Author: David Houghton

Another chilly day on the water for the race team, although we did have some sunny periods and the wind was stronger than the light winds forecast making for a good days sailing, plus it kept dry!  Twelve boats ventured out with the predominant trend towards singlehanders continuing. The racing was close all day with a different winner in each race.

The wind did it’s now customary big shift as we started race one, shifting from the North to NE. This made for a rather one sided beat. Phil led the fleet to the windward mark in his RS700. However, as he approached the wind faded and shifted back  for a short while allowing Dave and John to nip pass in their RS400, closely followed by Richard Fryer in his RS300 and Nick in his Phantom. With the race team shortening the race it was a quick reach to the finish line. Eight seconds separated the top three with the order reversed on corrected time and Nick claiming top spot just ahead of Richard.

Once the race team moved the windward mark race two got underway.  Phil made big gains on the long beats into the tide and opened up a big lead, eventually lapping most of the fleet.  Keith (Laser) and David (Solution) had a race long tussle with Keith leading for the first two laps but David overtaking on the final lap but unable to open the gap enough to save his handicap. Phil claimed the win with Dave & John second

Richard & Ed (RS400) nailed the start in race three taking an early lead although Phil soon powered pass to sail another lonely race out front.  Behind a three way battle between two RS400’s and Curtis in his RS700. Dave & John eventually opening up a gap and Team Brown finishing just ahead of Curtis.  Behind them, Steve (D-One), Contender Phil, Richard and Nick were batting for position…. but Steve was only short distance behind in his Europe.  Contender Phil managed to cross the line ahead of the group but Steve earned the win on corrected time just pipping Phil.

Thanks to the race team for a great days sailing even if it was a bit chilly !

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Full results here

In contrast to last week the day started with dark grey skies and a chilly NE’erly F3-4 wind with temperatures in single figures.

The tide had just started to ebb for the first race. Phil, sailing his RS700 bravely started on port but timing is everything and he just crossed the fleet and soon opened up a good lead on the others and was awarded a bonus lap’. The fleet split up the first windward leg with neither side showing a clear advantage at this point. On lap two it started to drizzle, thankfully this was short lived. ‘El Commode’ in his Phantom led the RS400 of Team Brown for the first lap, this was reversed on the second lap and again on the final lap with the Phantom crossing the line first after a delayed spinnaker drop in the RS400!  On corrected time Steve, in his smart new Europe claimed honours by a few seconds from El Commode.

Just before the start of race two the wind eased and swung to the East resulting in a one side beat. Curtis, sailing the club Phantom, timed the start best to take an early lead.  With the wind stabilising from the East the race team shortened the race to one lap. With the tide now picking up the long run back to the finish favoured the spinnaker boats and Team Brown leading the fleet to claim both line honours and the win on corrected time, just beating Curtis.

The change of wind direction brought with it a change in conditions with the cloud clearing and the temperature noticeably warmer, although the wind had eased to a F2.  Once the race team have moved the windward mark race three got underway. With the tide now in full flow most of the fleet ventured offshore up the beat. After the first lap the Phil (RS700), Team Brown (RS400) and El Commode had opened up a good lead on the rest of the fleet.  Behind, the Europe, David in his Solution and Phil sailing his Contender had a race long battle with just a few seconds between them.  Team Brown were enjoying the conditions taking another win, beating the Phantom of El Commode..

By popular demand it was decided to have another race. David, sailing his Solution got his best start of the day crossing the line first and leading for a short while. However, the wind dropped just after the first lap resulting in long downwind legs against the tide. Steve managed to keep the Europe going and was never far behind and recorded a clear win on corrected time, with El Commode claiming another second.

Full results here

Blue skies and a F2 Northerly breeze welcomed us back to the club for the Start of Season races.

It was great to be back, the council had kindly flattened the beach although the sand near the water line was still quite soft.

The race team set a nice sized Windward –Leeward course with a beat into the tide.

Phil quickly adapted to the RS700 having been sailing the family Streaker during the winter and soon opened up a good lead on the rest of the fleet to win by over two minutes.

The RS400’s of Team Brown and Dave & John enjoyed a race long battle with just a few seconds between them and the lead changing on just about every leg.

Adrian, sailing the Club Solution managed to give the other Solution, sailed by David some competition for the first two laps but David managed to break free on the final lap.

The wind had picked up a tad for the second race with a hint of East in it. Phil did a similar job but this time managing to win by over three minutes on corrected time.

Team Brown and Phil & Lorna had a close race until the final lap when Team Brown opened up a small lead. Dave & John suffered a broken Tiller Extn UJ forcing them to retire.

In the singlehanders David led the Laser of Keith by a small margin after the first two laps after which David slowly pulled ahead.

Congratulations top Phil for an emphatic win of the SOS Trophy

Big thank you to the Race team for organising some great weather and racing

Full results here

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