Reports – Page 2 – Rollesby Broad Sailing Club

New Year’s Day Open 2022 Report

A perfect wind direction and mild temperature saw a great turnout, including 5 visitors, set out on the first 1 km beat along the entire length of Rollesby Broad for this year’s New Years Day Open. With a good breeze blowing there were capsizes and anyone who could break clear of the main fleet traffic and find some clear air was likely to prosper, the usual ‘stay away from the banks’ strategy on the return run only seemed to pay for spinnaker boats rather than the single-handers who were significantly split in downwind tactics.

Rather unsurprisingly it was Daren Pike in his Phantom who led round race 1; perhaps inspired by the challenge of lapping daughter Emily in her Topper; he managed it comfortably in race 1 only by a few seconds in race 2. His closest challenger on the water was Daniel Bull in his Laser, revelling in the strong conditions Bull took both the first two races on handicap and hence the meeting! Behind these front two the racing was extremely close with only one point overall separating third from seventh.

Dave Houghton & Jon Symonds struggled to get their Wayfarer to the front of the fleet upwind, but once they raised their spinnaker they were able to make up their handicap with Richard Bailey & Ian Curtis also enjoying the kite flying on the long run. Roger Wilson and Ian Ayres led the nine strong Solo fleet, swapping wins in the morning, but unable to escape far enough from Ellie Edwards in her Splash who enjoyed her morning with two fourth place on handicap.

After a capsize and a DNF in race 1 slightly more space (13 starters) and a change of course for the afternoon clearly suited Howard Astley-Jones in his Vareo as he record a win to snatch third place overall on a tie break with Pike and Edwards, coming ashore the sailors had no idea of the overall minor places; Bailey and Wilson were also tied just one point from third.

Overall Results

1. Daniel Bull (Laser) – 2 pts
2. Dave Houghton & Jon Symonds (Wayfarer) – 5
3.Howard Astley-Jones (Vareo) – 8
4. Daren Pike (Phantom) – 8
5. Ellie Edwards (Splash) – 8
6. Richard Bailey & Ian Curtis (Wayfarer) – 9
7. Roger Wilson (Solo) – 9

Full Results can be found here…..

Race report – Wed 12th May

The third race of our summer pursuit season started under auspicious circumstances; it was not too cold and the wind was moderate!

It was good to see a couple of people who had not sailed before in a Rollesby race amongst the turn-out of 13 boats. We hope to see you back next week!

There was one Wayfarer, flying the flag for the double-handers! The wind behaved (as well as Rollesby wind ever does) and the sun sank slowly as the race progressed.

The Officer of the Day team was kept busy tracking movements up and down the fleet, so they never did manage that second cup of tea.

The result:

R Bailey (Wayfarer)
K Edwards (Solo)
C Foster (Laser)

Perhaps all of us who, after the race, heard the bittern booming over the Broad were winners.

Ken.

Wed Report 5th May

There was a lack of wind at 6 pm and some members decided to give the race a miss. By the time the race got going though the sailors who stayed had the benefit of a gentle South West breeze. The breeze gradually increased giving a lovely evening sail.

Jack Ibbotson joined the evening sailors this week and started in his Finn on a “scratch handicap.” Jack soon got to the front and stayed ahead to win the race. Next time he starts a minute latter and will soon establish his personal handicap.

Report Wednesday Sailing 28-04-2021

The forecast for strong winds kept many regular participants at home. Six keen members went out however, to enjoy the pursuit race, with the north wind blowing down the broad.

With fast lap times Ellie Edwards in her Splash completed the first lap as the four Lasers were just starting.

The laser sailors had many capsizes and Ellie kept pace with them to keep the lap ahead and win. Clive Girling eventually pull clear other the other lasers for a second place.

Special mention of our new member David Taylor. With limited experience Dave set of sailing his GP 14 single handed and managed several laps of the course to finish the race still dry,

Spring Regatta – Report

Twenty-six boats truned out for our first event of 2021! on a bright sunny morning with a reasonable if somewhat patchy south-westerly breeze. Three diagonal beats were set across the Broad with long downwind return allowing those with spinnakers to fly them.

With the wind shifting occasionally to south, before it rose and settled, Roger Wilson was able to get a port flyer in race one as a lull passed across the fleet in the last minute before the start leaving many drifting around at the wrong end of the line. Matt Boreham also stared well and these two led through the upwind legs on the first lap. Howard Astley-Jones hoisted his spinnaker at the far end of the Broad and was able to lead after the first lap, with Dave Houghton and John Symmonds using theirs to great effect too, recovering from an early navigational error!

On the downwind leg Phil Highfield and Richard Brown escaped from the pursuing pack to join the front bunch. The spinnaker flyers could not gain enough on the Solos who took the first two places on handicap.

In the middle of the fleet a large pack arrived at the last mark on a puff descending on an unfortunate Steve Leigh and Stuart Highfield who had led them into the wind hole at the mark. Eight boats crossed the line in a 5 second period! With Ellie Edwards gaining most having raced well with the faster craft and enabling her to take third on handicap.

Race two saw a slightly increased breeze in a more steady direction, indeed it rose on lap two enough to provide a couple of capsizes. Daniel Bull took advantage of his boatspeed to lead for much of the race, but had to settle for second a mere couple of seconds behind Dave and John who were enjoying the spinnaker run.

There was a very close second bunch with Jack Ibbotson, Roger, Matt, Phil, Daniel Harvey, Pete & Rachel Smith and Steve Whitby all largely abreast at one point on the first run. Phil did escape from the rest on the second lap, but couldn’t quite clear Roger and they tied on handicap for third place.

A great turnout for our fist sail of the year with prizes distributed throughout the fleet.

Full results are on the website page.

DSCF9100 — Flickr Photos – Thanks to the Race Team.

Autumn Regatta Report

Despite a heavy downpour during pre-race rigging, nineteen boats took to the water for Rollesby’s 2020 Autumn regatta.

In the multisail fleet, only the Wayfarers had listened to the sailing instructions, starting on time but enjoying a close race with Bob Sparrow & Steve Gibbons taking a narrow but important win from Auriel Gibson and Lindsey Nettleton. In race 2 Howard Astley-Jones was hot of the line in his Vareo and did a horizon job on the Wayfarers. Sparrow took second and the class cup!

In the much larger single-sailed fleet the racing was much more mixed; indeed the overall winner counted two thirds it was that mixed up! In race 1 Richard Brown and Chris Foster in Lasers led from Ian Ayres’ Solo early on. Daren Pike took his Phantom past them all but could not establish a large enough lead and it was Roger Wilson in his Solo who recovered from a slow start to take the win from Ayres with Ellie Edwards sitting comfortably well in mid pack in her Splash.

In race 2 the slower boats all wanted to get onto port tack as soon as possible, but only Wilson cleared the faster craft, who chose to start on starboard and he established a good lead early on. The breeze was somewhat erratic, but enough to capsize several of the leading bunch, including Wilson. The Lasers of Dan Bull and Matt Boreham (despite some penalty turns) were able to take advantage of this and pull out good distance as the rest recovered. There was a good ladies race going on in the bunch with Edwards beating Tamsin Highfield (Streaker) by just 4 seconds to give her the overall win over Wilson and Bull.

The Autumn (Oct / Nov) series begins next weekend with separate starts. If we manage to get catering back up and running as as is planned we may even get some afternoon racing in!

Multisails (4 Entries)

1. Bob Sparrow & Steve Gibbons (Wayfarer) – 3 pts
2. Howard Astley-Jones (Vareo) – 4
3. Auriel Gibson & Lindsey Nettleton – 5

Single Handers (15 Entries)

1. Ellie Edwards (Splash)– 6 pts
2. Roger Wilson (Solo) – 7 pts
3. Dan Bull (Laser) – 8
4. Ian Ayres (Solo) – 10
5. Matt Boreham (Laser) – 12
6. Tamsin Highfiled (Streaker) – 12
7. Richard Brown (Laser) – 14
8. Chris Foster (Laser) – 14
9. Jack Ibbotson (Finn) – 19
10. John Saddington (Solo) – 20
11. Richard Foster (Laser) – 25
12. Tom Quale (RS300) – 27

RBSC E-series 2 Report

With the lockdown restrictions still in place, today saw the commencement of the second e-series. This follows the conclusion of the clubs initial series last week in which Phil was crowned overall winner and hence having the responsibility of representing the club in the e-sailing regional championship.

With the ‘newbies’ to the game now getting to grips with their craft the racing is proving to be closer with just about everyone heading the fleet at some point. And with the exception of one race everyone finished with 46 seconds of each other, another indication of how everyone was improving.

It proved to be a slow start for our newly crowned champion as it took a couple of races to get back to his winning ways !

In race one Tamsin, Dan & Keith led the fleet by some distance with Phil having to go back after a premature start. On the final downwind leg Tamsin appeared to have the race until the technical gremlins ejected her from the game leaving Dan to take the win. The has led to a new race classification of GBO !

Dan took an early lead in race two which he held throughout the race with Keith, Phil and Dave fighting over the next three places. On the line Keith crossed just ahead of Phil then Dave. Just behind Antony and Ian enjoyed a close tussle throughout the race with Antony crossing the line 1.5 seconds ahead. Tamsin again ‘disappeared’ from the water, perhaps she needs to speak to technical support !

The fleet were closely bunched up the first windward leg in race three. Dan was choosing the upwind routes well and edged round the windward mark first followed by Dave. By the final downward leg Dan had opened up a good lead over Dave who was just ahead of Keith and Phil who were covering each other, Phil eventually crossing the line half a second ahead of Keith.

Phil finally got back to his winning ways in race four after leading Dave and Dan round the course with Dan edging Dave out of second place by 0.1 seconds and Keith and Ian just behind.

In the final ‘official’ race of the day Phil again lead the fleet closely followed by Dan. Only a few seconds separated Dave and Keith on the final downwind leg with Dave just managing to hold on against a charging Keith.

So Dan takes an early lead in the series but Phil is close behind. With the racing thus far taken place in 49er’s the general consensus was to try another craft for next week. This lead to the decision to try all them so for the following weeks we will be sailing, Stars, Formula 18, F50, J70, Offshore Yachts and finally the Nacra 17. So in order to prepare for this Keith kindly set up a few practise races in Stars, F18 and F50.

Full Results on Website here…..

Highfield – E Club Champion.

This week is was time to put all the training to good use in the RYA eSailing Spring Club Championships – Qualifier, each registered club puts forward a Club Champion to go onto the Regional Heats to be completed by 24th May. Recent form had 2 clear favourites in Phil Highfield and Daniel Harvey who were neck and neck in the Spring E-series. It was going to be 5 races of 3 laps in the 49er with 3 to count. (The higher discard count to cater for unforeseen technical difficulties) .

In the First race the usual 2 suspects were at the front in a close battle, Phil just pipping Daniel to the line by 2 seconds with Tamsin not far behind in third. Race 2 a close battle to the end, Phil first over the line with Keith pushing Daniel back into third. Phil was looking good to be club champion just needing 1 more win to claim the title. Race 3 – Another closely fought race this time Daniel taking the win by 3 seconds and Dave finding his form in Third. So at this stage Phil the Daniel with a three way tie for third. Race 4 – Would Phil seal the deal? Not this time, for a change Phil was back in the pack, Dave wining, Daniel and Keith 3^rd. Still it wasn’t over if Daniel could take the win the title would be his. Race 5 – Phil got away at the windward mark with Dave a few seconds back and Daniel hot on his heals. Phil managed to hold for a comfortable win and the title, Daniel overall 2^nd and Dave 3^rd.

So Phil is off to the RYA East regional Qualifier (more details to follow), and he also takes the RBSC E-Spring Series title from Daniel and Tamsin in 3^rd.

Full Series Results Here……

In a post race interviews when asking the top 2 for their race tips.

Phil – “Auto Vmg is very good on a phone or tablet, but it can hide the shifts a bit”

Daniel – “I tend to keep an eye on the top left circle and the darker areas where the wind is stronger (Phil really uses this well!) This is especially beneficial at the start. Also, if behind on the downwind leg, try and use your wind shadow to slow the other boat. A good WiFi signal helps too, it’s really frustrating when in a good position and you get kicked out! and good footwear too, I nearly came a cropper between races walking to get another beer!”

So next week a new series, format as to be confirmed, although it will still be five races each week.

The racing is getting closer and a bit more tactical. So come and Join us next week. (we can always do some informal races before Sunday if required.)

Good luck to Phil and See you all next week.

Keith

E-sailing Report’s– 26th April 2020

Round 4 of Virtual sailing at Rollesby

The fourth instalment of the Rollesby Broad e-Spring series was held on the 12^th April in Cagliari (Italy) with a few missing from previous weeks. Phil was leading the series but Daniel had been challenging him lately. The fleet opted to stay in the now familiar 49er.

The first 2 races saw Daniel then Phil take the wins with the other 2nd, Races 3 and 4 and Daniel got out in front but Dave then Tamsin pushing Phil back into 3rd.

Race 5 and positions back to normal with Daniel taking the win from Phil. So with 1 week to go in the series it really couldn’t be closer as both are tied on 15 points

The Fulls Days results Here.

Next Week RYA Region Qualifier

As we have entered the RYA ESailing championship and we need to have a club champion by 3rd May thats on Sunday. It looks like it will be Daniel or Phil on current form but you never know. The format is a 5 race series using the now familiar “49er” – We will have the 5 race series on the 3rd May and also include the results in the current series. (Its 2 discards in 5 to cater for technical issues).. Keith ERO

If you haven’t tried it yet it is relatively straightforward. It is easy and free to arrange an account, there is a ‘Training School’ to take you through the basics and a practice option to allow you to sail each of the craft. If required we could hold another practice session next Saturday if anyone would like to try before joining the racing on Sunday. If interested ping a message on the RBSC Sailors Chat WhatsApp group.

All these tips also apply to the real thing – And a good explanation!!

Full Series Results So far

E-sailing Report’s– 12th April 2020

Round 2 of Virtual sailing at Rollesby

The second instalment of the Rollesby Broad e-Spring series was held on the 12^th April in sunny Keil (Germany) with a few new helms joining the racing. Club members opted to stay with the 49er’s for the second set of five races. It did appear that the short journey had caused a a few glitches with the boats. (That’s my excuse- Keith)

Some Bimbling complete and Anna sticking to safety rules

The ladies got off to a good start in the first race with Tamsin Highfield and Anna Zmura leading at the windward mark. Phil however managed to slip through on the final lap to just take the win, an annoying habit he’s very good at!

Tamsin managed to reverse this in the second race by just beating Phil in what was the closest finish of the day with two seconds between second and fourth place.

After a DSQ and a DNC Dan Harvey finally got back on track in race three, beating Phil by two seconds after a race long tussle.

In race four Dave Houghton had a rare moment leading the fleet for just about the whole race only to see Phil cross the line one second ahead.

It was a family one two in race five with Phil taking another win and Tamsin just beating Antony Barnes who took his second podium position of the day.

Overall Phil Highfield continued his good form finishing in the top two in every race and now has a clear series lead.

This week’s sailing proved to be more competitive and despite the larger fleet the time difference between first and last positions was smaller than last weeks.

The Fulls Days results Here.

All these tips also apply to the real thing – And a good explanation!!

Spring e-series overall (top five)
1^st 49er 836 P Highfield (8pts),
2^nd 49er 666 D Harvey (19pts),
3^rd 49er 748 K Sykes (20 pts),
4^th 49er AntB A Barnes (29 pts),
5^th 49er Tazhi T Highfield) (34 pts)

Full Series Results So far

Many thanks to Dave for another great report.