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    ABOUT 7EVEN CANONS

WS RACING – SPRING SERIES 11 – JULY 12TH

Looking at the weather forecast on Wednesday night didn’t instil much excitement because there would be so little wind that it looked as if we might have a repeat of last week’s single lap Race…but woe to me of little faith, when the volunteers started to rig and launch the Boats at 8am on Thursday morning, there was a  steady breeze blowing from the NNE. Fortunately these conditions remained until after the Race finished so the eight WS Racers who came down to Chipstead Lake race, were rewarded with an acceptable albeit challenging wind.

There were a  lot of boats just about on the start line as the final Gong sounded and ….unfortunately those who expected a flyer at the starboard end of the line were hampered  by a non-racing dinghy sailing right across their bows…nevertheless, as the pictures below show, the fleet was closely bunched together with groups split, both port and starboard, as they tacked away from the Start Line upwind towards Mark D. Fay Watson and her crew James Thomas got a very good start at the end of the Start LIne in her Access 303 Sail # 9 but  she had to tack first to avoid sailing into shallow water and possibly running aground. Meanwhile Peter Gregory in his 2.4m, the Red Torpedo, Sail #148 started higher up the Line,  covering Fay, and with his ability to point closer to the wind, he gradually pulled out a small lead by sailing longer than Fay on his initial port tack. Eventually he tacked onto a starboard tack and this forced Martin Newman in his Martin # 126 to tack (And  perhaps tacking later than he should have since Peter Gregory  was forced to change course to avoid a collision! Ed).  Peter Wagner in his 2.4m Sail # 108  had also had an excellent start and was keeping close to the leaders . Mike Blatchford in his 2.4m Sail # 109 was somewhat off the initial pace (A change in strategy from sailing his normal Pink Lady Liberty . Was this due to the light winds? Ed)  but was  soon able to get to grips with his new mount and started to close in on the front runners.

In the light wind Peter G managed to coax the Red Torpedo up to and around the windward Mark D and across the wind to the second buoy of the course Mark J before Martin  had rounded Mark D and well before Peter Wagner and Mike Blatchford  in their 2.4ms.  And as can be seen from these pictures, Peter G was able to start building his lead as he sailed downwind to the third buoy of the course Mark B, waving goodbye to the fighting 2.4ms and Fay’s 303.

The Red Torpedo continued to pull out a substantial lead on the water – 2 minutes at the end of his first lap – over Martin in his Martin who was 1 minute ahead of Mike Blatchford who was 1 minute ahead of Peter Wagner who was 5 1/2 minutes ahead of Fay Watson in her double-handed 303. And by the end of the second lap, whilst Peter G had increased his lead to 4 1/2 minutes over second placed Peter Wagner who had closed up to Mike Blatchford and pipped him across the line by 11 seconds and Peter was just 10 seconds behind Martin Newman.  So an exciting third (and likely final lap given the wind conditions – Ed)  was in prospect when suddenly Peter Wagner’s 2.4m started sailing around in circles and Peter was waving for all he was worth to attract the stand-by boat’s attention. All whilst Mike Blatchford and Martin Newman were escaping from Peter’s clutches. OH DEARY ME…said the bipartisan spectator watching from the shore , “The showdown had stopped even before it started”. (A  precedented catastrophic failure within Peter’s 2.4m meant that he had lost his ability to steer and hence had to retire – many apologies Peter from the management (probably). But Peter’s woe was not at an end….since he was then rammed by the Venture  which had just set out from the pontoon…and  then the Venture helm – presumably in shock at what he had done –  grabbed the 2.4m’s painter and started  sailing off with Peter trailing behind….until rescued by the  stand-by rib… at last!!! – Ed)

One reason why the Red Torpedo goes so fast was spotted by a covertly placed camera!! If you look carefully at the photo here you can see how the mast is adjusted to lean forward at quite an angle thereby allowing both the main and jib to grab more air coming from behind! (Amazing the cunning some folk get up to as they seek every extra nano-second of speed. Ed.) 

After all this excitement and with the wind slackening the fleet sailed on its final lap of the race and – as always – even though Peter G was first by a margin on the water he could get no higher than 2nd once his PY handicap had been applied by the clever software we use to calculate the final results, which are shown below.

(After the race at the lunch table, a rumour was circulating that a saw mark had been found on Peter Wagner’s foot-pedal! BUT our roving reporter thought he had heard that it was just down to Peter having a sore toe!  We will probably never know. Ed)

Result

1. Martin Newman (Martin)
2. Peter Gregory (2.4m)
3. Mike Blatchford (2.4m)
4. Fay Watson/James Thomas (303D)
5.Keith Eeles (Liberty)
6. Steve Farmer (303S)

Two retirements: Peter Wagner (2.4m due to mechanical failure) and John Hancock (303D)

WS RACING – SPRING SERIES 6 – JUNE 7TH

Note from Ed: Before reading this weeks race report, can I let everyone know that the results for Race 4 on May 24th have now been decided. The report for that race which can be found by clicking Here has been updated with the positions.

Welcome back after the washout of last week. Apologies to everyone for having to cancel last week, it’s not a decision that is undertaken lightly.  Thankfully the weather this week was much improved.

The race got under way well with the line being, once again, clear. Great to see everyone pushing hard this week to be as close to the line as possible which led to a competitive 1st beat and a great improvement. Well done also for managing without the batons, we promise to find them for next week’s race.

The best start of the day goes to David Mason who flew out of the blocks and onto the 1st beat. He was followed closely by Mike Blatchford and Martin Newman, in the Martins, leading to a good battle up the 1st beat. I was also most impressed to see that despite this battle, the rules were still applied with water being given as they approached the land before the windward mark. Access number 3 was first to round the windward mark leading the access charge downwind.

Downwind David maintained his lead. Peter Wagner came back fighting after a struggle on the first beat to sail a blinder of a downwind leg getting within touching distance of the front runners.

On the second lap, Mike Blatchford really pushed and closed the gap to Martin from 51 seconds to 26 seconds. David Mason wasn’t allowed to have it all his own way with Martin and Mike reducing the deficit with each lap. Within the 303s, Steve Farmer made his move to overtake Fay Watson, staying ahead until the finish line. Peter Wagner continued to improve his position being the only racer in the field to have a faster 2nd lap than 1st.

On the final lap, Mike Blatchford made his move and overtook Martin. Mike also made a good deficit in David’s (on the water) lead cutting it to almost half what it had been on the previous lap.

On a housekeeping note, thank you to all the racers that crossed the finish line and then rounded the end to avoid any other racers that may have needed to cross. Once again and apologies to nag but if you are not racing, namely the Stratos’ please could you stay clear of the start / finish line to avoid impacting the racers when they are pushing for alp times or a finish.

The results for this race are:-

  1. Raymond
  2. Louise McSweeney
  3. Imogen Fletcher
  4. Mike Blatchford
  5. Martin Newman
  6. David Mason
  7. Peter Wagner
  8. Fay Watson
  9. Steve Farmer
  10. Rachel Ibbotts

WS RACING – SPRING SERIES 9 – JUNE 28TH

What a fantastic day! The second Thursday in a row of lovely weather meant that everyone who gathered at Chipstead Lake had another SUPERB sailing day with good – reasonably steady – wind and warm sun!

The volunteers had rigged and launched most of the fleet by 0930 and  were then briefed by the Session Manager and told about the Race course for the day (Start/Finish line – K to Flag : beat/upwind  toD :  reach/downwind to J :  run/downwind to B : reach/downwind to A and then a long beat through the Starting Gate back to D). After this around 1000, the early arrivals amongst you were able to get out on the water to test the wind and explore the course. At 1115 Fleur and Peter were in the Race Hut making a note of all the Race entrants – dinghy class, sail number/colour and helm and crew – but the Session Manager asked for a short delay to the commencement of the 3=2=1 countdown at 1125 whilst a few late entrants were helped into their dinghies and dispatched by the volunteers working on the pontoons. The race fleet were told about the delayed Start and they patiently waited on the water until the 3 minute Gong sounded and then their sinews stiffened and the jockeying began for the best position on the Start Line!!

But once the START Gong sounded it was another 8 seconds before the first boat crossed the Start Line – that was David Mason in his 2.4m #109 on starboard tack. He was closely followed across the Line by Peter Wagner in 2.4m #108 and Mike Blatchford  in Liberty # 188 aka Pink Lady and Kim Sparkes, aka Lady of the Reeds, in her 303 #1 , but this trio had chosen to sail initially on the port tack which proved to be a very good choice , especially for Peter Wagner since it enabled him to establish a lead of 100 metres over David Wagner by the time Peter rounded the windward Mark D before the broad reach down towards Mark J. And Peter had increased his lead to 200 metres by midway of the run westward along the lake towards Mark B. Whilst Keith Eeles in his Liberty #2162 set out on a starboard tack from the Start line,  most of the rest of the fleet – the other eight 303s and the two Martins (#125 sailed by Martin/ Sebastian and #126 by Don/Reece) – chose to head up to Mark D on a port tack initially.  Here are some photos that show how the fleet sorted itself out after the Start and  sailed  around Marks D and J.

The wind stayed strong to allow a good start
David Mason looks like he has had a blinder of a start and is in the lead…
But Peter Wagner held his nerve on the port tack and has the advantage…

Unlike last week, the wind stayed mainly blowing from NE at a reasonably constant pace for the first two laps before falling off a bit around the middle of the course which allowed those in the fleet running down to Marks B and A and beating back to the Start gate, to catch up those boats in front of them on the beat to Mark D.  The two 2.4ms kept up their combat for the whole race; after Peter’s initial  breakaway, the lead changed hands with David overhauling Peter as they beat up wind to complete the first lap and he held his advantage until the final lap when Peter managed to get a great lift from a momentary wind shift and sailed past David to create a good lead which he held until crossing the finish line nearly 1 minute ahead of David.  Athough Keith managed to lead his rival Liberty, sailed by Mike Blatchford, around the second Mark J, from then on Mike gradually built up his advantage until he was nearly 2 minutes ahead of Keith at the end of the second lap. The 303 fleet was led by Kim Sparkes who showed time and again her ability to read the wind and tack at the moment which gave her maximum advantage. Imogen Fletcher and her crew Helen Fairfax were  the second 303 home but – to show Kim’s exceptional talent – some 7 minutes behind KIm . Imogen/Helen were followed home, just 15 seconds behind, by Fay Watson and her crew Alan Harris.   At times during the race the wind did pick up and helms had to be watchful for these gusts and take advantage of them whichever point of sailing they were on at the moment of impact. There were lots of mid-fleet battles throughout the race and some of the close sailing can be seen in the photos below.

The starting pack after the 2.4s…
303 running downwind..
303s battling to windward
303s in combat…
David Mason running down the lake..
Martin sailing by Keith…
Kim showing a clean transom…
David and Peter jousting for position..

A brilliant victory for Peter on-the-water but as we all know the 2.4m’s PY gives away quite a lot to the Liberty’s and even more to the 303s. This meant that Kim was first after application of the PY Handicap just 3 seconds a lap ahead of Mike Blatchford who was 27 seconds a lap ahead of Keith Eeles.  The post handicap per lap time difference between  each finisher have been added to results below to show you just how  close the racing is and how every second out there on-the-water makes all the difference.

Well done to everyone who raced and many thanks to the volunteers who acted as crew and helped get everyone on and off the water which enabled the race to take place.

Here are Race #9’s results and don’t forget to check how your season is going by looking at the summary of the whole Spring Series’ results on the website:

1. Kim Sparkes (303)
2. Mike Blatchford (Liberty) +3 secs per lap
3. Keith Eeles (Liberty) +27 secs
4. Peter Wagner (2.4m) +6 secs
5. Imogen Fletcher/Helen Fairfax (303) +15 secs
6. David Mason (2.4m) +3 secs
7. Fay Watson/Alan Harris(303) +1 sec
8. Louise McSweeney (303) +2 secs
9. Martin Newman/Sebastian (Martin) +7 secs
10. Rowan Nicholls/Colin (303) +11 secs
11. Steve Farmer (303) +8 secs
12. Reece/Don (Martin) +26 secs
13. Tom Phillips (303) +12 secs
Retired. Rachel Ibbots/Peta (303)

WS RACING – SPRING SERIES 8 – JUNE 21ST

What a fantastic summer we have had so far – at least weather-wise. Sun and warmth in abundance and when mixed with some good wind – PERFECT for sailing. For me, it was good to be back at the lake after missing most of the season thus far due to family and personal holidays (This retirement guff is so tough! Ed) and the two Thursdays for which I was available the wind was  forecast to be just a little bit too exuberant for safe sailing and hence day sailing and Races 5 and 7 of the Spring Series were cancelled.

So, once the volunteers had got the fleet ready and they had been briefed by the Session Manager, the early arrivals were helped to get out on the water to test the Race Course which had been set in a figure-of-eight shape (as has become the custom this season). With a strong NNW wind, the START/FINISH Line had been set from Buoy K to a  red flag on a buoy in line with the Race Hut. The intention, when the course was set, was that, after the Start, it would allow a good Beat up to the first Mark – Buoy C – to be rounded to port so as to head off on a Broad Reach to the second Mark – Buoy B – which was to be rounded to port to start a mix of a Reach and  a Run along the lake from West to East towards the third Mark – Buoy D – which would be passed to Starboard and then a short Run downwind to the fourth Mark – Buoy J –  which was also to be passed to starboard before starting the long Beat back to the windward Mark – Buoy C –  (taking care to pass through the Start/Finish Gate on each lap). Well that was the cunning plan.

However, Chipstead being Chipstead, once the Race got underway and the 9 entrants got spread out along the course, the wind direction on the water was so variable that at times the view from the Race Hut showed close-hauled dinghies Beating into the wind on different legs of the course simultaneously! And the wind indicator on the clubhouse roof was mostly reporting a consistent NNW wind! From reports I heard after the Race, it was very clearly tricky and no sooner than a helm thought that he/she had set the sails right for the prevailing wind on any particular tack, another boat’s speed through the water would show them that the wind had shifted and they needed to adjust. At times this meant that Kim in her 303 was outpacing the faster classes. And to further frustrate the race helms, at times the otherwise strong breeze faltered completely and left them going nowhere whilst they watched competitors sailing away from them or catching them up…..and then the wind would return and battle would recommence.

So, with these conditions in mind, all credit to  our Racers who fought the wind as well as each other. And here I must apologise  (An error? Yes, unusual as it may sound!)  that the Race Officials managed to “lose” Mike Blatchford in his Liberty #188 “Pink Lady” for a whole Lap. One moment he was there, playing snakes and ladders with David Mason in his 2.4m and Martin Norman in his Martin #126, and then he was off our radar. The explanation? An equipment failure? No – he must have been sailing so fast or so far in front of the leading pack that we just missed him.  (Clearly a Specsavers advert in the offing here! Ed). 

Here are some pix that show the three front runners and Kim Sparkes in her 303 #9 and Louise Mc Sweeney in her Liberty #2162 and John Hancock and his crew, Alan Harris, in the Venture.  With the wind conditions as described above, the whole fleet did extremely well to remain competitive and complete the Race. Finally, Louise thought that the jib boom from her Liberty had fallen into the lake and one of the Commandos went to look for it – see final photo! Actually, she had sailed the whole race with it being dragged through the water beside the hull!

Martin leading David and Mike towards the windward Mark
A tussle between David and Mike as they approach Mark D
And here comes that Martin again!
Kim decides the wind is better away from the Venture
David pulling away – for the moment!
Where is that pole?

The result – after careful scrutineering and discussions with the leading helms – was:

1. Mike Blatchford (Liberty)
2. Kim Sparkes (303)
3. Martin Newman (Martin)
4. David Mason (2.4m)
5. Steve Farmer (303)
6. Fay Watson and crew John Douglas (303)
7. Louise McSweeney (Liberty)
8. Peter Wagner (2.4m)
9. John Hancock and crew Alan Harris (Venture)

Do also look at the Overall Series Results on the website. Well done to those of you who have already qualified for the Spring Series by racing in 5 races.