Last Thursday (7th July) was a fabulous summer’s day and close to perfect for sailing at Chipstead. Lots of sun and reasonable 6 knot W / SW wind with some 10 knot gusts!! And it was great to be back at Chipstead after my five week absence to find 14 WS Racers eager to get on-the-water and be ready for the Start at 11.30.  There were eight 303s – five of which had crews to assist, two Liberty’s, three 2.4s and a solitary Martin! What a turn out…  with all the leaders of the Spring Series ready to do battle.  Peter Gregory was present and he is now sailing just for the pleasure of the occasion, having grabbed the top step on the podium with 5 first places  from his 6 races to-date! A great performance and building on his competing in his 2.4 elsewhere for a few weeks earlier in the season. It was good to meet Andy Wallace who has become a regular Racer in the last month and to welcome Hash, Kelly and Lisa to the Spring Series.

Mike Coleman offered his services before the race to answer Racers’ questions and demonstrate sailing techniques on-the-water. Since all the early arrivals wanted to get out and enjoy the conditions, he had a number of takers!! Some with more success than others….Bob Fisher followed Mike’s instruction to pull in his main sheet and …..had to return to the pontoon to have 250 litres of the lake removed from his 303! Well done for trying Bob since that is what training/learning is all about – but nasty Chipstead gusts can upset the best of sailors.  Everyone who wanted to race was milling around the Start line in good time to listen out for the 5 Minute Whistle!

The course had been set and was up on the Race Board from 1000. With the prevailing wind coming from the West, the Start line was between the Race boat and Mark D, with the first leg requiring a lengthy beat upwind to round the windward Mark B to starboard, followed by a run downwind with a gybe around Mark C to starboard and another run on a starboard tack back to Mark D to complete the course.

Whilst some of the volunteer Crews appeared to be unclear about the 5-4-1-0 starting sequence (because they asked what EVERY whistle blast meant), all the Racers knew what was going on and showed that they have got to grips with the Start Procedure.  Although it is difficult to keep your boat close to  the Start Line in the final minutes before the Start, some helms did just that and were rewarded by getting across the Start Line straight after their respective Start Whistle. Congratulations to Hash  and Mark for good starts in their Double-handed 303s, Bob for his flyer in his 303, Kim ditto in her Liberty and Andy in his Martin! Well done!

The schematic below shows how well Kim and the 303s held their own against the faster classes. By the end of the 35 minute race we see that Kim kept  in front of Peter Gregory (by just a few metres) to win,  with Mike making the most of his 2.4’s speed to overhaul Steve who was the first 303, just ahead of Hash/Helen in their 303 and Andy/Ann in their Martin.  That was a sterling performance Steve – and no 360s this week!

All the Racers were challenged by a major wind-shift half way through race, as it moved from W to SW and then back to W. Those racers (particularly Peter G) who recognised the shift early were able to make the most of the nearly straight line tack from the downwind Mark D to the windward Mark B during the 2nd and 3rd laps.

Whilst I have been away, Racers’ finishing positions have been determined as they should be for a Pursuit Race – by the Race Boat being up with the winning boat and after blowing the final whistle (35/40 Minutes), moving back down the course to record the order that boats are in. This means that if another boat overtakes you AFTER the final whistle then point out to the other Helm that YOU were in front when the Race ENDED. And check your position with Race Officer if in doubt.

NB. The main reason for the change in the Finish Procedure is to help the Session Manager get enough volunteers and boats off the water in time to have some lunch and be ready to assist with the start of the afternoon session. 

Final Result: 1. Kim; 2. Peter G; 3. Mike B; 4. Steve; 5. Has/helen; 6. Andy/Ann; 7. Ann F; 8. Lisa/Pippa; 9. Bob F; 10. Mark/Kat; 11. Peter W; 12. Kelly/John; 13. Fay/Rick; 14. Brian Mac

So another race is done, and what a good race it turned out to be! Considering that during the morning whilst we were trying to plan the course, there was virtually no wind and it looked as though it would stay that way…
But some wind did eventually fill-in from the South West, and a course was set of; the start line between the committee boat and Mark-C, heading up to Mark-A (taken to starboard), over to Mark-B (again taken to starboard), then back around Mark-C (you’ve guessed it, on starboard again).

When the race was eventually started at 11:30, Steve Farmer made a cracking start, flying into a good lead over the other 303’s, with Ann heading the chasing pack of Mark, Bob, Brian & Fay. Three minutes later Andy Wallace in the lone Liberty joined the chase.
Then 10 minutes after the first start, and just as the first of the 303’s finished their first lap, the pack of much faster boats of three 2.4mR’s and two Martin’s, lead by Peter Gregory, also joined the race and slowly began the task of unwinding the lead the 303’s had gained. Steve kept the lead for the first 2 laps, eventually being overtaken by Ann on the 3rd lap. But behind them, Peter G was gradually pulling back the leaders and eventually he gained the lead on the 4th lap.

Results: 1.Peter G, 2.Ann, 3.Steve, 4.David, 5.Peter W, 6.Bob, 7.Mark, 8.Malcolm, 9.Brian, 10.Fay, 11.Mike, 12.Andy.

All morning it looked like there may not be a race because the wind was intermittent  (non-existent mostly) and occurring in different parts of the lake. A flagged buoy was laid in the middle of the western part of the lake to make use of whatever wind there was at race start time.

The race was started between ‘C’ and the commando, the course being shouted out to the competitors.  The first mark was the flagged buoy then to ‘B’ and finally ‘C’, all marks being taken to starboard. There was sufficient wind for all the boats to cross the start line although a number of 303s had minds of their own returning to the start line to the obvious frustration of the helms. The 2.4s again had an overlapped start and probably a little more wind.

There was more wind during the race’s 40 minutes than there had been earlier but there were holes in the wind and bunches of boats appeared. When the wind returned the interference from other boat’s sails close by made it a lottery which boats got away. Boats that stayed away from the bunches generally improved their positions by getting the best wind over their sails, even if their course was longer.

Peter Gregory took three laps to get into the lead but the other 2.4s had more of a battle this week with the 303s of Paul and Fay, crewed by Bruce and Tony respectively,  separating them at the finish.

There are four more races left in the series but we already have ten people that have completed five races to qualify for a series position. The latest qualifier is Peter Gregory who immediately jumped into first position with five first finishes, probably an unassailable lead. Behind Peter there is all to play for with the next five boats having scores from 12 to 17. The positions between David, Kim, Mike Blatchford, Mark, and Peter Wagner being likely to change during July.

Finally an apology to Mike Blatchford for not adding his point total correctly last week.

I hope to see you all next Thursday with Sun and reasonable wind.

Bob Marsh

Results: 1.Peter G, 2.Paul Varney, 3.David, 4.Fay, 5.Peter W, 6.Ann, 7.Brian, 8.Bob, 9.Mark, 10.Andy.

The course was set with a reasonable southerly wind, starting between the commando and ‘C’, then to ‘K’, ‘D’ and back to ‘C’ taking all buoys to port. Unfortunately the wind had almost died away for the first start, for 303s. That left the risk takers too far away to get back to the start line for the whistle, I reckon they’ll stay closer to the start line next week. By the time the Martins and 2.4s started the wind had filled in but moved round to the south south west. That was fortunate for the OOD because I forgot my phone with the handicap adjustments and started the faster boats with a 10 minute delay instead of 8. The five fast boats being the first five finishers. I’ll have a printed reminder next time!

The first lap was probably the most important of the race with the 303s and Liberty working hard to find and make use of the wind. Bob Fisher had been half way across the lake at the start whistle and actually started a few minutes after the whistle for the 303s. He made up for it by overhauling the boats ahead of him and was first to complete lap one. He was followed by Peter Gregory in a 2.4, despite the ten minute handicap, and then Steve Farmer.

By the end of the second lap the handicap had been unwound and the five fast boats, led by Peter Gregory, went through in the first five positions. That continued until the race finish.

When you look at the series results you’ll see that we now have enough competitors completing five races to be able to show provisional positions. Kim is in first position followed by Mike Blatchford and David Mason in equal second with a tie between Mark Cayzer and Peter Wagner for fourth. The scores between the boats are very close so its important to keep on plugging away to replace your highest scoring race with a lower number.  There are plenty of boats that haven’t completed five races yet but their scores to date indicate they’ll pop into a high position when they qualify. Not least is Peter Gregory who has four wins on the scoreboard.

Don’t forget to let me or Peter know if you’d like training or a different race format or any other changes.
Bob Marsh
bobmarsh1963@gmail.com

Result: 1.Peter G, 2.Mike, 3.Mark, 4.David, 5.Peter W, 6.Bob, 7.Steve, 8.Andy, 9.Fay, (Brian Retired)

It was good to see the turnout for racing and how close its all become on my return to Wealden.

The 9th was a pleasant sunny day with a changeable wind (how unusual) coming from the east. The start was between the pontoon and ‘K’ with buoy ‘D’ being dragged down to the far end of the narrows for the first mark, back to ‘C’ for the second mark and then down to ‘K’ again, rounding all marks to port.

I ran the race as I had in 2015, with a target length of 30 minutes and a starting sequence of 3, 2, 1, Go.  The details were on the race board but the change caused confusion, apologies for that. In future I’m happy to run the race for either 30 or 40 minutes using the IYRU starting sequence of 5, 4, 1, Go or the training 3, 2, 1, Go. Please let me know your preferences and I’ll follow the majority, subject to non-racing activity.

The wind picked up just before the 303s started and they set off in a bunch led by Brian followed by Steve, Mark, and Fay. The wind had dropped a little by the time the faster classes started but there was plenty of wind to drive them. The Martin and 2.4s all crossed the start line overlapping each other, very impressive. Brian held his lead for the first lap but Mark had overtaken Steve to get into second, followed by Steve. Peter Gregory had managed to recover most of his handicap, being the fourth person to complete the first lap.

The length of the lap and the wind strength meant that only two laps were completed.

It was noticeable that the boats towards the back of the fleet had their sails flapping more often and ventured into the low/no wind area under the trees approaching ‘C’. Remember if the water is flat there is probably no wind and the only time your sail should flap is slowing down to approach the pontoon to land. You won’t be disqualified for practicing before the race and if you want somebody to give you tips, ASK.

I’m not yet technically competent enough to update the series results but will do so. Enough of you have completed 5 races to see a pecking order emerge. The table will show where you stand in the series to date.

Finally I’m aware that a lot has gone on while I’ve been away. When Peter Ashwell returns I’m bound to hear what you’ve requested but please tell both of us what it is you want as its your race, we just watch.

Happy Sailing

Bob Marsh

Results: Peter Gregory, Mark, Peter Wagner, Mike, Steve, Bob, Brian, Andy, and Fay.