Considering it was forecast to be the hottest day of our HOT summer without any breeze to cool us, last Thursday saw a sizeable group of WS Racers turning up to participate in the final race of the Spring Series  – to complete the campaign of thirteen scheduled races! Thankfully only two had been cancelled in May and June due to  forecast dangerously high winds and rain! (Yes, I can just  about remember those days!! Ed).

For the third week running I arrived at the lake at 9am, to help the earlybird volunteers (from 8am!!!) finish off rigging and launching the fleet, expecting that we would not be able to stage a Race due to lack of wind. But again I was proved to be “Ye of little faith!”.  John King had been out on the water VERY early and had moved some of the buoys around so that we could have a race course mainly on the northern side of the lake because what little wind we might get would be coming from the south.  Thanks as always John!! But at 9am there wasn’t a ripple on the water’s surface so perhaps John’s efforts might still have been in vain – nevertheless, the Race Hut was opened up and John’s course put up on the Race Board. The Start line was between  Bouy K to the distance mark Flag, then setting off eastward along the lake  to leave Mark J to Port and head off Downwind to Mark D (also on Port) before heading off back westward along the lake to Marks  A and B (both on starboard) before beating back to the Start/Finish Line.  As in recent weeks, judging the wind’s strength and direction was clearly going to be a main challenge of our racers if they were going to make any headway around the course.

From 1000 the lake filled up with dinghies –  mainly WS Racers – and gradually the early arrivals were joined by those coming from further afield and the WOW (Women on water) fleet, with whom WS shares the lake on Thursdays.  The Session Manager – David Mckee –  was keen to satisfy as many potential Racers as possible with the fleet available,  so he asked Mike Blatchford to give up his 2.4m (which he had spent all morning fine-tuning ready for the race) so that David Mason could race. Then Malcolm Hill arrived (Welcome back Malcolm! Ed)  at the same time as John Davis-Ashdown (A new participant from the Argonauts – welcome John! Ed), so David recalled Stratos 1 and the Venture to the pontoon so that  Malcolm  and John could get involved in the race also.  And, with a 10 minute delay on the scheduled Start time, the Racers were called to order over the Tannoy from the Race Hut and asked to get up to the Start LIne, just before the 3 minute Gong sounded.

The WS Racing fleet’s movement up and down the Start Line is a great sight to behold as the 3, then 2 and 1 minute Gongs sound…and then GONG – they are off. Nowadays boats are breaching the start line within nano seconds of the Start Gong. (Brilliant! Ed)  The early leaders were Martin Newman’s Martin (Sail # 125) and Bob Fisher’s Liberty (Pink Lady) but as can been seen from the series of photos below there was lots of competitive sailing involving the 2.4ms, helmed by Peter Wagner (#108) and David Mason (#109), and Elle and Helen and Fay Watson and James in their 303s, up to the windward Mark J and across to Mark D on the north bank of the lake.

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As with our recent races in light and variable winds, the 2.4ms have shown their superior speed through the water and David and Peter were indeed leading at the end of the first lap – crossing the line with the clock at 8 mins 15 seconds and 9 mins dead respectively. Peter was being closely pursued by Martin Newman in his Martin #125 (9 mins 15 secs) and a little further behind him on the water was Elle and her crew Helen Fairfax, in their 303 #Red 5 (9 mins 46 secs). Mike Blatchford – who had given up his 2.4m so that David Mason could race – was off his normal pace but also suffering from having to perform a 360 penalty turn after colliding with Fay Watson (Quite correctly! Ed) after his main sheet got tangled just as a gust hit him as he was leading David Mason after rounding Mark D  but when approaching Fay as she was heading for Mark J.

The rest of the fleet gradually got stretched out along and across the lake BUT, as all the WS Racers know, it is critically important that each helm and crew keep concentrating on their own boat handling – given the wind available – because the PY handicap system will smooth out even apparently large distances between the faster and slower boats. Clearly, if a 303 can keep within a few minutes of a Liberty, Martin or 2.4m, it will probably be in the lead on handicap.

Due to the lack of wind, only half the fleet were asked to sail two laps of the course. The cut-off was at 20 mins .15 secs when Louise McSweeney crossed the Finish Line closely followed by other 303s and Tom Phillips in his Liberty. The others kept racing over a second lap and the two 2.4ms were sufficiently ahead that they sailed three laps. The two photos below show the illusion of how one Martin becomes two…..(Or is that Martin Newman passing Mike Blatchford  to his lee? Ed)

Being the end of the Spring Series (see separate Post), here is a photo of a few of the Qualifiers having lunch in the sunshine. A very happy occasion.

Finally, a big thank you to all the WS volunteers who make the WS Racing possible and so much fun!! You know who you are.

Result of Race #13

1. Elle and her crew Helen Fairfax (303D)
2. David Mason (2.4m)
3. Scott  / Anne (303D)
4. Peter Wagner (2.4m)
5. Mike Blatchford (Martin)
6. Martin Newman (Martin)
7. Bob Fisher (Liberty)
8. Louise McSweeney (303S)
9. Steve Farmer (303S)
10. Fay Watson / James Thomas (303D)
11. Tom Phillips (303S)
12. John Davis Ashdown / Mike Cartwright (Stratos)
13. Malcolm Hill / John Masters (Venture)

It was another quiet day at Chipstead Lake for the WS Racers who arrived eager to race. Fortunately there was just sufficient wind blowing – on and off – to enable a figure-of-eight race course to be set and at 11.30 the race began. Here are a few photos below that show how the fleet sorted itself out after the Start gong had sounded and they headed off towards Mark D and then Mark J (which had been switched on the lake from their normal positions) and with the wind blowing from the East,  which meant the boats were beating up to these windward Marks. The first boats around D and then J were David Mason in his 2.4m Sail #109, followed by Alan Harris (a WS volunteer) in his Access 303 Sail #8 and Keith Eeles in his Liberty Sail #2162 and behind him the other Liberty Pink Lady Sail #188 with Bob Fisher at the helm. (Great to see you back on the water – Captain Bob – and no doubt calling for “Room at the Mark” as you approached the first two Marks with an overlap on the boats outside you! Ed.)

Here is a superb picture of concentration – as David Mason was making very good headway despite so little wind which gave him a good lead heading down towards the leeward Marks A and B.

David was being hotly pursued by the two Liberty’s and Martin Newman in his Martin Sail #126 so he had to keep his wits about him and try to react to a shifting wind. As in recent weeks the  differing wind direction meant that helms were beating and running on different parts of the course simultaneously! Everybody continued to sail well and with the 30 minute target time for the race approaching and the wind fading, David was the first helm to reach the Finish line after 23 minutes – his first lap taking 11 minutes and the second 12 minutes – so he was gonged to finish. But as you WS Racers know only so well that would not necessarily mean that David would wind the race. In fact it was the fourth boat home on the water, after 27 mins 42 secs, that took first place once the PY handicaps had been applied – Keith Eeles in his Liberty. (Well done Keith on gaining your first 1st. Ed.). Keith will not be able to Race next week in the final race of the  2018 Spring Series and hence will not complete 5 Races to qualify for the Spring Series. Nevertheless, he has thrown down a gauntlet to all the other Racers for the approaching Summer Series.

There was mention around the lunch table of a bizarre occurrence during the Race when an interjection was made over the Loudspeakers asking the Racers to follow the course and then a moment later this admonishment was countermanded to say everybody was sailing just fine.  A spokesman for the Race Control unit said that any suggestion of incorrect instructions  being given by Race Control was fake news and although a foreign power might have been involved, in this instance the Race Controller had mis-stated  what he really wanted to say and any sensible helm would have appreciated the true intention. Too many folk are susceptible to fake news nowadays because they want to believe in conspiracies. Reports that the party at fault had resigned was totally untrue. (Why would  he , if nothing had happened? Ed.)

Result

1. Keith Eeles (Liberty)
2. Fay Watson/James Thomas (303D)
3. David Mason (2.4m)
4. Bob Fisher (Liberty!!!!!!)
5. Peter Wagner (2.4m)
6. Martin Newman (Martin)
7. John Hancock/Don (303S)
8. Tom Phillips (303S)

Five volunteers raced: Helen Fairfax and David (with his brother Simon) in the Stratos #2; Alan, Colin and Paul were out in Access 303Ss.

Fortunately Kim Sparkes popped her nose into the Race Hut at an opportune moment and she kindly helped note the times of each of the finishers.  And many thanks to everybody else involved in  getting the race off the ground and round the course and then everyone safely back on the pontoons!!

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)

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 1^st 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 1^st beat. He was followed closely by Mike Blatchford and Martin Newman, in the Martins, leading to a good battle up the 1^st 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 2^nd lap than 1^st.

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

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.

303 running downwind..

Martin sailing by Keith…

The starting pack after the 2.4s…

303s in combat…

Kim showing a clean transom…

David and Peter jousting for position..

303s battling to windward

David Mason running down the lake..

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)