Author: David Houghton

Another overcast day with a very light chilly northerly wind. The flags along the cliff were flying so things were looking good after last week’s sailing was scuppered by storm Amy. Nine teams lined the prom with crews looking forward to a final day on the sea before the annual migration for winter to other inland waters.

However…….. just before launch time the wind dropped and discussion began as to whether we would make the tide. Steve, keen to try a Vareo offered to take Richard’s rigged and ready vessel out to test the conditions. With everyone looking on Steve did a fine job downwind (and downtide) setting the spinnaker like a pro. The test was to come as he dropped to kite and headed upwind and up tide. Whilst progress was slow it was sufficient to inspire others to launch, although some decided to offer encouragement from the shore and drink coffee.

Steve, clearly impressed by the performance of the Vareo!

Given the conditions the race team wisely kept the course small. Racing was close in race one with two seconds separating the first three boats after lap one with Solution Richard just ahead of Phantom Phil and Solution Paul. Steve was still helming the Vareo and a little way behind. Lap two saw Richard pull away from the others and Steve finding some speed closing up on Phil and Paul. On the final lap Paul closed the gap on Richard finishing just eleven seconds behind.

Race two, Phil led from start to finish with Richard leading the battle of the Solutions after lap one. On lap two Paul found the quick route up the beat overtaking Richard and eventually finishing over forty seconds ahead.

Racing underway

So after two races it was one race win and a second for both Richard and Paul.

Race three saw Phil ‘flying’ up the beat to lead lap one by nearly a minute and a half from the Vareo, now reunited with its owner. Forty seconds behind Richard held a good lead on Paul. At this point in the race the Phantom was first on handicap with the Vareo second.  Both the Solutions had a good second lap, overtaking the Vareo but not the Phantom. Down the final run Paul gradually caught Richard and the two were just a few metres apart as they crossed the line, with Richard managing to hold on to win.

Paul and Richard, a day of close racing

So congratulations to Richard for winning the End of Season trophy and to Paul who kept the top position in the Autumn series with Richard leaping up to second place.

Thanks to Phil and Roger, the race team for enduring a chilly day on the RIB. Back ashore several stayed for the last dinner on the prom for this year, prepared and served by Chef Brown.

Full results on the club website http:http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2025/2025Autumn.htm

More pictures of the ‘action’ on the club Flickr site

GYGSC’s albums | Flickr

It was a rather overcast day but the wind was behaving and the nine teams were rewarded with three good races. The fleet was split with four asymmetics and five singlehanders made up from seven different classes.

Some just a bit too keen at the start of race 1

A hotly contested line in race one saw a rare Individual recall with Team Custard being the culprits. Team Ed in the Spitfire soon distanced themselves from the fleet eventually lapping the entire fleet.  Phil & Roger in the club 400 led the rest of the fleet, just ahead of Adam in the 700. The 700 took the lead after lap two and Team Custard recovered from their misdemeanour at the start, creeping through to the lead on lap three and staying there to the finish. George sailing the Aero led the singlehanders throughout the race chased all the way by Paul in his Solution.

The ‘sail of shame’ for Team Custard as they return to the line

Race two and another solo race for the Spitfire out in front. The 700 led the chasing pack for the first three laps. The two 400’s were enjoying a close tussle until lap two when the wing-wang broke on the club 400 allowing Team Custard to pull away downwind. The 700 suffered a capsize on lap four allowing the others to catch up.  Contender Phil led the singlehanders after lap one. On lap two the Aero had caught up and took the lead on lap three. On the final lap the Contender led across the line by just eleven seconds.

Team ‘Ed’ attempting to lap the entire fleet

With a few deciding to return to shore race three saw a reduced fleet. Team Custard led for the entire race. After lap one just 12 seconds separated the Contender, the Aero and Solutions.  On lap two, having inspected the bottom of his hull Solution Richard decided to head for shore. The Aero led over the line followed by the Contender.

George leads the singlehanders.

On corrected time Team Ed had opened up such a gap they managed to save their time to win race one. Aero George finishing second. George then won the next two races with Team Custard second in race two and Solution Paul second in race three.

Back ashore Chef Brown had ‘prep’ed’ the meaty pies. Diners enjoyed probably the last alfresco dining opportunity of the year.

Full results on the club website http:http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2025/2025Autumn.htm

A local watching the sailing

It’s fair to say that there was some concern regarding the forecast midweek as all forecasting sites were predicting strong winds and big seas from midday Sunday. Thankfully the forecast on Saturday suggested the winds would be arriving a bit later so a punctual start would be the order of the day.

Lovely start to the day

Given it’s mid September we could not have asked for a better start to the day, sunny, F1-2 from the SSW and a flat sea, although a bit cooler than last week. It was a rather usual day in as much as nine boats made ready to sail, each representing a different class.  

With everyone focussed on starting promptly we were soon on the water and racing. HW was at 14.30 so the tide would be flooding all race time making for ‘shorter’ beats and ‘longer’ off wind legs, a nice day for the three asymmetric classes sailing.

Heading to the windward mark

The Spitfire and RS700 managed four laps in race one with all the others finishing after three. Vareo Richard had kept Phantom Nick in his sights all race and were some way in front of the main pack. However, Minisail Carl was lurking near the front of that pack, taking the race win by just eight seconds.

Race two, the wind had increased to a F2-3 and shifted to the SW, requiring a quick shift of the windward mark by the Safety team. The Spitfire and RS700 again distanced themselves from the rest of the fleet and again completing an extra lap. Carl kept in the mix to win the race. The next places were close with Europe Steve getting second.

And back to the leeward gate

For the final race it was overcast, the wind had picked up and the sea state a little more ‘wavy’. Carl again proved an old wooden boat can still cut it and made it a clean sweep. Again it was close for the next places with less than thirty seconds separating the next five boats with Steve just grabbing another second place.

Team ‘Ed’ flying downwind

Despite the temperature gauge on the starting clock showing 20.3 degrees it felt much cooler, so most were grateful for a hot meal from Chef Brown’s meaty pie selection. Luckily the so called strong winds didn’t materialise until we had finished packing up and heading home.

Full results on the club website http:http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2025/2025Autumn.htm

More photos on the club Flickr site

GYGSC’s albums | Flickr

Congratulations to Carl for a clean sweep.

A mainly sunny day starting with a F3 from the SW. However, with the forecast suggesting the wind would increase throughout the day the race team were prompt to launch to lay the course and get racing underway. A couple of boats opted not to venture out instead opting for coffee on the prom followed by an ice cream!

With wind against tide the sea state was already lively as race one got underway.  Phantom Nick led the fleet throughout the race, hotly pursued by Solution Paul. Richard led the chasing Lasers with Phoebe just ahead of Michael for the first two laps but Michael sneaking pass on the last lap. On corrected time it was extremely close with just four seconds separating the top three, Paul taking the win two seconds ahead of Nick who was two seconds ahead of Richard.

By the time race two got underway the wind had increased along with the sea state. There were several thrills and spills during the race with one boat enjoying more than their fair share of spills! Nick led the fleet again but closely followed by both Paul and Richard. Michael was a little way back with Phoebe next. After lap one Paul led with Richard one second behind on corrected time.  After two laps on water positions remained unchanged but Richard had closed the gap a little and was now leading on corrected time by thirteen seconds. On the final lap Nick led across the line followed by Paul with Richard dropping back a little. On corrected time Paul managed a clean sweep with Nick nearly a minute behind in second.

By the time the boats returned to shore the sea state had become quite challenging so the sight of the ‘shore team’ ready to assist was most welcome.

Full results on the club website http:http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2025/2025Autumn.htm

As if to remind us of the fact it was the first outing of the Autumn series it was overcast and noticeably cooler than previous weeks, we even had a little rainfall, (but thankfully that didn’t last too long) after all it was a Bank Holiday weekend.

Getting ready for racing

Ten boats made ready to sail with a good proportion of two person boats for a change. HW was forecast just before 11.00 so there was a hint of flood tide still present. The race team set a good size windward leeward course with the F2 wind coming from the SW. During the week the sea had carved and interesting feature in the beach in the form of a 25cm step from the beach to the shoreline.

R2-slowly approaching the windward mark

Race 1 – the first beat saw the fleet split between left and right side of the course, neither side appeared to hold any great advantage, the key was to stay on the right side of the shifty winds near the shore. The Spitfire of Ed and guest crew Alice, and Dave & John in their 400 opened up a small lead after lap one with Solution Richard and Phil & Lorna (400) heading the rest of the fleet.

After three laps Dave & John had opened up a good lead and took line honours, followed by Phil & Lorna.

R2- light, fluky conditions as the wind trying to decide which direction its going

Race 2- By this time the sky had cleared. The tide had just begun to turn. The wind was still a SW F2. As the fleet approached the windward mark the wind became fluky with patches of little wind. The combination of the fickle winds and tide ebb tide, which was now beginning to kick in, made the final 200m to the windward mark tricky. Dave & John rounded first just before the wind dropped further and in doing so opened up a good lead a fleet. Solution Richard mastered the conditions well to round second. Eventually a F3-4 from the SSE kicked in providing a reach to the leeward gate and planing conditions for most of the fleet.

Our ‘OOD-pro’ for the day, the honourable Mr Fryer

On corrected time Harry, sailing his ILCA6 had kept close enough to the leaders to win race 1, with Solution Richard second.

Race 2 honours went to Dave & John, with Solution Richard second again.

Thanks to the race team of Richard, Michael & Ed for a day of varying conditions. And to Chef Brown for preparing lunch for us once again

Full results on the club website http:http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2025/2025Autumn.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/

This weeks podium finishes, Dave&John, Harry and Richard

It was a very warm sunny evening for the penultimate outing of the Thursday Evening series. Eight boats ventured out, all singlehanders….where are all the two person boats!

The offshore wind had been around F3 but had eased to a F2 by the time racing got underway and continued to fade!  LW was forecasted for 19.33, the ebb tide was still noticeable, especially offshore at the start line as racing started.

Phil leads the fleet

Race 1 – The fleet split up the beat. As the leaders rounded the windward mark the left hand side appeared to have been the quickest with Phantom Phil and Laser Dave opening up a small lead. On lap two Phantom Phil opened up a good lead with Solution Richard now second having aced the windward leg. Behind there was a close battle between Contender Phil, Laser Chris and Laser Phoebe. On the final lap Phil took the line honours with Dave crossing one second ahead of Richard.

Could have done with a tad more wind!

Race 2 – Less tide but now less wind. The combination of light winds and ’sloppy’ sea conditions were making for an uncomfortable downwind leg with one helm feeling a little seasick and heading back to shore early. However, Solution Richard was excelling in the conditions opening up a good lead after lap one, followed by Laser Dave and Europe Steve. By now Phoebe was probably questioning her decision to opt for the Laser Radial rig rather than a Full rig ! Richard took line honours followed by Steve.

Richard and Steve battle it out

As we headed back to shore the light was fading . There were still plenty of people milling around the prom, eating and drinking at the hotel next door, the temperature still well above 20 degrees.

On corrected time the spoils of the evening were shared with Richard and Steve taking a first and second each.

Heading back to shore after a pleasant, if leisurely evening on the water

Once ashore we gathered in the clubhouse to enjoy some of Chef Brown’s tasty dishes and a drink.

Next week is the last of the official Thursday evening series, it looks like a two horse race between Richard and Steve. Will we manage two races before poor light stops racing?

Full results on the club website http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2025/2025Thursday.htm

More pictures on the club Flick site

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/