Racing – Sunday 6th April
Another day of shifty winds from the North East as we settle into the Spring Series. A Force 3/4 for most of the race with the odd lull dotted about.
It was great to see 17 boats out today which gave some fantastic racing.
The Pursuit Race started with Adrian in his Avon Scow, followed by Will S in a Topper. They both had a great early race, and it took the rest of the fleet most of the race to get near them. Only in the last minute did Karen get through to finish first in her Comet. Will was second, and Chris H third, also in a Comet. Elsewhere in the race, James P set off too early, who to his credit admitted his error and retired from the race. Darren and Newton in their Solos had a great fight for 4th, but it was Darren who won that particular battle.
An adjusted course for the second race led to a large port end bias, a few in the fleet took advantage of this and sailed clear of the rest of the fleet. Particularly Mark in his Aero, who sailed off into the distance. The pressure must have got to him, as he promptly capsized and ended up retiring.
Hugh and James sailed clear of the fleet, having a great fight the whole way. Not clear enough though, as despite crossing the line 1st and 2nd, the slower boats were too close on Handicap and both were relegated to 4th and 5th.
Will S kept up with the fleet in his much slower Topper, taking advantage of tactics and racing rules to push the much faster boats out at each of the marks.
Will ended up finishing 1st on Handicap by more than a 2 minute margin, followed by Karen 2nd and Newton 3rd.
Thanks to Ron and his team for running the racing today.
Bacon Rolls were also on offer after the racing today, due to popular demand. Made by Ann.
Racing – 30th March
Some lovely sun and force 3 winds from the west today. 11 sailors made it out in some testing winds.
The Pursuit Race was won by Newton (Solo), who extends his lead in the series. Followed by Richard & Louise (2000) and Karen (Comet) in third.
I have no idea what happened in the handicap race, the results haven’t been published due to a query in the results. I’ll leave you to speculate but the only logical explanation I can think of is some form of match fixing by high level figures in organized crime.
Detective Dave is on the case, and the results will be posted in due course.
Plenty of capsizes today, with Ralph, Steve P and Harry P all sampling the water. Rick also had to retire after his rigging broke.
A big thank you to James and his team for organizing the racing and for providing some much needed safety boat cover.
The last Soup Sunday today was Leek and Potato, made by Ann, who also brought cake along.
RSC Member heading to British Keelboat Academy
Congratulations to Reading Sailing Club member and volunteer instructor Emily. Who has been accepted into the British Keelboat Academy. The BKA sponsors and trains young sailors to prepare them for competitive yacht racing. Previous members of the academy have raced around the world including the Vendée Globe and The Ocean Race.
Well done Emily, we are all very proud of you and look forward to seeing where this takes you.
The next round of applications opens in the summer, so if you are aged between 18-25, you can apply. Follow British Keelboat Sailing for more information.
You can find out more about the Keelboat Academy & the training Emily is taking part in here: https://www.rya.org.uk/news/keelboat-academy-2025?utm_campaign=1021603_Member%20News%20-%2028%20Mar%2025&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Royal%20Yachting%20Association%20%28RYA%29&dm_i=7T75,LW9V,39J3GD,1XA94,1
Racing – Sunday 23rd March
Another day of light winds for the Spring Series. A millpond greeting the 11 racers today with plenty of shifts in the non existent breeze.
The Pursuit Race was won by Karen (Comet), who wasted no time in getting back up to speed returning from her seasonal emigration. Newton (Solo), who, despite heading to the wrong mark, managed to sail back up through the fleet to take second place. Third place was claimed by Richard S (ILCA 6)
The Handicap race was initially led by Ralph, who also managed to miss a mark and subsequently decided he had better places to be and retired. Maybe there’s not enough space to write the course down on these Solo’s!
Karen was therefore first across the line, followed by Newton and Rick (ILCA 7). The only change to the podium once Handicap was calculated kicked was Richard S taking the 3rd place from Rick.
A massive thank you to Steve S and his team who stepped in at the last minute to run the racing today.
The penultimate soup of the day was Carrot and Coriander, made by Ann. All to play for next week as it’s the last Soup on Sunday, and I’ll have no food to report on until the Commodores Cup starts on the 16th April.
Hope to see you all next Sunday for another two races of the Spring Series.
Racing – Sunday 16th March
Some shifty Force 3-4 winds in the Spring series today, once again from the North East.
An otherwise cold morning was helped by some sun that was welcomed by the numerous helms that found themselves in the water.
11 Boats took to the water for the Pursuit Race, with plenty of battles being fought. Darren finished first, having passed Newton in the second lap, who finished 2nd, both in Solos. A Solo lockout was prevented by Steve S in his Blaze, who starts last on Handicap, and subsequently made his way up through most of the fleet.
A similar story for the Handicap race, James C and Steve crossed the line several minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet in. James was demoted to 6th on Handicap, whilst Steve took the 3rd position.
Once again, the Solo’s proved dominant. Darren took the win, with Ralph slotting into 2nd.
Thanks to Adrian & Team for an eventful morning of racing, plenty to keep you busy.
The soup for this week was Leek and Potato, made by Dave.
We’re back again next week for some more Spring Series action. Make sure to come down and get some results on the board.
Racing – Sunday 9th March
First races of the Spring Series today. Some great weather & a 9kt wind from the North East. 16 boats made it out for some great racing on a challenging course set by Aileen.
The pursuit race was won by Chris H in his comet, who had managed to pass Ron & hold off the Solos further back. The podium was completed by Newton & Darren; both in Solos.
Elsewhere in the fleet, there were several close battles being fought, mainly between the ILCAS.
The Handicap race had a hectic start, Steve S in his Blaze was over & had to cross back through the line. Despite this, Steve worked his way back up through the fleet to cross the line first. Newton, who had a great start and maintained the lead for much of the race, finished second. Hugh crossed the line third. On handicap, Steve was knocked of the podium and demoted to 9th. Newton was 1st overall, Hugh 2nd & Ralph 3rd. Once again, some close racing with boats finishing mere seconds apart.
Soup today was Sweet Potato & Coconut, made by Ann.
A big thank you to Aileen & her team for organising some great racing.
We’re back next week for some more of the Spring Series.
Monday Social Sailing
Perfect weather for the weekly Social sailing today.
Now I know what you’re thinking, those aren’t dinghies! Monday afternoons aren’t just for sailing, today was a mixture of paddling, boat maintenance and lots of tea, coffee and cake.
Social sailing takes place every Monday from 1-5pm and there’s no need to sign up. It’s a great chance to meet other members and go for a sail, sort your boat out or just socialise.
Junior Regatta 11th June 2023
Sunday afternoon 11th June saw the first Junior Regatta of the year, it was sailed in very warm conditions but at least there was a gentle breeze! With a few missing due to injury, illness and overrunning cricket matches, 10 children took to the water in two fleets – Oppies and Toppers.
Toppers started each race first and sailed several laps of a triangular course, with the Oppies starting two minutes later and sailing a slightly shorter triangular course with a shorter beat and a few less laps.
Fleur sailed extremely well to win all four Topper races!
The Oppie fleet was a little more mixed. Race 1 saw all the Oppies quite close together initially before Milo took the lead and kept it to the end, Alex was ahead of Molly at the end of the first lap but she managed to overtake him before the end of the race, they were closely followed by Harry.
Race 2 saw Milo racing ahead and opening a big lead, Molly was in 2nd place at the end of the first two laps but Oliver was slowly creeping up the fleet 4th at the end of the first lap, 3rd and the end of the second and 2nd by the end of the race with Molly finishing 3rd, closely followed by Alex. These four had sailed so well they lapped the rest of the fleet!
Race 3 saw Milo starting at a different end of the line to everyone else and just sailing away from the whole fleet! Everyone else was consistent with Oliver maintaining 2nd place throughout the race and likewise Alex in 3rd. Molly was usurped by younger brother Fergus, who despite only starting to sail this year took 4th place leaving her to take 5th.
Concentration was beginning to go, all the children were now very warm, and the course was changed slightly due to the wind shifting so Race 4 saw a few more position changes. This time Molly was the one to sail away from the rest of the fleet, keeping her 1st place to the end of the race. Fraser finished the 1st lap in 2nd place followed by Alex, but on the final lap Alex followed by Milo both managed to get past Fraser.
Karen presented the Junior Topper trophy to Fleur, with Rohan in 2nd place. The Junior Optimist Trophy was presented to Milo, with Molly in 2nd place and Alex in 3rd.
Huge thanks to Jess and Richard in the Committee boat running the races, and to Karen and Paul who were coaching where it was needed.
Whitsun Pennant – Monday29th May
The Whitsun Pennant took place on bank holiday Monday 29th May with some challenging conditions for the competing boats. After three short races Darren was clearly the winner with three boats, Ralph, Mike T and Chris K, tying for second place. The RYA rules were applied providing the following finishing positions.
1st Darren (Radial)
2nd Mike T (Laser)
3rd Chris K (Radial)