16 July Gillette Series 12

As Dave L, SOOD, put on the race sheet it was warm, windy and weedy !
Probably about a 9-10 mph westerly with a beat up to No 5 for the first leg. Curtis got a cracking start and led at the end of the first lap with Karen 2nd, Dave C 3rd and Newton 4th, all in Lasers, with Monica in her Europe 5th and Steve S, Solo, 6th.
At the end of the second lap, the first five were in the same order but Simon B had edged in front of Steve S. Behind these there was a really tight battle led by Sally & Stuart, Leader, but very closely followed by Andrew B, Laser; Paul R, Europe and Steve & Lynne in the 505.
By the end of the third lap Karen and Dave C had managed to get past Curtis with Newton in a safe 4th place. Monica had retired, which was a pity as she had been in a steady 5th place and probably beating boats ahead of her on handicap. There was still less than one minute between 5th place Andy B and 10th place Sally & Stuart and there was a good scrap behind this group between Chris A,  Solo; Mike T, Laser and Mike A, Lightning.
Julian, Solo, who had been going really well in recent weeks, was part of this battle until he went for a swim halfway through the lap. Apparently he had a problem with his rudder and then his toe strap broke. Not sure if he went in the water as a result of the breakage or he just tossed himself over the side in despair!
Dean, Laser, was ploughing a lonely furrow with Paul H, Supernova; Phil M, Solo and Angela & Paula, Comet Duo, battling behind him. Further back were three men in a boat (another Leader) manned by Rob, Craig & Calm. These were followed by Chris S in his newly acquired Laser (good to see you back on the water Chris) who was having his own battle with Nick J, Laser and Tracey T in her Comet ET.
At the end of the fifth and final lap, the first four were the same, but Steve and Lynne had moved up to 5th pushing Andy down to 6th with Simon B moving up to 7th.
The final placings on the water were 1st Karen, 2nd Dave C, 3rd Curtis and these should remain unchanged on handicap. Curtis seems to have moved up a gear and is now playing with the big boys and girls at the front of the fleet (big as in performance not big as in build!)
However it is likely that Steve S and Sally & Stuart will leapfrog the three boats ahead of them on the water, when the handicaps are applied.    

MARQUEE AT RSC on 17th July

Just a polite notice to warn members that there will be a large marquee on the lawns at the sailing club which is being erected on Thursday 17th July for the 60th Anniversary Party Celebrations on Saturday 19th. The marquee will be taken down on the morning of the 20th July.

If you are around on the 17th between 6.30pm and 7.00pm we would be very pleased to have some extra helpers to help with the marquee.

Thank you

Laura Johnson

13 July Summer Series Race 5

 

13 July Summer Series Race 5
A lovely morning for a sail with fresh West wind 8-10 mph. John W set a beat down to No 4 and 20 boats set out from the start.
Mike A, Laser, decided to miss out the first mark and sailed down to No 3 until Curtis, Laser, kindly pointed out the error of his ways and Mike turned round and went back to 4 !
There was close racing throughout the fleet and Karen, Laser, led through on the first lap with Richard S, Laser, 2nd; Ian C, Supernova, 3rd and Curtis 4th but closely pursued by Steve S in his Solo, Monica, Europe, Newton & Bob L, Laser 2000 and Peter R in his Enterprise.
Further down the fleet, Chris Mitchell, Laser, couldn’t quite squeeze inside Dave I, Radial, at No 2 and had to gybe round and come back for a second go! Eddie B, Laser, and Pat, Mirror, packed in after the first lap.
On the second lap James P, Laser, followed Mike’s lead (never a wise thing to do) and missed No 4 out sailing straight done to No 3 then returning to 4 again. At the end of this second lap Ian C had come to the front with Richard nipping past Karen and Curtis still in 4th, Steve S in 5th, but Peter had got past Monica and Newton & Bob.  Mike A, Adrian, Vago, James P and Dave I were having a good battle as were Hadey, 4.7, and Paul W, Radial.
After three laps, Karen had regained 2nd place but otherwise the first five boats were the same. Newton & Bob had moved up a place to 6th and Rod B, Laser, had come through to 7th.
On the fourth lap the first four boats kept position, but Rod moved up another place to 5th pushing Steve down to 6th and Monica made up two places to 7th. Monica, Newton & Bob and Peter had a really close tussle throughout the race, Monica and Peter got particularly close at No 8 on the last lap and exchanged the usual pleasantries. Further down Adrian got the better of James P and Phil A, Laser, had caught and passed Dave I
Coming into the jetty at the end of the race Bob stepped off the Laser 2000 but unfortunately did not make the jetty and finished up in the drink. Newton denied bearing away just as Bob stepped off!
The final placings on the water were 1st Ian C, Supernova; 2nd Karen, Laser, 3rd Richard S, Laser.
Curtis finished 4th on the water but it is likely that Steve and Monica will squeeze past him on handicap.


Pink Fleet and Pirates Report

 
There was a wonderful turn out for the race, all manner of boats, Toppers, Lasers, etc -17 in all – some 25+ Pinkies took to the water after a hearty breakfast cooked by Paul, the Pink Fleet chef….despite a plumbing crisis at home – thank you so much Paul.
Monica and Ian, aided by James and Pat set a little weed free course at the bottom of the lake in the very little wind, using marks 2, 3 and 2 training marks….all a little confusing!!
Tracey and Carole in the Leader were going really well, finding the puffs of wind as were Alice in her Laser, while the youngsters in the Toppers, William, ‘birthday boy’, Rhys, Joe, Amy P, WendyP, Jack were all racing like pros!
Brian with Louise in their Ent managed to hit the anchored safety boat! The small course kept the fleet together with some close racing. Jack dumped his Dad from his Topper…….later to be picked up by Suzanne as he had got too hot sitting in the safety boat…..
The leading boat had to do turns after rounding each mark, not popular with Alice and Mike…..
But the outstanding winner of the Pink Fleet cup was Nathalie, sailing a Pico for the 1st time in 20yrs….well done Nathalie, who later went on to show off her wind surfing skills….!
All the while Bernadette sat on the shore in the sun reading her book…..while Nina and Kea had fun on the water….good to see them back.
A quick break off the water for lunch then the Pirates started arriving for their afternoon fun. Carole joined Gary in the ‘rubber duck’ along with 2 other safety boats and their crew, and off they all sailed to the end of the lake to hunt for treasure in true Pirate fashion……
As always there was a lot of capsizing and a lot of fun.
The afternoon ended with a round of Happy Birthday to William and a slice of the scrummy, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate cake….delicious Suzi.
A Big Thank You to everyone who helped during the day.
 
NB. The Pink Fleet BBQ is August 9th, after the 1100 race, no breakfast. Contact Paul / Jan paul.hearn@jeoluk.com / jan.hearn@me.com for tickets, numbers limited.

JULY CUP

Did you bring the digestives Simon.

With an 8-10 mph SW wind, Simon Bray and team set a first beat up to 5 with 21 boats on the start line. Before the start Chris A decided to wash his sail and himself as part of his pre-race rigging. (testing the water as they say!)
Karen led on the first lap closely followed by Steve S in his Solo, then Richard S and Rod B both in Lasers. On the second lap the two leaders were the same but Curtis, Laser, had moved up from 6th to 3rd and Ken P, Laser, had moved from 11th to 6th (how did he do that!). Eddie B had decided one lap was enough for him and as Simon had set a fairly long course the third lap was also the last lap, so Paul W, Oswin and John C were given the finish gun at the end of the second lap.
At the front of the fleet Curtis and Rod B had managed to get past Steve with Ken P moving up to 5th.
Behind the leading group Mike A, James P and Phil A had a great battle trading places throughout the race. At one point Sally & Stuart caught up with Mike, but Sally declined to take water at No 4 and gybed back round behind Mike. What a star, most people would have barged in given half a chance, never mind an invitation.
Mike C and Chris A had a close race in their Solos with Dave I, Radial, chasing them after a bad start,
and Adrian getting involved with not enough wind to get the best out of the Vago.
Mike C got ahead at the finish, Chris explained he was carrying too much ballast from his pre-race routine. Alice M was our only young sailor out today finishing just behind Chris.
The final placings on the water were – 1st Karen, Laser; 2nd Curtis, Laser; 3rd Rod B, Laser, but on handicap Steve S, Solo, was close enough to take 2nd place and push Rod off the podium (if there was a podium!)

Click for the July Cup photographs

Pirates Update

 

They just keep coming, Thursday after Thursday, come rain or shine! We now have over 70 youngsters registered, with 30 plus most sessions! We are very grateful to all the power boat drivers, Gary, Mark, Gary,David, Peter, Tracey and lots more.
The childrens’ sailing skills are improving week by week under the watchful eye of our enthusiastic leader Gary – we are not sure who has more fun, the children or Gary…!!!
Thank you everyone who helps….parents, grandparents, aunties, in fact ….’Uncle Tom Cobley and all…….!!!
Up the Pirates!!

02 July Gillette Series – Race 11

A 10 mph wind from the South West gave Dean and his team the relative luxury of a bank start and 15 boats set out on the start gun.
Karen got her usual cracking start and led from start to finish (as usual again !). Dave L came through the first lap in 2nd place followed by Dave C and Curtis, all in Lasers. By the end of the second lap Curtis had managed to nudge past Dave C and held on to this 3rd place behind Karen and Dave L to the finish.
Behind this leading group of Lasers there was a tussle between Mike A in his Lightning and Chris A and Julian in Solos, with Julian coming through to win this particular battle.
Bob in granddaughter Charlotte’s Laser and Monica in the pink machine disappeared after one lap, but did turn up for supper later. Nick Jones in the Radial went on Lap 3 and Peter R in the Enterprise was unfortunate as he thought the race was being finished at the end of Lap 3 and pulled off only to find everyone else was carrying on ! In fact the wind got quite frisky during the last two laps and quite a number would have opted for three laps instead of four, especially when the weed lifted your rudder !
Lower down the fleet there was a motley crew battling away with Hugh–Byte, Sally & Stuart – Leader, Mike T-Laser and Paul H-Supernova changing places; with the Leader leading this squadron at the finish.
The finishing places on the water were 1st Karen, 2nd Dave L, 3rd Curtis, but on handicap Julian squeezed in between Karen and Dave L.
It was interesting to see how close on handicap the following boats were – with 4th place Curtis followed by Chris A + 8 sec, David C + 9 sec and Mike A + 13 sec, so only 13 sec between 4th and 7th in a race just over the hour !

Work Party 5th July


 

1)       Cutting Nettles between boat Rows Q to U

 

2)      Access Road – Cutting back vegetation & branches

 

3)      Installing Poles to mark boat rows ( James & Steve )

 

4)     Installing the two new Safety Lifebuoy’s on the Red Posts

 

5)    Fixing Galv. mooring rings along the jetty  ( Battery Screwdriver Required )

 

6)    Cleaning Slipways 

 

7)     Sorting out equipment at top of stairs above Galley area

 

8)     Cleaning Club house & Windows

 

 

 

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