for this year and Dave L had the pleasure of overseeing the finale.
With a NW wind of about 5-8 mph he set the first beat to X (roughly near 6) then 8, 4, 2, 5, 7 and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
10 starters this morning and first back through the line was early starter Chris H (Comet) followed by Newton (Solo), Karen (Laser), Julian (Solo) and Jon (Laser). Then there was quite a gap back to Mark (Laser) who was just ahead of Dean & Nick (Vago).  Two minutes later Alistair (Laser) came through the line just in front of the last starter Adrian (single handed Vago) who had caught and passed Jeremy (Laser).
At the gun Karen had come through to take the victory and the final positions were –
1st Karen; 2nd Newton; 3rd Jon; 4th Chris H; 5th Julian; 6th Mark
 
Handicap Race
Marcin (Laser) joined the fleet for the second race. In the light wind there was only time for two laps and at the end of the first lap Jon had a good lead over Karen in 2nd place with Dean & Nick 3rd just ahead of Newton. About 30 seconds later Mark came through the line with a gap back to Chris H and then Julian and Alistair crossed the line together. Jeremy was next with Adrian and Marcin about 30 seconds further back.
By the end of the last lap Karen had taken the lead from Jon to give her a nice double on the day. Newton and Mark had both passed Dean & Nick to move up to 3rd and 4th places. The other movers on this lap were Julian up one place to 6th and Adrian up two places.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Jon; 3rd Newton; 4th Mark; 5th Dean & Nick; 6th Julian
 
On handicap the first three should retain their positions, but Chris H should move up to 4th with Mark 5th and Julian 6th.
 
Thanks to Dave l and the OOD Team of Sally & Mike N, Richard & Brian M and Ken.
 
Congratulations to Jon who won both the Pursuit and Handicap Series for this year.
The final positions were –
 
Pursuit Series
1st Jon; 2nd Karen; 3rd Newton; 4th Chris H; 5th James; 6th Mark
 
Handicap Series
1st Jon; 2nd Newton; 3rd Karen; 4th Chris H; 5th Mark; 6th James 
 

26th November Cobley Series 11

With a West wind of about 11 mph Mike A set a short beat to 5 then 9, 4, 8, 6, 7, and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 15 starters today and at the end of the first lap early starter Dave P (Mirror) was still leading followed by the other early starters of Nev (Comet), Rhys (Topper) and Newton (Solo), but they were being caught by the chasing Lasers of Jon, Karen and James who had already passed William (Radial) and Julian (Solo). The final order was pretty well established by the end of the second lap and at the gun the finishing order was –
1st Jon; 2nd Karen; 3rd James; 4th Dave L; 5th Nev; 6th William
 
Rick capsized at some stage, but managed to get going again without losing too many places. Newton and Ellen retired for rounding No 4 in the wrong direction. This was the fault of Mike A as he originally posted 4 to Port and subsequently changed this to Starboard. He thought that everyone knew about this course change when obviously they did not! He should have hoisted the C Flag to indicate the change of course before the race started.
He apologised to Newton and Ellen, but this was scant consolation.  
 
In between the two races Ellen managed to get herself tangled in the bushes (not her day!). Thanks to Nick J who jumped into the second safety boat to affect a rescue as the other safety boat was busy acting as the committee boat logging the finishing positions.  
 
Handicap Race
At the end of the first lap Ellen was in the lead (at last something going right for her) closely followed by Jon, Karen, Dave L, James and Franz, all in Lasers. Newton (Solo) came through in 7th place with Rick (Laser) next, just ahead of Julian in his Solo. The two Vagos of Adrian (single handed) and Dean & Nick were next through, followed by Jeremy (Laser), Chris H (Comet) then William (Radial) and brother Rhys (Topper).     
 
No change in the two leaders on the second lap, but Dave L had got past Karen to move up to 3rd.
Rick had passed Newton to move up one place and Dean & Nick had got past Julian. William also gained a place by passing Chris H.
 
On the third lap there was no change in position for the first three boats, but Karen had lost another place to James who moved up to 4th. Newton had gained two places passing Rick and Franz, who must have had a moment as he had dropped down to 11th. Dean & Nick and Julian were up two places to 7th and 8th respectively. Adrian and William both gained a place and Rhys received the finish gun at the end of the lap.
 
By the end of the final lap Jon had managed to get past Ellen to cross the line in 1st place. Behind them there was a fierce battle for 3rd spot. James actually rounded the final mark in 3rd place, but then opted to tack immediately. Dave L and Karen were very close behind and this unexpected tack threw all three into some confusion.  In the melee Karen came out best and crossed the line in 3rd place and Dave L just managed to get his bow in front of James to take 4th. Further back Franz had regained two places to finish 9th and both.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Jon; 2nd Ellen; 3rd Karen; 4th Dave L; 5th James; 6th Newton
 
On handicap the first three should retain their positions, but Newton should move up to 4th leapfrogging Dave and James.
 
Thanks to Mike A (apart from Newton and Ellen!) and to Cecilia who had a lonely vigil in the Safety Boat and was the only person on the OOD rota to show up! Thanks also to Bob W who stepped up at the last minute to help with the race.  
 
 

Cobley Series 10 19th November 2017

It was a pleasant morning with a light wind from the SW. about 7 – 8 mph. Sylvia set the first beat to 5, then 8, 4, X (don’t ask me !) and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were 15 starters today and at the end of the first lap Nev & Mike (Leader) were first across the line with Newton (Solo) and Chris H (Comet) not far behind them. Then the other Leader of Sally & Stuart came through in 4th place, but they were being caught by a train of Lasers led by Karen then Ellen, Jon, Ralph, Mark and James. About a minute back from Mark was Peter R (Enterprise) followed by Rick (Laser), John W (Laser), Adrian (Vago) and Alistair (Laser). By the end of the second lap Ellen had come through to take the lead with Newton still in 2nd place with Jon up to 3rd.
The final positions at the gun were –
1st Ellen; 2nd Newton; 3rd Jon; 4th Nev & Mike; 5th Mark; 6th Ralph.
 
Handicap Race
There was a change of course for the second race going from 5 to 2, then 4, 8, 6, X and back through the start and Marcin decide to join the race in his Laser. Marcin has been out sailing for the last few Sundays, but this was his first race, so welcome to the racing fleet.
 
At the end of the first lap there was a familiar look to the leader board with Karen, Ellen and Mark 1, 2 and 3.  Ralph and Newton crossed the line together battling for 4th place with Adrian only one second behind them. Slightly further back Jon and James were having a good tussle for 7th spot and behind them there was yet another close battle between Chris H and John W. Peter R came through on his own, then a trio of boats close together with the Leaders of Sally & Stuart and Nev & Mike sandwiching Alistair. Bringing up the rear of the fleet was Marcin just ahead of Rick.
 
No change in the first three at the end of the second lap, but Newton had passed Ralph to move up to 4th and James had gained three places to move to 5th .Further back Peter R had moved up two places to 9th place and Nev & Mike and Rick gained a place.
 
Ellen and Karen had enjoyed a close battle all though the race, but at the end of the last lap Ellen just managed to pip Karen to take the victory.  The only other movers on the last lap were Peter R who gained another three places and Rick who was battling with Alistair managed to get past him before the line.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Ellen; 2nd Karen; 3rd Mark; 4th Newton; 5th James; 6th Peter R
 
On handicap the first four will keep their positions, but Chris H should move up to 5th place with James 6th
 
Although if Peter had sailed off the normal Enterprise handicap he would probably have kept his 6th spot, but as he sailed single handed he was given a less advantageous PN number. However the Enterprise seems to be the only boat in the RSC fleet which receives such a penalty!
Seems to be a dangerous tactic to single out the man who looks after the cess pit – without him we’d all be in the S*** !
 
 
Thanks to Sylvia and the OOD team of Nick, Colin, Tom and Hugh.
 

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.
 
1 … 36 37 38 39 40 … 109