There will be a race briefing in front of the club house at 10.30 am. The first start with be scheduled to start no sooner than 10.45.
It’s planned to schedule 3 races. 2 races in the morning a 1 race after lunch.
Competitors may be split in two separate fleets, “Multi-Sail” and “Single-Sail”, each with separate starts depending on the number of entries and conditions on the day. Classes with 6 or more entries may be given their own start/prizes by prior arrangement with the race authority if appropriate.
All enquires can be made to sailing@rbsc.org.uk or contact Roger Wilson on 01493 750434
You will be able to book and make your menu choices here.
(Please note that where we do have missing membership information you will be required to complete this first. Where membership data is complete you will be taken straight to the menu choices)
“I have some great news for you all, I will be away for several weeks so
you won’t have me sending you any more emails or bugging you at the Club
to sign up for the Winter Social. But I do hope when I get back I will
see that as many of you as possible have signed up. Everyone enjoyed it
last year and I promise you will this. Thanks.”
If you have any questions please contact me and if you can’t reach me then contact Pete Smith (membership@rbsc.org.uk or 01953 606334 ).
Seventeen boats turned out on a rare dry day for the annual Pursuit Race. The initial fresh S.W. wind veered during the morning to eventually become a light Westerly
There were two Fathers competing against their daughters in the fleet. Emily Pike in her Topper was the first to start whilst her Father Daren in his Phantom was the last. Emily held the lead for two laps but was overtaken by some of the faster boats in the sheltered parts of the course on lap three. Daren worked his way up to a mid fleet position overtaking Emily during lap four.
Ellie Edwards started second in her Splash. She held her place until lap four when she was passed by some of the faster boats. Dad Kevin and Sister Pipa started mid fleet in their Enterprise but by lap four they had become the lead boat and went on to take the Bent Vase Trophy as this year’s winners.
The first three boats spent the race in close competition. Ian Ayres in the Solo was close on the Enterprise’s tail and Dan Bull in the laser just behind. The other front runner was Roger Wilson in his Solo who was fourth. Dave Houghton and John Symonds in the Wayfarer had to be satisfied with a fifth place having won this event for the previous three years.
Initial Spread Out Fleet
Leader Close Up
At the end of the race competitors and spectators enjoyed Angie’s mince pies and mulled wine.
Ten boats took part in the next All-commers race. The first beat was “hiked out” sailing but as the veering wing dropped sailing conditions down the Broad become difficult. Getting round the marks on the sheltered side of the broad was the key to the race. Ian Ayres in his solo took an early lead and was a long way ahead when the course was shortened after two laps. Ellie Edwards in the Splash was second and Dan Bull in his Laser third.
Combined Report of Junior and Adult Novice Racing Regattas
Two sailing events were held on the 22nd of July and 23rd of September to promote racing to both juniors and adults in a beginner friendly way. Adults who considered themselves ‘novices’ at racing were encouraged to take part to enable them to build confidence and get some close races with others of similar abilities. Juniors competed to gain extra knowledge and have new experiences, with some starting their first ever proper race. There were three categories to enter based on age and experience criteria, Adults (self-explanatory!), Junior Gold (for sailors’ stage 2 and above) and Junior Silver (for ‘newer’ sailors aiming for stage 1).
Saturday 22nd of July 2023
The previous agreed date was postponed due to very high winds and a new date was set before the BBQ summer social which was planned later that afternoon. Due to this last minute cancellation and an unseasonably cold, wet and windy day, numbers were lower than expected. Despite this the sailors took on the tricky conditions, spurred on by the promise of prizes and of course the amazing BBQ after. Racing was extremely closely fought at the top end between both the junior and adult fleets, with lots of position swapping and nail biting finishes. It was two races to count from two so no slip-ups could be afforded if the competitors were aiming for a medal. The results are as follows below.
Adults:
Rhiannon (Splash) – 3 points
Andy (Splash) – 4 points
Gary (Laser) – 7 points
Jane B and Jane M (Wanderer) – 8 points
Chris and Angus (Heron) – 11 points
Junior Gold:
Henrietta (Optimist) – 2 points
Evie (Optimist) – 4 points
Matthew (Topper) – 9 points
Nicholas (Optimist) – 10 points
Saturday 23rd September
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
With the end of the Friday evening junior celebrations the day before, spirits were high and the turnout was great with 19 boats taking to the water. The wind was a shifty and gusty westerly, with some sailors opting for reefs to manage these conditions and all dressing warmly for the cooler air. The day started off quite windy and cold, but by lunch time the sun made an appearance but took the wind away! Again there was very close racing to be had in all fleets but this time sailors were allowed to discard their worst result from the three races with countback being taken into consideration. The rescue boat crew worked hard, relaying information about shorten courses and giving the newest racers in the junior silver fleet some additional guidance and support to get around their course. Things went down to the wire in the final junior gold race, as first place could have gone to anyone and the positons at the top end were constantly changing. Everyone displayed great tactics and skill to navigate the headers, lifts and patchy wind often inadvertently ending up with two beats! Slower boats seemed to benefit as their ‘good’ handicaps worked out well in the hotly contested races where most boats finished close together. By the end of the last race the wind had dropped to almost nothing and some boats drifted round to the finish. The sailors had well-deserved prizes waiting for them and the results follow below with a more detailed breakdown available in the club house.
Adults:
John (Laser 13) – 2 points
Suzanne (Topper) – 3 points
Andy (Splash) – 5 points
Ed (Laser) – 7 points
Don (Solo) – 8 points
Toni (Pico) – 10 points
Junior Gold:
Henrietta (Optimist) – 2 points
Matthew (Topper) – 3 points
Evie (Optimist) – 5 points
Kerry (Topper) – 7 points
James (Topper) – 11 points
Adam (Pico) – 11 points
Eleanor and Elsa (Wayfarer) – 12 points
Nicholas (Optimist) – 14 points
Una (Optimist) – 17 points
Junior Silver:
Josef (Topper 4.2) – 2 points
Bronwen (Optimist) – 4 points
Jack (Topper 4.2) – 4 points
Ketty (Optimist) – 7 points
A huge thank you is owed to our rescue boat crews, training team and the parents who all volunteered their time to help the event run smoothly. Another big thanks is given to all competitors who came out to support the club at these new events and showed such great determination and racing skills. A special mention also goes out to those juniors whose very first races were had as they all did amazing, taking to the race course in some challenging conditions and all completed at least once race. We look to run more events in the future so keep your eyes out! The team looks forward to seeing more of you out on the water racing on Sundays, doing the Wednesday Evenings Series next summer and the junior blocks in 2024, or just out for a casual sail next season when the weather returns. We hope you have enjoyed this season’s programme and will hopefully see you again sometime!
🌟The planned date is Saturday 23rd September and hopefully the weather will be better this time around! The overall plan and pre-event information is basically the same as last time but notable changes are 3 planned races (rather than 2) and if anyone has already paid for club boats their fee will roll over.
💫A polite reminder for members to please read the full information before signing up. You can WhatsApp me if you have questions but I am at the club Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as well.
✏️I have not deleted any sign ups so members can use the digital form in the document again to add/remove “comments” which I will then update as I get an email when ever someone suggests a change. If you are on mobile, you can click on the 3 dots and switch to ‘print layout’ to make it easier to read and ‘suggest changes’ but on a desktop mode I believe you just click and type in the box you want to make a comment on.
📝Paper copies and the cash tub will be in the club house from this Friday evening for people to sign up with and I will of course be checking those weekly on Sundays! Looking forward to having a great turn out again.
⛵There will hopefully be a mass email coming round soon so those who are not in the WhatsApp group can get the document as well, but please share this link with other members who may be interested. I will also produce a ‘report’ of the combined events (Saturday 22nd of July and this upcoming regatta) that could hopefully be posted on the website but that will all be in due course!
Here is the link for the updated document for our upcoming RBSC Junior and Novice Start Racing Regatta.
The Wednesday evening series has now finished for this year and was once again enjoyed by Club Members. Thirty-five different helms took part with about twelve boats out each week. Two nights were lost because of thunder and lightning arriving at the wrong time, but racing took place over sixteen summer evenings.
Although this series is known for a relaxing time the pursuit race is still keenly contested. The early leader was Phil Alison this year sailing his newly acquired “fast Harrier.” Followed by Clive Girling and Henrietta Highfield the series looked close for some weeks.
It was nice to see Roger Wilson out with his lovely Classic Merlin Rocket. We were all pleased to see new sailor Andy Adcock improving his position each week in the splash. Daniel Harvey was regularly racing again and getting very good results in his laser, but with his personal handicap increasing to plus 6 minutes he was having to work hard at the end of the series. As usual with the pursuit races the boats closed together towards the end of each race with competitors checking their watches to see who would end up in front of whom at the bell.
After discards kicked in and at the penultimate race, Phil Alison and Henrietta Highfield were level on points. The series winner would come down to the last night. Henrietta crewed by Dad Phil in the Mirror started in front and held the lead until passed on the last lap by Bob Hawkins in a Wayfarer. With Phil Alison and Daniel Harvey close behind Henrietta manage to hold on to second place and so take the series trophy. Phil came second overall with Daniel third just leading Clive Girling by 2 points.
So well done to Henrietta whose personal handicap this year has increased from -4 to +3 minutes.
We are all looking forward to next years series with the current handicaps carried forward.
SO reserve your Wednesday evenings for Rollesby in 2024