Category Archives: activity

Race report

Tuesday series 1.2 *

The excitement was tangible, we were finally getting back on the water to race. And what a turnout for 1.2 Tuesday points, Helen in a club Laser radial, Becci in her newly acquired laser (immaculately kept and with an incredible reputation from TC) with a radial sail and Conor with his new Laser from ”down south” and a brand new radial sail and rigging… that’s all going to be some competition this season! Joining the fun Erwin concluded that the boom acquired whilst his was repaired did not pass muster forwent his Solo and joined Bill in his Wanderer for their first time together. Nick Whyte’s Solo had appeared during the week after a  full years absence suggesting his potential presence which was not to be a disappointment and Tony W joined him in another Solo.

An interesting undulating breeze that had turned quite cold but from ESE, an unusual direction welcomed the fleet and to keep the numbers up  a pursuit race ensued with the Wanderer starting on time, Laser Radials 1min 56sec later and the Solos 2min 9 seconds after the Wanderer. Because of the wind direction and the lack of buoys in the right places (where has G gone what’s A mark doing marking the gap?) the course was set as h port, k starboard, L starboard, and f port… and a lot of puzzled faces, but we thought we’d all got it sorted out.. not completely though!

Bill and Erwin got off to grand start demonstrating the best point on the line.. we all thought, then Helen started further South, found the wind and was off apparently very quickly catching up on Bill and taking a march on Becci who started further down the line. Nick very quickly made up the Solos handicap time whilst Tony made the wrong choice going lower than Becci. Where was Conor… well when you have all that new rigging you’ve got to enjoy putting it all together…. but it can mean you miss the start of the race… he enjoyed the sailing when all assembled!

Helen and Nick lead the race 1 and 2 until Nick decided to take L to port and had to revisit it to give everyone else a chance. At that point Bill was Third and Tony and Becci were having a chat at the back! In total only one lap was completed in the 40 minutes, Helen , with a significant lead running to F lost the wind completely and allowed the rest of the fleet to catch up significantly and was overtaken by Tony and Nick on the last leg. Giving a result of:

1 Tony
2 Nick
3 Helen
4 Becci
5 Bill and Erwin

But enjoyed by all
(* the first Tuesday series was not raced due to stormy conditions)

Paint roller with paint

Maintenance jobs

FSC work parties Hi All.. it’s that time of the year… but with a covid difference! As we can’t be within 2 meters of each other at present it will make work parties less social, but more flexible as you can do your bit at a time to suit you  rather than on a specific date… as long as it’s by the end of April at the latest, but preferably by 11th April if possible when the first weekend sailing happens.

 This is what needs doing.. all tasks should be achievable by one person in one day or 2 half days (undercoat needs to dry!)

1. Repaint East toilet Emulsion and Gloss
2. Repaint West toilet Emulsion and Gloss
3. Reputty  and External Paint South facing window frames (wire brush, sand  undercoat and gloss to a high standard)
4. Internal paint Race Box Emulsion and Gloss
5. touch up all external brown paint and presently grey steel on verandas with brown. 

All materials will be available.
 Please let the club know what task(s) you would like to do  and when ASAP and subject to first come I’ll get you started (or contact Tony directly).

Last race of the season

The last race of the season has taken place almost a month later than previous years to allow for some late sailing. With the reduced options we have had this year, and the memory of the previous year giving us some glorious days we increased the calendar.
Unfortunately, we did not get as much sailing the last month but Sunday the22nd the weather was great and we had 6 boats on the water. Becci set the course and took care of the timing, starting with F to D, back to G and K.

The first race was a close finish with 2 lasers, 2 solo’s and a streaker rounding G almost ‘en masse’, up to K where Erwin had to bail out due to equipment failure.
The rest finished close together, with the results being Mark, Tony, Helen, Connor, Bill and then Erwin after the handicap was applied.

The second race started with only 5 boats, as Erwin was trying to fix his issues. He was able to get on the water, but with more than5 minutes to make up there was no change in getting any result. As the light was already getting less, the race was kept short. This was no problem for Helen, as she had a great start and made some solid choices that gave her a lead that none could make up. Results for the race after the handicap: Connor, Helen, Tony, Mark, Bill and Erwin

Boats away

Thanks all for any help with making sure that boats are tidied up and moved into the tattie shed again, safe for the winter. if there is anyone else that is looking for a safe space to keep a boat, let us know and we will let you know if there is space and when we can access the shed.

Sailing for the rest of this year

No more sailing on the calendar for this year, but we are planning some virtual sailing again. When we have some more details we will let you all know. If you have any ideas for club activities, please let us know.



Closing regatta

Our usual closing regatta format was not possible this year due to the ongoing restrictions however there was good support from both adult and cadet members.
The day started with a gentle breeze and the course for the first race was set as D, C, Z, A. Becci’s Radial was ahead at the end of the first lap with Erwin’s Solo close behind. Next were Jamie’s Radial and Bill in his recently acquired Wanderer, followed soon after by Drew’s Topper. Meanwhile at the back of the fleet the Brown’s Mirror had sailed a good lap but Lyall’s Optimist was steadily gaining and finished the first lap just a few seconds behind them.
During the second lap the Solo managed to get ahead of Becci’s Radial and stayed in front to the finish line. Jamie’s Radial lost the wind but the Wanderer managed to find a breeze from somewhere and moved into third. Jamie’s Radial started to catch the leaders on the downwind leg but then the wind died away and he somehow fell in.
Meanwhile the Topper stayed ahead of the Mirror and Optimist. However, the Optimist found a breeze up the shore where there seemed to be none and pulled ahead of the Mirror.
With very light winds only 2 laps were sailed and after the application of handicaps the final placings were Optimist, Wanderer, Solo, Radial (Becci), Topper, Radial (Jamie), Mirror.

With the wind even less, the course was shortened for the second race to D, K, A. Once again the Solo, Radials and Wanderer took the lead with the Topper close behind as they finished the first lap. Unfortunately, the wind then dropped away so the race was shortened with the Mirror crossing the line ahead of the Optimist and Feva. The faster boats managed a second lap with the Wanderer finishing first followed by the Solo, Radials and Topper.
The final placings were Wanderer, Topper, Solo, Radial (Becci), Optimist, Radial (Jamie), Mirror, Feva.

After a break where the wind seemed to be returning the third race was started with the intended course of F, C, K, A. However, a full minute after the start no boats had crossed the start line so the race was abandoned. There was a brief moment where Becci and Erwin seemed to get some wind but it was a false hope.
It was agreed by the sailors that a second day should be set to sail some additional races.

Tuesday pursuit race

Very light winds (F2 and dropping) from the SW meant that much of the south side of the Loch was in shadow. The course was C(port), D(port), K (starboard).
The Feva set off first with a good few minutes start on the faster boats. This week the wind stayed steady during this time and they made good progress towards the gap before the chase was on. The Feva was first to mark D but, as the wind almost died, touched the mark as they floated slowly past. The Solution and Solo caught the Feva on the way to the channel but the Laser with no wind got stuck at D and had 3 attempts before finally rounding the mark.

The Solution kept the lead down to K, whilst the Feva bravely tried to find some wind to fill the gennaker. The Laser got going again but even with a 360 penalty, the Feva stayed well ahead.
The Solution maintained the lead back up to C, with the Solo gradually dropping back. As the final time approached the wind dropped to barely a breath, leaving the Laser no opportunity to catch the Feva.

View over the spit, with the loch dead calm. Sunset has well started.

As the final whistle blew the finishing order was Dennis (Solution), Erwin (Solo), Jamie & Helen (Feva), Becci (Laser Radial). However, the slower boats were ashore and de-rigged before the other two managed to drift their way back from a second trip to mark D!!

Results

1. Dennis (Solution)

2. Erwin (Solo)

3. Jamie & Helen (Feva)

4. Becci (Laser radial)