Category: Reports

Wind Strength = F4/5 , Direction = Northerly

The fleet arrived at Gorleston with many expecting no racing but with a flat sea the launching looked good despite the strong winds. . A number decided it was very windy and did not launch.  8 boats headed out Tom and Will both with new crew.  In the end 6 boats came to the start. 4 400’s a 500 and 420.  The fleet opted to start on port with Fryer and Houghton  getting the better starts. At the windward mark,  Fryer headed inland and Houghton out to sea, Houghton tipping it in on the gybe saw Freeman in the Rs500 take advantage, rounding the next mark in second place closely followed by Houghton after a speedy recovery.  At the end of the 3rd lap Fryer was just ahead of the R500.

The second Race saw the 2 D-ones of Sallis and Gray join the fleet just as the wind picked up a notch!!  The 500 got away but with some spinnaker problems and the team of Freeman and Sykes still working a few things out only just managed to beat Houghton to the line with Fryer 1 minute of so behind.

Just before the third race start Harlow decided to lose Lorna over the side, to be picked up by Brown and returned to Harlow by the rescue boat.  This meant only 4 boats started and Brown was late to the party after his taxi work.  This time the 2 lap race saw Freeman and Sykes get clear away having worked out how to sail together, finishing 2 minutes clear of Fryer with Houghton 30 seconds back. 3 Great races with Freeman taking all 3 wins despite complaining he couldn’t see where he was going down wind due to the spray.  Thanks to the OOD team for an exhilarating days sailing.

Spring Series Results here.

On a separate note congratulations to Richard Fryer for his 4th in the Rs300 Slalom’s at Bristol last weekend.

More details and some video here……..

Wind Strength = F2 , Direction = Easterly

A lovely evening and  a turnout of 5 lasers, 2 Rs300 and Rs400 saw 2 closely fought races.

The first saw the 2 R300’s round first followed by Phil and Lorna in the 400 with Keith and Richard neck and neck in the 2 lasers, with Keith and Richard changing places throughout the race.  At the end on the third lap the everything was very close.  With Dave taking the honours by 2 seconds on corrected time from Richard Brown with Keith only 5 seconds behind him.

The second race saw the 2 300’s get way with Dave edging away from Richard Fryer and Phil and Lorna, in the lasers Keith managed to break away leaving Ed and Richard to battle for 4th,  Dave again took the win this time Fryer taking 2nd and Keith 3rd,  Brown just overhauling Ed on the last leg to take 4th.

Many thank to Nick Eastwood for running the races.

Thursday Results also updated here.

On a separate note congratulations to Richard Fryer for his 4th in the Rs300 Slalom’s at Bristol last weekend.

More details and some video here……..

Wind Strength = F2 , Direction = Various

With a forecast of a changeable wind direction and a strong tide, the boats gathered on the prom to await a settled breeze. A few sailors decided to head home, then the wind appeared to arrive from the south east and after a quick change the fleet headed out.  The first race got away at 11:30 and all was looking good for the first lap as the lead boats headed back down wind, on the second lap the wind swung further to the east,  with spinnakers dropped Chris Sallis held off the following 400’s of Brown and Houghton for the first victory of the day.  With the course reset and the first signal sounded the wind veered to the north east  the consensus was to start the race anyway.  With Kites hoisted as soon as boats cleared the line the boats reached for the mark, Houghton, James (without kite) and Gray rounded first and headed back, The less than conventional course and only 2 ten minute laps saw Dave Houghton hold off Steve Gray to take the honours.   The wind now directly from the East and the course reset (not far enough into the tide) and the repaired Hobbie of the 2 Steves joined the fleet for the third race.  The 700 and Hobbie cleared the fleet but not each other to round together at the end on the first lap, Sallis and Houghton in 3rd and 4th.  The now shorter than normal course meant it was 4 laps for the Hobbie and 700 never too far apart but Sallis took the honours from Highfield in the 700 and Houghton in 3rd.  The later start and course changes meant we called it a day and headed in for a late lunch. 

Spring Results available here.  

Thursday Results also updated here.

Keith and Anna

At last the season started today at Gorleston, with the aptly named ‘Start of season’ trophy.  Conditions could not have been better with sunshine all day and a F2 wind to start with but increasing throughout the day.  With the assistance of a flooding tide upwind legs were relatively short meaning plenty of time to enjoy the downwind legs. The D-One’s were out in force with Chris kicking of the season with a perfect score.  Dave H.

Full Results Here………..

The D-One Eastern Championship-2015 was held at Gorleston over 27/28 June as part of the Gorleston Beach Regatta. This mixed regatta has huge history, evidenced in club correspondence with The Admiralty, who used annually to lay twelve special flagged Race-Cans in circular compass-configuration, 1½-mile diameter, around a central one;  …. those were the days …. !

D-One sailors had had over two weeks of intense lead-up training at their Grafham Open, and then their “Suntouched” Championships at Highcliffe.

Saturday’s conditions bode well initially with a reasonable wind-strength, but before the start a classic sea-breeze battle ensued, such that some competitors could not even find a way through the, ‘… Dead Zone …’, to the start-line.  Race Management got fed-up waiting and progressed a start-sequence anyway which most boats managed, though Ben Falat’s D-One only crossed many, many minutes later.   During this quasi-windward-leeward race (sausages anyway!), at one stage there were spinnakers charging towards each other on opposite legs and courses with game-o’-chicken being played as to who would leave it latest before the new wind hit them on the nose;  the lesser the number of sails carried, the better the control, so Phantoms, Laser and Tasar did well.   Gradually conditions settled and another two regular races could be held in absolutely champagne conditions;  bullets went to Chris and Angie Sallis twice in their Tasar, and to Ben Falat.   Sunday appeared to be on track for some cracking racing in a fine SW F3;  Martin Browne eagerly joined in with Sallis reverting to his D-One, however shortly after the first start the wind veered further to the west making the race extremely one sided and favouring spinnakered boats on a long open fetch back towards the ‘gate’.   D-One lead on the tighter leg alternated between Sallis & Falat for who might take a brief gust best to drive off against a strong tidal current, the meanwhile Browne was consistently keeping speed and driving low;  this latter policy paid handsomely as the front two over-stood their mark and finally Browne took 2nd place with Sallis just hanging-in-there.  In front overall, Richard Fryer and David Houghton had a dogged (reach-in-breeze & screw-in-lull ….) battle in their RS400s.   After two completed rounds of this everyone was pretty fed-up with the general non-racing and the plug was pulled;  by now any strength in breeze was starting to fail as forecast as well as some huge apparent shifts in direction.  Race management persisted for some while trying to lay any sort of course but by then most of the fleet had self-elected to head home. Eventually any hope of racng for the day was abandoned and results were governed hugely by Saturday’s efforts [ Sallis (Tasar)-1st;   Falat (D-One)-2nd;   Favell (PhatGnome)-3rd ]. Br,

the Bendy-One

Shifty winds and a big sea made for interesting sailing conditions today; 12 boats raced in the 4^th spring series with a wind undecided between the south and the west. The start line was set up just past the ravine with the windward mark set beyond the wreck buoy, where sailors reported increased wave size.  Racing was very dependent on choice of course and whether sailors found the wind or stayed upright; giving some exciting racing with lead boats changing with each lap. Race 1, 1^st lap had 4 boats with 4 seconds between them; Chris and Martin in the D1’s, and Richard and Dave in the 400’s, 2^nd lap Martin went out to sea increasing his lead by 40 seconds clear of Dave and John in the 400. Race 2 Dave and John capsized in the 400 leaving the way clear for the D1’s, and Richard and Robyn in the 400 had a stonker of a second lap. In race 3 D1’s got away only for Martin to capsize just at the leeward mark on the 1^st lap, Martin caught the fleet up, going out to sea on the last downward leg, finding the wind (we could hear him humming on the start line boat) and beating Steve in his D1 by 1 second, an exciting finish too between the two Richards in the 400’s with Richard and Robyn taking it by 1 second. A good days racing.

Anna.