Wednesday Evening Personal Handicap Pursuit Race – Report 24/04/2024
The cold fresh wind during the day put members off coming for an evening sail. By the time of the race, however, the evening turned out to be bright, with a pleasant steady N.W. sailing breeze. Six boats took part.
Henrietta Highfield had an early start in the Oppie and had a couple of fast laps while the wind was still fresh but then decided to retire. David Taylor, returning after the winter, was next away in his solo. David was soon overtaken by the next starter, Auriel Gibson in her Wayfarer crewed by Chis Foster. Auriel then held the lead for five laps to win the race.
As the race timed out Mike McNamara with Ian Curtis was 2nd, Dave Taylor 3rd, John Saddington 4th, Jason Elmer with Steve Gibbons in a Wayfarer 5th followed by Phil Alison who can now start a minute earlier next week!
RBSC Eastern Area Solo Open Meeting Report – 20th April 2024
The freezing cold and strong northerly wind conditions may have deterred some from travelling to the RBSC Solo eastern area travellers open meeting on the 20th April but at least it made the decision about what to wear simple. Spring may be here, but full winter thermals and dry suits were the order of the day. There were 12 entries including 6 visitors.
Four races were scheduled but with wind speeds recorded up to 29 knots and gusting regularly in excess of 23-24 knots and mindful that some competitors would be headed to Hickling the following day, the OOD settled on a 3 race format with a single discard. With the wind direction predominantly in the north to north/west it was possible to set a long upwind/downwind course starting from a committee boat half-way down the broad. However, there were frequent shifts to the west, coming over the trees, which inevitably meant that the beat to No 5 mark would have to be a bit one sided.
Race 1 was won by Mathew Frary from NBYC with Chris Bunn from LYC 2nd and another visitor from NBYC, Duncan Ellis, taking 3rd. In Race 2 the positions were reversed with Chris Bunn taking 1st and Mathew taking 2nd and Steve Ede from Ardleigh SC coming 3rd.
Conditions were taking their toll and many of the competitors, having done enough to qualify already , decided not to push their luck and venture out for the 3rd race after lunch but with Mathew and Chris each recording a 1st and 2nd place, the podium positions were still all to play for. Conditions remained challenging and with Mathew leading Chris Bunn up the 2nd beat, rather than deciding to cover Chris, Mathew split left over towards the trees and was hit by a particularly vicious gust which resulted in a capsize and, alas, the end the race for him, gifting Chris the overall win. Steve Ede finished 2nd which secured him 3rd place overall and Roger Wilson finished 3rd securing him 4th place overall and 1st local club boat. The full set of results can be found here Sailwave results for 2024 RBSC Solo Eastern Area Open Meeting at 2024
At the prize giving Chris Bunn thanked the OOD, Clive Girling and his team of assistants and safety boat crews for their excellent race management in tricky conditions and the competitors travelled home tired but very satisfied with an excellent day’s racing.
The popular Wednesday Evening Series starts on 24th April.
The pursuit race starts at 18.30 for a mirror dinghy on standard handicap. Start times for all dinghies will be based on the boat handicap adjusted with a personal handicap which can be changed over the series, depending on results. Everyone has a chance to win a race.
The series is an ideal opportunity for inexperienced sailors to try racing and sail a course. Slower sailors find their handicap adjusts so that they start early and can try to stay ahead of the fleet. For the more experienced racers it is good fun to start later and see if any boats can be passed. The race ends at 19.42 when positions are recorded and we often pack up the boats enjoying the sunset over the Broad.
