South Bank Sailing Club       

The Towpath, Embankment, Putney, London SW15 1LB    Tel: 020 8788 9786

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Sailing Reports

Winter 2009 I

Entries: 20      Races Sailed: 8

Series Place Sail No Type of Boat Owner Handi-cap Series Points Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8
1 ALLAN Enterprise Allan Munro-Faure 1116 11 21 2 3 1 1 2 1 1
2 RENATO Laser Renato Hidalgo Martin 1078 36 3 1 21 2 5 21 2 2
3 DON Enterprise Don Henderson 1078 75 21 21 4 21 4 1 3 21
4 JOHN Enterprise John Parke 1116 92 21 21 2 21 2 4 21 21
5 HANNAH Laser Hannah Steaggles 1078 96 21 21 1 3 8 21 21 21
6 GARY GP14 Gary Marshall 1155 98 4 7 21 21 21 21 21 3
7 ROBBIE Laser Robbie Nelson 1078 99 21 21 21 6 6 3 21 21
8 JEREMY Enterprise Jeremy Kahn 1116 114 2 21 21 21 7 21 21 21
9 SARA Enterprise Sara Bennett 1116 119 21 5 21 21 9 21 21 21
10 JOE Enterprise Joe Driver 1116 127 1 21 21 21 21 21 21 21
11 PAUL Enterprise Paul Elliot 1116 129 21 21 21 21 3 21 21 21
12 DAVID Enterprise David Kennedy 1116 129 21 3 21 21 21 21 21 21
13 DIGBY Wayfarer Digby 1099 130 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 4
14 SALLY Enterprise Sally Pearce 1116 130 21 21 21 4 21 21 21 21
15 STEPHANIE Laser Radial Stephanie Tollemache 1101 130 21 4 21 21 21 21 21 21
16 CALLUM Laser Callum Munro-Faure 1078 131 21 21 21 21 21 5 21 21
17 ARMAND Enterprise Armand Attard 1116 131 21 21 21 5 21 21 21 21
18 RICHARD Enterprise Richard Tollemache 1116 131 5 21 21 21 21 21 21 21
19 JOSEPH Enterprise Joseph Cabon 1116 132 21 6 21 21 21 21 21 21
20 ROSS Laser Radial Ross 1101 147 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

Sunday 13th December 2009 - Winter Series Race 10

A few pictures captured with my phone camera..

13 December racing

If anyone wants the original size (about 600k only I am afraid) just email me the number and I'll send it to you.
 
Two or three pictures are actually quite good! Some funny captions come to mind. Special mention goes to Stephanie who was seen frantically scooping water from our commodore's boat to prevent it from sinking, then back on the water at the helm of a laser to finish the race.
 
The race was for going around the circuit four times but the wind was so good...  or he was going to fast, or perhaps he does not know who to count... anyway Renato did five laps! In the end Ray Burnet (safety boat's admiral) and I had to remove the buoys to make him stop racing!!!
 
Saga and Olra .. as race officers made sure it was all official, and Jeremy arrived after the race to celebrate his birthday. His girlfriend refused to say what she gave him on that special day but, with him arriving two hours late, everyone had a good guess.
 
See you all when it is warmer
Jerome (Assistant Deckhand)
 
ps: with thanks to Paul for his very kind Christmas card.

Jerome
 

Sunday 6th December 2009 - Winter Series Race 9, Downriver series race 5

Despite the most atrocious weather conditions to start the day, as soon as 9 boats got onto the slipway, the sun shone, and a glorious clear blue sky emerged.  The wind was an unpredictable and gusty south westerly, which caught nearly everybody out at some stage of the race with varying degrees of severity.

Five Lasers set out with Renato, Ross, Stephanie, Sally and Joseph, and suffice to say only Renato made it back to the finish line. Gary was crewless so took the Solo and he made it back too. The conditions down by Albert Bridge were treacherous with John and Jeremy capsizing and breaking their mast in very difficult conditions.  Allan and Callum in their Enterprise, Gary in The Joker and Renato were the only boats to make it round the buoy which was laid half way between Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge.  Steph and Ross found it virtually impossible to make any headway against the still strong out-going tide, and despite valiant efforts, Sally decided to go ashore for a rest. The only boat which actually remained upright throughout the whole race was No Idea with Tom and Digby but they too found that the force of the tide was too much to be able to get onto the return leg.  A little encampment of the Lasers and No Idea was made on the north bank of the river until the “getting back home” strategy had been sorted out!

Allan, Callum and Renato persevered for what seemed like an eternity to get away from Albert Bridge but eventually pushed their way upriver despite the attraction of semi-naked model who appeared on one of the barges and watched them (and they, her, we understand) for 10 minutes!  Renato claims not to have noticed this, or so he says!

The 2 safety boats then started the towing back process, with Don and Sara taking the three Lasers and Joe towing John’s Enterprise.

Sally swapped from the Laser and helmed No Idea back with Digby and a fine sight they made as they sailed down the home straight, coming in 4th!  Well done to both.

Although Renato came first the line, frustratingly for him Allan and Callum won on handicap by 1 minute.

So final results are:

1st Allan and Callum

2nd Renato

3rd Gary

4th Sally and Digby

Sara Bennett

Photo selection: Downriver race 6 December 2009

Points Sail No Owner Elapsed Handicap Corrected Finishing Place Comments Points
1 ALLAN Allan Munro-Faure 2:55:55 1116 2:37:38 1   1
2 RENATO Renato Hidalgo Martin 2:51:07 1078 2:38:44 2   2
3 GARY Gary Marshall 3:07:00 1155 2:41:54 3   3
4 DIGBY Digby 3:36:39 1099 3:17:08 4   4
21 ROSS Ross   1101     DNF-Did Not Finish 21
21 STEPHANIE Stephanie Tollemache   1101     DNF-Did Not Finish 21
21 JOHN John Parke   1116     DNF-Did Not Finish 21
21 JOSEPH Joseph Cabon   1116     DNF-Did Not Finish 21
21 SALLY Sally Pearce   1116     DNF-Did Not Finish 21

 

 

Sunday 29th November 2009 -Winter Series Race 7

Results       

Start: Sun 29 Nov 09 10:16:00

Posn

Sail No Owner

Elapsed

Handicap

Corrected

Finishing Place

Comments

Points

1

ALLAN Allan Munro-Faure

0:51:20

1116

0:46:00

1

 

1

2

RENATO Renato Hidalgo Martin

0:53:20

1078

0:49:28

2

 

2

3

DON Don Henderson

0:55:06

1078

0:51:07

3

 

3

 

Sunday 8th November 2009 -Downriver Race 3

Today’s race began with the OOD of the day, Chris, making sure the 5 minute bell was rung shortly after the scheduled On Water time of 11:30. This ‘people need to postpone the chatting and get sailing’ approach certainly worked as it left the crews scrambling to get the 10 boats launched. The one minute bell was met with perhaps only half of the fleet on the water and the rest pushing off from the shore. Remarkably, with a bit of wind and a strong tide the race got off to a respectable flying start. Today’s boat yard buzz was centred on the Koe family’s new toy, a yellow Wayfarer called No Idea, yet to have sailed along the Thames. Hoping that No Idea would not have to be renamed the ‘Yellow Submarine’, a quietly confident Sara gracefully accepted the duty of helm and set off from the shores of the Thames while Digby, the kids and their extremely excitable dog, stood waving farewell. According to regular race winner Allan, “racing was ok up until the last run in from Putney rail bridge when it was turned into a complete drift, with most positions changing as the Enterprises overtook the Lasers and the back of the fleet pushing up towards the front (but not catching) with the increasing tide bringing them in”. Laser experts Renato and Robbie had a slow motion tussle, with Renato edging ever so slightly ahead of Robbie as they crossed the finish line. Unknown to the majority, a second competition was being run alongside the sailing, namely ‘Who could collect the most interesting floating item’ which was eventually declared a draw between the Halloween pumpkin, a shopping bag with an uneaten soggy baguette and a helium balloon with religious inscriptions on it. To close to call! After a glorious inaugural sail, a very proud Koe family welcomed back No Idea, which returned without a drop of water in it and a mast where it should be. Well done Sara! After a slightly chilly but enormously fun day on the river, a very welcome warm cup of soup was waiting for everyone back in the clubhouse (thank you Jeremy!).

Ross Macbean
 

Sunday 25th October

A very exciting race downriver to Albert Bridge with force 5 winds and lots to say so jumping right in…

Armand and Jeremy + Stephanie started well, with Allan and Callum snapping at their heels. Renato, normally the front-runner and favourite to win, surprisingly, and to the relief of anyone with a shred of competitiveness in them, seemed to be spinning around instead of going forward and found himself in the unusual situation of being back of the pack.

Then – disaster – just before Putney Bridge a huge gust took Team Jeremy by surprise and their enterprise Sooty capsized. In a bid to avoid a Thames dunking (an objective that was to be tested repeatedly later) his crew found herself on the centreboard and having to haul both Jeremy and boat back up but too late the boat was filled with water and they made their way to the bank.

Meanwhile Allan was now in the lead, Armand having capsized. Sally and Ross in the GP14 were not far behind. Robbie and Tom were putting their spinnaker up and were flying – the others would have to watch out for these two. The other two lasers, Renato and Hannah, were also closing in and making their way steadily through the fleet soon joining Allan at the front.

Back upriver, Team Jeremy had emptied their boat and were determined to catch the fleet so set off again. With the use of Jeremy’s new magical flying jib stick they fairly flew downriver and soon enough could see white sails. Excitement grew as they appeared to be gaining faster and faster on the fleet until Team J realised that in fact the fleet were on their way back and coming towards them!! As they met the fleet just ahead of the turning point at Albert Bridge, hoping everyone would notice how impressive their catch-up had been, Team Jeremy took their eye off the ball and capsized again (to their chagrin), and now hoped no one had noticed their presence at all.

Beating back up was hard work with extremely strong gusts and very changeable winds making the experience more one of survival than anything else. The leading trio extended their lead on the rest of the fleet. Sally and Ross “decided” not to put their centreboard down “to give the others a chance” (their words not mine) and were stuck by Albert Bridge for a while until gently reminded/instructed by the commodore and whoosh sure enough they were back in the race again.

Upriver, the three leaders were still vying with each other and the order kept changing as one or other laser capsized until unexpectedly Allan capsized by Putney Bridge. Renato seized the opportunity to pull away from the others. Team Allan decided to finish the race in a water-filled boat and managed to pass the finish line second with Hannah not far behind.

Not too far behind them, the others were still fighting a desperate battle against the wind. Armand seemed to get stuck in an air hole under one of the bridges. Both Team Sally and Team Robbie capsized (Team R into the waste discharge area of Thames, inconveniently!) giving Team Jeremy a chance to pull away.

As they approached the finish line, the wind had suddenly died down completely so all started roll tacking. With 20m to go, one roll tack in Team J went disastrously wrong and resulted in yet another capsize (to great amusement) - schoolboy error. Jeremy wanted to go back for his bucket that was floating away from the finish line (!!), and in all the confusion Sally and Ross slipped past, followed by Robbie and Tom and then Armand.

Final results (with handicaps):

1st - Allan and Callum

2nd – Renato

3rd – Hannah

4th – Sally and Ross

5th – Robbie and Tom(or Armand?)

6th – Armand(?)

Jeremy and Stephanie – disqualified (to be appealed)

Stephanie Tollemache

 

 

Sunday 16th August

This is the story of the John Cope Race:

A race it is said that has generated fear and trepidation to sailors of all creeds and colours to whom the Fastnet and the Sydney to Hobart, never mind the Vendee Globe, held merely a passing thought.  This was it! What dark secrets do the still dark waters of the Thames hold? Would the dreaded curse of Commodore Cope be unleashed on our brave mariners on that warm and pleasant sunny afternoon?  Little then, did the helms and crews, know what awaited them on that fateful day.

It all started pleasantly enough.  Dinghies were rigged, Enterprises and Wayfarer alike.  Sails flapped in the breeze, burgees and halyards tinkled a message of hope and encouragement.  Gentle airs came from the South West at about 10 Knots.  The sun shone down smiling at all present.  What could go wrong? The chat was about the start time being delayed. Would we be back on time for assignations already agreed elsewhere?  Was this the first dark cloud on the horizon? Or, more lightly was it the echo of disgruntled sailors around the world who have to suffer the fact that time and tide waits for no man?  In this case we waited for the time and tide.

The rescue boats were launched Jane and Ray were in the metal boat and Peter in the inflatable rib.  At the last minute Valeria arrived and, having no-one to crew for, joined Peter in the rib.  A cosy situation!  Two beautiful people thrown together by unexpected circumstance!  It could not last! Both were not ready for such intimacy in a rib for one powered by two.  Valeria, to protect her honour, begged to join Jane and Ray in the larger boat for safety in numbers.

Ho Ho, ménage a trios.

A daring and spectacular mid-river transfer was performed using skills passed down from father to son, mother to daughter in the seafaring tradition in the community of the South Bank Sailing Club.  The amazed passersby on the river bank burst into spontaneous applause when Valeria sat triumphant on the bow of the Rescue Launch.  The dangerous yet, approved by the Health and Safety Executive, difficult manoeuvre had been carried out with panache and expertise.  Jane and Ray smiled modestly at the “job-well-done”.  Pride comes before a fall and this may have been the harbinger of doom.

The race was on!!!

Flags were raised, bells were rung by the officer in the Club House on the start line. Tim the officer in charge was in full flow.  We had been instructed by this stalwart that the form of address to him was Sir.  Other forms also came to mind. Renato led the pack which were baying at his heels.  We three on the Rescue boat raced ahead to place the buoy near Westminster Pier to mark the turning point that was the halfway marker of the John Cope conflict.  This was not without incident.  At the first attempt to place the buoy in the right place it stopped about 1 metre from the edge of the pier and directly in front of a revving powerful ferry that had better things to do than be hampered and delayed by three incompetent race officials in a rescue boat.  The third attempt appeared to have the yellow buoy in the right place and one red-faced boy, me, returned to the cut-and-thrust of the South Bank’s John Cope.

Returning to the race we passed Westminster Sailing Club, who’s officials were instructing novice helms and crews in 10 or 11 dinghies.  It was noted that some of them were wearing traditional middle-eastern sailing gear.  The chadors and Jelbas fluttered in the breeze.  Their safety officer was warned that an official race from up river was bearing down on them and collision should be avoided at all costs.  We sped on.

Renato was still in the vanguard and in the following pack flounced Bob and Nina with not a care in the world.  What could be nicer than an easy beam-reach? They were gaining in speed and confidence by the second.  It could not last.  Bob took his mind off helming just for a few seconds and then, to avoid a false jibe over-corrected and over he went into an “early bath”.  He efficiently swam around the yacht and mounted the centre board in an attempt right the boat.  This failed for two reasons:

i)                    The crew had decided to hold on to the upper side of the boat and:

ii)                  The mast was in the river bed.

Encouragement and hints that ensued from the safety boat helped not at all.  Yet through bravery and cunning, trial and error and a touch of great seamanship the enterprise was righted and they decided to return home to the clubhouse.  A warm shower and food verses mud and cold water was no contest.

In the meantime the competitors had reached the middle-eastern novice mariners flapping around in the river near their clubhouse.  Needless to say a collision occurred but in sh’allah no damage was done.

The race hurtled on still headed by Renato in the Laser.  Is there no stopping him? Are the breezes too light for the heavier boats?  The participants were told to leave the halfway yellow buoy to starboard.  Unbelievably all the contestants got this right and were noted by Jane and Valeria keeping the time and sale numbers written down in the event of a dispute.

I have always enjoyed watching the tourists having a good time whilst aboard the yellow duck amphibious transporters navigating the river near Westminster.  They embark onto the river on the south bank upstream of the Houses of Parliament where a ramp meets the water.  Jerome at the back of the pack was close to this point.  Co-incidentally a “Duck” was heading to this point too, to leave the river.  The wind had dropped from 10 knots to 2 or 3 and with the tide at about 2 knots.  Progress was slow to say the least. The horn blaring and the waving of what may have been mid-European arms in the Duck threatened our brave helm and crew with a fate worse than death.  Enter your trusty Safety Boat: the warning Claxton was blown. Shouts of “sail before steam” and other pleasantries were fired off in a broadside worthy of Nelson, Rodney and Drake and, yes! The duck backed off,  the breeze picked up and the battle won. 

 

But what now? A sail! A boat aground?  Or had Meg and Debbie decided to hunt for shells amongst the flotsam and jetsam on the bank near the Battersea Park Pagoda. No, they had lost steerage and needed our help. They no longer hoped to raise the coveted cup on their return to the clubhouse.  With tears brimming in their eyes they asked for a tow back.  Tricky job getting off a lea shore yet, on the third attempt the mast was secured to a line and a tired yet, now happy, helm and crew looked forward to a bar-b-cue and the camaraderie of the club house.

It should be noted at this point that all communication between the Race Officer (Sir Tim) and the safety boats was in line of sight only.  In other words for about 10 minutes of a 3 hour race, information could be passed and instruction given.  Also, due to the distance between the leaders of the race and the rearguard (losers) the cheap walkie-talkies were useless between the safety boats.  Only 1 boat had one anyway.

A passing rib was hailed and asked to deliver a message that a contestant was under tow and could Peter return on the rearguard patrol.  This was Jane’s idea and it worked a treat.  I must learn not to be so cynical.

Then as if all that could happen had already occurred there was a shout “starboard” , “water”, “We are racing get out of the way” (re-phrased)  in  Californian or was it a mid-Western accent.  A racer of the best kind, lying second to last, was hailing the Rescue Boat that had a casualty and a yacht under tow.  A collision course! Bare away!  But, No! Our brave and intrepid American members were determined to uphold maritime law and hit the rescue boat a-beam.  Thank God that all hands were on deck and still euphoric from the ‘Duck Incident’.  They warded off the plucky American racer with practiced skill worthy of the British Navy two hundred years ago.

The race was won and done.  Stories to be told.  A bar-b-cue to be had.  We were on dry land and all accounted for.  Renato had won! What could go wrong now? God moves in mysterious ways and the curse of Cope not been revealed.

Is that burning I smell? Are there flames I see? Yes the gas bar-b-cue is on fire and is feeding itself on the meat.  Don, with his usual laid-back lightening reactions, moved the singed food and doused the flames.  Disaster averted.

Another quiet Sunday at the South Bank.

 

Any connection between the above and reality is strenuously denied by the writer.

Ray Burnett

 

Sunday 2nd August

Squidditch comes to SBSC

Eighteen hardy souls in nine boats sped onto the water yesterday (2 August) at 11h00 to take part in SBSC’s first ever game of Squidditch.  Based (loosely) on the game of Quidditch, as featured in Rowling’s Harry Potter books, and the brainchild of the good Doctor Don, Squidditch requires awareness, balance, tactical skill & just the right amount of silliness; all of which were present in abundance yesterday.

Briefly: if your boat was hit by a Bludger (aka a lightweight child’s plastic football) thrown from another boat, you have to make an immediate 360 degree turn.  If, however, you manage to catch the Bludger or it misses you entirely, it is the thrower’s boat that has to make an immediate 360 degree turn.  Somewhere in the mix yesterday was also a Golden Snitch (aka a yellow(ish) tennis ball), but no one was quite sure what to do with it or about it.  No Quaffles were used this time.

The course set was short enough to allow for close-up sailing and for having a good chance of hitting another boat with a Bludger.  Four games were played.  Peter and Rachel Mack were the clear winners of the series, winning three games outright.

Everyone had fun and it’s certain that Squidditch will be played at South Bank SC again.  (In case you’re wondering; no Bludgers or Golden Snitches were harmed in any way, and all were recovered safely.)

Joseph Cabon

And now for the results:

South Bank Sailing Club Squidditch Racing Results - 2nd August 2009
Sailors   Race 1 Race 2 Race 3  Race 4 Points after 1 discard Overall Position Boat
Peter Rachel 1 6 1 1 3 1 Enterprise
Sara Valeria 3 2 6 2 7 2= Enterprise
Robbie o 4 1 2 DNF 7 2= Laser 1
Jeremy Jane 8 5 3 3 11 4 Enterprise
Jerome  Stephanie 7 4 5 4 13 5 Wayfarer
Phil Dani 6 8 4 5 15 6 Enterprise
Kate o 5 3 8 DNF 16 7 Laser 1
John P Mark 2 9 9 DNF 20 8 Enterprise
Armand & the boys 9 7 7 DNF 23 9 Laser 2000
                 
Race Officers, Marshalls, Adjudicators and Safety Cover = Don, Joseph and Louis

 

Sunday 19th July

REPORT ON RACE 10

     It was a lovely sailing day, warm with a light westerly gusting to moderate, start time 10.15. The RO had made an effort, got out of bed early and rushed his breakfast and opened the club soon after 9.00.

     Jeremy arrived, then Meg and Debbie, then Roger and Edith who had come for a taster sail, then Toni and Tony to help with in the office and the safety boat. Then nobody else. As 10.00 approached it became clear that no one else was going to come but it was too nice a day not to sail. Toni and Tony had “things to do” and were glad to go home so it was two Wayfarers and a sail about. Then we  realised that we probably did not have the muscle to get the Dory back up the ramp so we searched for the inflatable, found it and mounted the Tohatsu but it wouldn’t start, desperate call to Allan just as he was getting into his car to drive to Scotland.

 “Have you attached the kill cord?”

 “Kill Cord?”

  No see. So borrow one from Armand’s outboard and we were off.

  Then it was all plain sailing as you might say.

  Meg helmed Katie round the river and though, with Jeremy sometimes as negative ballast, the leeward gunnel got close to the water in the gusts, they stayed dry. Roger and Edith sailed around comfortably, now and then approaching maximum displacement speed, though there was a moment’s anxiety when they strayed up river and nearly lost the wind. The RO/Cox’n enjoyed the sunshine & passed the time estimating the width of the tide shadow on the Fulham bank by comparing the speeds of bits of rubbish.(its very narrow).

   Then it was going home time, Armand’s kill cord was returned and the inflatable was reconcealed, and we found the Tohatsu cord in the petrol store. Edith had thoroughly enjoyed herself and said she would join. Then we all had some coffee and lived happily ever after.

John Parke

 

Sunday 12th July

SOUTH BANK SAILING CLUB ENTERPRISE OPEN AND SOUTH EAST AREA CHAMPIONSHIP RACE REPORT

South Bank Sailing Club on the tidal Thames in Putney, London, were delighted to host an Enterprise Open and the South East Area Enterprise Championship on Sunday 12 July 2009.

The event was made up of two long distance races followed by a round-the-buoys race, each timed to take advantage of the varying tidal conditions throughout the day.

Long distance racing on the Thames has it all, bridges, shallows, strong currents, pleasure boats and more often than not variable wind patterns, all of which offers a unique challenge to sailors whatever their ability.

Race 1 was down river from Putney to Westminster, a distance of some 6 miles.  Starting in a very fickle wind with a following tide, the fleet made a cautious start.  Aided by the tide and a freshening breeze good progress was made towards Westminster.  By the halfway stage the boats of Beaney and Bird had a good lead on the rest of the fleet, however in the closing stages they both misread the run-in to the finishing line letting Davis through to claim first, followed by Munroe-Faure and Henderson in third.

The fleet was then held for half an hour to wait for slack water prior to the start of Race 2.  This in itself was a challenge with busy river traffic to avoid including Tate Gallery’s huge Damien Hurst decorated catamaran and “Duck Tours” amphibious vehicles.

Race 2 was back to Putney and got off to a textbook start in a solid force 4 westerly.  The fleet quickly spread out with the front-runners excelling in the long beat back to Putney.  In total contrast to heavy winds on the majority of the course that saw a number of capsizes, the closing leg from Putney Bridge to the finish was hampered by the unwelcome shelter of very tall trees lining the Surrey bank.  Positions established by the half way stage were held with Beaney 1st, Davis 2nd and Bird, recovering brilliantly from an earlier capsize in 3rd.

After a very welcome lunch break the majority of the fleet was back on the water for Race 3.  Whilst the river level was by now much higher and therefore the racing area more exposed, the wind dropped progressively during the course of the race.  This made it very tactical and with the last of the flood tide still pushing strongly through the centre of the river most of the fleet electing to hug the Middlesex bank in order to make headway.  Beaney finished first by a county mile followed by Chambers and Hodgson.  

The final results were:

Tideway Race Enterprise open (combined result for Races 1 & 2) :

1st Davis, 2nd Munro-Faure, 3rd Bird.

South East Area Championship (combined result of Races 1, 2 & 3 with one race discarded): 1st Beaney, 2nd Davis, 3rd Munro-Faure.

The top junior crew was Master Bird and the top veteran was John Parke.

SBSC were delighted to host the event and look forward to hosting another Enterprise Open next season.

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=147862

Chris Phillips

 

Sunday 17th May

 

Today the racing conditions when we arrived at the club in mid afternoon looked fierce with a generally westerly wind, but with regular strong gusting and rain showers. Heavy dark grey cloud banks loomed overhead interspersed with beautiful clear blue patches of sky.

The assembled sailors gathered and pondered and donned both wet and dry suits. Rigging commenced and most boats rigged for the conditions with either cut down sails or 4.7 rigs for the Lasers. When we were almost ready we phoned Ranelagh who we were joining as our host club to take part in their annual RNLI race. Surprised there was no answer we sent a runner (well firstly friends Cathy and Steve Collins who were visiting from Minima) down to see what was going on and they didn’t re-appear so then Sara was despatched – we were beginning to think the wind must have taken the telephone lines down. In fact rather unusually for SBSC we were down very early for the race and with most boats ready rigged to go around 6.00pm the start wasn’t actually until 6.45.

We phoned in the details of our gallant sailors all 7 boats with assorted crews. While we were launching the clouds parted and more blue skies appeared and the several boats set off with their little handkerchiefs up. The water turned to a glassy oily look and the boats all were swept away with the tide and had to be towed up to the Ranelagh start line.

Meanwhile Ranelagh started to rig their boats and seeing the formidable SBSC armada of big boats led by our flagship in the shape of Armand's Laser 16 appearing under tow. I think they twigged there was no wind anymore and set their biggest sails.

The start was set off with the usual medley of start bells from Ranelagh with the first bell being the five minute. Usually there is a four minute bell to follow the five Minute and this was the case, then low and behold there was a three minute bell. This threw crews into a bit of confusion as the heavier boats were drifting rapidly towards the line when they realised the three minute bell was actually a four minute bell and there was a frantic struggle to stay above the line. One of the SBSC Lasers manned by David had slipped over the line and the race was started. Poor David took another five minutes to get back over the line with his handkerchief, trying manfully to grapple with the wind.

Still we were off and while drifting to the first mark there was pretty competitive racing, then turning this first corner the Lasers all turned around the mark and headed off back upstream and the rest of our Armada continued on its way towards Hammersmith. The third rowing mark on the shaded windless bank was too sheltered for several boats to get around and several gave up. So we didn't really give this race our collective best shot

So all in all it was rather disappointing to rig in such a fine wind and end up in so little, and rather than labour on individual performances we can usefully describe this in terms of team effort with the results being that Ranelagh overall 'just pipped' (!) SBSC into second place. SBSC was attended by Joe Driver, Jenna Browning and David Kennedy in lasers, Allan Munro-Faure plus Callum MF and Ross Macbean, Gary Marshall and Steve Maddock in Wayfarer Worlds, Jeremy Khan and Sara Bennett in the GP14 and Armand Attard and Matt Williamson in the Laser 16. And thanks to Ray Burnett rolling up in his Rolls Royce with family to do safety boat duty.

We would have had a few other crews but the strong wind put off our Commodore and Enterprise captains (no names please).

Off the water afterwards we all quickly packed our boats away and joined Ranelagh in their smartly refurbished bar and dining areas for a fantastic spread of food and wine.

Allan M-F

Enterprise Open – John Livingston Trophy

 

Sunday 10th May 

Six SBSC sailors attended the London Corinthian S.C. Enterprise open meeting. We now have the published results - our guys in yellow. Looks as though they had an SBSC tussle while there...

1 – David Beaney and John Beaney - 20234 Blank Bgan Castaways
2 – Robin Johnson and Beverley Beech 17636 Ovation LCSC
3 – Chris Rowsell and Alastair Stewart 23225 HijelmnO Lensbury
4 – Marco Schndbl 18116 Candy South Bank
5 – Don Henderson and Sara Bennett 19659 Hurray Up South Bank
6 – Ander De Bustos and Renato Hidalgo 21078 Bleu D'ecosse South Bank
7 – Allan Munro-Faure and Callum Munro-Faure 20588 Hairaiser South Bank
8 – Val Nedyalkov and Jenny Drife 22462 Guardian LCSC
9 – Chris Crosland and 19965 Flute LCSC
10 – Ed Hickman and Kevin 22465 Independent LCSC
11 – Jess Holley 23048 Bean2 Castaways


Not that long to our own Enterprise Open meeting on 12th July, which will be the South East Area Championships.

 

Sunday 3rd May

14 boats raced downriver to Albert Bridge and back today in what was generally a very lively wind, with the more experienced Laser sailors all opting for a radial rather than a full rig.  Don Henderson produced a stunning first leg and opened up a significant lead which lasted most of the first leg, with Renato Hidalgo chasing him well towards the turning mark. Meanwhile others were finding the wind too much and both safety boats were sorting things towards the back of the fleet when the front-runners reached Albert. This was unfortunate since a lengthening of the course was definitely in order, and the significant current still ebbing out meant that everyone caught up. To make matters worse, the plan to tack the fleet around the bridge rather than gybe them left the leaders in the worst spot of the river.  So the race effectively re-started but as the wind re-appeared the original leaders were seriously disadvantaged. Ander de Bustos now made his move in a Laser radial, and he squeezed his way through the southern arch and into a slight breeze on the other side which carried him into a good lead which he held all the way back to the Club to take first place. John Parke, Armand Attard and Bob Jackson fought it out for the next three places, but I can't remember exactly who got what - apologies! It was great to see such a good fleet on a bank holiday weekend.

Joe D

 

Sunday 26th April

With a fleet of 11 boats, and none of them able to get to the line to start because of a south westerly wind blowing them all up river, we eventually got them started using the red marker buoy as the start line. A triangular course was set by Paul, and it proved quite testing for some to get to the 2nd red marker buoy.
 
Joe shot off and took an early lead, and it wasn’t long before he had lapped the others.  In fact his enthusiasm was such that he decided to ignore the fact that the race was meant to be 5 laps and did 6 instead, and still managed to come 2nd!!  I think!!  It became increasingly difficult to keep a proper eye on the 11 as Ranelagh appeared and suddenly the number of boats in my vision doubled!  
 
The final outcome was that the Commodore and Steve Maddock won (2nd time in as many weeks!).  3 didn’t complete the course. – the 2 wayfarers, and Armand in his Laser 16.
 
The Commodore was feted afterwards for his win and also for the fact that it had been his 84th birthday on the 23rd April.  A large chocolate birthday cake was consumed by one and all!
  
Sara B.

 

Sailing reports for Feb to April 2009

Sorry for no reports over this period. We have sorted the website glitches now, so new reports are needed!

 

Sailing Report for 22nd February 2009

An excellent turn out - 8 boats in total. Norma kindly stepped in to take charge in the Race Box ably assisted by Judi.

We laid a triangular course of 4 laps to starboard and only just managed to get the buoys before the race start! Allan and Callum in Henri took and immediate lead hotly pursued by John and Toni, Don and Andrew and Bob with Joseph.

Profuse apologies to Renato as the original course on the board had indicated that Buoy 3 needed to be rounded before heading to Buoy 1 on the Barnes bank. The others had seen the amended version and went straight to Buoy 3. This meant Renato was knocked right back at the start.

There was a lot of jockeying for position and Don and Andrew took the lead at one point only to be overtaken eventually by Allan and Callum

The wind freshened considerably during the last lap and Jane and Tim managed to avoid a capsize at the gybe mark. Unfortunately Blue Jay rapidly filled with water and eventually had to be towed home.

Final results.

Don and Andrew 1st
Allan and Callum 2nd
John and Toni 3rd
Bob and Joseph 4th
Renato 5th
Dan 6th
Jeremy and Valeria DNF
Jane and Tim Retired

A crews race was suggested but due to weather conditions it was felt that this should be aborted

Sara
OOD
 

 

Sailing Report for2nd February 2009


"Cold conditions with light winds interspersed with strong cold easterly
gusts. Two boats launched: Gary Marshall in his GP14 with Jane as crew.
But donned their smart drysuits and went out in cut-down rig. The second
boat was club Wayfarer Henri Lloyd again with reduced Mainsail and
helmed by Peter Mack and crewed by Sara. In the run in to the start the
wayfarer capsized in front of the club and inverted and this lead to the
start being rescheduled until they had regained their composure to take
the challenge of Gary. The race was a downriver to Wandsworth Bridge and
both crews set off with Gary taking an early lead. However Peter
overtook by sliding up the Putney Embankment beside the boathouses and
slipped passed Gary who was in the middle of the river. Gary seeing this
also took up the Putney bank and both boats were then slightly stuck by
the awkward intervention of the Putney Pier and they had to go outside
this. A bit of jousting then ensued with Gary forging ahead. As if
sensing a difficult race ahead the wayfarer team took their eye off the
ball / or wind and were promptly capsized again and they then retired
from the race and limped home leaving Gary the victor."

A. Munro-Faure




Race Report for 25th January 2009

It was cold but Metcheck promised that the rain would be clear by mid-day and there was a moderate southerly covering the whole river except for a narrow strip along the Putney bank so the RO put a buoy 150m down river near the Fulham bank and the usual two buoys on both banks up at Crabtree, all to port.
Office preparations completed, while Lt. Col. Jane stood by to start the race RO bustled along the towpath shouting that there would not be any postponement and hustled all six boats into the water on time. Then the wind dropped and crews struggled to cross the line.
But they all got across. We rang the bells and manoeuvred the flags but at the man bell two Lasers started and did not hear our shouts. At the start bell the premature starters turned back, two more crews started but two held back, again more shouts from the office, a ragged start then they all turned back! When everyone was back across the line they started again. The Or's looked on mystified. Then the Safety Boat told us that the fleet had felt sorry for the premature starters and gave them a second chance.
The race proceeded according to plan except that Steve had a difference of opinion with two other boats and touched the Barnes bank marker buoy twice. Two 360 turns left him at the back of the fleet and he eventually retired. As soon as the leaders Peter and Allan, had got round the downstream mark the wind dropped and the rest of the fleet struggled. Then the wind backed to SE and now the Fulham bank and the downstream mark were sheltered. And it began to rain.
The wind and the rain came and went. Even though we moved the Putney buoy up stream the wind always dropped and the rain began as soon as the leaders had rounded it leaving Robbie and Sara struggling.
Peter who had been one of the premature Laser starters and given a second chance, pulled out a convincing lead and looked like winning but Allan caught him up and eventually crossed the line first.
The final order was Allan, Peter, Sara & Robbie. Renato no doubt mindful of his experience in the Ruby Race, set a radial and could not make much progress and so retired.

J. Parke

 

Bloody Mary Pursuit Race at Queen Mary Reservoir

What seemed like a good idea in the making during last week didn't look
quite so attractive as 6 intrepid lunatics met up at the club at 8.00 on
Saturday morning to get boats ready to take to Queen Mary Sailing Club
for their annual Pursuit Race named 'The Bloody Mary'. It was minus 4
degrees and I am not sure it felt like it got above that all day!

We eventually had the boats packed up and left by 9.30. This was no
mean feat, and was helped immeasurably by Allan coming down at 8.00 to
help us all. We were all hugely grateful for all his input!

Robbie had hired a truck to tow a club Enterprise and we took my laser on top
of his car. Gary took his GP14 with with Jeremy as crew and Chris his
British Moth. A friend of Robbie's, another American, Tom Glockner was
keen to see just how hardy the Brits really are and I crewed for him on
Witan.

He found out on our drive down the A316 when the snow started to fall,
adding to the really Arctic conditions!

The whole set up at Queen Mary's was like a well-oiled machine -
marshalls met us and we were directed  to where we left our boats, and
then the cars went back down to the car park. Eventually we set up all
the boats, and went into the Clubhouse to register, change and try to
get vaguely warm!

175 boats of every single class you can think of took part. We were all
allocated a start number, thereby setting your PY handicap before you
started rather than doing the calculations at the finish. The idea was
to race for precisely 2 hours 15 minutes and wherever you were at that
point in time indicated your final position.

Chris had to retire because he got a lot of water into his Moth, which
was a shame, but the rest of us ploughed on round the never-ending
course, which seemed to take an hour to do one circuit. Sheets froze
solid, boat decks were completely covered with ice. Until just before we started  the whole water
was completely covered in a thick fog
Luckily the lifting of the fog brought about a 5 knot wind, which wasn't
really enough to get one anywhere near anything approaching warm. Tom
and I in Witan tried to keep the other Enterprises in sight, but
unfortunately they disappeared quite quickly and we were gradually
overtaken  by the high performance boats, which did look superb.
There were many world class sailors there from all over the country,
together with most fabulous array of mouth-watering boats. My favourite
was the 18 foot Skiff, sponsored by Investec and one of the sails was
completely covered by a zebra, as per the advert many of you will have
seen in the press or on hoardings.

Towards the end of the race we were alongside Robbie who had borrowed my
Laser, but both he and Gary and Jeremy came much higher up the pecking
order than we did.

Gary & Jeremy came 140th
Robbie 142nd
Tom and Sara - 170th.

So not last, but not far off it!

Despite the freezing weather, we all enjoyed the experience, and vowed
that if it is slightly warmer next year we would do it again. Perhaps
more will join us from the club - lets hope so.

Over and Out

Sara B
 

Race Report for 14th December 2008

Four boats went out in the cold on Sunday 14th, a 4 lap race, all
buoys to port - Chris Phillips in his Moth, me in my Laser, Robbie in a
club laser, and Jeremy and Joe in Witan with Jeremy helming. I was very
disappointed as I managed to establish a good lead in the first race
which I held until the home leg and looked as if I had the race in the
bag. Then I made a very stupid mistake, which Chris pointed out to me
later that I had done in the last down river. I made the decision to do
the home leg about 30 yards away from the others, and it became quickly
obvious that they had the wind and I didn't. What had been an extremely
good lead was eroded by the time we got to the line, and Jeremy got over
the line first, followed by me, Chris and then Robbie. However, Chris
won on corrected times, with Jeremy and Joe 2nd, myself 3rd and Robbie
4th.

We then did another race of 2 laps and this time we just did winner over
the line - Jeremy and Joe came 1st, me 2nd, Chris 3rd and Robbie 4th.


Jolly cold by the end.

Happy Christmas to everybody!

Sara B
 


Race report for the 'downriver' on Sunday:16th November 2008

We had an excellent Downriver race on Sunday. We
crossed the start line bang on time with a WNW force 3-4 wind.

Don led through Putney and Putney Railway bridges, with the field split
by 2 then 1 minutes. Renato and Allan neck and neck through both in
equal 5th. Then on down to Wandsworth bridge where the field, still only
1 minute apart, was now led by John with Toni. Heading on to Battersea
Railway and Battersea bridges, a stretch along which Steve with Robbie
regained the place that they had lost to Sara. Whilst Allan surged
forward in a good demonstration of the point of both looking for the
wind and thinking about where the tide is strongest. As the field was
just 4 minutes apart around Battersea bridge and the wind was prevailing
the RO  chose to extend the race from Albert to Victoria
Railway bridge. John with Toni and Don were just 2 seconds apart at
Albert bridge, with the field just 4 minutes wide. Turning Victoria
Railway bridge Don regained the lead, having John and Toni just 5
seconds behind, and the field narrowed to 3 minutes.

The return run to Albert and Battersea bridges was more lively sailing,
the tide flow changing to make it wind over tide, and thus the wind
appearing to rise by 6 to 8 mph (from -3 or 4 to +3 or 4). Approaching
Wandsworth again a light rain started and the wind dropped as the ding
dong continued. Coming into the home stretch John with Toni showed their
skill and built up a commanding lead crossing the finish line first.
Followed by Allan, Don, Renato, Sara and Steve with Robbie.


Now as with all downriver races you are required to sign off as soon as
possible, or incur a 5 minute penalty, oddly 4 boats failed (forgot?) to
do this even an hour after they finished. So the final result taking
into account: the handicap, a 1 mph tidal advantage and penalties are as
follows:-

1st 1:58:27.8 Don Henderson
2nd +0:37.2 John Park with Toni Byrne-Price (penalty)
3rd +1:11.6 Steve Barnes with Robbie Nelson
4th +4:38.1 Allan Munro-Faure (penalty)
5th +7:40.3 Renato Hidalgo (penalty)
6th +7:41.3 Sara Bennett (penalty)

Congratulations to Don for Winning a close run race. It is also a
testament to the sailing skill of our Commodore John with Toni that with
the penalty they only missed out by 37.2 seconds. As John said the rules
are part of the race and he should know best having the pleasure of
being a long standing sailor with the club.

After the race we had baked potatoes with toppings for lunch along with
the results, heartily welcomed.

Thanks for the day go to: Chris Phillips and Jan Ledger for Safety Boat;
Paul Elliott for Race Officer; Sara, Jan and Paul for the food; all the
racers for a fun and enjoyable race.

All in all a great day, and we look forward to many more. See you all at
sailing soon.


John Cope Cup Race - Sunday 19 October

This is the Club's longest race of the year -- from Putney to
Westminster and back, turning a buoy at the Houses of Parliament. This
was a re-scheduled event, a gale force wind having caused a postponement
of the August race. And in fact the forecast was again for severe winds,
though they didn't really seem to have materialised as we prepared to
start.

Don, with Sara crewing, made an excellent start, not that the others
did. May be a few didn't hear the signal or thought the start didn't
matter on such a long race, though. Allan, Callum, and Rory were a bit
out of the running due to helping other boats in to the water (but
predictably worked their way through some of the fleet over the first
mile).

Don continued to pick all the right spots on the river and by the time
the fleet got to the Battersea Reach had opened up a ridiculously good
lead; but the competition for the next half dozen places was fierce:
Steve & Cate (in Steve's new Enterprise, Tomato Katchup) were sailing
very competitively, as were Dave & girlfriend, and Bob & Roger. Everyone
was trying to find a clear and private gust that would lift them away
from the others, and at different time they probably all did, places
changing on every reach of the river.

By Chelsea Bridge we were starting to get signs of a decent wind
appearing, and with D&S getting there first, they pushed yet further
ahead, building something like a four hundred metre lead. As the fleet
got to Vauxhall, the wind was dead behind and the pace was picking up.
It was clear now that despite having postponed the start by 45 minutes
against the advertised time, all the boats were going to arrive well
before the tide had turned. We set a starboard buoy 100 metres before
Parliament, and as Don & Sara swept round, it was clear that the beat
back to Vauxhall was going to be challenging as they fought their way
back under Lambeth Bridge against a force four wind and an outgoing tide
that wouldn't slacken for another twenty minutes.

As the fleet concertinaed at the turn, the following pack were in a
position to figure out what the leaders were doing right or wrong, and
by the time the first six boats had emerged from the bridge the
positions had changed significantly. Don was still leading, Rory had
pulled right through and Dave and Allan were fighting it out between
them with Bob close behind. Steve and Cate went over in an almighty gust
and with a boat full of water and in such a strong wind, went over again
before they had bailed out and eventually retired. Joseph and Chris had
to beach in the Wayfarer but managed to get off later again. Peter also
went over but managed to bail out and continue.

From the rear safety boat we lost touch with the main fleet, but Bob
and Roger obviously pulled through in the next few reaches. By the time
we caught the front-runners up they were into the home straight from
Putney Bridge -- and back in to a very fickle wind. Don was still in
front but Rory, for all that he'd probably lost on handicap, was
fighting to get his Laser to the line first. Allan and Bob were
meanwhile trying to steal a march by watching the leaders and adjusting
their tactics. With 50 metres to go, Don and Rory were neck and neck,
with Allan and Bob a mere twenty metres to the rear. Don went for a
mid-river finish to get the stronger current, but Rory stayed to the
leeward bank for more wind -- and pulled through to pip Don on the line.
Next came Allan, then Bob. A little behind were Dave and Peter, and
Armand and Joseph brought the Wayfarers in a way back, both having
experienced some gear problems.

Sara had thoughtfully prepared two massive trays of pasta for after the
race, and our multi-tasking race officer, John Quinn, doubled as cook
while we were on the water, so by the time we had de-rigged, a
piping-hot late lunch was ready for us.

Results: 1st Don & Sara (not sure which of them is going to clean the
cup for next year!), 2nd Allan & Callum, 3rd Bob & Roger 4th Rory

Don thanked John our race officer and the safety crews for covering the
race.

Lessons learned:

1. We scheduled a start time that was far too early. We postponed but
still allowed 90 mins. It actually took only 70-75 minutes to get to
Westminster.

2. If the forecast is for 17mph gusting 22, believe it! It might not
strike at Putney, but it will strike!

3. Any time Sara wants to do us pasta, we'll eat it.

Joe.
 

The Week-end at Poole 4th/4th October. 2008

We watched the weather forecasts all week, Would it be 25-35mph (Windguru) or 12-15 on Saturday dying away to 1mph at mid-day Sunday? (Metcheck)

Friday was perfect sailing weather of course. Saturday morning was confusing, total overcast no wind at all at first, during breakfast the leaves began to rustle and by the time we got to the harbour the trees were swaying and there were whitecaps. Two Wayfarers, reefed and with four aboard went carefully out, Instructor training they said.

Then Bill Phillips brought word from the OC Rockley Windguru had been right. "NO SAILING" (Not for you lot anyway) I for one, was relieved.

We watched, like spectators at a bull fight with no wish to follow them, while 20 Hobie cats set off for a national open. The crews well out on their trapezes before they had left the shelter of the bay.

Now what to do? We drove down to Weymouth to see Chesil Beach in a strong Sou’wester. We struggled over the ridge against the wind and, with grave respect for generations of fishermen who had landed there daily, watched an angry, grey, lumpy sea pounding the stones. Then we skipped down wind, back over the beach to watch modern sailors, windsurfers and kitesurfers, playing with the wind on screaming reaches. One kite surfer standing on something the size of a tea tray, turned at the end of his reach by hoisting himself a good ten feet clear of the water, turning in the air and simply setting off back again. Then a visit to the National Sailing School, all eco-friendly, plate glass and hushed empty halls where we learned that the wind kite surfers were being officially timed at 45-50 mph! There were any amount of Lasers but no, they don’t offer courses in Enterprise sailing.

Then back to Poole for an excellent team filling (sorry, building) supper in a room to ourselves in a local pub.

Driving rain all night with gusts that shook the caravan, no need to hurry breakfast. Not surprisingly A rather wet Bill appeared to report more 25-05 mph winds forecast and to repeat yesterday’s message from Rockley; No sailing. And incidentally 18 of the 20 cats had capsized yesterday and some had broken masts.

So a good-will visit to our new friends in the other caravan parked on the cliff top overlooking the harbour, where we enjoyed hot coffee and Wendy’s home made chocolate brownies. So cosy you could think the weather was not so bad after all.

Hang on! The rain had stopped and the wind had dropped, Metcheck had been at least partly right. Emergency call to the ever helpful Bill, back to our caravan pile into wet gear, and down to the harbour and launched two Wayfarers and Chris’ 18 ft Dart cat. before the weather changed its mind again. The Wayfarers sailed comfortably across the harbour while Chris zipped around giving turns on the trapeze and had some of our new members whooping with delight.

Then packed the boats away, packed in a good supper on the rest of Sara’s excellent lassagne, ( two glasses of wine for the commodore because he wasn’t driving), packed our kit and made the long journey home.

We’d made the best of a frustrating week-end, at least we’d got afloat and everyone was happy.

Sunday 21st September - Race 8
A down river race to Albert Bridge and back. It was a beautiful day, not a
cloud in the sky but unfortunately not a lot of wind either.

There were 7 boats in the race John and Steve in their Enterprises , Jeremy
in a club GP, Chris in his British Moth , Renato in his Laser and Paul in
the club Wayfarer. (Apologies to crew but at time of writing I did not have
the crew list but you know who you are)

The fleet set off tacking all the way to Albert Bridge. Paul in the
wayfarer had a problem with the centreboard and had to retire just after
Putney Bridge.

With the fleet rounding the buoy at Albert Bridge 15 min before the turn of
the tide, the start of the homeward leg was challenging. As it was
downwind all the way the challenge proved to be trying to stay out of the
tide without running aground. Steve got caught out and spent a short time
trying to get his Enterprise underway but he was able to take advantage of
the turning tide and swiftly caught up as the fleet bunched back together.

Renato finished almost 10 minutes ahead of the fleet but after corrected
times including adjustment for tide, saw him moved back to 3rd.

Corrected results

1st Chris - British Moth

2nd Jeremy - GP

3rd Renato - Laser
 

Gary.

 

Report on race 7th September 2008

We had 7 boats on the water for this race

Prior to the majority of club members arriving (I as race officer was
there early, primarily to return my British Moth to club and nestle it
up safely in our wonderful shelter for it to dry out prior to minor
restoration) the wind was at the top end of a force 4 SW

As members arrived and started to rig, the wind gradually dropped to a
F3

In true SBSC style time was spent by a number of kind individuals
helping others rig their boats, fix breakages etc. and few were ready
for the start. Those that were ready elected to wait for the rest, and
the entire fleet started some 5 minutes after the bell. Strength in
numbers !!

A slow run up river to the first buoy with Sara taking an early lead,
however things became fickle and the lead changed several times.

Renato came out in front and held the lead for the entire race, with
Alan and Callum in their Enterprise snapping at his heals the whole
time. Gary and Joseph in the GP14 held on to third despite a strong
challenge from Don in his Laser.

These positions were held right through to the finish, and on corrected
times the results were

1st Alan and Callum - Enterprise
2nd Renato - Laser
3rd Gary and Joseph - GP14

Chris Phillips
RO