The third race of our summer pursuit season started under auspicious circumstances; it was not too cold and the wind was moderate!
It was good to see a couple of people who had not sailed before in a Rollesby race amongst the turn-out of 13 boats. We hope to see you back next week!
There was one Wayfarer, flying the flag for the double-handers! The wind behaved (as well as Rollesby wind ever does) and the sun sank slowly as the race progressed.
The Officer of the Day team was kept busy tracking movements up and down the fleet, so they never did manage that second cup of tea.
The result:
R Bailey (Wayfarer)
K Edwards (Solo)
C Foster (Laser)
Perhaps all of us who, after the race, heard the bittern booming over the Broad were winners.
There was a lack of wind at 6 pm and some members decided to give the race a miss. By the time the race got going though the sailors who stayed had the benefit of a gentle South West breeze. The breeze gradually increased giving a lovely evening sail.
Jack Ibbotson joined the evening sailors this week and started in his Finn on a “scratch handicap.” Jack soon got to the front and stayed ahead to win the race. Next time he starts a minute latter and will soon establish his personal handicap.
The forecast for strong winds kept many regular participants at home. Six keen members went out however, to enjoy the pursuit race, with the north wind blowing down the broad.
With fast lap times Ellie Edwards in her Splash completed the first lap as the four Lasers were just starting.
The laser sailors had many capsizes and Ellie kept pace with them to keep the lap ahead and win. Clive Girling eventually pull clear other the other lasers for a second place.
Special mention of our new member David Taylor. With limited experience Dave set of sailing his GP 14 single handed and managed several laps of the course to finish the race still dry,
Twenty-six boats truned out for our first event of 2021! on a bright sunny morning with a reasonable if somewhat patchy south-westerly breeze. Three diagonal beats were set across the Broad with long downwind return allowing those with spinnakers to fly them.
With the wind shifting occasionally to south, before it rose and settled, Roger Wilson was able to get a port flyer in race one as a lull passed across the fleet in the last minute before the start leaving many drifting around at the wrong end of the line. Matt Boreham also stared well and these two led through the upwind legs on the first lap. Howard Astley-Jones hoisted his spinnaker at the far end of the Broad and was able to lead after the first lap, with Dave Houghton and John Symmonds using theirs to great effect too, recovering from an early navigational error!
On the downwind leg Phil Highfield and Richard Brown escaped from the pursuing pack to join the front bunch. The spinnaker flyers could not gain enough on the Solos who took the first two places on handicap.
In the middle of the fleet a large pack arrived at the last mark on a puff descending on an unfortunate Steve Leigh and Stuart Highfield who had led them into the wind hole at the mark. Eight boats crossed the line in a 5 second period! With Ellie Edwards gaining most having raced well with the faster craft and enabling her to take third on handicap.
Race two saw a slightly increased breeze in a more steady direction, indeed it rose on lap two enough to provide a couple of capsizes. Daniel Bull took advantage of his boatspeed to lead for much of the race, but had to settle for second a mere couple of seconds behind Dave and John who were enjoying the spinnaker run.
There was a very close second bunch with Jack Ibbotson, Roger, Matt, Phil, Daniel Harvey, Pete & Rachel Smith and Steve Whitby all largely abreast at one point on the first run. Phil did escape from the rest on the second lap, but couldn’t quite clear Roger and they tied on handicap for third place.
A great turnout for our fist sail of the year with prizes distributed throughout the fleet.
You will be very pleased to know that the club Spring Regatta is still going ahead this coming Sunday as scheduled.2 races, both to count, as we haven’t sailed for a while there will be a briefing just before 10.30! The forecast is looking chilly but with a bit less wind than last Sunday!
Unfortunately the clubhouse (other than access to toilets) remains closed and there will be no catering. Please as far as possible maintain social distancing rules.
General sailing on Rolesby Broad is now allowed (from April 1st) please be sensible and remember the water is still very cold. No access to Eels Foot at present and all scheduled Eels Foot races will be just a normal club race until further notice. See you on the water.
According to Government / RYA guidelines sailing clubs can reopen from the 29th March. In practice that means we can sail any day of the week from 1st April and the first day racing will be 4th April. The risk assessment taking into account the latest guidelines has been updated by Ken Johnston and is attached to this email. In short; The Rule of 6 and 2m social distancing still apply. The Club house and changing rooms will be closed, toilets open.
According to Government guidelines we will be able to serve food outside from the 12th April. Therefore the plan is to bring Angie back and her excellent food on the 18th April. There will be full details on how we plan to go about this, closer to the date.
Duty Rota
In order to run races we all need to take our turn doing a duty either in the race box or in the safety boat. So please get in touch with Clive Girling (dutylist@rbsc.org.uk), with a date.
It probably won’t come as the greatest surprise but we have decided to postpone the Single Handed Open at Rollesby Broad scheduled for 18th April and the Mutlisail Open on 9th May.
With some travel restrictions likely to still be in place, and definitely restrictions on clubhouse access / land side, the committee feel we would want a few weeks of club sailing in place before being ready to welcome visitors!
Look forward to seeing members back on the water in April.
The tree works that were carried out earlier this month were completed last week. No boats had to be moved during this operation and the site was inspected on Sunday so we can report that all looks good with our boats. Also, the site looks a lot more open. Hopefully, next time there is a serious gale we will have fewer issues with the trees.
Mike….
Essex and Suffolk Water, our landlord has put in place a fairly comprehensive plan for carrying out tree works at our Club Site, involving the felling or removal of dead wood from approx 20 trees (see attached). Their contractor will commence the work this Tuesday 5th January. We met with the contractor just before Xmas. They are a professional outfit who have carried out tree works at our site before. They are will aware of the importance of looking after our boats, they will either move dinghies as need be (and return) and/or carefully lower any branch. They have request that we don’t come down to the Club whilst they are working for safety reasons (unlikely with Covid lockdown). I will let you all know when the works are completed.
The value for us in having this tree work done, is that when the next storm comes through, any damaged branches / fallen trees should be limited, so not distributing our sailing, as in the past. If you have any questions, do get in touch.
I am sure by now you all know that the Government has moved Norfolk into Tier 4 (Now National Lockdown).
As a result I am afraid we are going to have to discontinue sailing. The Government has given no indication as to how long, but let me assure you that as soon as we are given the go ahead to restart, we will get right back on the water.
If you want to check your boat or take it home, you may want to take the opportunity tomorrow (Xmas Eve). The Club site will continue to be open, but the Government guidelines say “you must not leave your home unless you have a reasonable excuse”.
Have a good Christmas and we hope see you all soon in the new year,
Presentation Of “Bent Vase” To Pursuit Race Winner
12.10 Ten Minute Warning
12.20 Watson Cup Race
This Is For Double Handed Boats Sailed By The Helm Only
12.25 Allcomers Single Handed Race For Bottle Of Wine
13.15. Refreshments
13.30 Presentation Of Cup And Race Prizes
No Afternoon Races
New Years Day
Sadly, due to the current restrictions the club is operating under we have taken the decision that this year’sNew Year Open will not take place. We know there are a handful of regular visitors who look forward to this event, but are sure you understand the current situation and we look forward to welcoming you to Rollesby on January 1st 2022, or earlier if our other opens are able to proceed.
For club members there will be a one off regatta – 2 races, both to count – this year, weather permitting!
