We have kindly been invited to attend a series of workshops hosted by Horning Sailing Club. If you haven’t attend Mikes Rig Tuning it’s one not to miss.
Come and learn new skills at a series of Winter Workshops hosted by Horning Sailing Club.
Thursday 20th
Feb 7pm: Horning
Sailing Club – Aerodynamics – Carl
Brady
Thursday 26th
March 7pm: Horning
Village Hall – Rig Tuning – Mike
McNamara
Thursday 9th
April 7pm: Horning
Sailing Club – Running the line and
timekeeping – Toby Fields
The
slightly grey sky and lightish forecast brought only two visitors to Rollesby
Broad’s annual free open meeting on New Year’s Day this year, however the fact
that so many previous visitors have joined for our full winter series meant we saw
30 boats on a somewhat crowded first start line.
A good
length beat saw Dave Houghton & John Symonds in their Wayfarer get to the
first mark ahead of the Albacore of Mike McNamara & Daniel Harvey. Hoisting
their spinnaker took Houghton & Symonds clear for a good win; it looked
like the Solos would clean up the minor places but some last lap navigational
errors saw Roger Wilson & Dennis Manning (Wayfarer) recover from a poor
start to take third with Ian Ayres fourth in his Mirror despite being last (30th)
on the water.
New Years Day Regatta
Race 2 saw an increased start line length, with the fleet was just about evenly split over its full length. McNamara and Richard Fryer (RS300) got the best starts and McNamara seemed to have entirely his own air as he did a horizon job on the fleet. Houghton held on to second on handicap after Phil & Tamsin Highfield in a borrowed Albacore had wriggled through the fleet on the water. John Saddington led home the Solos and Lasers who finished very closely bunched together after rounding almost every mark several ranks deep.
The
afternoon race began with a little more breeze and Houghton took full advantage
of a rare McNamara penalty to lead at the first mark. Several mid fleet sailors
were surprised to be accompanied by the Mirror at the first mark! However as
the wind fell away the faster craft re-established their positions, McNamara
won to take the meeting but Saddington had stayed with the pack for long enough
to take a well earned second from the Highfields.
McNamara & Harvey took the binnacle home on a good day for the multisails, with Houghton & Symonds second and the Highfields third. Saddington was the first singlehander on a tie break from Wilson & Manning……
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)
Angie will not be at the club to offer catering this weekend (15th) obviously we can put the urn on so there is tea and coffee but you will need to bring your own food.
The one change is to do with the Eels Foot Series and is as follows:
16) Eels Foot Series Low – Medium Depending on weather.
1) In adverse weather conditions it is the OOD who will decide if the race will be run or not, with advice from the Committee members. 2) A second safety boat will be launched and ready to use if required. To be manned by OOD and assistant, or a suitable person(s) available onshore. 3) Radio and First Aid kit to be carried by safety boat in the Eels Foot broad.
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.
