Author: David Houghton

Sadly it was the final outing of the year with the End of Season trophy up for grabs. It was a chilly start to the day with temperature barely in double figures but thankfully it got warmer as the day progressed and the sun was out. The shifty off shore wind had eased after yesterdays strong winds although there were still some occasionally strong gusts.  Thirteen boats made ready with the Vareos well presented with four boats. After some team work, all bar one boat headed to the race area. HW was scheduled for 10.10 so all racing would be in the ebb tide.

Racing gets underway

Race one – Phantom Nick and R300 Ian led the fleet with these two having a close battle throughout the four laps,  Nick leading for the first three but Ian managing to overtake on the final lap to take line honours. Behind, the Vareos of Richard and Abbi led the rest of the fleet with Richard ahead for the first three laps but Abbi putting in a stellar final lap crossing the line first.

Heading to the windward mark

Race two – Phantom Nick worked the shifty conditions well to lead after lap one, closely followed by RS300 Ian, Vareo Abbi and Richard & Lily who had joined the racing after a delayed launch. Vareo Richard led the rest of the fleet who all rounded the gate within a minute of each other.  After four laps Nick held onto his lead taking line honours by nine seconds from Ian followed by Richard & Lily. Abbi led the Vareos with Keith next, followed by Adrian and Richard.  Carl, detecting a drop in performance in the Minisail headed for shore after the race where he discovered quite a lot of water in the hull.

The 400 pursued by the 300 and Phantom

Race three –with a few retirements the fleet was down to eight starters.  Richard & Lily found their mojo, opening up a twenty second lead on lap one followed by Abbi, with Ian and Nick a further twenty seconds behind.  With the Vareo fleet still out in full force Richard lead the others followed by Keith and Adrian with Contender Darrell four seconds behind. On the penultimate lap Richard & Lily still led the fleet with Ian now hot on their heels and Nick a further thirty seconds back followed by Abbi.  Keith now led the charge of the remaining Vareos, clear ahead of Richard with Adrian just seven seconds behind. On the final lap positions got compressed with Richard & Lily just holding on to their lead crossing the line seven seconds ahead of Ian with Nick eleven seconds later.  Abbi was clear ahead of the next Vareo followed by Keith, Richard and Adrian.

The Vareo fleet enjoying some close racing

Once the results were calculated there was a clear winner with Abbi winning all three races and with it the End of Season trophy. Phantom Nick scored two seconds for the runner up spot with Carl, despite carrying some extra and unwanted ‘ballast’ managed a third in both race one and two to come third overall.

Thanks to the race team who endured a nippy start to the day sitting in the ribs.

With the increase in the temperature we were able to enjoy our final alfresco dining soaking up the sun outside the clubhouse.   Chef Brown serving his final Sunday delights before he takes early retirement! , this week Lasagne followed by Apple crumble and custard courtesy of Lorna.

Full results http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026EOS.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

Todays top gun – Abbi

A warm sunny day with a building wind. 

In contrast to the previous week the forecast didn’t look too exciting with light winds forecast.  With just enough wind to sail, boats were rigged and the race team set what looked to be an ambitiously large course given the current wind strength (they must have a hot line to the weather god).  Start time coincided with LW and with the wind varying in both strength, F1-2 (and occasionally less!)  and direction, SSW, (give or take 20 degrees) race one got underway.

Nice hat Tom

Richard & Lily (RS400) headed the fleet staying to the right of the course and looked well placed to round the windward mark first.  However, 150m from the mark the wind become patchy and shifty eventually filling in from the left which favoured Dave & John (RS400) who rounded the windward mark clear ahead, followed by Ed, sailing the Spitfire solo, and Solution Paul.  After two laps Ed had taken the lead followed by the two 400’s.  Behind Solution Paul and Contender Phil rounded the leeward gate together with Phantom Phil just behind. By this time the wind had settled to a relatively steady F2 which suited Ed as he managed to lap most of the fleet with the exception of the two 400’s. Contender Phil led the single handers to the finish line, followed by Paul and Phantom Phil with Steve & Izzy, sailing the N12, managing to slip past Laser Michael on the last lap.

Ed speeds ahead of the fleet

Race two, the wind now more settled F2-3 from the SSE, a quick course adjustment was made before the start and by now with a hint of flood tide. Ed raced ahead followed by the two 400’s with Richard & Lily just ahead. After lap one it was tight mid fleet with Contender Phil one second ahead of Steve & Izzy, closely followed by Phantom Phil and Solution Paul. After lap two Ed had opened up a good lead on the 400’s, this time with Dave & John just ahead.

The two RS400 battling it out

Race three, the wind had picked up further and now a solid F3-4, and the sea had become noticeably lumpier.  Following some eager starts from some of the fleet in race two the Race team decided the fleet needed some line discipline leading to a rare for Gorleston, General Recall. The fleet got the message and a clean start made on the second attempt. The beats were aided by the flood tide which was helpful as the increase in sea state made for a bumpy and wet beat. The asymmetrics enjoyed some long reaches into the tide with some excellent surfing on port, reaching inshore. The Spitfire and 400’s spent most of the race in close proximity of each other and after thirty five minutes the Spitfire crossed the line two seconds ahead of Dave & John with Richard & Lily three seconds behind. Solution Paul led the others finishing just ahead of Steve & Izzy.

On corrected time Solution Paul was a clear winner of the day’s top gun award winning all three races, beating Dave & John by one second in race one. In race two Steve & Izzy were just twelve seconds behind but scored another second in the final race.

Once ashore Chef Lorna did a great job standing in for Chef Brown who was out of action with a swollen knee.

This was the final outing of the Autumn series with Phantom Nick overall winner and Paul pulling himself up to second following today’s performance. Next week sees the conclusion of this year’s racing with the End of Season trophy.

Full results http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Autumn.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

Todays top gun – Paul

A windy and ‘wavy’ day.  

With multiple forecasts suggesting gusts over 20 mph and the sea looking a little lumpy there was a quick assessment of overall conditions. With the surf looking manageable the decision to go was made. Out the ten teams who were preparing to venture out, one decided to watch the others!

As the Race team and boats made their way onto the water it was clear it was going to be a full-on day.

As the racing started there was little tide, a strong SE wind and the sea state ‘lively’.

Richard & Rosie sailing the only 400 on the water nailed the start crossing the line on starboard closely followed by Vareo Richard.

After lap one Team Ed in the Spitfire led with Richard & Rosie close on their heels. Phantom Nick led the charge of the singlehanders with Solution Ian half a minute behind.

On lap two Team Ed stretched their lead, still followed by the 400 with the Phantom over a minute behind.  A little further back were two Solutions, with Ian rounding the leeward gate immediately in front of Paul and Steve & Izzy one second behind in their N12.

On the third lap the leading three opened a gap on the rest of the fleet and were rewarded an extra lap. Team Ed crossed the line first over four and a half minutes ahead of Richard and Rosie with Nick less than two minutes behind. Ian had opened up a small lead on the others with Steve & Izzy just ahead of Paul.

The wind and waves provided some great off wind sailing with Richard & Rosie recording 15.3 knots on one leg, almost taking the overall top speed award current held by Team Ed at 15.6 knots, but enough for best PY corrected top speed, knocking Vareo Richard off top spot by over one knot.  

During the racing we were joined by a kite surfing who spent a little time buzzing across the course.  They looked fast and probably could have taken the top speed award !

With the tide turning and the sea getting noticeably bigger, it was decided to head for shore.

On corrected time it was another single hander lock out for the podium positions, with Solution Ian taken first by half a minute. Things were much closer between the next four boats with  Nick just ahead off Paul, who was just three seconds ahead of Steve & Izzy, who were twelve seconds ahead of Richard & Rosie

Big thanks go to the race team of Lorna, Phil and Darell, who endured a day bouncing around in the ribs.

Once ashore Chef Chef served up some hot pies which were well received after a challenging day on the water.

Full results http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Autumn.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

Todays top gun – Ian

A day of sunshine,  big gusts and occasionally light winds.

With multiple forecasts suggesting gusts around 25 knots only the very keen made the trip to Gorleston. Despite a few days of strong winds sea conditions were surprisingly flat, the sun was shining and the temperature still close to 20 degrees.

After a short discussion five boats took to the water comprising of five different classes. There were a few capsizes on the way out to the start…..with a few more to come!

Racing started just prior to low water and barely any ebb tide. Ian, opting to sail his RS300 rather than his Solution (a brave choice given the conditions!)  seemed to have tamed the notoriously twitchy RS300 and led Phantom Nick at the windward mark and all the way to the first gybe which didn’t quite go to plan. Nick took over the lead followed by Solution Paul.  Behind Vareo Richard and Ed, sailing a club laser were tussling for the next two places until the top mast section of the laser snapped ending Ed’s day on the water.

Once round the windward mark Richard bravely opted to hoist his spinnaker and depending on conditions normally opted to gybe but a few times opted for a more cautious approach and to wear round.  At one point in the race over half the fleet were capsized so the Safety team were keep busy. After three laps Nick, who by now was the only one not to have capsized, crossed the line over three minutes ahead of Paul followed by Richard.

Only three boats decided to stay out for the second and final race.  The tide by this time was now slack. Phantom Nick led from start to finish, hotly pursued by Solution Paul and Vareo Richard. Nick looked comfortable in the conditions having had some extra practise during the recent Phantom Nationals and crossed the line over three minutes ahead of Paul.

On corrected time Nick had a clean sweep scoring two bullets with Paul scoring two seconds and Richard third in both races.

Full results http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Autumn.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

Todays top gun – Nick

A day of varying skies and wind. For much of the day we enjoyed sunshine occasionally interrupted by clouds of varying shades of grey.

The earlier rain seemed to have deterred most beach lovers as we were virtually the only ones there as we rigged and launched the boats.

Windward mark

Race one, with HW at around 12.30 there was still a noticeable flood tide running. The race team set a good sized windward leeward .The wind offshore was relatively stable. However, halfway up the beat the wind became variable in both strength and direction. After lap one Team Ed led the way in the Spitfire pursued by Dave & John in their RS400 and Phil in his Zenith. Team Ed almost managed to lap the last boat in the fleet. Nick, sailing his shiny new Phantom recovered from an average first lap finishing just behind Dave & John, with the rest of the fleet close behind.

Downwind, a closely packed fleet

Race two, still some flood tide present….but not a lot. The wind was a little less stable particularly inshore.  Team Ed led again this time managing to lap some boats. Behind, three boats were having a close battle with Dave & John just ahead of Nick who was just ahead of Ian, this week sailing his RS300 rather than the his Solution. On the third lap Nick worked the shifts well to lead the others holding on to the finish. Solution Richard and Zenith Phil had a good tussle in the final two laps with Richard just finishing ahead. By now Vareo Richard was probably questioning his decision to use his Storm sail rather than a full rig as much of the time he was under powered.

Downwind, spreading out

Race three and virtually no tide.  Dave & John worked the first beat well leading by over two minutes after lap one. Nick led the rest with Ian close behind. These positions remained to the finished.

The corrected times proved how tricky it was with each race having a different winner. Solution Richard winning race one with Zenith Phil in second.  Nick triumphed in race two with Richard in second. In the final race Dave & John took the win with Richard again in second place.

Many thanks to the race team for a mentally testing days sailing. Shout out to Clive and Darell for standing in at the last minute.

Ian proving too quick for the camera crew !

Some remained on the beach as they took friends and family out for a trip in one of the RIB’s. But once ashore the pizza ovens were fired up and almost thirty pizzas were cooked and enjoyed, even the weather held staying sunny for the entire time. Many thanks to Richard and Ed for all the work they did preparing the dough balls, sauce and toppings and to all who helped prepping the pizza bases and cooking the pizzas.

Full results http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Autumn.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

Todays race winners

After several thunderstorms and downpours throughout the day the weather settled in the evening allowing us to enjoy two races in a pleasant F2-3 North Westerly wind for the final official Thursday evening.

Thanks to Steve and Izzy for volunteering to run the racing and missing out on what was probably ideal conditions for the N12. With all the boats being singlehanders launching required a little bit of ‘management’ with Chris kindly opting to be last off the shore after helping several others launch.

With the night’s drawing in we were all conscious of getting started promptly and the race team did a great job managing to fit two races in.

The ebbing tide meant timing your run to the line needed to be cautious with Abby a tad early in the club Laser and having to go back.  Solution Dave led the fleet up the beat with Vareo Richard close behind. After lap one Dave led with Abby now up in second place followed by four boats rounding the gate within a few seconds of each other. At the finish line Dave crossed first just ahead of Abby and Richard third.

A special mention to Vareo Richard who kindly made a small detour, successfully recovering Daves cap which was knocked off after a iffy gbye at the leeward gate.

Race two, a tack offshore appeared to be the popular choice before heading inshore to the windward mark. After lap one Dave and Abby were neck and neck, followed by Richard, Laser Chris and Vareo Adrian.  After three laps Dave crossed the line just ahead of Abby, with Richard a little further back crossing third just ahead of Chris. Michael, sailing a Radial and probably underpowered most of the evening had a good last  lap making some ground on the others finishing thirty seconds later.

On corrected time Solution Dave secured two wins. Laser Abby took second in race one with Vareo Richard third.  In race two, Radial Michael took second place beating Abby by just three seconds.

After thirty races and with eighteen entries,  Dave took overall honours with Steve & Izzy second in their N12 and Solution Richard in third.

Prize for sailing the most number of different boats in the series goes to Abby who sailed a RS700, RS400, Streaker and Club Laser. That keeps the club results keeper on his toes remembering which PY to use !!

After racing there was talk to having a Thursday Finale next week if the weather looks good, so keep the evening free just in case !

Full results on the club site

http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Thursday.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

That’s all folks

Nine boats launched comprising of two Zeniths, two Phantoms, two ILCA7’S and one ILCA6, N12 and a Solution.

For a change the tide was assisting the beat which proved helpful as the wind eased a tad midway through the evening.  At the start of the first race there was a pleasant F2 from the north.  Dave, sailing an ILCA7 rounded the windward mark just ahead of the rest of the fleet. By the time everyone was heading downwind the tide had squeezed the fleet up,  slowing the leading bunch. There were many close battles between the two Zeniths and two Phantoms with Phil eventually winning the battle of the Zeniths and Clive winning the Phantom tussle.  After three laps Dave crossed the line ahead of Zenith Phil and Solution Richard.

Race 1 upwind

By the time race two got underway the wind had eased a little. In-between races, Steve and Izzy were busy pulling a few strings in the N12 which transformed their upwind speed and pointing ability and enabled them to lead at the windward mark. Although pressed hard by Zenith Phil the N12 was first to cross the line, just one second ahead with Dave another thirty seconds behind. Against the forecast the wind had increased a bit as we finished to a good F2.

Race 1 -downwind leg

With the overcast sky the light was beginning to fade so the thought of a third race was dismissed and we headed for shore.

On corrected time Dave had a comfortable win in the first race. Solution Richard was second with Steve & Izzy third in the N12.  

In race two the N12 took first with Solution Richard beating Laser Dave by one second.

Heading for shore   

Thanks to Abby for stepping in as OOD for the evening AND THE Chef Brown for feeding most of us once again.

Full results on the club site

http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Thursday.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767

It was a warm but overcast evening for the eight crews in seven different boat classes. Once again all single handers with only the Phantoms managing to produce more than one boat.

Although the forecast suggested the wind would slowly turn to the North it held steady from the East most of the evening, eventually ending with a ENE by the end of sailing.

With the Commodore being keen to get back on the water and encouraging everyone to get ready we managed to start racing over ten minutes early! would that be a Gorleston first?

Race 1 start

There was very little tide at the start of racing. Abby, opting to sail her Streaker and fresh from returning from Travemunde woche worked the beat well to round the windward mark first, closely followed by Solution Richard and Zenith Phil. These three led at the gate with the next four boats rounding within 10 seconds of each other.  Abby held onto her lead at the finish with Zenith Phil slipping ahead of Richard on the second lap.

Race 1 -downwind leg

Race two and the flood tide now noticeable. After lap one Richard and Phil rounded the pin end of the gate together with Abby opting to round the committee boat end two seconds later. A few seconds behind, the two Phantoms were having a match race with Clive just ahead of Phil. On lap two Zenith Phil managed to open up a clear gap on the next two boats with Richard just ahead of Abby. The Phantom battle continued with Phil leading Clive by three seconds at the gate. At the finish Zenith Phil had increased his lead. Solution Richard crossed the line second with Abby third and Phantom Phil holding onto his lead over Clive.

Race 2 start    

With some large grey clouds forming the light was fading but most were up for a third race, be it a one lapper sprint race. Quick off the blocks at the pin end of the line were Richard an Abby. Laser Ed almost got the perfect start but was about a second too early. Vareo Richard opted for the committee boat end and was looking good half way up the beat. Richard led Abby by 15 seconds over the line with Adrian enjoying a good off wind leg in the D-One finishing third.

Race 3 Start

On corrected time it was the Streaker and Solution taking the top two podium places in all three races.  Abby had a good lead on Richard in race one, with Zenith Phil edging out Vareo Richard for third spot.

It was very close in race two with Abby just two seconds ahead of Richard. Zenith Phil recorded another third, this time ahead of Ed in the ILCA6.

Richard got his revenge in the final race finishing ten seconds ahead of Abby with Vareo Richard in third ahead of Adrian in the D-One.

Thanks to the race team for an enjoyable evening sailing and to Chef Brown for serving up another ‘Chef special’ at the end of the evening.

Whilst we escaped the rain during the racing on the way home there was a lot of it !  With those travelling back to Norwich experiencing a torrential downpour near Blofield.

Full results on the club site

http://www.gygsc.org.uk/Results/2026/2026Thursday.htm

More pictures on the club Flickr site – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gygsc/albums/with/72177720333188767