Category Archives: race reports

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)

Race report

Cadet regatta

Last Sunday we had our Cadet Regatta, with the restrictions in place we managed to get the youngsters rigged and ready to sail. Unfortunately, the wind was not working with us, there was not much to speak of. The first race was started but as the race officer (Simon B) noticed that the wind had dropped to a level that no-one was moving the race was postponed. 

About 10 minutes later they managed to slowly start the first race, with the course set as F, C both to starboard, then G to port for 2 laps. Some managed to get some speed and others drifted slowly towards a mark. Due to the lack of wind the race officer decided to shorten the race to one lap, most boats managed to get towards the G mark (some drifting backwards) when there was a bit of wind blowing over the Loch. Martha was still trying to get past the first mark at this point, but with the wind increasing (a bit) they managed to get around the first 2 on their way to G. A refusal for a tow back to the jetty they persevered and finished the first race.

All boats came ashore for a break and revisiting the conditions. There was some more wind, but still not anything to make boats wobble from side to side. The second race was started, this time they did manage to get 2 laps in, the 29er did an additional lap (normally they should be able to lap some of the boats, but not in the conditions we had last Sunday).

Suzy had to bail out and did not start the last race due to family engagements. Drew decided that drifting around was not for him and resigned for the last race (let me know if this is incorrect ;-))

Results over 12

  1. Lyall (3 pts)
  2. Jamie (11 pts)
  3. Suzy (12 pts)
  4. Drew (13 pts)
  5. Eoghan/Sebastian (16 pts)
  6. Felicity/Martha (19 pts)

Results under 12

  1. Kirsten/Helen (9 pts)

Here are the winners, and second place with their prizes, Congratulations!


Sunday race report

Consistent wind conditions for four windward-leeward races to D (starboard) and back through A/Z. Each race lasted approximately 20 minutes and a small crowd (see picture) gathered for the exciting races. The wind direction was mostly from the west and the eight sailors enjoyed their three/four races (worst race result to be discounted). The thermometer suggested that the temperature was 25C, but with the wind and dark clouds (see additional picture) it felt much colder on the shore.

Eight sailors were in a variety of dinghies, which meant there were class-specific and PY competitive interests. The first three of the races saw the Lasers (Seb then Becci) and Solo (Erwin) finish closely together with a gap of the remaining two Toppers (Drew then Mark K), Feva (Helen and Jamie), and Oppi (Lyall). The first race saw Mark K have a Topper bailer issue and need to come ashore for a quick repair. Race three saw Helen and Jamie improve the use of their spinnaker and improve their finishing time compared to the earlier races. The fourth race saw Becci flying over the finishing line with a very convincing sail despite having a moderate start. The ominous Oppi was at the rear of all the races, but it stayed very close to the second group of sailors.

The race officer box was temporarily relocated to just outside the garage and a car’s horn (expertly pressed by Susan) was used to get racing started. There were no false starts and the standard of everyone’s starts was excellent. There were some interesting laylines taken during the races and it was noted that sailing by the lee did give Mark K an advantage over Drew downwind.

Results:

race 1

  1. Lyall W
  2. Drew W
  3. Sebastian K
  4. Becci O
  5. Jamie B
  6. Erwin O
  7. Mark K (DNF)

race 2

  1. Lyall W
  2. Drew W
  3. Mark K
  4. Jamie B
  5. Sebastian K
  6. Becci O
  7. Erwin O

race 3

  1. Lyall W
  2. Sebastian K
  3. Becci O
  4. Drew W
  5. Erwin O
  6. Jamie B
  7. Mark K

race 4

  1. Becci O
  2. Lyall W
  3. Erwin O
  4. Drew W
  5. Sebastian K
  6. Mark K
  7. Jamie (DNS)

Discarding the worst result:
Lyall        3
Drew       8
Becci       8
Sebastian 10
Erwin        14
Jamie       15
 Mark        16

Race report

Tuesday twilight

Last Tuesday we had a Topper, Solo, Firefly and a Laser on the water. Conor arrived a bit later and decided to ‘just have a sail’. We started on a course E, D, C, F and A where F was to port, all other to starboard. Tony Cook was going well and passing Nick until he had a problem with the main sheet. He manoeuvred into the reeds to re-thread the sheet and found that he had got himself stuck. A bit of arm rowing got him free to pursue the rest of the fleet. Just at the sound of the clock, he managed to get past Erwin before E while Dave was still in front of Nick going between D and C. Not a lot of distance between the 4 boats, and a quick tidy up before the rain started to sputter.

Remember, racing is starting at 6:30. If you want to take part, be ready to launch at 6:25.