Last Thursday turned out to be a very good day for sailing. The wind was coming from the east (the right hand side when looking at the lake from the clubhouse) and kept varying in strength, but not stopping. The course went from K / pontoon to J at the far end of the narrows and then back to C and K. Once again those that were over the line shortly after the signal did best in getting to J. I did notice nameless people getting close to J and then deciding they could point straight at the buoy despite their sails flapping, unsurprisingly their boats slowed. The Liberties set off in pursuit and I worried after half a lap when the wind died a bit, making it more difficult for them to catch the 303s ahead. Luckily the wind returned and two Liberties came in the the first three.

Tips: Be just behind the line at the start; Don’t let sails flap; Let sails out as far as they can go without flapping; Bear away if you can’t point the boat where you want to go without flapping and keep sails pulled in.

Any questions or suggestions please speak to Peter, Fleur, me or any of the other volunteers.

Bob

Last Thursday (1st October) was a fantastic day for sailing. Horizon-to-horizon sunshine and the strength of the wind grew from hardly creating a ripple on the water at 8.30am to 20 knots by midday.  Of course, being Chipstead Lake, the wind was gusty as well and shifting around between E and NNE.  Quite a few WS Racers arrived early to make the most of their sailing time and practice on the water. But as the wind got stronger some decided to reef their sails (i.e. have a smaller sail surface area than normal) whilst others wanted to take on the wind. At 11.45 when most of the Racers were on shore, taking a breather and grabbing a bite to eat, they were encouraged to get back out on the water so that the Race could start at 12 noon. There were 9 entrants plus 1 volunteer, making a 7 strong 303 fleet, 2 for Liberty (3 minute delay) and 1 for Martin (8 minute delay).

The course had been written up on the board by the clubhouse since 10am so some of the entrants had been able to sail round the course, from a Start Line between Buoy K and the eastern Pontoon, a beat up to Buoy  D, a run down the lake to Buoy C and a fast reach back to Buoy K. The strength of the wind resulted in the  303 fleet being further than necessary from the Start line as the Start Whistle  sounded, nevertheless most of the 303 fleet had started the race within a minute or two of the whistle and the first boats over the line (Kim, Bob, Steve and Fay) were making good progress on the upwind leg to the first Mark (Buoy D) before the back markers had started. Three minutes later Brian and Mike in their Liberties started chasing the 303 fleet whilst Malcolm Hill and his crew, Mike Coleman, had to remain patient for another 5 minutes due to the handicap system based on the respective PY (Portsmouth Yardstick) numbers of the 303 and the Martin, over a 40 minute race. The PY means that given a Pursuit Race lasting a specified time, different classes of dinghy can start at various intervals and all things being equal  they should  arrive at the finish line at the same time.

This race showed the PY handicap for the Martin was pretty accurate, since although the leading 303s had completed nearly two laps BEFORE Malcolm Hill started in his Martin, the superior boat speed of the Martin gradually cut into the leads of the Liberty and 303 fleets and eventually on the final lap, Malcolm just passed Kim Sparkes, who had put all her skill and strength into the race, on the penultimate leg of the race to win by less than a minute. Brava to Kim for battling from the front and Bravo to Malcolm for keeping his cool and battling his way up all the way from a long way back!!

As this part of the storyline unfolded, the rest of the WS Racers were discovering the difference of sailing with and without reefed sails. Although having a reef means that you may not be sailing as fast as you might downwind and when reaching, it does mean that the wind is less likely to knock you off your course and create difficulties during the up wind legs. However, Mike in his unreefed Liberty (and even after a few more minutes delay whilst he had his jib-boom replaced just after the Start Whistle which meant he was quite quickly overhauled by Malcolm in his Martin) was able to gradually sail up the fleet to finish some distance behind Kim. What might have happened if he had not had a jib boom-malfunction? The schematic below shows how steadily Lisa, and her crew Helen, sailed to take a very well-earned (considering the tough conditions) 4th place. This was an excellent precursor to the award by Steve Thomas (WS Trustee and Session Manager) to Lisa Holland of her RYA Silver Certificate and Badge. Brava Lisa!! The remaining WS Racers all had to work extremely hard to complete the race and did so despite the tough conditions. I know because I heard a comment at lunch, “At one stage it was so difficult out there, I was going to quit!” Well that Racer didn’t quit and to all of us  involved with WS that speaks volumes of the character of all our clients. Well done to everybody who raced last Thursday!

After some torrential rain early in the day – when WS’s gallant volunteers were getting the boats in the water and rigging them (“Thank you!” Ed.) – the sun came out and a steady W / NW wind started to blow. So by mid-day 8 WS Racers and 2 volunteers were ready to race. There were 7 Access 303 and 3 Liberty milling around the Start Line and most of the 303s were over the line within a minute of the Start whistle sounding. Excellent work especially since the wind strength was fluctuating in the area of the Start Line (Buoy K to the Pontoon).

The fleet had a beat into the NW wind on the first leg to Buoy B and even though he wasn’t the first over the Start Line, Steve Farmer, sailed a great first leg and rounded the first Mark in the lead some distance in front of Kim Sparkes. Fay Watson, who had made a very good Start, gave up some water on the first leg and followed Kim round the first Mark in close quarters with Daniel, and his crew Mike C, and Brian Mac and Jim W – a volunteer new to sailing. The 3 minute delay for the Liberty Start had elapsed before the whole 303 fleet had rounded Buoy B and Peter W, Mike B and Di – a Volunteer – set off in pursuit of the back markers!

Steve was sailing very well and by concentrating hard to eliminate mistakes he increased his lead over the fleet, even though he knew that the whole fleet was trying its hardest to catch him! Steve, Kim and Fay were the only 303s who managed to hold out against the Liberty fleet up to the end of the second Lap which saw Mike Blatchford in 4th place and Peter W in 6th. Gradually Di, Mike and Peter overhauled Fay and set about trying to pass Kim. The wind was blowing hot and cold during the race and in different parts of the course, so all the Racers had opportunities to catch up or the frustrations of being caught up. A good example saw Mike B get right alongside Kim’s 303 during the third lap on the downwind leg from Buoy B to Buoy D, but he just didn’t have enough wind to pass her and she got around the downwind Mark and, with a fresh blow, escaped Mike’s clutches to sail an excellent last lap to finish 2nd. But this was Steve’s day and he even lapped some of the other WS Racers before finishing in 1st place ahead of the Series leader, Kim S!

Result: 1 Steve F; 2 Kim S; 3 Mike B (L); 4 Peter W (L); 5 Fay W; 6 Brian Mac; Bob F and Daniel = DNF