Category: News

We are pleased to advise that the Site is now open and the Autumn Regatta will be held on Sunday 11 October.

At present there still three damaged branches in trees that could be considered dangerous the areas are marked with tape, our landlords hope to have these removed by the weekend but if the work is not completed and the tape is still present please give the areas a wide berth.

As last weeks workday had to be cancelled it is proposed to hold it this coming Saturday, generally the site needs a good tidy up after the recent winds and so if you attend please bring tools such as spades, shears, loppers, strimmers, wheelbarrows, rakes etc. 

A visit to site to check your boat and cover (many covers are supporting quite a lot of water) and to ensure your boat is well tied down is recommended.
 
The good news :- Angie is due to recommence catering on 18th October. Initially she will be serving drinks and snacks but the menu may be extended in the following weeks if there is sufficient demand. 

The bad news:- Masks will have to be worn in the clubroom until you are seated or have gone outside to eat your food also social distancing must be observed when queuing, sitting in the clubroom and of course outside. A one way system will be operated; in through the back door and out through the front door.

We will put some signs up to make it clear.

We after all that I hope the you all have a good sail on Sunday and enjoy the workday.
Stuart

Due to emergency tree works being undertaken over the weekend, the site will remain closed to members. As advised recently the Autumn Regatta will be postponed and will be held on Sunday 11th October so let’s hope for good weather and a good days sailing.

Hi All
Due to the dangerous tree situation the club site remains closed.
We were due to begin winter sailing this weekend, with split starts for the multi-sails and single-handers, at the Autumn Regatta.
As the site is unlikely to have been cleared due to the tree surgeon’s high workload after last weekend we have decided to postpone the Regatta until the following Sunday – 11th October. 

The work day due to take part on Saturday will also be postponed (new date tbc).

Should we get late notice that the site is open for Sunday the two races will count as the first for the Autumn series instead.

Can we take this opportunity to remind you that to cover your insurance your boat does need to be tied down in the boat park. This is as much to ensure you are covered if it is blown into and damages neighbouring boats as damage to your own craft. Last weekend’s gale was both extreme and a bit unseasonal, but as the leaves clear from the trees the boat park does become more exposed to winter breezes.

We will update you on the site situation as soon as we have further information ourselves.

Keep safe.

RBSC

Hello All

We have been blessed with some really good turnouts this summer, we have had an influx of new members, plus the lack of holiday opportunities; the competition has been strong, but unfortunately the wind hasn’t been helpful in direction!
General opinion seems to be that we should not split the fleets, which distinguishes summer series sailing from the winter series, however with the larger turnouts we have had issues with too many boats arriving at the first windward mark together.

We already have within our sailing instructions the ability to use any mark of the course and a committee boat as a start line for example to use mark number 5 to create a beat to number 6 in the event of an easterly breeze (see attached). In order to create a longer first beat if the wind is from a northerly direct we are adding the following sentence.

11.4 b Alteration to start procedure (11.4 – see below)
In addition to using any mark of the course, mark 2 or 4 can be used to create the end of a start line when the windward mark is either mark 5 or 6.

Signals will still be made from the box and the rescue officer will need to have the radio to hand to feedback on anyone OCS (over the line). For this period, the REAR of the rescue boat will act as the end of the line so that the rescue officer can see anyone OCS from their normal seating position. If rescue officers prefer they may put one of the existing line marks in the water to secure the rear of the rescue boat.

Race officers please try out his procedure when we have northerly winds – I’m sure I will get feedback!
Any comments to my email below please rather than replying to the duty officer mail directly.

It may slightly affect our ability to use average laps for slower boats, but given the current nature of the fleet which has coalesced around boats of similar handicaps this should not be an issue – we will address it if it becomes so. This is more of an issue if we use 5 as a start mark where a whole beat plus is added to the first lap.

The finish line should be set as normal in front of the clubhouse where the race officer can have a good view of it!

Can I take this opportunity to remind everyone that mark 1 can be set anywhere within / near the area of marks 2,4,5,6, (some people use this very effectively). It might be useful in certain conditions to use it as a spreader to take boats away from mark 5 or 6 before they turn back toward boats still sailing up the beat – feel free to ask if you need further explanation.

Given the current covid restrictions; please take this email as notice of the alteration, as we don’t have access to the normal noticeboards!

I will try to ensure there is a short briefing on the first occasion we use this procedure.

See you on Sunday?
Ian

sailing@rbsc.org.uk
ᐧ

19 boats started at least one of the two races for Rollesby’s Summer regatta held on Sunday 9^th August. Having been pursuit racing fro the last few weeks, some of the fleet were a little cautious at the first start, but 15 out of 16 crossed the second start in under 8 seconds, so they were back up to speed by then!

A northerly wind meant a short first beat in the first race. Chris Toothill (Phantom) led round in amongst a group of Solos; Roger Wilson, Mike Horwitz and John Saddington with Stuart Highfield in his Laser. These five took full advantage of the short spreader leg, to avoid the pile up behind caused by a port tack Wayfarer tryng to squeeze in where the was clearly no room!

Wilson and Toothill sailed fastest downwind and pulled out a good lead over the fleet, Daniel Bull (Laser) and Howard Astley-Jones (Vareo) took some different routes to the fleet and did well to pull through and away from the pack, but it was those good starts that gave the first two places to Roger and John with Dan third and Howard 4^th.

A small change in direction and a steadier breeze allowed a slightly longer first beat, though this time it was the Laser fleet that were doing circles at the first mark! Roger and Howard led early on with Daniel Harvey (Laser) in closest proximity. Dan B was enjoying the stronger breeze again recovering from a poor start to catch Dan H late on.

Howard slowly pulled out a gap, as Wilson practised doing penalty turns (more than once), and won on the water, only to produce a dead heat on handicap. Dan B was third with Ellie Edwards holding on to the faster boats well in her Splash to finish 4^th. Some commiseration to Chris Toothill who finished second on the water only to drop to 16^th (last) on handicap as the whole fleet finished within 4 minutes on corrected time – tight racing folks……..

16 Entries Both races to count.

1. Roger (Solo)– 2 pts
2. Howard (Vareo) – 5
3. Daniel B (Laser) – 6
4. John (Solo) – 9
5. Mike (Solo) – 11
6. Daniel H (Laser) 14
7. Clive (Laser) – 18
8. Ellie (Splash) – 19
9. Dave M (Solo) – 19
10. Val & Chris (Wayfarer) – 21
11. Chris T (Phantom) – 23
12. Bob & Steve (Wayfarer) – 23
13. Stuart (Laser) – 23
14. Dave & Dianne (Ent) – 26
15. Chris F & crew (Laser 2) – 27
16. Steve & Heather (Wayfarer ) – 32

Following another successful Sunday morning sailing (16 boats in July!) the committee have been considering how we can return to a somewhat more normal program for most of August and September.

Please note – this was written before the RYA’s latest instructions of 29th July – we will keep you updated as we know more ourselves! – see footnote

This weekend (Sun 2nd August) will run as we have been, with two informal pursuit races; race officer already sorted!.

Sunday 9th August – Summer Regatta
2 morning handicap races – both to count! 

Subsequent Sundays
2 handicap races, in the mornings only, to count for the summer series. At present we cannot return to normal catering so have no intention to run afternoon racing (which to be fair is poorly supported – especially in the summer). We hope this might change by September (who knows?) and will continue to keep Angie updated.

Racing will continue to be subject to lower wind limits than usual due to safety boat restrictions, competitors need to be aware of this.

There will be no Eels Foot Race in August due to the safety boat / race crew restrictions.

Currently we can have two people in the race box – provided they are socially distanced, but only one in the rescue boat.
Wed evening racing will continue as per the program, but the 4pm race will hopefully continue through September (and possibly beyond) subject to demand – this could become a permanent fixture next year? 
Cheers All 

Nice to be back on the water even if one race was enough for me!

Ian

NB.RYA update of 29th July – this implies that for the Regatta on the 9th we will be able to accept entries from double handed crews who are not within an ‘existing household / bubble’ and that similarly we can man the rescue boat with two people in a similar manner. Please bear with us, we need to check the slightly blurry details in this document and how it relates to our Covid risk assessment before we can put these changes into action.ᐧ

The ten boats who ignored the forecast (west force1) enjoyed two informal pursuit races in a gentle north easterly force 2. – Well what else would you expect at Rollseby!

The Solos starting first showed a little ring rust as they headed off to the wrong mark, allowing the Lasers of Clive Girling and Daniel Harvey to over take on the first lap. Clive took full advantage of the shifting winds to eke out a commanding lead, Simon Strode recovered to pull through to second, with Daniel third and Chris Foster using his spinnaker to good effect to bring his Laser 2 through from the last sater tto fourth at the finish.

Race two saw the Solos of Simon and Mike Horwitz slowly pull away from the fleet, using the cleaner air they had to good effect and some better angles at mark approaches. Mike taking the win from Simon after a close battle througout. The Lasers used their close quarter tacking ability to eventually get away from the Wayfarers with Daniel taking class honours this time.

We intend to run this format for the next three Sundays (safe weather permittng), why not come and join in.

Race 1 (9 entries)

1. Clive Girling (Laser)
2. Simon Strode (Solo)
3. Daniel Harvey (Laser)
4. Chris Foster (Laser 2)

Race 2 (8)

1. Mike Horwitz (Solo)
2. Simon Strode (Solo)
3. Daniel Harvey (Laser)
4. Clive Girling (Laser)

With the roll of the dice last week selecting the Star class for this weeks sailing it was a rather more sedate week for the e-sailors.

Dave was first off the start line in race one. The fleet split with Phil and Tamsin choosing the left hand side which proved to be the best route and lead rounding the windward mark. It was tight going into the final run with Dave and Phil tussling for wind leaving Tamsin to take the win and Phil second.

Phil hit the line with speed in race two to take and early lead.  After a poor start (for him!) Dan recovered well to challenge Phil on the final leg with both crossing the line with the same time but the e-judge decision gave the win to Phil.

Dave took an early lead in race three and lead until the final hundred metres when Dan covered well and snuck past.

In race four the fleet were fairly close with Dan just ahead at the windward mark but then built a good lead at the finish with Phil a comfortable second.

In the final ‘official’ race of the day Antony appeared to have fitted foils to his Star as he sped away at the start building up a good lead at the finish. Ian rounded the windward mark second and sailed well to hold on to second ahead of a charging Dan and Keith.

After two weeks Dan and Phil lead, clearly these two  have the x-factor compared with the rest of the fleet but it’s getting closer every week as the rest begin to work out the finer points of the ‘game’.

As has become the norm,  we then decided to compete in some unofficial racing in the other classes so we opted to race a few of the faster classes for some fun.

Dave.

Todays Results

Full Series Results here…

Good luck to Phil Highfield representing the club in East Region eSailing heats. These will take place at 18:30 on Monday evening (18^th) and hopefully the regional finals at 18:30 on the 20^th May. (I pop the details of how to watch on Whatsapp group when we have them,)