Despite it being Act 4 of the Summer series we still await the arrival of summer!
However, there was a decent offshore wind and a relatively flat sea so sailing conditions were pretty good.
Thirteen boats joined in the fun. The single handers continue to prove more popular with just Phil & Lorna in their RS400 representing the two-man fleet. The RS Vareos mustered the largest fleet with four. The two RS700’s managed to synchronise their diaries with both turning up to sail.
With LW at 08.30 the flood tide had kicked in…just. With the wind across the tide, the race team opted to test a new course format, placing a ‘spacer’ mark a few hundred metres up tide, creating a triangular course and providing a reach for the non asymmetrics to enjoy.
What’s happened to summer
The offshore wind provided testing conditions with many shifts and gusts, ranging from F2-F4.
Race one – the left hand side of the course appeared to be the best route to the windward mark, with Phantom Nick just behind A-Class Ed after lap one with RS Vareo Dave in third.
The gusts seemed to time their appearance as boats approached the spacer mark making bearing off for the run tricky for some of the fleet. At the line the A-Class crossed first with Nick holding off the RS700’s of Curtis and Phil, who had both gone right on the right beat.
Racing starts
Race two – flood tide now in full flow. The gusts now were a good F4. Most kept left on the beat. The latter half of the beat proved very shifty with much to lose or gain. Ed led again with Nick once again demonstrating great upwind boat speed in second. These two opened up a good lead and were awarded an extra lap. RS700 Curtis led the rest until he opted to retire. Solution Paul then led the chase followed by Europe Steve. RS Vareo Richard was the only one brave enough to fly his spinnaker on all three downwind legs.
The testing conditions took their toll on both boats and bodies with four boats retiring, either with gear fatigue or body fatigue.
The RS700’s get into gear
On corrected time there were two different race winners, Nick winning race one with Steve second. Race two proved very close with just 17 seconds separating the first four boats, Minisail Carl winning and Nick second. Race wins are proving hard this series with only Carl managing to get more than one win in a single outing so far in the series.
It’s not often we have an Etchell in the fleet
During the racing the fleet were joined by 505 sailor Tom, on this occasion sailing his Etchell, who had sailed up from RNSYC on a day cruise with some friends, perhaps next time he will join in the racing!
Thanks to the race team of Robyn, Richard and Don. And also to guest AOOD Steve who volunteered to help. Trying something a little different proved very popular and provided a great but tiring days sailing.
A song by Crowded House summed up the weather on Sunday – ‘Four Seasons in one day’………. although the summer element was rather short lived.
There were thirteen boats on the water comprising of eight different classes, ranging from a Minisail to RS400’s
A Shifty and gusty wind from the SW provided some tricky conditions, particularly for the asymmetrics on the downwind legs. Race one started with the last of the flood tide. Race two ended with the start of the ebb flood.
Milling around before racing
The four two-man boats, 3 x RS400’s and visitors Mike & Harry, sailing a Hornet enjoyed three close races with each leading at some point during the day.
In race one, Team Custard led after lap one. However, the Hornet took the lead in the final lap to cross the line first. The Hornet took the lead in race two but Team Custard took the lead on lap two and crossed the line first. Fuelled with their success in race two, Team Custard led from start to finish in race three.
Racing starts
New member Mark, sailing a Phantom led the chasing pack of singlehanders and was never far behind the two-man boats. Carl (Minisail), Steve (Europe) and Ed (Laser Radial) had two close races with sometimes only thirty seconds separating them during the first two races.
On corrected time the Minisail proved that older class boats can still cut the mustard winning the first two races with Mike & Harry winning the final race.
The two-man boats split at the leeward gate
On return the shore there was a little surf action which provided some entertainment for some.
Once everyone was safely ashore there was a short lightning storm just south of Gorleston. As we pulled the boats round to the dinghy park the temperature dropped, the heavens opened and delivered a torrential hailstorm.
Big thanks to the race team for a great course and a great days sailing.
Once everyone had changed and dried out, Chef Brown and Team served a tasty cooked meal which proved very welcome by all.
Sunday was overcast and sometimes wet, although this did mean the beach was almost completely deserted. The F3 wind was initially from the West but by the time racing started it had shifted to the NW.
Race one – Low water, little tide at the start. Ed, sailing his A-Class cat soon took the lead eventually lapping half the fleet. The three RS400’s led the rest with Richard & Rosie leading at the line. The Vareos and Europe enjoyed some close racing with just four seconds between them at the line, Keith finishing just ahead of Steve and Rob.
Start 1
Race two- The ebb tide now noticeable. The A-class led the fleet. The RS400’s enjoyed two laps of close racing, on the final lap Richard & Rosie were forced to retire when the spinny halyard block on the mast parted company with the mast! After lap one Contender Phil had a short lead over Europe Steve and Vareo Keith. Phil powered his way up the second beat building up a good lead by the finish.
Race three – Ebb tide making for a long beat. Ed took an early lead and once again lapping most of the fleet. The two remaining RS400’s had a close first lap but on the second Dave & John extended their lead on Richard & Ed. Keith and Steve had a topsy turvy race, swapping positions every lap.
On corrected time there were three different race winners, Richard & Rosie winning race one, Steve race two and Dave & John the final race.
Race 2 start
Many thanks to the race team, Phil, Lorna and Darell for setting a great course.
It had been warm and sunny all day and on arrival at the club there was a F4 from the east. This eased to a F3 by the time we launched although there were still the occasional gusts. Eight boats were rigged and ready with the RS Vareos representing 50% of the fleet. The sea was flat and the ebb tide mid flow.
Racing gets underway
With the sun still shining and the temperature still above twenty it was probably the best conditions this year on a Thursday evening.
Streaker Adam led the fleet to the finish in race one although Contender Phil almost caught up after a slow first lap with Vareo Dave a little way behind. The three other Vareos, Richard, Keith & Rob were having a close tussle until Keith pulled ahead on the final lap.
Keith under full steam
Contender Phil led the fleet in race two with Adam and Dave neck and neck. Just behind was Phantom Phil who unfortunately retired on lap two when his mainsheet strop snapped. Contender Phil crossed the line with a two minute lead over Dave, who was just one second ahead on Adam.
After lap one the other three Vareos were separated by just one minute. On lap two Richard found some extra pace to lead by three minutes over the line.
A pleasant evening on the water
It was a good night for Adam winning both races on corrected time.
Many thanks to Ed for volunteering to be OOD for the evening.
For the 75th anniversary Beach Regatta we were joined by Phantoms and Vareos and with nearly thirty entries in total it ensured a busy time for the volunteers who were running the event, both onshore and off shore.
Several visitors opted to arrive early on Friday evening and once their boats were unpacked and rigged in the dinghy park they decided to enjoy a group Fish & Chip supper on the prom in front of the club.
Despite two locals unable to attend, eleven Vareos entered with just over half from local clubs and the furthest visitor travelling from Pevensey Bay SC. Sixteen boats completed in the Beach Regatta, with visitors from WOBYC, HBSC and Creeksea SC.
Saturday – what has been up to now a typical summers day
Despite the forecast suggesting otherwise, Saturday dawned overcast and a bit chilly. There was a good F3 from the SSE and the ebb tide had just kicked in as the boats launched. During the day the sea state became quite choppy providing a tough and tiring day for all.
Preparing for racing
Saturday
Race 1
With eleven entries, the Vareo fleet were given their own start. After the start Dave & Howard were first to tack inshore and had a good lead after lap one. James led the chasing pack with Luke hot on his tail. Luke’s upwind pace saw him overtake James and put him just behind Howard at the windward mark. Dave just hung onto his lead at the finish and Luke just pipped Howard across the line with James fourth.
Vareos approach the windward mark
The Beach Regatta fleet started immediately after the Vareos. Visitors and last year’s winners, Roger and Jamie, sailing their Osprey took an early lead which they extended throughout the race. Spoiler alert, this was to become a regular occurrence in subsequent races!
Nick (Phantom) led the rest of the fleet after lap one with Adam & Jordan (RS400) close behind. At the line the RS400 finished a minute ahead of two Phantoms with Nick holding off a chasing Ben. In the Solution battle Ian managed to keep ahead of Paul with these two finishing second and third on corrected time, seven minutes behind the Osprey!
Team Osprey catches up with the Vareo fleet
Race 2
Vareos – Luke led from start to finish, starting an impressive run of four race wins. Alan led the ‘rest’ after lap one with James next. After lap two Alan held a small lead over Nick who had sneaked pass James. On the final lap Nick managed to pass Alan and Chris jumping from seventh on lap one to fourth at the line.
Regatta – the Osprey had a lonely race a long way ahead of the fleet. Adam & Jordan headed the rest after lap one with Nick just ahead of Jamie, sailing a Contender. At the finish the RS400 had a lead of two and a half minutes over Nick with Warren, sailing a Phantom next.
Another win for the Osprey on corrected time, Nick second and the RS400 third.
Team Osprey in action
Race 3
Vareos – another win for Luke, Alan showed good upwind speed to lead the rest of the fleet after lap one, followed by James and Howard. On lap two James had moved up to second with Alan holding off Howard. On the final lap Howard moved up to third and Dave ‘stole’ fourth from Alan on the line after a good final downwind leg.
Racing on a summers day !
Regatta- Team Osprey was destined to another lonely race, quickly establishing a good lead. The RS400 led the pack with Nick close behind and Ben next, these positions remained unchanged to the finish. On corrected time the Ospreys lead had been reduced to three minutes, Nick in second and Paul the first Solution in third.
Preparing for another start
Once ashore everyone congregated around the clubhouse awaiting the delights of the ‘catering’ team who provided a splendid three course meal, despite the best efforts of the club electrics to hamper their cooking! Thankfully, by this time the clouds had almost cleared, providing much warmer conditions and around thirty visitors and members enjoyed an al fresco dinner and drinks.
Still a bit nippy but at least the sun was shining
Sunday
Another day and what a contrast, it felt like summer had eventually arrived. Cloudless skies, temperature in the high teens, a pleasant F2 from the East and a very flat sea. We launched just before HW so there was still a little flood tide running. Today was going to be one for keeping your eye on the tide at each mark.
Sunday – what a difference !
Race 4
Vareos – Luke started the day where he left off, leading from start to finish. Paul led the rest after lap one with Nick not far behind, Howard in fourth with Keith a short way behind. The lighter conditions saw many place changes on the final lap, Paul held second place at the finish with Howard moving up to third and James fourth.
Regatta – After lap one the Osprey was two minutes ahead. Steve, who was getting some practice in his D-One before their forthcoming Nationals was second with Ben and Adam & Jordan rounding the leeward gate neck and neck. At the finish the Ospreys lead had been reduced to less than one minute by the D-One, Ben led Adam & Jordan across the line with Richard, sailing his Solution crossing the line with Simon & Bruce, sailing a RS400. On corrected time it was a good race for the Solutions with Richard and Paul taking the top two places with the Osprey having to settle for third.
Getting ready to launch
Race 5
Vareos – By the start it was slack water with the ebb tide kicking in mid race. Luke did a horizon job, timing his tacks to the windward mark to perfection. James led the rest followed by Howard, Chris and Nick. On lap two nearly everyone struggled to round the windward mark without having to put in a few extra tacks as the wind dropped for a while, but despite this and with the exception of Howard overtaking James, places remained pretty much same to the finish.
Regatta – Team Osprey were back to their winning ways, although not far ahead of the RS400’s on lap one they extended their lead on lap two sufficiency to win on corrected time. Ben led the battle of the Phantoms, followed by Nick. After lap one Richard led Paul by a few seconds in the Solution battle, but on lap two opened up a small lead. On corrected time, second place went to Ben with Phil, sailing his classic Harrier claiming a respectable third place – not sure which is older, the boat or the helm!
Racing starts for the Vareo fleet
Race 6
Vareos – by this time the ebb tide was noticeable. The fleet were fairly split with some opting to go offshore where there seemed a little more wind, but with the risk of more tide. As it turned out the two leading boats, Howard and Dave both went offshore and rounded the windward mark with a short lead, with Luke next followed by James and Chris. On the final lap Howard ‘stormed’ up the beat opening up a huge lead and Dave managed to finally time a tack to the windward mark well (first time all weekend !) to have a comfortable lead over Luke. In fact the top five places remained the same. Paul and Richard both had better second beats pulling up two places.
Regatta – Team Osprey obviously content with their own company raced off to a seven minute lead at the finish. Ben led the pack holding a twenty to thirty second lead over Warren throughout the race. Less than a minute separated the three Solutions with Paul, having opened up a two and a half minute lead after lap one holding off a charging Richard by thirty seconds.
So Team Osprey won the final race on corrected time with the Phantoms of Ben and Warren claiming the other podium places.
The Regatta fleet are off !
By the time we returned to shore the temperature was probably in the twenties, making for a very pleasant end to the day. The catering team provided more food with many discussing what went right, but mainly wrong over a drink. A lovely end to the event, Costa Del Gorleston producing the good weather to end the day.
The Club Commodore presented the prizes to the fleets. Roger Blake, on behalf of the visitors thanking all the volunteers and the club for putting on a great event. Despite our the size of the club. our members manage to host great events, yes many people worked hard both in the organising and implementing of it but demonstrates the commitment of everyone. So big thanks to all the volunteers involved, whether it be in the clubhouse, onshore or offshore on the RIBS. A special thankyou to Julian and crew from Hickling who kindly volunteered to help both days.
Nick congratulates the winners – Regatta winners, Roger & Jamie and Vareo fleet winner Luke.
It was a lovely sunny evening for the Thursday Evening Regatta and the warm light breeze made for a pleasant but leisurely sail.
Thanks to Richard who stood in at the last minute to volunteer for OOD and managed two races which provided two different winners.
Race one – Phil A swapped his trusted Contender for a more suitable light wind vessel in the form of a rare Harrier class dinghy. Age of boat and helm didn’t stop Phil scooping top prize with a half minute lead over Nick, getting some late practise for the forthcoming weekend, sailing his Vareo with Phantom Phil in third.
Race two – Nick managed to win by a good margin with Harrier Phil second, just ahead of Richard, sailing his Vareo.
Once ashore everyone was treated to a piece of the ‘James’ family recipe lemon drizzle cake baked fresh that evening.
The sailing programme suggests it’s now summer however many will need convincing of this.
It was low water at 11.00 so little tide during all three races although the bonus of a flood tide in the later half of the racing making the beats a little shorter.
It was yet another week of three races with three different winners.
Team Custard (RS400) and Nick (Phantom) opened up a good lead in race one resulting in the two completing an additional lap and claiming first and second on corrected time
Race two, the same two led the fleet but this time it was Nick who emerged the winner with Paul (Solution) twenty seconds behind on corrected time in second.
Race three, everyone got to do four laps, Paul pacing himself well winning by over two minutes on corrected time with the ever consistent (when there’s some wind!) Nick in second just one second ahead of Richard, who had swapped his Vareo for a Club Laser.
Next week is the clubs main event of the year, the 75th Anniversary Beach Regatta, two days of sailing and both Phil and the BBC forecasting a great weekend of weather and sailing. Full details on the club website.
We will be joined by Phantom and RS Vareo sailors so it’s likely to be busy. There will be a meal at the club on Saturday night, please join us if you can.
It was the first of the two Passage race days, the westerly F3-4 wind meant a long reach to Hopton and back. HW was scheduled for 11.40.
Twelve boats launched, seven of which were RS classes with four RS400’s. The race team set a beat to an inshore mark in order to separate the fleet before they headed off to Hopton.
Countdown to racing
Richard & Kyle (RS400) and Jamie (Laser) got off to the best starts and initially held a small lead. By the time the leaders rounded the windward mark it was a pack of RS boats ahead.
As the fleet sailed off to Hopton it was clear the reach was tight as all the asymmetrics struggled to fly their kites and hold course to the Hopton mark. With the tide still flooding it was a relatively quick trip. The return reach proved a little tighter…..and longer with no one attempting to fly spinnakers.
Race time
After two laps Phil (RS700) was first to cross the line, with three RS400’s finishing next with Richard & Kyle second, Adam & Jordon (RS400) third and Richard & Robyn fourth.
The reaching legs clearly suited Simon (Laser) who finished not far behind.
On corrected time it proved to be a good choice by Steve to get his trusty ‘Pocket Rocket’ out of storage by taking the win by just over a minute with Simon second, Richard & Kyle third and Jamie fourth.
Phil’s Garmin recorded the race distance at just over eleven miles.
Heading for Hopton
The trip to Hopton clearly took its toll on many resulting in a much reduced fleet for the windward leeward race. Surprisingly, there was still a slight flood tide but by the end of the race it was slack water. Simon nailed the start with Adam & Jordan eventually taking the lead and crossing the line first with Simon second and Richard (Vareo) third. Simon winning on corrected time.
Thanks to the race team of Dave, John and Paul who stood in at short notice.
What a contrast to last Thursday evening’s grim weather. The sun made an occasional appearance, the temperature now in mid teens and there was a F2-3 from the SE as we made ready to launch. Phil even put his trapeze harness on hoping to use the full potential of the Contender!
We were joined by Nico & Luna from France. They have been sailing on the Spanish galleon ‘Galeon Andalucia’ which is currently docked in Great Yarmouth. They first joined Phil on the RIB, helping out on race duty before boarding smaller craft to what they have been use to in the form of a RS Vareo and RS400 for a rather sedate sail.
A warm welome to our visitors
Everyone was keen to get sailing and by half six the RIB was launched and boats were beginning to get on the water. Unfortunately by this time the wind had eased to a F1-2. Once again racing started before seven, well done Phil. Another single hander dominated fleet with Richard & Ed, aka Team Brown, sailing a RS400 representing the two-man fleet. Needless to say it was the 400 which led the fleet around the windward leeward course in each race.
Race one start
Race one – After lap one Team Brown led with Adam (Streaker) and Richard (Vareo) the next to cross the gate. The wind eased a tad for lap two, Team Brown increased their lead to nearly two minutes, Adam crossing the line next with Dave (Vareo) third, recovering from a poor start, managing to get into irons just before the gun.
Race two start
Race two- Team Brown guided the fleet round the course, after lap one Dave was second with Harry (Laser Radial) next. On the second lap Harry and Adam spent most of the final run to the line neck and neck with Harry just holding on to cross the line a few seconds ahead.
Race three start
Race three- a tad more wind, and only a small tad ! Team Brown moved up a gear building up a three minute lead at the finish. Dave, now sailing a Streaker crossed the line in second closely followed by Adam, now in a Vareo and Chris (Laser) finishing four seconds ahead of Harry.
Another week of three races and three different winners which demonstrates the closeness of the racing, with Adam winning race one, Harry race two and Dave race three.
Needlessly to say Phil never got to use his trapeze harness .
Heading home
Thanks to the race team for a pleasant if leisurely sail. We wish Nico & Luna a good and safe trip next week when they continue their journey aboard the Andalucia, which they first started in April and now head back across the North Sea to the Netherlands.
Someone needs to remind the weather gods it’s suppose to be summer….
It was a very gloomy evening at Gorleston, very overcast, very grey clouds, rain and the wind was howling thro the rigging of the boats in the dinghy park. The temperature was barely in double figures, it could easily have been another Bank Holiday !
Needless to say several regulars opted to stay home. Some who did venture down then opted to stay ashore and drink coffee.
Despite the F4, the sea was surprisingly flat and eventually the rain stopped. Four hardy sailors did venture out, three Lasers and a Streaker. Chris managed to find his Radial sail and rig which he had for 10 years and as yet not used.
As it turned out it was quite a good sail with only a couple of capsizes.
The race team managed to squeeze in three races. It was a good evening for the two Laser 4.7’s, Ellie winning all three. Adam managed to separate them in race one with a second place but it was a 1,2 for Ellie and Harry in the second and third races.
Hats off to the race team of Richard and Michael who must have been a bit chilly sitting in the RIB.
Thanks to all who helped on ‘shore duty’ when the boats came ashore, many hands make light work.
Thankfully the forecast for Sunday looks quite nice.
