Wealden Sailability (Beta)

Here is a short video clip of the start of the race – please note how carefully the 303 nearest the Start Line is careful to avoid going over the line until the START GONG sounds. And – for something completely different – what do you think is happening aboard two of the 303s – one with yellow and the other with blue sails?

And here are some photos of boat-on-boat action taken throughout the race. It is clear that there is some very good sail trimming going on and tactical thinking. Well done and keep it up.

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The Race result is:

1. Mike Blatchford – Martin – #125
2. Malcolm Hill and his crew Matt Bryant – Martin – Sail #126
3. David Mason – 2.4m – #108
4. Fay Watson and her crew James Thomas – 303D – #1
5. Mark Cayzer and his crew Mark Skipper – 303D – #4
6. Peter Wagner – 2.4m – #109
7. Martin Norman – Liberty – #22
8. Peter Gregory – 2.4m -#148
9. Rowan Nicholls and his crew Allan Griffiths – 303D – #2
10. Ann Frewer and her crew Bruce – 303D – #5
11. Bill Garry – 303S – #7

Tom Phillips and Louise McSweeney were also out on the water during the race. Well done to all the racers. The results have been added to the summary sheet on the website.

Those Racers who decided to come to Chipstead were – according to most weather forecasters – taking a risk of getting very wet and being blown around the lake by a quite strong and gusty wind. The early volunteers found themselves launching and rigging the fleet in light drizzle but fortunately that eased off and the task was completed in dry conditions. The wind was blowing from a WSW direction (that is from the Bricklayers Arms / Waterfall end of the lake) and, by its gusts, showing that it was probably going to blow as forecast!

The volunteers’ briefing heard that heavy rain and squally conditions were due to arrive sometime during the middle of the day. Exactly when was uncertain but it was decided to keep the Race Start Time at 1130 and hope that we could derig and get most of the fleet out of the water before the monsoon arrived!

T’was good to see Steve and Ann amongst a dozen stalwarts who had arrived to race. The Pontoon Manager and volunteers sorted out the crews for those who wanted them and suitable boats for the others – with Martin back in a Martin this week – and there was plenty of time for them to practice the course under a rather overcast sky with the same gusty winds.

The sun broke though the clouds at 1120 and the race started on time, in glorious conditions. And, if only he had been 2 seconds (or about 3 meters) further away from the Start Line, as he approached it, Martin Norman (aforesaid helm of Martin 126), would have made a storming start. However, despite announcements from the Race Hut over the Tannoy and shouts from the Pontoon Manager, Martin did not know he was required to go back and restart, until he had already sailed a 100 meters. Nevertheless, he made a swift turn about and restarted the race quickly and then had a battle on his hands making up distance he had lost to the leaders. The other fast starters can be seen in a short video clip (Thanks to Matt Bryant for technical help with loading the video. Ed) as the fleet tacked up to Mark B and then reached across to Mark A.

The rest of the course was: 3rd leg downwind to gybe around Mark D and sail further down wind to Mark J, before pulling in the sails to tack back upwind, across the Start/Finish line (Mark K to a flag in the middle of the lake), to Mark B.

There was good close racing throughout the fleet as the various classes got stretched out on the water.

The Race result is:

1. David Mason – 2.4m – #108
2. Mike Blatchford – Liberty – Sail #23
3. Malcolm Hill and his crew Mike Mackenzie – Martin – #125
4. Peter Wagner – 2.4m – #109
5. Peter Gregory – 2.4m -#148
6. Kelly Tripp and her crew Doug Haig – 303D – #10
7. Martin Norman – Martin – #126
8. Steve Farmer – 303S – #1
9. Fay Watson and her crew Bruce Hebbert – 303D – #6
10. John Beck and his crew Paul – 303D – #745
11. Ann Frewer and her crew Don – 303D – #8
12. Trevor Nunn – Liberty – #21

Well done to all the racers. The results have been added to the summary sheet on the website.

The first race of the new season saw an intrepid baker’s dozen out on the water in good time to be ready and close to the Start Line before the 3 minute gong sounded at 11.27 (Do you think every Helm and Crew were ready? Check the photos of the start below 🙂 Ed)

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With a keen 10 to 12 knot wind blowing in from the NNW, a course was set from the Start line (between Mark K and a flag in the midst of the lake), beating up to and leaving Mark C to port and this leg was followed by a lovely broad reach across the lake to Mark A. After rounding Mark A to port, the fleet faced a long downwind leg eastward whilst getting back to the north shore of the lake so as to be able to gybe round Mark D to starboard before a shorter downwind leg to Mark J, placed close to the south bank, and the start of the long beat back through the Start/Finish gate (to complete the lap) and head from Mark C.

As can be seen from the photos below, the fleet was quickly across the Start Line but different Helms had different strategies. So, look at some of the sail numbers in these photos and see where they finished, four laps and 30 minutes later. Of course each class has a distinct handicap (which we call a Portsmouth Yardstick) and they are taken into consideration when working out the Race Result.

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As many of the helms have got used to, a certain red torpedo seems to fly away from them in the early legs of the race. This race was no exception as can be seen above and in these two photos (How does he do that? Ed)

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The Race Result was..

1. Mike Blatchford – Martin – Sail #125
2. David Mason – 2.4m – #108
3. Peter Wagner – 2.4m – #109
4. Peter Gregory – 2.4m -#148
5. Mark Cayzer and his crew John Masters – 303D – #6
6. Martin Norman – Liberty – #22
7. Fay Watson and her crew James Thomas – 303D – #3
8. Imogen Fletcher and her crew Maria – 303D – #1
9. Malcolm Hill and his crew Helen Fairfax – Martin – #126
10. Lydia – 2.3S – #279

Tom Phillips in a 303 # 4 and Rachel Ibbotts in a 303 # 8 retired. Jen, a new volunteer, helmed a Liberty # 21 for fun!!