Multisail Open Regatta 13/14th May 2017

This year the Multisail Open Regatta at Rollesby incorporated the Leader National Championship and as usual a Bittern Travellers event.

The Leaders enjoyed three short races on Saturday afternoon. The first race was held in marginal planning conditions; and despite breaking several different small items; home sailors Ian & Sharon Ayres won narrowly from Chris & Jane Wharmby from Milton Keynes. Trish Hudson & Sarah Cole from Hickling were third and Roger & Cybil Morse from Welwyn Garden fourth. The wind eased for the second race but the first two remained the same with the Morses third. The Ayres had a more comfortable win in race three as the Wharmby’s put all effort into finishing last; only to jump three places to second at the last mark of the race!

Sunday dawned grey and wet and a smaller than perhaps anticipated home fleet joined the Leaders. The Ayres led the fleet up the first beat with Pete & Rachel Smith’s Wayfarer hot out of the blocks close on their tale (perhaps being race officers on Saturday put them in tune with the conditions). Chris Mann & Heather Vaughan in their Enterprise made the most of the easing conditions to slide through the fleet late on and take the handicap win from the Smiths; an admin error in the race box meant the Ayres time was not recorded! In race 2 the Smiths took the win after an epic battle with Ian Hanson & Mike Horwitz, regular Solo sailors joining up for the day in a Wayfarer; the Ayres recorded a third to leave the meeting wide open with only the non-discardable Eels Foot race to come.

After a long lunch break, the Morses won the afternoon start, but the Ayres were through by the first mark with Dave & Diane Goodwin and Mann & Vaughan in Enterprises in close pursuit. Bob Sparrow & Tony Gibbs (Wayfarer) broke through in the cut with Mike Broadbent and Hugh Rout in their ISO clawing their way back from a poor start. The long reach back should have worked in the ISOs favour, but with spinnaker flying well the Ayres just held on to win on the water, no handicapping needed when the highest PY boat leads the fleet home! Sparrow was second but Mann pipping Goodwin for third was enough to give them the meeting on countback.

In the Bitterns, Bruce Thompson sailing single handed took the first race by a hairs breadth on a downwind finish from John Atkinson with Leona Levine crewing. The result was reversed though with a slightly larger margin in race two meaning the afternoons Eels Foot race became winner take’s all. Unfortunately Thompson struggled through the cut on the way out giving Thompson a commanding lead which he managed well; showing some of the faster boats how to make the best of limited boat speed on the return leg.

Results

Multisail Open Regatta

  1. Chris Mann & Heather Vaughan – Enterprise
  2. Ian & Sharon Ayres – Leader
  3. Pete & Rachel Smith – Wayfarer
  4. Ian Hanson & Mike Horwitz – Wayfarer

Leader Nationals

  1. Ian & Sharon Ayres – Rollesby Broad
  2. Chris & Jane Wharmby – Milton Keynes
  3. Roger & Cybil Morse – Welwyn Garden
  4. Trish Hudson & Sarah Cole – Hickling Broad

Bittern Open

  1. John Atkinson & Leona Levine – NPC
  2. Bruce Thompson – NPC
  3. Graham Barhwl & Dennis Manning – BOA
  4. Colin Burrow & L Southwood – BOA

Spring Regatta Report

The spring weather was certainly in force as Rollesby held their Spring Regatta on Sunday 2nd April marking, turnout was a splendid 21 boats as winter members marked their last event of the season and with just a single mixed handicap fleet, starting well was essential.

In race 1 Tamsin Highfield (Laser) was uncomfortably close to the pin mark but just snuck round it chased hard by Bob Hawkins (Solo) and Ian & Sharon Ayres (Leader). These three read the first beat best and whilst joined by faster boats round the course had established enough of a lead on lap one to ensure the podium places; Hawkins eventually using his superior upwind manoeuvrability to take the win.

A windshift just before the start of race 2 saw the Wayfarers of Pete & Rachel Smith and Bob Sparrow & Jason able to reach the first mark in a single tack. Simon Strode (Solo) followed them well to finish third with only Hawkins able to make some sort of recovery on the considerably shorter course to take fourth.

The meeting was wide open as more breeze greeted the fleet for race 3. The Ayres started well to windward of the majority with Highfield emerging best from the leeward end of the line. The Solos of Hawkins and Strode worked their way through well on the upwind legs with the Smiths enjoying the increased breeze most taking their time but taking places on nearly every leg of the course, eventually Hawkins took the win over Highfield by a handful of seconds.

Spring Regatta Results (21 entires)

  1. Bob Hawkins – Solo – 2 pts
  2. Pete & Rachel Smith – Wayfarer – 4
  3. Tamsin Highfiled – Laser – 5
  4. Simon Strode – Solo – 7
  5. Ian & Sharon Ayres – Leader – 8
  6. Bob Sparrow & Jason – Wayfarer – 8
  7. Mike Horwitz – Solo – 11
  8. Chris Mann – Solo – 11
  9. Ian Hanson – Solo – 15
  10. Auriel Gibson & Crew – Wayfarer – 18
  11. Paul Warnes – Solo – 20
  12. Mike Broadbent & Hugh Rout – ISO – 21
  13. Gareth Thomas – Phantom – 24
  14. Phil Alison – Solo – 25
  15. Steve Leigh – Vareo – 27
  16. Chris Toothil & Libby – Stratos – 28
  17. Ashley Warnes & Crew – Wayfarer – 28
  18. Richard & Ed Brown – Wayfarer – 29

3 competitors only started one race.

Frostbite Series Results

Multisails Race 1

  1. John Saddington – 4 pts
  2. Bob Sparrow – 14
  3. Phil Highfield – 17

Race 2

  1. John Saddiongton – 4
  2. Tamsin Highfield – 8
  3. Bob Sparrow – 11

Single Handers Race 1

  1. Ian Ayres – 6
  2. Matt Boreham – 12
  3. Keith Sykes – 21

Single Handers Race 1

  1. Ian Ayres – 9
  2. Matt Boreham – 15
  3. Keith Sykes – 23

Mixed Fleet Race 3

  1. John Saddington – 3 pts
  2. Tamsin Highfiled – 3
  3. Ian Ayres – 3

Rollesby 19th March Report

Upright is faster than horizontal – well mostly! There was certainly enough wind to cause several of the more wary to remain ashore at Rollesby Broad on the 19th March, and with capsizes before the racing started they were certainly justified. In the event the wind dropped slightly mid race 1 encouraging more launches to ‘play’ in the gusts and a larger turnout for race 2 before the last few squalls sent even the hardiest to shore for lunch and an early end to the day.

 

In the Single-handers it was a case of staying upright gets round the course faster even if your boat is naturally slower. Chris Toothill (Phantom) did eventually manage to get to the right point of the fleet, showing some terrific downwind speed, but could never get far enough away from the Solo of Ian Ayres and the Radial of Keith Sykes on handicap. Race 2 saw Bob Hawkins (Solo) join the fray and he led narrowly at the end of the first beat from Toothill and Ayres; after Toothill joined the multiple bathing brigade the two Solo’s enjoyed a very close race, gaining or losing depending who was most under control. Eventually Ayres made the break on the final run, Sykes recovered best of the rest to take third.

 

A little more stability meant fewer swims but still some rapid sailing in the multisails; John Saddington and Dennis Manning put their Wayfarer in front and stayed there all day! Bob Sparrow and Tony Gibbs decided to use their jib rather than genoa and whilst competitive upwind lost out on the return legs. In both races it was the Vareo of the Highfield’s which took second, Phil recovered well from a poor start (he blamed technical issues) in race one, whilst Tamsin’s speed was limited in race 2 due to Phil tearing the spinnaker!

 

 

 

Multisails

Race 1 (4 entries)

  1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)
  2. Phil Highfield (Vareo)
  3. Bob Sparrow & Tony Gibbs (Wayfarer)

 

Race 2 (5)

  1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)
  2. Phil Highfield (Vareo)
  3. Bob Sparrow & Tony Gibbs (Wayfarer)

 

SingleHanders

Race 1 (6 entries)

  1. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  2. Keith Sykes (Radial)
  3. Chris Toothill (Phantom)

 

Race 2 (7)

  1. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  2. Bob Hawkins (Solo)
  3. Keith Sykes (Radial)

 

Rollesby 26th February – Plenty of Breeze!

There was plenty of breeze at Rollesby Broad on Sunday 26th and with the wind more or less aligned with the geography some of the gusts were strong enough to produce capsizes throughout the fleet.

In the single-handers it looked like youth might prevail as Daniel Bull started best in his Laser Radial. He was mixing it with Nick Eastwood in his Finn and Matt Boreham’s Laser until ditching several times on lap two. Ian Ayres in his Solo was recovering from an uncharacteristically poor start and taking the scenic but windier route downwind to pip Eastwood by just 2 seconds on handicap. Eastwood took the win in race 2 as the wind eased towards the end giving him a comfortable lead over Ayres and Boreham.

Dave Houghton & Jon Symonds flew downwind in their RS400 to comfortably lead on the water but John Saddington & Dennis Saddington in their Wayfarer always stayed in close enough contention to win both multisail races on handicap.

A much reduced fleet in the afternoon saw the wind rise, with a final lap beat that could only be described as brutal – white horses and spray in your face are not a common occurrence on Rollesby Broad! Ayres took the win from Eastwood with Saddington & Manning the only other finisher.

Multisails

Race 1 (6)

  1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)
  2. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (RS400)
  3. Bob Sparow & Tony Gibbs (Wayfarer)

Race 2 (4)

  1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)
  2. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (RS400)
  3. Bob Sparow & Tony Gibbs (Wayfarer)

Single-Sails

Race 1 (9)

  1. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  2. Nick Eastwood (Finn)
  3. Matt Boreham (Laser)

Race 2 (7)

  1. Nick Eastwood (Finn)
  2. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  3. Matt Boreham (Laser)

PM Mixed Fleet (4)

  1. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  2. Nick Eastwood (Finn)
  3. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)

 

Rollesby Broad SC Frostbite Regatta

With warmer weather over the weekend it was a smaller than usual but highly competitive fleet which assembled for Rollesby’s Frostbite Regatta on Sunday 5th Feb.

The single sailed fleet were very helpful to the race officer in at least finishing every race in appropriate handicap order; however it was the four strong Solo contingent who were to dominate the results. Chris Mann and Simon Strode swapped places several times in races one and two; Mann came out on top on both occasions; much more comfortably in race one than race two. Strode stepped up his game after lunch to take race three narrowly from Mike Horwitz who had been the leasing duo’s closest pursuer all day and created a Solo clean sweep in the prizes.

In the Multisail fleet John Saddington and Dennis Manning won all three races on the water in their Albacore; but a close second by Ian & Sharon Ayres in their Leader, after they had taken full advantage of the long spinnaker reach down the broad gave them the race on handicap. Though the gap was much bigger in race two the Albacore were also pipped for second by Bob Sparrow and Tony Gibbs Wayfarer. Without a crew after lunch Ian was still able to fly his spinnaker and chased Saddington hard all the way round the course as these two finished well clear of the rest.

Frostbite Regatta Results

RBSC-NewsMultisails (6 Entries)
1. Ian & Sharon Ayres (Leader)
2. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Albacore)
3. Bob Sparrow & Tony Gibson (Wayfarer)

Single-Handers (8 entries)
1. Chris Mann (Solo)
2. Simon Strode (Solo)
3. Mike Horwitz (Solo)

New Years Day Report

Rollesby Broad New Year Open 2017

The dubious weather forecast probably reduced the overall turnout as just two visiting RS300s joined the home turnout of 20 on New Year’s Day at Rollesby Broad. In the event those who stayed all day enjoyed a cracking sail with significantly different conditions between the morning and afternoons races.

Race officer Jon Sallis was keen to get racing started before the early morning south westerly wind disappeared and the forecast mist and drizzle took over. Visitor Richard Fryer quite rightly led the way round; he was closely followed, to the wrong first mark by David Frary in his Finn and these two merged with John Saddington & Dennis Manning in their Albacore and Ian Ayres in his Solo to create the top four both on the water and handicap as they pulled out a large lead on pack; many of whom were also suffering a navigation hangover! Ayres took the win by a considerable margin with Saddington second and Frary third, despite finishing behind these two on the water, with Fryer first visitor in fourth.

As the wind died and the mist rolled in the postponement flag was raised and the outstanding catering team went in to full action to provide lunch an hour earlier than initially expected. A good call by the race team as right on forecast the cold (and it certainly was) front arrived at 1 pm and after a brief heavy shower the wind settled in a northerly direction at a good force 3 with stronger gusts.

A somewhat biased first leg saw 5 of the probable front runners called over the line allowing Jamie Freeman (RS300) to narrowly lead Ayres and Matt Boreham (Laser) round the first mark. Freeman then disappeared into a large lead. The stronger conditions suited the Lasers as Stuart Highfield joined Ayres and Boreham in leading the pack. Despite some good recoveries none of the early starters could pull back sufficient time and after nearly ‘putting it in’ at the windward mark Ayres beat Boreham by just 12 seconds with Highfield third and Freeman in the first visitors spot of fourth.

A significantly reduced fleet started the last race as the wind stayed and the temperature dropped further! The two visiting RS300s were starting to enjoy themselves with Freeman eventually gaining enough of a lead to take fourth again; the other single-handers were working a very similar pattern to race 2 and this time Boreham got the upper hand by 9 seconds! So Ayres collected the penalty of the dreaded Binacle Trophy and will need to invest in extra brass polish for 2017…..

Results (21 entries)

  1. Ian Ayres – Solo – 2pts
  2. Matt Boreham – Laser – 3
  3. John Saddington – Albacore -5
  4. Stuart Highfield– Laser – 8
  5. Jamie Freeman – RS300 – 8
  6. Richard Fryer – RS300 – 10
  7. Ashley Warnes – Solo – 15
  8. Tamsin Highfield – Vareo – 15
  9. Gareth Thomas – Phantom – 17
  10. Bob Sparrow – Wayfarer – 20
  11. Steve Leigh – OK – 20
  12. David Frary – Finn – 24
  13. Paul Warnes – Solo – 25
  14. Val Hanson – Wayfarer – 26
  15. Phil Alison – Solo – 29
  16. Keith Sykes – RS300 – 32
  17. Richard Brown – Laser – 35
  18. Ian Curtis – Quest – 36
  19. Richard Foster – Laser – 38ny-race-2-start ny-race-1-mist-descends ny-race-1-start

 

Boxing Day Regatta 2016 – report

Boxing Day Regatta 2016

A hardy nine boats started the Boxing Day pursuit race at Rollesby; with the four Solos expecting an hour’s race and everyone else chasing on. There were a few early signs of the gusts which were later to prove more influential on the result. Roger Wilson led away followed by Mike Horwitz, the only competitor to stay upright throughout, whilst Ashley Warnes gave dad Paul a head-start by performing the first capsize of the day!

Matt Boreham and Stuart Highfield both in Lasers and Tamsin Highfield Vareo were never far behind even though Stuart capsized on the first leg and so more spectacularly did Tamsin whilst flying her kite on the long run back down the broad. Wilson should have had a big enough lead but decided to introduce an extra, totally unnecessary, gybe manoeuvre at the windiest spot on the course, result capsize!

The first four lined up nose to stern at the final leeward mark; Stuart was the first to tip over; Boreham looked on for the win but managed to capsize twice in the last 4 minutes of the race; Tamsin rounded the upwind mark with greatest momentum to pass Wilson with less than a minute to go and take the win by 3 lengths.

Let’s hope the racing is as close and competitive at our New Years Day Open this Sunday.

Result (9 Entries)

  1. Tamsin Highfield (Vareo)
  2. Roger Wilson (Solo)
  3. Matt Boreham (Laser)
  4. 4. Stuart Highfield (Laser)

December 11th Report & Photos

With a little more west in the wind than ideal, some tricky shifts shuffled the pack regularly at Rollesby Broad on Sunday 11th Dec giving a wide variety of names at the front of the fleet and plenty of regulars low opening scores for the Winter series.

John Saddington & Dennis Manning switched to their Albacore and had the most consistent day with two wins, and a second using their ability to roll tack more consistently than most of the multisail fleet, who were struggling to use their asymmetric spinnakers to sufficient gain.

The exception were Val & Chris Hanson who took the second race in their Wayfarer. Dave Houghton & John Symonds led each race on the water but could only record thirds on handicap, whilst Tamsin Highfield scored a second in race 1 winning the family battle with husband Phil who was fourth in race 2.

Regular Rollesby one race wonder Daren Pike lived up to his name as he sailed his Phantom well away from the fleet in race 1 to win easily, David Frary completed the faster boats domination in his Finn, with Ian Ayres narrowly beating Roger Wilson as they led home the Solo / Laser pack. In race 2 Ayres did a horizon job on everyone but Stuart Highfield in his Laser.

Whilst neither Solo could live with the Albacore, Wilson & Ayres enjoyed an especially close race in the afternoon, losing count of how many overtakes occurred and finishing just six seconds apart.

Multisails

Race 1 (8)

  1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Albacore)
  2. Tamsin Highfield (Vareo)
  3. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (RS400)

Race 2 (7)

  1. Val & Chris Hanson (Wayfarer)
  2. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Albacore)
  3. Dave Houghton & John Symonds (RS400)

Single-Sails

Race 1 (11)

  1. Daren Pike (Phantom)
  2. David Frary (Finn)
  3. Ian Ayres (Solo)

Race 2 (10)

  1. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  2. Roger Wilson (Solo)
  3. Stuart Highfield (Laser)

PM Mixed Race (7)

  1. 1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Albacore)
  2. Roger Wilson (Solo)
ThankKevins to Kevin for these.

Check them out on our Flickr Page its easier to view and offers a full screen slideshow.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rollesbybroadsc

Full size images can be down loaded from the RBSC Flickr Page,
How To Downlaod a Photo from the RBSC Flickr page 2014

December 11th

Winter Regatta Report & Photos

Sunday 4th December saw a fleet of 22 assemble for Rollesby Broad’s Winter Regatta. An awkward easterly breeze made course setting tricky, but a variety throughout the day meant everyone having to concentrate and trophies still being open at the start of the final race.

The first race saw a long reaching course set to try and spread the competitors along the broad, however the wind direction meant plenty of holes and resulted in boats travelling in small bunches as they either sailed through or stopped at intervals around the course. Val & Chris Hanson were able to win their Wayfarer battle with John Saddington & Dennis Manning whilst Phil Highfield (Vareo) could not gain a large enough lead to beat either of them. In the single-handers David Frary (Finn) and Chris Toothill (Phantom) were able to use their straight-line speed to establish a large enough gap on the fleet after good starts from the Lasers of Keith Sykes and Zoe Eastwood and the Solo of Ian Ayres.

Race two saw a much compressed course to keep sailors at the windier end of the broad and in the single-handers it was the Solo’s who gained most with Ayres taking a comfortable win from Roger Wilson. The Wayfarers had a really close battle throughout with the Hansons falling foul of traffic shortly before the end to give Saddington the win.

A smaller fleet after lunch gave competitors a bit more room and whilst Highfield led round Saddington again took the win. No need for handicapping in the single-handers as Ayres won on the water from Sykes and Toothill who threw away his place in the last 20 yards!

Prizes were also awarded for the Autumn series which finished the previous week.

Winter Regatta

Multisails  (6 Entries)

  1. John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)
  2. Val & Chris Hanson (Wayfarer)
  3. Phil Highfield (Vareo)

Single-Handers  (16 entries)

  1. Ian Ayres (Solo)
  2. David Frary (Finn)
  3. Keith Sykes (Laser)
  4. Chris Toothill (Phantom)

Autumn Series

All multisail Trophies

John Saddington & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer)

Single-Handers

Race 1 – Ian Ayres (Solo)

Race 2 – Paul Warnes (Solo)

Eel’s Foot Series

Ian Hanson (Solo)

ThankKevins to Kevin for these.

Check them out on our Flickr Page its easier to view and offers a full screen slideshow.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rollesbybroadsc

Full size images can be down loaded from the RBSC Flickr Page,
How To Downlaod a Photo from the RBSC Flickr page 2014

December 4th – Winter Regatta.