Bembridge Sailing Club Weekend Keelboat Racing
by Mike Samuelson 12 Jun 2023 05:42 BST
9-11 June 2023
Early/late tides and very variable wind conditions made for another tricky weekend with only the keenest out racing. On Friday evening (NE'erly F3-4) there were two One-Designs (both single handed) and three Redwings (was going to be four but Gannet ended up being towed out to the moorings at Under Tyne).
The two One-Designs went off first from the line set up just outside the harbour using Pepe as the outer limit. Simon Allocca in No 1 tried a port tack flyer but had to dip Mark Grzegorczyk and from then on Mark, after tacking inshore to reduce the tide, simply motored away and by keeping the boat going in the slop he finished over 8 minutes ahead. Meanwhile the three Redwings got away to a good start and all three tacked quite quickly to keep inshore.
Start of the Redwing race (Friday)
Colin Samuelson in Toucan and Olav Cole in Redwing had an excellent dual as they closed in on Fitzwilliam with Toucan ahead by no more than a length. On the short run to Undertyne Olav closed the gap and had the leg been longer would probably have overtaken Colin however his undoing was rounding Under Tyne on the outside and by the time they reached Fitzwilliam for the second time, Toucan was well ahead and this time was not for catching and finished just under two minutes ahead. Prawn, helmed by Alex (junior) Andreae, despite working hard to master keeping the boat speed going in the lumpy seas, was never in the running but full marks for perseverance.
Saturday afternoon initially looked as if it was going to be possible to run two races for both classes in the 7 knot SE'erly breeze and smoother sea. However after a promising start the breeze died off and the first race became the only race. Starting from a laid inflatable between Undertyne and Janson, the three Redwings made a good start evenly spread out along the line.
Start of the Redwing race (Saturday)
Colin in Toucan tacked first to head inshore out of the tide; Olav in Redwing was never far away and Alex Andrea in Prawn struggled to keep up. Rounding Tara just ahead, Colin was able to remain in the lead on the slow run to Footprint (changed from Britten so as 'speed things up a bit') but like the previous day, Olav was breathing down his neck. However, this time he rounded the mark better and by the time they crossed the finish line at Under Tyne, Redwing had inched into the lead. With little or no interest in a second race, they headed back to the moorings.
Having decided to use normal jibs rather than genoas, the five One-Designs struggled at times to make much progress, particularly as they eventually got closer to Tara. Mark, sailing single handed, was the only one to spot the heavy bias at the pin end of the tine and starting on Port tack put him a long away ahead of the other four boats. Although they stood little or no chance of catching Mark, Sarah Marshall in No 9 and Alexander Ross in No 8 match raced their way to Tara rounding a minute or so apart. Given the slow progress and very spread out fleet, the course was shortened to finish at Under Tyne; Mark was obviously first a good 5 minutes ahead of Sarah with Alexander a minute later. Full marks to Simon Allocca in No 1 and Roy Burrows in No 2 who persevered to Tara despite being a long way behind the other three.
Little or no sunshine on Sunday afternoon, indeed it actually began to rain as boats were finishing; however with the breeze veering to the W/SW at least the sea conditions were a lot more pleasant. Keen to get on with things, the same three Redwings as the previous couple of days started 15 minutes early from a laid line north of Under Tyne.
Start of Sunday's Redwing race
With Garland as the windward mark, the big question was whether to head inshore or stay out in the middle of the course. Colin in Toucan went for the inshore option and proved it was undoubtedly the right one! Olav in Redwing ad Libby Butler helming Prawn went for the other option so once round Garland it all became a bit of a procession with Toucan crossing the line (via Morton, Garland and Footprint) at Old Church 8 minutes ahead of Redwing. With equal points over the two days, Toucan won the Evert de Kort Cup on a count back.
The four One-Designs meanwhile also started slightly earlier than programmed and once clear of the line, only No 7 helmed by Sarah Marshall spotted Toucan's successful inshore route which she followed with the same result. No 1 helmed by Russ Fowler and Jos Coad (single handed) in No 8 rounded reasonably close together but stood little chance of catching Sarah despite No 1 getting their spinnaker pulling nicely. Set Fitzwilliam rather than Moreton meant that they were not far behind the Redwings finishing (in the rain) at Old Church.
Normal racing next weekend.