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.    
 

28th June Gillette Series 11

Another pleasant evening with a light wind about 10-11 mph from the NNW. Steve S used an Island Start with a first beat to X (situated just past 5 but in the middle of the lake) then 5p, 9s, 4p, 2p and back through the start.
 
There were 19 starters and Karen (Laser) was first back through the line followed 20 secs later by Hugh (Laser) then Newton (Solo). Unfortunately Newton was over the line at the start and he actually completed the race to be told the bad news after he had finished!  So in actual 3rd place was Ellen with a gap back to Richard H (Laser) and Dave & Ann (Leader). Mike T (Laser), Curtis (Radial) and Sally & Stuart (Leader) all crossed the line together fighting for 6th place. Then Mike A (Lightning) and Paul H (Supernova) also crossed the line together battling for 9th place. After 30 secs Mike C (Wanderer) crossed not far ahead of Chris A (Solo) and William (Radial), but there was quite a gap back to the next boat which was Ed in his Oppie. Unfortunately Ed like Newton was judged to be over the line at the start, so was also disqualified at the end of the race. Nick & Monica (a new dynamic duo in the Vago) crossed the line with Rhys in his Topper) with Jemima further back in her Oppie.  
Another one to leave the stage was Jeremy who was disqualified for not sailing the correct course.  
 
At the end of the second lap there was no change in the order of the first six boats, but Paul H had moved up three places to 7th spot and William had passed Mike C and Chris A to move up two places to 11th. Further back Nick & Monica had moved away from Rhys and Jemima.
 
By the third lap Ellen had just got past Hugh with no change in the order of the other leading boats, but Paul H and Curtis both gained a place to move to 6th and 7th positions. Chris A had caught and passed Mike C to move up to 12th, but there were no other movers.
 
At the end of the last lap the four leading boats remained the same but Curtis had gained another two places to move up to 5th place pushing Dave & Ann down to 6thand Paul H to 7th. William gained another place to take 8th place pushing Mike T to 9th and Chris A pipped Mike A on the line to take 10th and Mike C gained a place by passing Sally & Stuart. Rhys and Jemima did not sail this last lap, so presumably received a gun at the end of the third lap or decided to retire.
 
The positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Ellen; 3rd Hugh; 4th Richard H; 5th Curtis; 6th Dave & Ann
 
On handicap the first three boats should keep their positions but Curtis should leapfrog Richard H to take 4th. If Jemima received a finish gun she should move up to 5th pushing Richard H down to 6th, but only beating Dave & Ann by a whisker!
 
Thanks to Steve S and the OOD Team of Graham K, Ralph P and Jessica W.
 

Thames Valley Challenge at Upper Thames SC

This Saturday just gone saw two teams of the Reading’s Youth and Junior competing in the annual Thames Valley team racing event.  The racing was in RS Fevas with Reading A consisting of helms, Ben, Joe and William, with Sophie, Jemima, and Bea as crews. Reading B’s helms were Edward, Louie and Rhys with Thomas, Rory and Katie as crews. Although Reading A had the more experienced helms, the crews were all optimist juniors for whom this was their first team racing event (this is an important point for the defence as you will see later!).  Along with the assorted parents, Karen and Hugh were there as team managers/coaches and Monica kindly turned up as well,  as additional support.  
10 other teams were also competing with teams from Claire’s Court, Desborough, Dorchester, Goring, Maidenhead, Silverwings and Upper Thames.   The event was hosted at Upper Thames SC, a very nice location just outside Marlow, but being on the river presented the Reading teams with a couple of new challenges. The first one being the course layout, the start line in particular. The committee boat was stationed hard up on the right bank, which meant that a standard starboard start was only possible if you fitted wheels to the Fevas and were prepared to tack through the conservatory of one of the riverside homes !  The other challenge was the current, both teams took some time in understanding these are not just of the bun variety, but are also an important aspect in river sailing.  Although there was a reasonable Force 2  breeze coming down the river there was a very definite bias against the starboard tack.  The wind and current  took the hold of the bows and crabbed the boats sideways down the river, into marks, in particular the ODM.  The other challenge were the other river users, rowers, motorboats and gin palaces, all of whom seemed to have a knack of turning up on the start line just 30 secs before the off.  The Upper Thames race team however were clearly well used to this and managed this all with aplomb and quick to postpone a start so that the line could be safely cleared. 
Over the course of the day all teams sailed 8 races. Reading A won 3 of their races beating Silverwings B, Dorchester, and Goring A.  Reading B beat 5 teams including  Silverwings B, Dorchester, Desborough, Goring A,  and Reading A !  The Reading A & B race was a true local derby, consisting of siblings from the Day , Harrison, and Primrose families across both teams. Loyalties on the bank were truly divided –  the Montague and Capulets had nothing on  this.   Joe upheld the honours of the A team by coming in first, but he was followed by the the 3 boats of the B team, with Ben and William bringing up the rear and the excuses !  The truth is that actually both teams were very well matched, and the senior helms in the A team did very well in shepherding their novice crews, for whom this was their very first experience of team racing, if not being in a big boat.  In fact we think that all helms had at least one first place over the day. 

Anyway at the end of the day Reading A finished 7th and Reading B 6th, missing out on 4th place by just 2 points.  A very creditable performance with lots of learning points.   After the semi-final and finals race off, Upper Thames A & B clinched first and second place. Congratulations go to them, as well as thanks and recognition for organising such a splendid event.  Thanks also go to Karen and Hugh for giving up their Saturday to coach the teams. 


25th June Summer Series 5

 In contrast to last Sunday there was plenty of wind this Sunday. It was blowing about 13 – 15 mph from WSW with a few stronger squalls coming through. Mike A set the first beat down to 4 than 2p, 5s, 8p, 6s, 7s and back though the start.
Pursuit Race
There were 18 starters and the fresh wind had brought Julian B out to play! At the end of the first lap Dave P in his Mirror was still leading the fleet with Curtis (Radial) in 2nd place, but being rapidly caught by Julian B (OK) and Paul R (Aero). Then along came the first full rig Laser of James P who had just passed Hadey (sailing a 4.7 rig but taking a Radial handicap start).
The finish gun went as the leading boats were nearing No 4 on the second lap and Paul R had got through to take the victory with Julian B in 2nd place, Curtis 3rd, Adrian up to 4th, Gareth (Laser) 5th and Karen (Laser) 6th.  
 
Handicap Race
Despite the freshening condition everyone opted to go in the second race and Paul R was first back though the line, but not far ahead of Newton & Ellen (RS200) with Julian B about a minute back in 3rd place.  James was fourth across the line and then Hugh (Laser) led through a pack of boats who were all very close together consisting of Curtis(Radial), Karen (Laser), Adrian (Rooster), Richard S (Laser), Gareth (Laser) and Jon (Laser). There was then a slight gap before Hadey came through ahead of Rick (Laser), Dave & Ann (Leader) Dean & Nick (Vago) and Chris A (Solo). Then about a minute further back came Chris H in his Comet and Dave P in the Mirror.
 
There was no change in the leading five boats on the second lap, although Paul had increased his lead and Julian B had caught, but not passed Newton & Ellen, and they had a terrific scrap for the rest of the race for the 2nd spot. Adrian had gained two places to move to 6th and Jon was up four places to 7th and behind him the other Lasers were in a close battle for the 8th place. Further back Rick had got past Hadey to move to 12th, but the boats behind them had not changed position.
 
At the end of the third lap the first three remained the same, but Adrian had gained another two places to move up to 4th. Hugh who was lying in 5th place unfortunately capsized on the way to No 6, which allowed all the boats behind him to move up one place. Jon, Richard S and Gareth also gained another place by passing Curtis, so this was a bad lap for the Wargrave Nursery team !  Hadey regained 12th place by passing Rick, who was also passed by Dean & Nick and Dave & Ann (who had changed places in the Vago’s favour).
Are you a keen gardener Rick?
Chris H and Dave P who had been gamely battling on at the rear of the fleet received the finish gun at the end of the lap.
 
The finish gun at the end of the fourth lap saw Paul R cross the line over four minutes ahead of Julian B who had managed to snatch 2nd place from Newton & Ellen. Jon gained another two places to take 5th place. The only other mover in the right direction was Chris A who just managed to get past Rick (he must be a gardener).   
 
The final positions on the water were –  
1st Paul R; 2nd Julian B; 3rd Newton &Ellen; 4th Adrian; 5th Jon; 6th James.
 
On handicap Paul will retain first place, but Julian should leapfrog Newton & Ellen to take second.
Jon and James should move up to fourth and fifth with Curtis taking 6th place.
 
Thanks to Mike A and the OOD Team of Alistair J and Andrew M and especially Roland L, Alistair S and Jeremy T who although not on the rota stepped in to help.
 
 
 
 

Wednesday 21st June Gillette Series 10

Bright sun and 10 mph wind from the South promised a pleasant relaxed sail. Chris H set the first beat to X (just off Tektona), 1s, 4s, 9p, 6s and back through the start.
 
There were 22 starters and first back though the line was Karen (Laser) followed half a minute later by Hugh (Laser) then Newton (Solo) with Julian W, in another Solo not far behind him. Then there was a slight gap back to Ralph (Laser) in 5th place and then Monica and Amy both in Europes came through together just ahead of Sylvia & Peter (RS200) who were in 8th place with Jeremy (Laser) going well in 9th place. .
 
At the end of the second lap the first three were unchanged, but there was a lot of passing going on behind these three. Sylvia & Peter had moved up to 4th, Paul H (Laser) had gained ten places to move up to 8th and Mike T (Laser) had moved up four places to 9th. Other movers were Dean & Nick (Vago) who had moved up one place to 10th followed by Chris A (Solo) who was up five places to 11th just ahead of Curtis (Radial) who had dropped two places down to 12th. Further back in the fleet Bob Lovell (Solo) gained two places to 13th and was now just behind Ed & Crew (Feva) who were in a steady 14th place.  Dave & Ann (Leader) and Mike C (Wanderer) gained two places to move to 15th and 16th respectively. Tracey (Comet) and William (Feva) had both gained a place and Cecilia was gamely bringing up the rear in a 4.7.
Monica, William and Cecilia retired at the end of this lap.
 
The third lap was the last and Karen crossed the line well clear of Hugh with Newton further back in 3rd place. Ralph had regained the two places he lost the previous lap to move back to 5th. A number of other boats gained places due to the retirements, but Jeremy having slipped back on the second lap regained four places.
 
The final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Hugh; 3rd Newton; 4th Sylvia & Peter; 5th Ralph; 6th Julian W
 
On handicap Karen should retain first spot, but it is likely that Ed & Crew (Feva) will move up to second with Newton and Julian W third and fourth in their Solos pushing Hugh and Ralph down to fifth and sixth.  
 
Thanks to Chris H and the OOD Team of Mark H, Phil M and Steve P. 
 

18th June Summer series 4

Summer 4          18th June
 
It was very hot and sunny this morning, but not a lot of wind, at best 3mph from the South. Mark wisely set a short course of Xp, 9p, 6s and back through the start.
 
Pursuit Race
There were only 7 starters, perhaps a combination of Father’s day and no wind!
There was just time for one lap and a bit before the gun finished the race. The positions at the gune were –
1st Richard S – Laser; 2nd Karen – Laser; 3rd Chris H- Comet; 4th Adrian – Rooster; 5th Hadey – Radial; 6th William P – Feva; 7th James P – Feva  (but may have been Rhys at the helm as the Fevas were getting some practice in for the Thames Valley Challenge on Saturday 25th June)
 
Handicap Race
Mark shortened the course even further for the second race by substituting 8 for 9, even so it was only a two lap and the order remained exactly the same for both laps. So the final positions on the water were –
1st Karen; 2nd Adrian; 3rd Richard S; 4th Hadey; 5th Chris H; 6th William; 7th Rhys & James.
 
On Handicap Karen should keep 1st place, but Chris should move up to 2nd with Richard 3rd.
William should move up to 4th Pushing Hadey down to 5th with Adrian 6th and Rhys & James 7th
 
Thanks to Mark and the OOD Team (their names were not down on the race sheet, but should have been Chris B, Mike C, Issy, Tom L and Paula)
 
Another plea to two-man boat helms please put the names of your crew down on the Declaration Sheet – thank you
 
 
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