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.
For the final episode of the Autumn series the wind took a little while to arrive but a light breeze blowing up the broad arrived mid way through the first race. Before the sailing there was much discussion in the Multisail fleet relating to ‘Bobs new boat’, a lovely new Wayfarer. Many were disappointed to learn that Bob was going to delay it’s initial launch as he needs to learn what to do with all the extra ropes he now has to play with and so ‘Non Teaky Two’ was launched instead ! In the Multisail fleet the light winds caught everyone out as all were a little late over the start.
light winds caught everyone out as all were a little late over the start.
The Wayfarer of Dave Houghton & John Symonds were the first to cross taking an early but short lived lead as Mike McNamara & Andy Smith sailing an Albacore quickly passed to lead to the finish. However the long downwind leg allowed the pursuing Wayfarers to fly spinnakers with Dave & John just keeping close enough to win on handicap with Mike & Andy second and Bob Sparrow & Tony Gibbs sailing their ‘old’ Wayfarer third.
There was a good turnout for the Singlehander start with fifteen entries. Daniel Bull (Laser) hit the line with speed to gain a small lead at the first mark which he extended over the next three laps to cross the line a minute and a half ahead of the next boat to take the race. Behind Dan Harvey (Laser) worked is way up the fleet crossing the line next and just one second ahead of the Streaker of Phil Highfield. Not far behind were the Solos of John Saddington and Kevin Postlewaite crossing the line one second apart and taking second and third on corrected time.
Race 2 – Single handers pre start
For the second race the wind had increased a tad. The Multisail fleet were all lined up at the start in good time! Mike & Andy led from the start to the finish but not clear enough as Dave & John just took the win on corrected time with Mike & Any second. Daniel continued his good form leading race two from start to finish, although this time joined by Andy Bassett, also sailing a Laser just a few seconds behind. These two opened up a good lead on the rest of the fleet to claim the top two places. Clive Girling worked his way up the fleet to cross the line third in his Laser but was piped by the Solos of John & Kevin who again crossed the line just one second apart with John again just ahead to take third.
Whilst there was still a reasonable wind at the start of race three it slowly decreased throughout the race. Mike & Andy led from the start to the finish crossing the line over four and a half minutes ahead of the next boat to take the race win. The Solos of Kevin and Mike Horowitz led the rest of the fleet to finish second and third.
Rollesby Broad SC Autumn series Race 1 Multisail (4) : 1 Wayfarer 10000 (D Houghton & J Symonds), 2 Albacore 8225 (M McNamara & A Smith), 3 Wayfarer 10213 (R Sparrow & A Gibbs). Race 1 Singlehanders (15) : 1 Laser 207011 ( D Bull), 2 Solo 5443 (J Saddington), 3 Solo 4896 (K Postlethwaite). Race 2 Multisail : 1 Wayfarer 10000, 2 Albacore 8225, 3 Wayfarer 10213. Race 2 Singlehanders (14) : 1 Laser 207011, 2 Laser 216564 (A Bassett), 3 Solo 5443. Race 3 Combined (10) : 1 Albacore 8225, 2 Solo 4896, 3 Solo 4405 (M Horowitz).
Rollesby
Broad Sailing Club (RBSC) is setting up a Boat Buddy scheme.
The
idea is that if you are ill, injured or are unable to get to the Club
regularly, you can let me know and I will find someone to keep an eye on your
boat.
Boats
can fall into disrepair when this could sometimes be prevented by another
member noticing a torn cover or a heavy puddle drawing the water inside the
boat.
By signing up to have your boat checked
or to help keep an eye on another member’s boat we can hopefully prevent
unnecessary damage…like my first boat pictured here!
If
you would like to be part of the scheme, please email boatbuddy@rbsc.org.uk and I will try
to pair you up with a buddy.
It
is important that the buddy does not take the initiative and gets permission
from the owner before any intervention. The Club will not take any
responsibility for owners’ boats under this scheme. The purpose is to create
links between members to help each other out. Requests for and offers of help
will not be logged or retained beyond the initial pairing up.
If
you have any queries either email me at the above address, through the RBSC
Sailors Facebook page or speak to me at the Club.
