Sunday Racing Cobley Pursuit

This Sunday is the start of the Cobley Pursuit Series. The start is staggered with boats starting at different times depending upon handicap. The slowest – the Mirrors start at 10.30. This is the ideal time for those new to racing to start with a less busy start line. The weather is looking great for sailing, the weed problem is much improved, so come down.

27 August Gillette Series Race 19

There was a SE wind varying between 6 – 10 mph, depending upon which part of the lake you were on. Steve B and team used a Tektona start going down to a blue buoy, roughly where No 1 used to be.  Not sure where 1 was !
21 boats started and it was quite busy round the first mark and Dave L added to the fun by capsizing just in front of the mark.
Steve P (505) got away well and was leading at the end of the first lap from Newton (Laser), Ian C (Supernova), Curtis (Laser), then there was a slight gap to Dave L, Dave I, Andy B and Dave P, all in Lasers. Paula & Angela (Comet Duo) were next across the line in 9th place, closely pursued by Nev & Bob (Leader) then Julian and Chris A in Solos and Sally & Laura in the other Leader. Paul H was very close to the girls (who can blame him !) and behind Paul were the T ladies, Tracey (Comet) just ahead of Amy (Europe). A little further back were Dean & Nick (Laser 2) followed by Chris M (420), Grace J (Topper) and Alistair S (Radial).
At the end of the second lap, there was no change in the positions of the first eight boats, which is quite unusual. Julian had moved up two places to 9th, Nev & Bob were still in 10th, Chris A moved up one place to 11th and Mike A three places to 12th. Tracey was still leading Amy, but they had both moved up one place.
After three laps Steve P was still ahead, but Ian had passed Newton to move up to 2nd and Dave P and Julian had passed Andy B to move to 7th and 8th. Tracey had moved up one place, putting Sally & Laura between her and Amy. Grace did well to complete three laps and finished on that lap along with another 10 boats.
The fourth and final lap saw no change in the positions of the first nine boats, which must be a first for this year in any series.
The final positions on the water were 1st Steve P, 2nd, Ian C, 3rd Newton, but on handicap it is likely that the three boats behind Steve will place before him, giving Curtis 3rd and Steve 4th.


25 August Bank Holiday Monday Lex Cup

This year it was decided to hold two short races. The first was to be a 50 minute pursuit race followed by a short handicap race of approximately 45 minutes.

It was difficult to tell which direction (if any) the wind was coming from and Keith R had a difficult job of setting any course in these conditions. The rain was pouring down and only a hardy few had turned up or should that be only a foolhardy few turned up. Sally & Mike, David C and Mike C decided they were wet enough as it was, without going out on the water at all, so only nine amphibians ventured forth.
In fact there has been a proposal to rename the Lex Cup to St Crispin’s Cup –
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers – for he today that soaks his boat with me shall be my brother, he ne’er so wet this day shall fiddle his position and gentlemen in England now a-bed shall think themselves preserved they were not here and fold their mack hoods neat while any speaks that floats with us upon St Crispin’s Day.   
 
Hadey had the unenviable task of starting first in her 4.7, which gave everyone else the advantage of seeing where the wind was not coming from !
At the end of the first lap Mike A (Lightning) crossed the line first, but Ian C (Supernova) who had started out last was nearly on him with Newton & Roz (Laser 2000) close behind. Hadey was in 4th with Curtis 5th, Dean 6th both in Lasers and Alistair S (Radial) 7th. Halfway through the lap it absolutely threw it down and Julian suddenly came to his senses and thought “What am I doing sitting in the middle of a lake, hardly moving and getting soaking wet” and wisely retired!
Halfway through the second lap the allotted time expired with Ian leading and Newton & Roz second. Curtis was just about to pass Mike for third place when he was foiled by the hooter. Dean finished fifth with Hadey sixth and Alistair seventh.
 
So immediately on to the second race which was a handicap, in more ways than one, with hardly any wind and visibility so poor in the driving rain that most took  the start gun to be a fog horn!
Dean and Alistair thought “S** this for a game of soldiers” and declined to start.
Ian C crept away at the front, followed slowly by Mike A then Curtis, Newton & Roz and Hadey.
Keith thankfully brought this to an end after one lap with no change in the positions.
 
The final outcome is likely to be 1st Ian, 2nd Mike, 3rd Newton & Roz and double pneumonia all round !
 


24 August Summer Series Race 11

 

With a light fickle wind, Phil M and team had set a short beat to No 8 then up to 5 and across to 2 to 3 and then a long, long run to No 6.
Before the start Newton & Roz had to return to shore as Roz insisted that their stowaway, a Grasshopper, be safely returned to terra firma. (Good on you Roz). Newton reluctantly agreed as he did not want to chance being penalised for a jump start !
Dave I decided to create a bit of mayhem up at the pin end by crossing the line early then coming straight back round hitting Amy pushing her into Mike and rafting the three boats together just as the gun went (not really what you want at the start).  At the end of the first lap, Ian C (Supernova) came through 1st, (now there’s a change !),followed by Curtis (Laser), Peter R single handed in his Enterprise and then Dave L (Laser). Julian (Solo) was in 5th place, but then there was a line of boats only separated from one another by seconds. This flotilla was led by Newton & Roz (Laser 2000), Mike C (Solo), and then the four Lasers of Mike A, John W, James P and Dave I, followed by the two Leaders of Nev & Paul and Sally & Mike. Eddie B was on his own in 14th place with a gap back to Tracey (Comet) and Amy (Europe) who as usual were stuck together, but interesting to see Amy out in Paul R’s Europe. Not sure if this is a permanent change of craft or a try it and see. Behind them Jess (Radial) and Hadey (4.7) were having a good battle with Paul W (Radial) trying to catch them. Good to see Paul D (Radial) out again and the Toppers of William and Rhys P gamely bringing up the rear of the fleet.
The second lap saw the four leaders cross the line in the same places, but Newton & Roz and Mike A had slipped past Julian. John W, James P and Dave I were having a terrific scrap in their Lasers in midfield. Sally & Mike and Eddie B had got past Nev & Paul and behind them Amy had passed Tracey, but only just! Paul W and Hadey had both managed to get past Jess, with Paul D, William and Rhys still in the same order at the back.
Third lap and the first five remained the same but Julian had got back in front of Mike A, and Nev & Paul had moved up three places by passing Sally & Mike, Mike C and Dave I. Eddie B had moved past Amy and Tracey, who were still stuck very close together and Hadey had passed and pulled a gap on Paul W with Paul D closing up.  The Topper lads William and Rhys did not come round for the third lap having been finished early the lap before, but well done boys !
Again at the end of lap four the leading five boats were in the same order but Ian was pulling a significant lead out at the front. Mike A had passed Julian again and these two were trading places every lap and between. John W and James P were very close together and had slightly pulled away from Dave I and Mike C who were both just behind Nev & Paul. A little further back Sally & Mike were sailing in isolation and behind them Amy had opened up a slight lead on Tracey.  Paul W had a good fourth lap and repassed Hadey who was now having to fend off Paul D with Jess a little further back.
The fifth and last lap saw some dramatic changes as the wind fell away, but Ian was still well away at the front with Curtis now some way behind him, but still in 2nd. Dave L and Newton & Roz had both managed to take Peter and push him down to 5th.  Julian had passed Mike A and managed to drop him on the run down to No 6. Then John W and James P also passed Mike and Dave I made up ground to join this battle. At one point there were four Lasers line abreast running down to No 6. By staying out on the buoy line Mike managed to round 6 in front of the other three Lasers who all came round together with Dave I managing to pip the other two right on the line. James P was obviously overcome with excitement and took a dip immediately after or even in the act of crossing the line.
The final positions on the water were 1st Ian , 2nd Curtis, 3rd Dave L, but Newton & Roz will probably squeeze into 2nd on handicap.


Bank Holiday Monday Lex Cup

Bank Holiday Monday is the Lex Cup.
 
By popular demand the format is going to be changed to two short races. The first will be a 50 minute (Mirror time) pursuit race. This will be followed by a short handicap race of approximately 45 minutes. The pursuit race will be started on 30 second intervals. The times will be published here later. The result will be decided by the combined results of the two races in the normal way. In the event of a draw the result from the second race will be used. First race starts at 10.30. 

20 August Gillette Series Race 18

A NW 9mph wind gave Curtis and team difficulty in setting a start line, finally resolved by Paul R dragging No 5 down towards No 6 to give a first beat up towards the orange buoy line followed by 6 and 7.
Hugh and Curtis sitting in the Committee Boat at the starboard end of the line suffered mild whiplash when T boned by a Laser just at the start. It’s getting a habit for Curtis, he must be getting to like it !
Fast away and first round the first lap was Newton (Laser) followed by Ian C (Supernova), Steve S (Solo), Dave L (Laser), Julian (Solo), Dean (Laser) and then Chris A (Solo). A right mixed bunch of boats in the leading group. There was then a slight gap to Nev & Mike N (Leader) who were closely followed by Dave I (Radial), Bob L (Laser), Paul H (Supernova), Amy (Comet), Peter S (Byte) and Sally & Laura in another Leader. Sylvia was between this group and the following group of Tracey & Carole (Leader), Chris & Carol (Sport 14) and Alistair J (Laser) and further back still was Alistair Scott (Radial) and Grace (Topper).
By the end of the second lap, Ian had taken the lead and Dave L had passed Steve to move up to 3rd and Chris A had moved up to 5th.  The other notable mover was Sylvia who had moved from 15th to 12th to join a tight midfield scrap with Mike A, Amy and Paul H with Bob and Peter just ahead of them.
At the end of the third and final lap the leading six boats were still in the same order but Dean had squeezed past Nev & Mike to take 7th spot. Paul H came out on top of the midfield battle, but Sylvia had moved up further to 9th place, but probably not far enough ahead of Peter to beat him on handicap.
The final positions on the water were 1st Ian, 2nd Newton, 3rd Dave L, but then there were the three Solos of Steve, Chris and Julian in 4th, 5th and 6th places respectively. The Solos were probably just too far back to displace the three leaders, but it is likely that Newton will take first place from Ian on handicap.
Well done to Grace for persevering in the only Topper out tonight.

 


17 August Summer series Race 10

In a fairly strong WSW wind, 15 mph with gusts up to 28 mph, Chris A set a beat down to No 4, which was plenty long enough in the conditions.

Not long after the start James P (Laser) T boned Curtis (Laser) and took him out. Curtis actually had right of way on starboard but unfortunately came out of the encounter second best, capsizing and embedding his mast in the mud. Not sure what happened to Philip A (Laser) but he did not come through at the end of the first lap, which saw a group of four boats very close together come across the line. Newton & Scott (Laser 2000) just led from Ian C (Supernova), Karen (Laser) and Steve S (Radial), who obviously thought his Solo might suffer in the wind and opted for his Laser. A little way back from these came the three Lasers of Mike A, Dave L and John W with another small gap back to Dave I (Laser), Mike C (Solo) and James P.  Behind James, Adrian had his hands full sailing his Vago single handed, he certainly likes a challenge! Oswin (Laser) was some way ahead of Hugh (Byte) who was being chased by a recovering Curtis with John C bringing up the rear in his Topaz.
By the end of the second lap Ian had moved up to 1st and Steve up to 2nd, pushing Newton & Scott down to 3rd and Karen down to 4th. John W was going well and had passed Dave L to take 6th place. Dave I was still in 8th and maintained this position right to the end of the race. James P had passed Mike C but they were very close on the water and Curtis had got past Oswin. Hugh had decided one lap was enough for him and retired.
The third lap saw the four leaders holding position but John W had move up another place by passing Mike A and Curtis had done likewise by overtaking Adrian. John C went for a swim and nearly finished up in the bushes.
Oswin and John C did not come round for the fourth lap but they may have been finished (in more ways than one) at the end of the third lap.
There was no change at the front in the fourth lap but Mike A had managed to retake 5th place from John W, and Dave L decided it was his turn for a dip! The fifth and last lap saw a really close finish with Steve S crossing the line in 1st place only 20 seconds ahead of Ian, but John W had a storming last lap making up two places and coming in 4th. Curtis made up one more place on the water by just pipping Mike C across the line, but on handicap Mike will clearly beat the three Lasers of Curtis, James and Dave I who finished ahead of him.
The final placings on the water were 1st Steve, 2nd Ian, 3rd Newton; but on handicap it is likely that Newton & Scott will move up to 2nd.


13 August Gillette Series 17

Another reasonable SW wind about 10-12 mph but it did go up and down a bit during the race and managed to catch a few people out. Dave I helped by Paul R had set a reasonably weed free course using No 2 buoy in its new position and adding X.

At the end of the first lap it was that man IC (Supernova) in 1st position again closely followed by on-form Curtis (Laser) and these two stayed in front for the whole of the race. In fact they were the only two boats which did not change position ! Throughout the rest of the fleet there were some really close battles with places changing all the time. Behind Curtis there was a really tight group headed by Julian (Solo) then Nev & Mike (Leader), Newton and Karen in Lasers and Steve S in another Solo. Chris A (Solo) was originally with this group but got over excited and rammed Steve up the rear going round No 3, then doing his penalty turns he collided with a Laser and had to do another set of turns, after that he did not know whether he was coming or going! Slightly further back Dave L and Dave P were battling it out in Lasers chased by Paul H in his Supernova. Hugh & Hadey came next in a Sport 14 and had a little gap over the next group, in which Mike A (Lightning), Paula (Radial),Sally & Stuart (Leader), Sylvia (Radial) and Chris A (Giddy) were really close together and traded places throughout the race. Peter S (Byte) was on his own, but behind him there was another great battle between the three Laser IIs of Alistair & Grace, Paul & Jane B and Dean & Nick J mixing it with Chris & Carol in their Sport 14 and Holly in her Topper.

By the end of the second lap Karen had moved up to 3rd place and Dave L to 4th place, positions which they retained to the end of the race.  Behind them it was tight all the way through the fleet.

By lap three Holly and Dean & Nick had disappeared. Holly may have been finished early, but not sure why Dean & Nick stopped. They may have come to grief, had gear failure or simply could not stand the excitement of sailing in a Laser II fleet!  Julian took a dip near No 5 and then had a difference of opinion with Nev & Mike about water (come on boys there’s plenty to go round), anyway he decided to call it a night (amongst other things).  Paul H had got to the front of the midfield battle but then ditched it just before No 7 letting Paula and Sylvia through, who were having their own battle and had zoomed past the boats ahead of them on a freshening wind.

At the end of the fourth and last lap Newton had held on to the 5th place he established on the third lap with Steve S in 6th and Dave P in 7th. Paul H came back to take the lead in the midfield battle but only just and it was very close between all the other finishers with Peter S having closed the gap to join in. Paula just pipped Sylvia in the battle of the Radials and Hugh & Hadey were still rattling away at the finish and beyond it !

Alistair & Grace took the honours in the Laser II/Sport 14 tussle just ahead of Chris & Carol with Paul & Jane bringing up the rear.

The final positions were 1st Ian C, 2nd Curtis, 3rd Karen, although it is likely that Steve S was close enough to pinch that 3rd spot on handicap

Click for Gillette pictures 

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