The annual Christmas Pursuit Race at Rollesby attracted a mixed fleet of 28 boats ranging from a Splash to an RS700. With the breeze blowing down the Broad the course was set with a beat, run and two reaches. Ellie Edwards in her splash was first away and held the lead for four laps. On the final part of the last lap Roger Wilson and Dennis Manning got passed in their Wayfarer. The next Wayfarer of David Houghton and John Symonds also passed. Good spinnaker action at the gibe mark allowed Houghton to get in front of Wilson to take the win and Bent Vase Trophy.
With a building breeze a general all commers race was next using the full length of the Broad. Phil Highfield in his RS 700 soon established a commanding lead but with a PY number of 845 stood no chance of a win. The other asymmetric boat the RS Vareo sailed by Howard Astley made good use of his down wind speed to take the win followed by Dan Bull, Laser and Roger Wilson now in his Solo.
Results
Pursuit Race (28) 1. W10000 D.|Houghton & J. Symonds, 2. W11111 R. Wilson & D. Manning, 3. Splash E. Edwards, 4 Laser A. Basset, 5 Solo R. Hawkins
All Comers (19) 1. Vareo H. Astley, 2. Laser Dan Bull, 3. Solo R.Wilson 4. Splash E.Edwards.
Another breezy Sunday at Rollesby Broad on the 15th
Dec, with a slightly more southerly direction than the previous week the gusts
were just as strong but perhaps a bit less sharp and therefore more manageable.
Clearly retirement from work is suiting Commodore Stuart Highfield
( Laser) as he led both races in the single handed fleet at the first mark, we
won’t over play his downwind performances! In race 1 Ian Ayres led the Solo
charge early on with Bob Hawkins in close pursuit and Matt Boreham & Kevin
Postlethwaite not too far behind. Ayres and Hawkins showed their experience,
dodging a couple of dicey gybes in the strongest gusts and Hawkins got the best
of the third lap beat, eventually winning by just 2 seconds. Boreham took third
with Ellie Edwards beating the Lasers on handicap for fourth place in her
Splash.
Clearly the Solos were burnt out after race 1! Highfield had a
narrow lead from fellow Laser sailor Chris Foster early on in race 2 but once
in front Foster simply extended away from everyone for a good win. Andy Bassett
(Radial) and Tamsin Highfield (Streaker) had a really tight battle for second
on the water with Bassett just in front after a storming last run! Ellie was
again holding her own in the bunch to tie for third with Tamsin watch out gents
the ladies are up for the challenge!
Dave Houghton & John Symonds continued their dominance of a
reduced double handed fleet; Daniel Harvey & Andy Smith challenged them up
wind, but without a spinnaker were unable to keep up and had to settle for two
second places. Phil Harlow & Richard Foster took third in race one, whist
Steve Grey sailed his D-One to first on the water (third on handicap) in race
2.
Multisails
Race 1 (4 entries)
1. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (Wayfarer) 2. Daniel Harvey & Andy Smith (Wayfarer) 3. Phil Harlow & Richard Foster (Wayfarer)
Race 2 (4)
1. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (Wayfarer) 2. Daniel Harvey & Andy Smith (Wayfarer) 3. Steve Grey (D-One)
Single-Handers
Race 1 (15 entries)
1. Bob Hawkins (Solo) 2. Ian Ayres (Solo) 3. Matt Boreham (Solo) 4. Ellie Edwards (Splash)
Race 2 (15)
1. Chris Foster (Laser) 2. Andy Bassett (Radial) 3.= Tamsin Highfield (Streaker) 3.= Ellie Edwards (Splash)
It was a day for bending burgees and washing sails with probably
more sailors getting a close up of their centreboard than those that didn’t at
Rollesby on Sun 8th Dec.
Just four multi-sailed boats took to the water. Dave Hougton & John Symonds, revelling that there was a long run, flew their Wayfarers kite to good effect leaving their competitors long in their wake. Howard Astley-Jones having made a cautious start to his first race at the club soon got his Vareo up to speed to take second. Mike McNamara & Andy Smith joined the fleet for race 2 but conditions were a bit lively for Albacore sailing and they had to settle for second on handicap behind Houghton.
In the single-handers anyone who could stay upright looked likely
to do very well, though it didn’t guarantee success if you weren’t going fast, and
despite a fair few swims there were ten finishers! Roger Wilson (Solo) &
Tamsin Highfield (Streaker) made the best starts, with Stuart Highfield (Laser)
and Ian Ayres (Solo) completing a tight top 4 at the windward end of the broad.
Stuart was the first casualty at the front of the fleet and with Tamsin finding
the shifting winds under the trees not doing her any favours it looked like
Wilson and Ayres would be battling it out. On the penultimate beat Ayres
capsized and whilst waiting for the wind to ease slightly Tamsin slipped by. As
these two flew down the last run Wilson managed to throw away a commanding lead
with a double roll less than 100 yds from the line; Tamsin won on the water but
Ayres took the race on handicap.
A couple of competitors were led slightly astray by Oscar Norris
(Radial) as they mis-judged (or possibly forgot about) the new windward mark
for race 2. Stuart led round but was immediately in trouble and Ayres and
Wilson had to take dramatic avoiding action to avoid a synchronised triple ducking!
This allowed Phil Highfield now taking over Streaker duties and Steve Whitby
(Europe) to join the Solos in a front group. Ayres decided one lap was enough
and Wilson rolled in on the next beat to allow Phil, who looked very much under
control, to establish a lead he would hold until the finish. Wilson was second
and Whitby held off a late challenge by Matt Boreham (Solo) to take third by 4
seconds.
Needless to say there were no takers for a third race after a
warming club lunch !
Multisails
Race 1 (4 entries)
1. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (Wayfarer) 2. Howard Astley-Jones (Vareo) 3. Bob Sparrow & Steve Gibbons (Wayfarer)
Race 2 (3)
1. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (Wayfarer) 2. Mike McNamara & Andy Smith (Albacore)
SingleHanders
Race 1 (12 entries)
1. Ian Ayres (Solo) 2. Tamsin Highfield (Streaker) 3. Roger Wilson (Solo) 4. Steve Whitby (MiniSail)
Race 2 (10)
1. Phil Highfield (Streaker) 2. Roger Wilson (Solo) 2. Steve Whitby (Europe) 4. Matt Breham (Solo)
It certainly felt seasonal as 25 boats were rigging for Rollesby Broad’s Winter regatta in a cold northerly breeze on Sunday 1st December. However the sun appeared from behind the cloud, the rain eased off and an excellent days racing ensued.
Heading out to the start
With a short first beat set into the more sheltered corner of the broad it was a question of who would gamble on a port or at least port end start and who would play the safer but less windy starboard end!
Despite launching their new boat the multisails were not in generous mood, cutting out Bob Sparrow & Steve Gibbons attempt at the port start. Dave Houghton & John Symonds starting near that end lead round the first mark. Roger Wilson & Dennis Manning recovered well from a mid fleet start to eventually take the win by one second, with Mike McNamara & Andy Smith third in their Albacore.
In the single handers Ian Ayres (Solo) nailed the port start with Daniel Bull (Laser) in close attendance, these two rapidly cleared off into a huge lead as the rest of the fleet blanketed each other on the run down the broad. Chris Foster (Laser) and John Saddington (Solo) led the chasing pack with only Richard Brown in his Solution ever getting clear. The rising wind on the last lap favoured Bull who won by 10 seconds on handicap from Ayres with Brown third.
A slightly more even start in race two saw McNamara gain just enough ground on the Wayfarers to take the win from Wilson by 8 seconds with Houghton third. Bull was not messing around, leading the single-handers from start to finish with only Foster in close pursuit. Keith Sykes and Stuart Highfield made it a top four of Lasers on the water, though Ayres recovered from dead last at the second mark to take third on handicap.
Race office Chris Mann had kept the results hidden and with a good turnout decided to keep the fleets in split starts for the afternoon sail. McNamara showed how a port start should be done leading well round the first mark; the Wayfarers set their spinnakers for the run and were off in good pursuit. Wilson pipped Houghton on the line but was forced to retire following an earlier incident, leaving the first three boats all on three points! Houghton & Symonds took the event on countback.
The single handers were more spread out on the line; Ayres, Foster and Saddington were ahead in that order at the first mark. After a close three way battle, Foster had to retire with gear failure on lap two leaving the two Solos to swap places several times with Ayres getting well ahead on lap 3 and Keving Postlethwaite completing the class podium clean sweep.
For the final episode of the Autumn series the wind took a little while to arrive but a light breeze blowing up the broad arrived mid way through the first race. Before the sailing there was much discussion in the Multisail fleet relating to ‘Bobs new boat’, a lovely new Wayfarer. Many were disappointed to learn that Bob was going to delay it’s initial launch as he needs to learn what to do with all the extra ropes he now has to play with and so ‘Non Teaky Two’ was launched instead ! In the Multisail fleet the light winds caught everyone out as all were a little late over the start.
light winds caught everyone out as all were a little late over the start.
The Wayfarer of Dave Houghton & John Symonds were the first to cross taking an early but short lived lead as Mike McNamara & Andy Smith sailing an Albacore quickly passed to lead to the finish. However the long downwind leg allowed the pursuing Wayfarers to fly spinnakers with Dave & John just keeping close enough to win on handicap with Mike & Andy second and Bob Sparrow & Tony Gibbs sailing their ‘old’ Wayfarer third.
There was a good turnout for the Singlehander start with fifteen entries. Daniel Bull (Laser) hit the line with speed to gain a small lead at the first mark which he extended over the next three laps to cross the line a minute and a half ahead of the next boat to take the race. Behind Dan Harvey (Laser) worked is way up the fleet crossing the line next and just one second ahead of the Streaker of Phil Highfield. Not far behind were the Solos of John Saddington and Kevin Postlewaite crossing the line one second apart and taking second and third on corrected time.
Race 2 – Single handers pre start
For the second race the wind had increased a tad. The Multisail fleet were all lined up at the start in good time! Mike & Andy led from the start to the finish but not clear enough as Dave & John just took the win on corrected time with Mike & Any second. Daniel continued his good form leading race two from start to finish, although this time joined by Andy Bassett, also sailing a Laser just a few seconds behind. These two opened up a good lead on the rest of the fleet to claim the top two places. Clive Girling worked his way up the fleet to cross the line third in his Laser but was piped by the Solos of John & Kevin who again crossed the line just one second apart with John again just ahead to take third.
Whilst there was still a reasonable wind at the start of race three it slowly decreased throughout the race. Mike & Andy led from the start to the finish crossing the line over four and a half minutes ahead of the next boat to take the race win. The Solos of Kevin and Mike Horowitz led the rest of the fleet to finish second and third.
Rollesby Broad SC Autumn series Race 1 Multisail (4) : 1 Wayfarer 10000 (D Houghton & J Symonds), 2 Albacore 8225 (M McNamara & A Smith), 3 Wayfarer 10213 (R Sparrow & A Gibbs). Race 1 Singlehanders (15) : 1 Laser 207011 ( D Bull), 2 Solo 5443 (J Saddington), 3 Solo 4896 (K Postlethwaite). Race 2 Multisail : 1 Wayfarer 10000, 2 Albacore 8225, 3 Wayfarer 10213. Race 2 Singlehanders (14) : 1 Laser 207011, 2 Laser 216564 (A Bassett), 3 Solo 5443. Race 3 Combined (10) : 1 Albacore 8225, 2 Solo 4896, 3 Solo 4405 (M Horowitz).
23 boats came to the line for the final Eel’s Foot Race of 2019 at Rollesby on Sunday 3rd November. With the breeze blowing straight down the broad race officer Auriel Gibson was able to set a true line and an absolute maximum first beat!
Race Start – thanks to Daniel
Several normally single-hander helms switched to double handed boats and it was Mike McNamara and Andy Smith in an Albacore who had a narrow lead from the Wayfarers of Dave Houghton & John Symonds and Roger Wilson & Dennis Manning by half way up the beat, with Chris Toothill’s Phantom also in the mix to reach the cut first.
With greater experience of sailing together; or perhaps of deciding if / when to switch to paddle mode; it was the Wayfarers who emerged ahead. Meanwhile John Saddington and Matt Boreham in their Solos were leading the mid-speed boats with Ian & Sharon Ayres in their Leader and Dan Bull in his Laser also in the mix.
After two triangular laps of the Eel’s Foot (Ormesby Little) Broad it was time for a long running return leg. The Wayfarers were able to hoist their kites and despite the Albacore and Phantom finishing with them, Wilson took the win from Houghton. The Solos and Leader however had kept close enough and took the next three places on handicap. So by winning the last race, Wilson secured the series from Saddington with McNamara third.
Last Race (23 entries)
1. Roger Wilson & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer) 2. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (Wayfarer) 3. John Saddington (Solo) 4. Matt Boreham (Solo) 5. Ian & Sharon Ayres (Leader)
Series Results (38 participants)
1. Roger Wilson (Solo) – 5 pts 2. John Saddington (Solo) – 10 3. Mike McNamara (Harrier+) – 12 4. Daniel Bull (Laser) – 14 5. Matt Boreham (Laser) – 14
With a forecast of plenty of wind and plenty of rain it was not surprising that numbers were much reduced for the Autumn Regatta at Rollesby. Whilst the forecast of rain was spot on the wind was much lighter than expected. Thirteen boats launched and joined the race team on the far bank as they had taken the wise decision to have a committee boat start as the wind was blowing across the broad.
With a single start for both fleets there was plenty of competition for prime spot on the start line with just one boat over the line. By the first mark the Wayfarer of Dave Houghton & John Symonds held a short lead over the Solo of Roger Wilson and the Streaker of Tamsin Highfield with the latter two enjoying a close battle over the first two laps. Chris Toothill, sailing a Phantom recovered well from a poor start and fought his way through the fleet to take the lead on the final lap crossing the line ahead of Houghton & Symonds and Wilson.
By the start of race two the rain had arrived and the race team may have regretted their decision to leave the comfort of the start box and head out to the start line in the open topped committee boat. Houghton & Symonds led at the windward mark but were soon caught up by a group of three boats. Halfway down the run the Wayfarer of Robert Sparrow & Chris Gibbons took the lead for a short while until Keith Sykes, sailing a Laser sailed pass the group to windward to lead at the next mark.
On the second lap the heavens opened and everyone endured a thorough soaking, although the race team by this time had sensibly gone back ashore to enjoy the comforts of the start box. After three laps Houghton & Symonds crossed the line just ahead of Wilson. Although a third race had been scheduled everyone had decided they were wet enough and voted en masse to call it a day, or was it the lure of Angie’s cooking was just too much!
Next week the club’s Winter season begins commencing the Autumn series.
20 Sailors (40% of whom were women) took part in Rollesby Broad’s Leader /Multisail Open Meeting on Sunday 19th May. A good northerly breeze blowing straight down the broad meant a long beat could be set, with the run being significant tactically as wind shifts came into play downwind more than normal.
In
the Leaders Ian & Sharon Ayres started the first race poorly but port-tacked
back under the fleet to lead at the first mark. Mike and Val Sherwen were in
close pursuit, but the Ayres spinnaker pulled them well clear downwind. On the
second lap the wind dropped slightly bringing the Sherwens back into contention
as the wind shifted and filled in from behind.
The
Ayres held on and these two boats finished well clear of Mike & Sally
Newlove who took third by a whisker from Chris & Jane Wharmby.
Starting
race two more strongly it looked like an easy win for the Ayres, but again the
variable wind brought the rest of the fleet back to them on the long run down
the broad.
The
Wharmby’s briefly pulled through into second, but the Sherwens seemed to have
an edge over them upwind and though the gaps closed and spread the order
remained unchanged for the second and third laps.
The
afternoon saw one of Rollesby’s Eel’s Foot races; starting with a mile long run
and with sufficient wind to sail (with spinnaker full) though the cut into
Ormesby Little Broad. The Ayres had a short but reasonable lead at the downwind
cafe mark. However leading up a beat on a broad is never totally secure and as
they converged from different directions at the windward pub mark, both
Sherwens and the Wharmbys moved to the front. Flying the spinnaker on the next
reach took the Ayres back to the front and they picked the right side of the
beat second time round. Unusually there was still sufficient wind to beat back
through cut and the Ayres pulled well clear here with the Sherwens in second.
At this point, third looked like going to the Newloves, but the Wharmbys were
not done and managed to pull through on the very last tack, after beating the
full kilometre length of the broad on the way home.
A
fleet composed largely of Wayfarers made up the mixed fleet. Pete & Rachel
Smith were on form and showed the fleet how to sail with excellent upwind
performances and some sensible covering on the runs. Bob Sparrow & Steve
Gibbons looked like leading home the rest whilst Auriel Gibson & Lindsey
Nettleton couldn’t quite hang on to them despite being brave enough to try
their spinnaker! However Jon Burnell & Malcolm Page in their Stratos were
able to use their extra sail area downwind to steal second place from the
Wayfarers.
Race
2 resorted more to form with the Smiths first and Sparrow second.
Only
three ;but those who had been closest to each other all morning; Wayfarers
ventured out for the Eel’s Foot Race. Daniel Harvey & Andy Smith had a good
first run staying in touch with the others and then read the shifts in Ormesby
Little Broad well to push Sparrow all the way round. Eventually however they
just ran out of pure speed on the long beat back and had to settle for second
behind Sparrow & Gibbons.
Overall
Results:
Leaders:
1. Ian & Sharon Ayres (Rollesby) – 2 pts 2. Mike & Val Sherwen (Felixstowe Ferry ) – 4 3. Chris & Jane Wharmby (Milton Keynes) – 6 4. Mike & Sally Newlove (Reading) – 7 5. Dave & Anne Lomas (Reading) – 10
Multi-Sail Fleet:
1. Pete & Rachel Smith – Wayfarer – 2 pts 2. Bob Sparrow & Steve Gibbons – Wayfarer – 3 3. Auriel Gibson & Lindsey Nettleton – Wayfarer – 6 4. Daniel Harvey & Andy Smith – Wayfarer – 6 5. Jon Burnell & Malcolm Page – Stratos – 7
A beautiful sunny morning greeted the competitors for Rollesby Broad’s Solo and Single-hander open meeting on Easter Sunday, only the wind direction was not ideal creating shifty conditions but it was at least strong enough to give a reasonable first beat all day.
The Solos completed four races; Mark Maskell (Blackwater) set off as he meant to continue by leading from the start with John Saddington (Rollesby) his closest pursuer at the first turn. The rest of the pack was very tight and there were regular changes for any boat jumping from 10th to fourth and just as quickly back again! Steve Bishop (Girton) was a little unlucky to be in the pack but once clear set off in pursuit of the leading twosome; eventually nailing the short beat at the farther end of the course to take a narrow win. Ian Ayres (Rollesby) recovered from being OCS to take third by overtaking Pete Matthews (WOBYC) a few meters from the finish..
Maskell won race two by a large margin after sailing away from the first mark on his own private puff! Bishop and Ayres slowed each other by arriving at the mark together but slowly cleared the rest with Saddington leading the pack home in fourth.
After lunch a slight change of course clearly suited Maskell as he won both races, in the third his long term closest challenger was Roger Wilson (Rollesby) before Bishop and Saddington came through on one of the long reaches.
The final race proved the closest. Maskell again looked clear with Ayres and Matthews in pursuit before Bishop spotted an in filling shift at the bottom of the beat on lap two and took several places, bringing through Terry Palmer (Upper Thames) with him. The leading pair pulled clear as the pack played snakes and ladders until the last lap when Maskell had just enough to hang on for the win. Matthews came from behind to gain an overlap on Ayres at the last mark and this time held on for third.
Six Streakers joined a mixed single-handed fleet and proved how keen they were by needing a general recall in race 1! Tamsin Highfield (Rollesby) had a good first beat but couldn’t live with the ultimate speed of visitors Veronica Falat (WOBYC) and Ian Bradley (Ouse Amateur). These two swapped places twice within the last 30 seconds of the race with Falat coming out on top.
Bradley had much less problem winning race 2 after picking the right side of the first beat with Falat and Mark Langston (Beccles Amateur) taking the minor places. Having decided their meeting would be only three races Falat set off with determination in race 3 but the shifty beats meant Bradley and Langston could never be written off until the last beat which Falat sailed almost straight up whilst they had to tack several times to reach the finish line.
Mike McNamara in his Harrier perhaps unsurprisingly won the mixed fleet, though he did have to come from behind after race 1. Steve Whitby in his MiniSail took second on count-back from Daniel Bull’s Laser.
The Spring series at Rollesby started with the first “Eels Foot Race” of the year. Fourteen boat set out but, as the wind died after the start, the short beat across the Broad turned into a torturous affair. Mike McNamara in his Harrier with Ian and Sharon Ayres in their Leader came round the windward mark ahead of the rest. After a slow broad reach down the Broad the wind picked up and once through the cut, the fleet had a good sail in the bigger Broad. McNamara lead the fleet home. The Leader and the Hansons in their Wayfarer were not far behind having made good use of spinnakers. Handicap results gave the Ayres a win with McNamara second and Val and Chris Hanson third. The second race with a figure of eight course saw a clear win for McNamara with Ian Hanson in a solo second and the Leader third.
Three Lasers and a Wayfarer stayed for the afternoon race. Keith Sykes Laser took the win two second infront of Bob Sparrow and Steve in the Wayfarer.
Don’t forget its Mike Macs – Rules talk this Wednesday
To kick off the season, and at the request of several Wednesday Sailors, Mike McNamara has agreed to give a talk on the racing rules on the previous Wednesday evening i.e. 17thApril.
We would intend this kick off at 7 and Mike has promised to aim it at those who have done a little racing but would benefit from knowing more than just the port / starboard rule!
