I am sorry that I missed this Race but it appears you had an exciting and possibly exhausting day on the water. Many thanks to Fleur Bryant who acted as Race Officer and wrote this report:

Wow! What a race! Firstly, well done to everybody for getting out there and giving it a go. You did brilliantly! For those that made it to the end of the race, I hope you didn’t get too wet and you managed to enjoy yourselves. The lap times were so short (about 6 mins per lap instead of 9 to 11 minutes in recent weeks for the 2.4s) that it was quite a job keeping tabs on you all!

The Start of the Race was delayed because Mark D had drifted too close to the shore, which was keeping the rescue boats busy re-floating the significant numbers of boats that ran aground. Once D was moved, the race got underway. Fortunately the wind dropped a bit to allow for an easier start line. It was great to see lots of good tactical positioning prior to the start leading to a big bunch close to the start line when the Gong sounded.

Well done to Mike Blatchford for his great start. First across the line ……. maybe, but in all the excitement remember not to sail too close to the wind on the Beat since, although you may think you are going to get the upwind mark sooner, actually the boat is not moving as fast as it could if you were to ease off the wind a bit, and hence you end up taking longer to get to where you’re heading!!  This was also the case for the Venture. The first beat saw some really close racing within the Access’ and Liberties fleets. There were some issues at the Windward Mark with a number of people heading too close to the shore and running aground. (Oh dear!! Ed) Try to assess the position of the Mark before planning your route up to it. There was plenty of room to reach the Mark but heading to the left of it was not ideal for the wind direction or depth of water.

The first lap was extremely fast, with Peter Gregory leading the fleet round in just 6 minutes 45 seconds.  After this point, it got rather busy in the race box, single-handedly recording each of your times on the results sheet, so the subsequent tactics and sailing  have avoided any further scrutiny and assessment 🙂 !

There were a couple more Port / Starboard incidents which you should try to avoid as much as possible by keeping an eye on what other boats around you are doing and anticipating where they are likely to tack/gybe and how that might affect you. However beyond this, the overriding rule is to avoid a collision – so even if you are in the right, you still must avoid hitting someone!! (PLEASE!! Ed).
Well done again to everyone that made it round, you are all heroes! We look forward to seeing you next week for the FINAL Race of the Spring Series.

———— Results Update !! ————

The Final Results (pending any further updates), are:

• 1st Peter Gregory
• 2nd Bill Garry
• 3rd Mark Cayzer & crew
• 4th Mike Blatchford
• 5th Fay Watson & crew
• 6th Andy Wallace

There were DNF’s (DID NOT FINISH) for: Bob Fisher & Steve Farmer in two single-handed 303’s, Martin ?? in a Liberty, and Brian Mac in the Venture.
There was also a single-handed 303 (sail number 3) for which we have no name…..if anyone knows the sailor of No:3 on that day, please let us know…

As was stated by the Trustees on the website confirming that sailing would be on today, “Wind was going to be hard to find”. Nevertheless we had nine Racers eager to enjoy a beautiful, sunny morning on the water and ready to find whatever wind might appear. Certainly at 10:30 AM the expected 4 knots of breeze was looking optimistic with barely a ripple disturbing the glassy surface across most of the lake.

The course was set with the wind blowing from the SSW, from the normal Start Line (between Buoy K and a distance marker Flag in the middle of the lake) with an initial Beat up to the Windward Mark B, to be left to starboard, before running down towards Mark C and, after gybing around C, continuing the run to Mark D which was to be left to starboard before starting the beat back to the starting gate and Mark C. However, today was a day when the Racers would find it was not only going to be difficult to find the wind but also to work out how to react to the wind’s changes of direction.

The 5 minute gong sounded on time at 11:25 AM and despite the difficulties caused by having very little wind, all the Helms in the race managed to have a clean start. David Mason in his 2.4 quickly put two or three boat lengths between himself and the following group comprising Fay Watson in a 303, with her trusty crew James Thomas, Andy Wallace in a Martin, Peter Wagner in a 2.4 and John Masters in a Stratos. There wasn’t a lot of space between these Helms as they followed David Mason towards the first Mark.

A few boat lengths behind them came Ann Frewer in her 2.3, Bill Garry in a Martin, Brian Mac in a Liberty, Mark Cayzer in a 303, with his crew Andy, and Kelly in a 303, with her crew Mike McKenzie. The Helms in this second group benefited from the vagaries of the light breeze, as a gentle increase in strength seemed to bypass the first group and hence enable the second group to make up ground so that nearly the whole fleet was bunched up as it approached the Windward Mark B.

Meanwhile David Mason had rounded Mark B in the lead and was well on his way to the second Mark C by the time the first of the chasing boats reached and rounded Mark B.

At this stage the strength of the wind was close to the forecast 4 knots and all the Helms were probably quite happy since their boats were moving along nicely. The steadiness in the wind meant that David gybed around Mark C still with a sizeable lead over Andy Wallace in his Martin. But Andy was in hot pursuit as were Fay Watson in her 303 and the Stratos, with John Masters at the helm. A slightly stronger breeze had also helped Peter Wagner in his 2.4, Brian Mac in the Liberty and Bill Garry in the other Martin to make up some distance on the leader. However, as was expected today, the wind started to play tricks and whilst David Mason benefited from a short-lived gust, those just 200 yards behind found themselves stalled as the wind died. On approaching Mark C, the momentum and bigger sail of the Stratos managed to help John Masters sail past the boats that had stalled in front of him and, together with Peter Wagner, he started to chase after David Mason. Andy Wallace found the wind again and took up the pursuit closely behind Peter Wagner. Brian Mac and Bill Garry  were also still very much in the hunt, although seeming to take a longer course than was necessary given the wind direction.

As the front of the fleet tacked around Mark D, there was sufficient wind to help them keep moving across the water and complete their first lap of the course.

However, the wind soon backed into SSE and the leg from Mark D to Mark B became a run rather than a beat. The Helms that recognised this were clearly at an advantage and let their sails out accordingly….but this situation did not last for very long, since the wind died completely, leaving the second half of the fleet (now on the leg between Marks D and B) in the doldrums. When it returned, it was blowing from the SSW. From the Race Hut, we could see how difficult it was for Helms to decide how best to set their sails. A number of boats started sailing involuntarily back to Mark D whilst others went round in circles, until the wind made its intentions clearer and settled down blowing  gently from the South!!

For the remainder of the race, David Mason, John Masters and Peter Wagner managed to gain a sizeable advantage over Andy and Bill’s Martins, Brian’s Liberty, Ann’s 2.3 and Fay, Mark and Kelly’s 303s who all completed their second laps, seesawing up and down the order as the wind blew or disappeared. The two 2.4’s were asked to sail a third lap since they were well ahead of the rest of the fleet after 20/25 minutes.  and at some point during their third lap, Peter managed to find some good wind whilst David sailed into the doldrums. Which enabled Peter Wagner to finish in front of David this week. (What a ding-dong tussle these two are having this series! Great stuff. Ed.)

Well done to everybody racing. It was another tricky and trying day for you all.

And many thanks to Fleur Bryant who was out on the water with her son Henry giving encouragement to and teaching those in need…
 
and to Chris Wagner for dog-sitting Gyp.

The Final Result is:

• 1 Peter Wagner
• 2 David Mason
• 3 Ann Frewer
• 4 Mark Cayzer and Andy
• 5 Andy Wallace
• 6 Brian Mac
• 7 Kelly and Mike McKenzie
• 8 Bill Garry
• 9 Fay Watson and James Thomas

These results have been added on to the Spring Series Race Summary where you can see that 11 racers have now qualified for the Series by sailing at least 5 races. Bravo!!

Wow, what a report from our newest Race Officer, Fleur Bryant.
Grab yourself a comfy chair and a cuppa….and read on!

Another day of light wind conditions although, as usual at Chipstead, with a few testing gusts. The wind blew from the opposite direction from last week reversing the common ACD course to DCA. There was a short 5 minute delay getting the race going as WS volunteers struggled to get everyone who wanted to race into a boat (mainly of their choice).

Frustratingly, the wind dropped during the starting sequence which seemed to catch a few people out. But not the ever alert Ann Frewer and David Mason who both made brilliant starts and led the fleet out!! Fortunately, the wind was restored within a minute of the starting gun which Peter Gregory took full advantage of, pushing forward to the front. The 2.4’s sailed a highly competitive 1st lap with Peter Wagner and David Mason fighting nip-and-tuck to the Windward Mark D; a race which Peter Wagner won. They were followed by Kim, leading the 303’s, and Brian Mac in the Liberty, who again this week, sailed a very strong first beat. The remaining 303’s had a frustrating end to their beat when the wind all but died just as they approached the Windward Mark. The result being that even the best helms will find it near impossible to make progress forward or even to steer a chosen course. So well done to all those WS Racers who persevered, it was a testing part of the race for you. Once round the Windward mark, the 2.4’s headed down to Mark C in more extremely close racing, which was a joy to see from the Club House (and Race Hut) and the excellent vantage point above the lake. There was further close racing further back in the fleet with Brian Mac making a very neat overtaking move on Kim. This waterborne tussle became a feature of the race for both of them.

The 2nd lap saw Peter Gregory stretch his legs. Peter Wagner and David Mason continued their dual up the second beat. There was just 9 seconds between them at the Start / Finish gate. Having regained her advantage over Brian Mac, Kim maintained this advantage over the other 303’s up the second beat closely followed by Ann Frewer in her 2.3. Brian then made another move on Kim just before the gate and then on Andy Wallace, sailing straight underneath him (Not literally I hope!! Ed). Fay Watson, not far behind the pack, caught a lovely gust of wind which propelled her towards the gate. Brian Mac continued his strong performance keeping ahead of Kim round the Gybe Mark C. The 303’s remained in a tight bunch, all flooding through the gate in quick succession keeping me on my toes in the Race Box. Frustratingly again, after the 303’s rounded the Windward Mark D, the wind once again dropped significantly. This left Fay and Ann stuck, bobbing about like flotsam on the surface of the lake. Fortunately the lull in the wind didn’t last for long and this enabled them to run down Mark C. Just as they were closing on the Leeward Mark A, Kim made another move on Brian Mac, sailing over the top of him. However, Brian was having none of it and immediately found enough speed to gain the advantage once again.

The 2.4’s were sailing fast enough to warrant doing a 3rd lap within the 30 minute time of the race and Peter Gregory sailed to his usual incredible standard thus forcing him to do a 4th lap. (Well done the 2.4’s! Ed.)
On the beat from Marks A to D, Peter Wagner made a push and got away from David Mason’s grip and Peter maintained this slight advantage, having a great final lap to keep David behind him through to the Finish Line.

A special mention for Mark Cayzer, who once again persevered to finish the race despite the very trying and difficult light wind conditions. Mark, well done, many may have given up, but you showed what a competitive racer you are to finish. The Venture also struggled in the light conditions but similar to Mark, completed the race to gain a finish result. (Well done guys! Ed.)

Another great race. A big thank you to all of you for continuing to come each week. We love seeing how much you have all improved and your competitive spirit leading to close races which is very enjoyable watch from the race box.

The final result is:

• 1st Peter Gregory
• 2nd Peter Wagner
• 3rd Ann Frewer
• 4th David Mason
• 5th Brian Mac
• 6th Kim Sparkes
• 7th Colin Donoghue (crew Bob Turk)
• 8th Fay Watson (crew James Thomas)
• 9th Mike Blatchford
• 10th Malcolm Hill
• 11th Andy Wallace
• 12th Mark Cayzer
• 13th Paul Hagan (crew Peter Coulcher)

Well everyone, the long awaited race report for the race on Thursday 29th June, written by our newest race officer Fleur Bryant, is finally here. What a race report it is, with a fantastic result at the end once the handicapping was applied….and a new race winner…!!!

THE REPORT

Light, shifty winds were the order of the day, but the race was able to take place on the now common ACD race course. The pack bunched at the start, competing for position. Mike Blatchford was first across the line on the port end of the line in a Martin. The wind was fickle though and his good start was whittled away by Peter Gregory in his 2.4, aka The Red Torpedo, who took full advantage of the lighter shifty breeze. He was followed closely by Peter Wagner and David Mason also in their 2.4s. Behind them leading the way for the Access 303s were Fay Watson with her crew James Thomas and then Brian Mac in a Liberty.

The wind struggled for the remaining part of the lap. The 2.4s had a highly competitive first lap, but the end of the first lap showed the importance of choosing the right side of the beat when Peter Wagner and David Mason rounded the Leeward mark and took opposing sides. Peter being forced into the shoreline side of the beat lost out once they reached the start / finish gate.

Brian Mac continued a strong performance from the start, gaining advantage on the beat and maintaining his position on the subsequent two legs. The 303 fleet was led by Fay Watson, followed by Bob Fisher then Ann Frewer in her, highly handicapped, 2.3 and then Steve Farmer and Mark Cayzer. Whilst the beat was competitive on the 2nd lap, positions were maintained with only 2 changes. Fay made her move and overtook Brian Mac in the Liberty, whilst Andy Wallace decided to retire.

The 2.4s sailed a 3rd lap having completed the 2nd lap in well under the 30 minutes allotted for the race. The placings were maintained, although both Peter Gregory and David Mason managed to pull away, increasing the gaps between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd positions on the water.

Well done to everyone for persevering with the fickle winds. Mark Cayzer must also have a mention for brilliantly persevering and finishing the course.

A couple of points to remember: firstly, the starboard end of the line (the right side) may not always be the best end to start as was proved by Mike Blatchford in this race; secondly, before the race, try to practice the time it takes to get to the line from a starting position behind the line. There was quite a gap between the gun firing and the first boat over the line. Getting this right will lead to significant gains over competitors and reducing your overall sailing time.

Finally well done to everybody, not a single competitor forgot to go through the start / finish gate. And many congratulations to our new race winner Fay Watson!

The final result is:

• 1st Fay Watson (crew James Thomas)
• 2nd David Mason
• 3rd Peter Gregory
• 4th Ann Frewer
• 5th Peter Wagner
• 6th Brian Mac
• 7th Bob Fisher
• 8th Steve Farmer
• 9th Mike Blatchford
• 10th Mark Cayzer
• Retired Andy Wallace

This leaves the overall series results with 4 races left, as:

• 1st Kim Sparkes – 5 points
• 2nd Mike Blatchford – 7 points
• 3rd David Mason – 11 points
• 4th Peter Gregory – 14 points
• 5th Fay Watson – 18 points

WOW..!! What a day and what a race…!!
The day was beautiful and sunny, with a Westerly 10-15 knots of breeze blowing straight down the lake.
Which made setting a course very simple, with the start line between Mark-K and the now regular small marker flag, being directly in front of the main pontoon, and more importantly me, in the race hut on top of the grass bank. The course then headed off towards the Bricklayers, or more importantly Mark-A, which was to be rounded on the starboard side. The next mark, on the far side of the lake was Mark-C, again rounded on the starboard side, which would therefore also require a gybe. Then the last mark before heading back to the finish line was Mark-D, just in the narrow area of the lake. After rounding this mark, again on starboard, boats then needed to luff up to close hauled, then start tacking, in order to make their way back to the “end of lap gate”, between Mark-K and the small flag.

With that to look forward to, it was great to see 17 keen racers turn up for the battle!
And the racing did not disappoint us, with lots of tussles, and maybe a few actual “clashes” ongoing throughout the race. A couple to mention were:-
The race long fight between the Red Torpedo of Peter Gregory, and Paul Hagan (ably assisted by Bruce Hebbert) in the RS Venture. They were so close, that even at the end of their 4 laps, they were only 34 seconds apart..!!
Also worthy of note, was the excellent performance from Andy Wallace, who did so well in his trusty Martin16 that he finished only 2 minutes behind Mike Blatchford (a regular front runner in the fleet)!.

Now for a little bit of “NEW” information.
At he’s own request and because he is almost a guaranteed winner of every race he takes part in, Peter Gregory has agreed to have a ‘personal handicap’ applied to his race results. (FYI. I’m happy to discuss in more detail if any is that interested, but every boat has what is called a Portsmouth Yardstick handicap number, which is meant to even out the speed difference between faster and slower boats.) Quite simply what this means is that the handicap number for Peter will not be the same as the other two 2.4m’s. So Peter will have to sail that much harder and faster to have a chance of winning…..!! Also, Peter’s new handicap has been retrospectively applied to all the previous races in the Spring Series….so have a look at the overall race sheet to see what effect this has had…!!
Peter may start to regret this very soon, when he realises where this new handicap puts him in this last race…

Anyway, to the actual race results. The positions were:-

• 1st Kim Sparkes
• 2nd Mark Cayzer (crew Fleur Bryant)
• 3rd Mike Blatchford
• 4th Fay Watson (crew James Thomas)
• 5th David Mason
• 6th Andy Wallace
• 7th Paul Hagan (crew Bruce Hebbert)
• 8th Brian Mc
• 9th John ? (crew Nigel)
• 10th Peter Gregory
• 11th Peter Wagner
• 12th Steve Farmer
• 13th Phil ? (crew Papa Pete & Helen)
• 14th Bill Garry
• 15th Sam ? (crew Jemma)
• RETIRED – Bob Fisher
• DOES NOT COUNT – Pole who is a volunteer sailing without a client