Author: David Houghton

There was a light NW’erly wind and smooth sea conditions for the eleven boats which took to the water for the final outing of the season. However, as the fleet approached the windward mark the wind decreased. Phil led the fleet round the mark in his RS700 followed by Nick in his Phantom. Richard Fryer sailed his RS300 into the lead by the leeward gate just ahead of Nick, with Steve in his Europe leading the rest of the fleet.

Thankfully the wind began to pick during lap two. Richard and Nick opened up a two minute lead on the fleet with Richard crossing the line five seconds ahead on Nick.  Steve managed to hold onto his third place on the water and had a comfortable win on corrected time with Nick second. There was some close racing between the Lasers and Solution with Richard Brown leading at the line and claiming joint third position with Richard Fryer.

By the start of race two conditions had improved, the wind had filled in again and it had brightened up somewhat.  Nick won the start just ahead of Richard Fryer. After the first lap Richard had edged ahead of Nick followed by Phil and Adrian in his D-One. The rest of the fleet were closely bunched with Steve just ahead rounding the leeward gate. After lap two the leading three boats had opened up a clear gap on the chasing pack where there was several place changes. Richard Foster enjoying a good lap and managing to slip ahead of Adrian.  

On lap three Richard Fryer managed to open up a clear lead on Nick and Phil. With these three well ahead of the others they were rewarded with an extra lap.  After the final lap there was only a few seconds between the ‘pack’ with Richard Foster crossing the line just four seconds ahead of Phil Allison who was testing the club Phantom. Four seconds behind was Steve followed by Richard Brown. On corrected time the RS300 had a good win, Nick second and Steve third.

With the wind shifting a tad to the North during the final stages of the previous race the race team shifted the course accordingly. The wind by now had improved to a force 3 providing lovely conditions for the final race. This suited Phil in his RS700 as he lead from start to finish, lapping in about seven minutes and lapping most of the fleet. Richard and Nick continued their battle for second with Richard Brown close behind them after the first lap. After the third lap Phil had almost caught up with the fleet and Richard had pulled clear ahead of Nick. In the ‘pack’ things were much closer with Richard Brown just ahead of Adrian closely followed by Phil Allison and Richard Foster. First across the line was the RS300, followed by Nick. Five minutes later Adrian led the pack followed by the RS700 (after an extra lap) with Phil Allison overtaking Richard.

On corrected time Richard Fryer had a good win, the ever consistent Nick claimed another second place and Steve had keep close enough to the pack to claim another third.

Another big thanks goes to ‘Team Commodore’ for ensuring yet another enjoyable days racing.

With two race wins Richard Fryer claims the End of Season Trophy with Steve and Nick equal on four points with Steve claiming second courtesy of a win in the first race

And with points added to the Autumn series in first place is Nick, Steve second with Mark Porter and Richard Foster equal on 17 points with Mark taking third thanks to two race wins compared to Richards one.

Full results here

It was good to get back on the water after missing a couple of weeks due to the strong winds. And with the forecast earlier in the week predicting 20+ mph winds it was nice to start the day with light winds and bright sunshine.

In race one the RS700’s led the fleet round the windward mark with Curtis ahead of Phil, a sure sign that Curtis was getting the feel of the boat. However, Phil managed to take the lead on the way back to the leeward gate. Nick, back in his Phantom headed the rest of the fleet.

Conditions were constantly changing during the race with the wind strength changing constantly and a mixture and sunshine and periods of rain. After three laps Phil and Nick had pulled clear ahead of the others and were rewarded with an additional lap!

On corrected time Nick had kept the Phantom close enough to Phil to take first, Phil second and David, sailing his Solution in third.

The RS700’s were again leading at the windward mark in race two but this time Phil was just ahead of Curtis followed by Nick and Tom & Will in their 505. On lap two Phil slipped clear ahead eventually crossing the line over a minute ahead of Nick. The wind was still changeable with several gusts to test everyone’s concentration. On the final lap Curtis and Dave caught a belter resulting in some synchronised capsizing. Pawal was flying at times in his Sprint and felt he must have broken his own speed record.

Once again many thanks to Phil and Lorna for running the days activities.

Next week will be the final sail of what has been a strange season for everyone. The forecast is looking good with a very manageable F3 from the south. The series is currently led by Mark and Richard in Lasers with a Solution, Contender, 505 and D-One just a few points behind so all to play for plus the EOS trophy.

Full results here

With the Beach Regatta being rescheduled to last week this was the first instalment of the Autumn series. However, with a full day of sunshine and the temperature reaching the mid-twenties it felt more like summer. Nine boats ventured out onto a smooth North Sea with a SW’erly F3.

Curtis, sailing his RS700 led the fleet from start to finish in race one. Close behind were the Contender and D-One of Phil and Steve who were separated by only a few seconds the whole race with Phil ahead at the finish line. Further back were the Lasers and Solution, Richard was the leading Laser with Mark in a club Laser second. These two were well ahead of the others at the finish with Richard claiming first on corrected time and Mark second.

In race two Steve led the fleet after the first lap just ahead of Curtis and Phil. Keith led the Lasers with Mark just 6 seconds behind. After lap two Phil had closed the gap on Steve with Curtis deciding to participate in some alternative water sports delaying his progress somewhat. Mark hooked up to a good lift approaching the windward mark to sneak in front of Keith to earn a win on corrected time by just 7 seconds over Phil with Steve just a few seconds behind in third.

One of the boats had decided to cruise rather than race. Enjoying the near perfect catamaran conditions Pawal, sailing his Sprint 15 decided to head down to Hopton. When the race team had lost sight of him they radioed to check his position only to hear him reply he had reached Gulliver and was now on his way back!

There was barely a trace of the ebb tide left by the start of the final race. The fleet were split on the beat up to the windward mark.  Mark and David (Solution) took the far right path which paid handsomely as they rounded the windward mark amongst the ‘fast three’. After the first lap Steve had pulled ahead with Mark holding on the second position. On the final lap Steve and Phil opened up a good lead with Steve crossing the line first. Phil looked destined to cross second but only a few metres from the line managed a death roll allowing Mark to cross second and David third. It was another good race the for ‘slow fleet’ with Mark first on corrected time, David second and Richard third.

Full results here

This year’s ‘impromptu’ Beach Regatta provided two days of excellent sailing for the fourteen boats that participated. With a good breeze on Saturday and a more leisurely wind on Sunday it provided a good range of conditions.

It was a beautiful start to the day on Saturday, bright sunshine and a F3-4 wind from the west providing some shifty, gusty and testing sailing.

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The conditions were obviously to Nick’s liking as sailing his D-One he shot away from the rest of the fleet in race one eventually crossing the line four minutes ahead of next boat, Curtis  & Tom in the club RS400, closely followed by Phil in his Contender.

The wind increased a tad for race two and with a now overcast sky it was notably colder.  Curtis & Tom were getting the hang of the RS400 and led after the first lap. Steve, sailing his D-One took the lead on lap two. However, with both Curtis & Tom and Steve suffering a capsize on the next run Nick was back in front crossing the line two minutes ahead of Phil in his Contender.

The wind eased a tad for the final race of the day. Just a few seconds separated Nick and Curtis & Tom after the first lap. Steve caught some good lifts on the second beat to join them after the second lap and then took the lead after the third to take line honours with Curtis & Tom second.

On corrected time it was a case of the hare and the tortoise with Dave, sailing his Laser Radial keeping close enough behind to snatch three wins with Nick claiming two seconds in race one and two and Steve second in race three.

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On Sunday the sun shone nearly all day and the warm westerly wind giving the impression that summer wasn’t over just yet. With an offshore F2-3 wind, the race team set a windward-leeward course with a spacer mark to off-set the flood tide.

In race one the asymmetric boats soon opened up a gap of the rest of the fleet. After the first lap the RS400 of Team Brown held a five second lead over Steve in his D-0ne. Phil H recovered well from a slow start to cross the line first in his RS700 just ahead of Team Brown. Behind the slower singlehanders were enjoying a close race with Richard leading the pack in his Laser. On corrected time it was a 1,2,3 for the ‘slow’ fleet with Dave just ahead of Steve (Europe) and Richard.

The wind eased a little for race two. Phil H opened up a huge lead after the first lap with the other asymmetrics all rounding the leeward gate with 15 seconds of each other. However, Team Brown kept the gap the same over the final two laps and keeping ahead of the other asymmetrics.  Behind there was a three way battle in the ‘slow’ fleet between Phil A (Contender), Steve (Europe) and Richard (Laser) with Steve emerging ahead after a strong final lap to take the win on corrected time from Team Brown who were just four seconds ahead on Richard.

With several light patches during race three it was a good test of everyone’s concentration.

The RS400 of Team Brown were looking good as they crossed the line just behind Phil H in his RS700. However the ever canny Steve in his Europe coped with the conditions expertly keeping ahead of many faster boats to take another win on corrected time. Team Brown had a well earned second and Richard showing great consistency getting his third third of the day.

Once the boats were back onshore the Paddle boarders held three short races with beach starts. Nick emerged supreme winning all three races. With everyone agreeing how well this worked the plan will be to hold some more events of a similar format.

Many thanks to the members of the race team who stepped in providing the two days of excellent racing and to Team Commodore for their contagious enthusiasm.

Full results here

It was very windy first thing on Sunday resulting in several posts on the GYGSC WhatsApp group asking whether we would be sailing or not.  Despite the strong winds over the past few days the sea was surprisingly flat, probably helped by the fact the wind had been predominately from the west. With the forecast predicting lighter winds ahead there was a slight delay to the start which proved to be a good move.

As the nine boats launched there was a F4 gusting 5 wind from the west and a flood tide.

The race team set a good sized windward leeward course with a relatively stable wind direction considering it was offshore.  Racing was close throughout the three races which saw three different winners.

Phil H, sailing his RS700 took an early lead in race one until he started the sequence of ‘Phil’ capsizes. A quick recovery ensured he remained in front but only just with Curtis and guest crew Tom, sailing the club RS400 leading the pack. On corrected time Dave claimed the win in his Laser, Curtis & Tom in second and Tom James, coping well in the club Phantom in third.

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Phil H made amends in race two lapping the entire fleet for an easy win. Phil & Lorna had a rare capsize resulting in Phil hitting his head on the rudder blade resulting in a bit of ‘blood’. Phil A, sailing his Contender had a great second beat as he went from fourth to second on the water with Dave just behind to finish second with Phil A third.

The wind began to ease for race three as forecasted. Phil H opened up a two minute lead after lap one but Phil A had another good second beat closing the gap. The two remaining Lasers of Kristof and Caroline were close after lap one but Kristof opened up a good gap on the second lap.  Phil A continued his good run to pip Phil H by a few seconds. Curtis and Tom continued their good run with third. On the reach to the shore Phil A hit a dead patch whilst out on the trapeze completing the Phil capsize sequence.

Many thanks to the race team for another good days sailing and for rescuing the Phil’s.

This was the conclusion of the Summer series. Despite the shortened season we managed to enjoy sixteen races with 25 entries.  With the win in race one today Dave managed to leapfrog Nick (Phantom) in the overall series with Nick holding on the second and Steve (Europe) third.

Full results here

There was a thin covering of sea mist along the coast and a gentle NE’erly wind for the fifth instalment of the Summer series. However, just before the dinghies were about to launch a bank of sea mist drifted inshore restricting visibility sufficiently to delay proceedings. After about twenty minutes the mist began to clear and shortly after boats launched and headed for the start area. The race team added a spacer mark up-tide of the windward mark to even up the windward and leeward legs and thus providing a short reach.

In race one Team Brown sailing the family RS400 rounded the windward mark shortly followed by Nick in his Phantom and Richard in his RS300.  These three gradually pulled ahead with Team Brown leading to the line with Richard second. Behind, Steve (Europe), David (Solution) and Dave (Laser) were enjoying some close racing with Steve redefining the angles of sailing by the lee to open up a small lead on the others on each downwind leg.

On corrected time Steve had a good lead with Dave just pipping Nick for second.

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The wind eased a tad for race two. Richard won the start and led round the windward mark, closely followed by Team Brown. Only a few seconds separated Steve, David and Dave after the first lap with the latter just ahead.  All change on lap two with Team Brown leading by a good margin and Steve now heading the ‘group of three’. Team Brown crossed the line clear ahead of Richard who was well ahead of Nick. On corrected time Richard was promoted to first with Team Brown second and a tie for third between Nick and Steve.

Richard led the fleet in the final race and held on until the last lap with Team Brown slipping through to cross the first (making it three out of three). Nick recovered well after a slow first lap closing the gap on Richard. Steve was never far behind winning by a good margin on corrected time with Richard just beating Nick for second.

Many thanks to Team Alison for a good course and a pleasant days racing. Next week is the final instalment of the Summer series. Only six points separate the first four boats with Nick leading.

Full results here

The Thursday Finale series kicked off with a warm F3 from the North and a rather overcast sky. Twelve boats made it to the beach although only eight joined in the racing. There was just a hint of ebb tide for race one.

Richard Fryer, sailing his RS300 hit the line just right and headed inshore. Several others decided to go offshore only to see Richard round the windward mark a long way ahead leading by well over a minute after the first round. Behind Team Brown in their RS400 were just ahead of Team Commodore (RS400) and Curtis in hIs RS700. Behind them, less than a minute separated the three Lasers with Richard Foster leading the pack. The RS300 crossed the line well ahead for a comfortable win on corrected time with Gordon, sailing a Laser Radial taking second from Richard. Phil Allison (Contender) made a great recovery after a poor first lap to finish second on the water to finish fourth.

Unusual for evening sailing the wind held up and was still a good F3 for the second race. Richard (RS300) led the fleet after the first lap although not far behind was Team Commodore and Gordon who had a great start and first beat. Team Brown suffered a timing issue thinking the start was the one minute and so did not enjoy a good start!  Mid race Richard had opened up a small lead with Team Commodore holding on to second with Phil, Curtis (RS700) and Gordon rounding the leeward gate together.  Richard crossed the line two minutes ahead. Team Brown had a ‘stonking’ final downwind leg crossing the line with Team Commodore. On corrected time Gordon beat Richard by over thirty seconds with Richard Foster recovering well to just edge out Dan at the line for third position.

As we headed for shore, the overcast skies, the slight chill in the wind and hint of a sea mist made for a distinctly autumnal feeling. And with the night drawing in we probably had sailed as long as we could. Big thanks to Des for volunteering to do Safety and Photography!

Full results here

Conditions did not look too promising on the approach to Gorleston for the fourth instalment of the Summer series as thick sea mist had descended along the shore restricting visibility. Happily by launch time the mist had thinned out enough to be able to see the course area and most importantly the marks. Twelve boats ventured out, eight different classes with five Lasers which have made a mini revival since the two-person boat guidelines were introduced.

The race team set a triangular course for the first race with the ‘wing’ mark offshore. The flood tide made for a challenging beat for the Lasers and Europe. Phil Highfield, sailing a RS700 made quick work of it as he sailed away from the fleet eventually lapping all bar Richard Fryer in his RS300 and winning on corrected time with Dave (Laser) second and Richard third.

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Race two reverted back to the more usual windward leeward format. Steve (Europe) hit the line just right to momentarily lead until the faster boats overtook. Phil (RS700) opened up a big lead again lapping most of the fleet for a comfortable win on corrected time. The Lasers, Europe and Solution were having a close battle with about one minute separating them after two laps. Richard Foster put in a quick final lap almost catching Dave at the line to earn a third place with Dave second.

For race three we were back to triangles but with visibility now a little worse the race team set the wing mark inshore. By this time the flood tide was now easing making for a quicker beat, particularly for the slower boats. Phil did his usual disappearing trick again lapping all bar Richard in his RS300 who managed to keep close enough to win on corrected time. The Lasers and Europe enjoyed another race long tussle with Steve and Dave both leading the group at some point with the latter just ahead at the finish to claim second with Steve third.

On returning to shore the surf had built up making a challenging and sometimes undignified return to the beach.

Thanks must go to the Gorleston Lifeguards for managing the bathers as we ‘landed’ ashore. And thanks to the race team for all their work rearranging the course to  provide another great days sailing.

Full results here

It was the last of the official Thursday evening sailing and the weather was perfect, a warm F3 from the south to start, easing to a F2 at the end of the evening.

The race team set a great line and course which provided some close racing for the nine boats.

At the start of race one there was the last of the ebb tide flowing tempting most of the fleet to head inshore on the beat. After the first lap four seconds separated the first three boats led by Richard in his RS300.  Close behind was Curtis in his RS700 and Phil and Lorna in their RS400. During the next lap Richard and Ed (Team Brown RS400) closed the gap on Phil and Lorna with the latter holding on to the line. Behind, Steve (Europe) and Dave (Laser) were enjoying a close race with Steve ahead at the windward mark and sailing like he had another party he needed to get to !  Richard finished well clear of the next boat but the ‘slower’ single handers were close enough behind to grab the podium places on corrected time with Steve first, Dave second and Dan, ‘guesting’ in the club Laser Radial third.

There was no visible tide at the start of race two. A few boats ventured further offshore on the beat but there did not appear any advantage although the sea was smoother inshore. Richard managed to pull clear on lap one followed by Team ‘Commodore’ and Dave, with Team Brown suffering a knotted spinny halyard delaying their drop somewhat. On the final lap both Richard and Dave opted to go offshore which appeared to pay off. It was another 1,2,3 for the ‘slow’ boats with Dave winning on corrected time closely followed by Steve and Dan

Many thanks to the race team of Richard and Max for an excellent evening. Although it was the last official Thursday Evening racing, boo!!, the unofficial Thursday Finale series starts next week, hooray!, weather and light conditions permitting!

Full results here

Sunday was the first instalment of the new Triad series. The proposed programme for this is to race around a triangular course rather than the usual windward leeward courses. However, with asymmetric boats making 50% of the fleet the race team decided to make the second race a windward leeward.

The forecast of sunny and warm conditions plus a F3 wind tempted a few more members out making for one of the largest fleets this year with 15 boats launching. There were 10 different classes ranging from a Europe to a RS700.

The offshore breeze proved challenging for both sailors and the race team with frequent gusts and shifts and on at least one occasion evidence a sea breeze trying to take over as the wind become light and fickle.

In race one Richard, sailing his RS300 was first to the windward mark followed by Dave in a D-One. The next leg proved to be a tight reach which proved too close for Dave who capsized shortly after hoisting his kite. Nick (D-One) demonstrated how it should be done and took the lead after the first lap. Close behind were father and son teams in RS400’s,  Simon & Bruce Beckett and Richard & Ed Brown followed by day guest Nick Crickmore, sailing a Phantom. These five gradually pulled away from the rest of the fleet with Nick putting in a great last lap to pull clear of the others and easily winning on corrected time with Nick C second and Richard third.

The course for race two was back to the more usual windward leeward format. The wind at times a little fickle testing everyone’s concentration. Richard and Dave rounded the windward just ahead with Richard just ahead after the first lap.

Dave pulled ahead on the second lap with Team Brown moving into second place. After a further two rounds Dave crossed the line just ahead of Team Brown with Team Beckett third. On corrected time Steve, sailing his Europe won the race by one second with Dave second and Team Brown third.

The wind had settled for race three. After lap one Team Beckett held a small lead over Nick. At the finish these two crossed the line together with Team Brown making up a lot of ground crossing the line just five seconds later. Steve, obviously conscious of a family engagement later in the day and needing to get back ashore put in a very fast last lap (first lap over 12 mins, last lap under 10 mins) to win on corrected time by over two minutes. It was very close between the next four boats separated by just 20 seconds, Nick in second and Team Beckett third.

Thanks to the race team for organising a great days sailing over a variety of courses and wind conditions….. and great weather.

Full results here