Six competitors braved the cold and rain for one of the last race days of the year. A calm sea ideal for launching and recovering without fuss. The wind started to play tricks changing to the South just after launching. The anticipated course was run in reverse. By the end of the first race the wind had dropped, moved to the East and the tide started to have its effect upon competitors. For the second race the marks were moved closer together and the course reverted back to its clockwise pattern. As soon as the starting sequence commenced the wind changed to the South and picked up resulting in a 23 minute five lap race. OOD having run out of paper to record any further laps and thinking the competitors would be glad to get ashore.

Overall, the Slow Fleet is decided, with Lawrence first and Danny C second. In the Fast Fleet, only Steve in first is assured. The other places are still up for grabs between Andrew E, Robin, Pete, Neil and Danny P, but next week is the last opportunity and it may be windy!

Results

Just four Lasers today and no one else. It was close racing though with the boats fighting for position throughout both races. Jake and Chris set a tiny course until OOD Nick asked them to make it larger. Even so, the boats were lapping in just over 6 minutes.

In the first race it was very close for the first 4 laps until Danny and Steve pulled away from Robin and Neil. Danny managed to hold off Steve, and Robin and Neil were swapping places until Robin came out ahead at the finish.

The second race was even closer. Danny hit the start mark and had to do turns allowing Neil and Steve to get a few metres ahead. Danny fought back and playing the wind shifts nearly got the better of Neil and Steve but hit the mark again. Neil got the inside edge on Steve with Robin close behind, but Danny surged back and at the penultimate mark it was Neil, with Steve in pursuit, closely followed by Danny, and Robin not far behind. Neil played the shifts right and crossed the line first but Steve couldn’t hold off Danny who was able to squeeze him out at the finish with Robin taking advantage and 3rd place.

Results

It was pouring with rain and Andrew was ready to call things off with only Danny P wanting to sail, but with 40 minutes to go three more intrepid sailors turned up. We launched in no waves and a F3-4 southeasterly and the rain stopped; things were looking up. Danny led out of the start with Steve in pursuit; Steve tacked off and caught him at the first Mark, but Danny sailed over the top of him and led at the second mark. Steve closed the gap at times but after 4 laps Danny was nearly 30 seconds ahead.

Pete tried to get in the action at the start of the second race and was timing it perfectly, but the wind which had swung to a southerly suddenly increased to F5-6, veered towards a southwesterly, and Pete ended up going to pieces. Danny and Steve headed for the first mark on a screaming reach and were neck and neck. Steve made it round first and Danny went to pieces. The next leg, which in the first race had been a broad reach turned into a beat and Steve pulled away and when Danny retired hurt he cruised to a win, with Pete in second. Danny C in the Topaz was hoping to make it a second ‘first slow fleet boat’ finish but was undone by the wind, but did manage to sail the boat in this week after multiple capsizes.

Danny is second in the slow fleet with Lawrence ahead. Steve leads the fast fleet, followed by Andrew and Robin.

Results

8 boats rigged for the Round the Island race, but with 6 foot waves on the slipway OOD Bob decided to send out the Safety Crew in the Jeanneau and sail a simple triangle in the Bay. Launching was a matter of ‘choose your wave’. Neil decided to choose one of the larger waves and ended up with two halves of a tiller. Fortunately for Neil, Pete decided not to risk his boat, but was happy to risk his tiller and lent it to Neil. The next 5 launches went a little better but with Robin (after helping Pete to launch the rest of us) opting to join Pete on the shore there were 6 boats in the race.

The wind beyond the waves was a manageable Force 4 (for some more than others) and Steve led Neil and Andrew round a short course for a lot of laps.

Bob by then was exhausted with recording all the lap times so asked the Patrol Boat to set a larger course. Robin joined the fray for the second race and was so keen to get going that he started about half a minute early. After being sent back, capsizing, and whatever, he was some way behind and chased, but never caught Jason (maybe there were some more capsizes). At the front, Steve and Andrew were together at the first mark with Neil some way behind. With the wind increasing, but not quite to the force 7 recorded at Nells Point, Steve pulled away and Neil fell back (more capsizing?) so the race finished with Steve first, Andrew second and Neil third.

Nicolas and Danny found the conditions quite exciting and Danny was kind enough to let Aran sail his boat back in. Chris and Aran did sterling work in the Jeanneau but hero of the day award goes to Pete who despite being washed ashore half a dozen or more times by the waves, got us out and in in more or less one piece (and his tiller too).

Results

Results

Results

Results

7 boats, including 3 laser full rigs and a radial, turned up for the Laser Cup. Robin made it to the first mark in the lead with the other Lasers close behind and at the third mark Robin was just ahead, with Steve and Jason neck and neck and Jake close behind.

At the next mark Robin tacked too close to Steve and did some quick turns, staying ahead of Jason, and reeling Steve in over the next legs until he was just behind. But as the wind dropped Steve surged ahead and the boats behind spread out, with Jake wishing he’d chosen to sail a full rig.

The positions stayed the same until the finish but on handicap Nigel split the Lasers finishing second to Steve (who won the cup), with Robin 3rd, Jason 4th and Lawrence in his Comet finished ahead of Jake in 5th. Pete and Danny C in the Dart 16 had close racing with the rest of the fleet, but should have been way ahead and on handicap, in conditions too light to suit the boat, finished in 7th.

The course was made smaller for the second race which saw Jake make a lightening start to reach the first mark ahead of the fleet. One by one the other Lasers caught and passed him and the positions on the water were the same as the first race. Nigel in a Topper suffered from being send round for the same number of laps as the Lasers in a dying wind and only managed a 4th. Steve was 1st again, with Robin 2nd and Jason 3rd.

Results

Twenty one boats including visitors from Port Talbot and Thornbury took part in the Annual Sully Sailing Club Regatta on Sunday Sept 10th. 

In a light north easterly breeze three races were sailed around a “b” shaped course giving everyone an opportunity to display their skills. As the races went on competition got keener, with one boat starting early in race two and having to return and re-start while in race three there were about four boats that pushed the starting line.

Results varied but with competitors able to discard their worst result, overall victory went to Carolyn and Nick from Thornbury Sailing Club sailing a Miracle, while Paul Bambridge and C. Owen from Tata Steel S.C. were second in an Osprey. Sully’s Commodore Danny Powell came third sailing a Laser. First Junior was Pietro Ruta from Sully in a Topper.

Racing was followed by an excellent barbecue and the prizegiving ceremony

Results

A light north-easterly wind and very strong tide greeted the 7 competitors who braved sunstroke and heat exhaustion. After about 20 minutes large windless areas developed across the racing area. All bar one managed to do one lap, with Pietro the first to get the hoot ahead of Nigel, but those who were sent round again ended up becalmed so Sailing Instruction 12.3 was invoked and one lap counted for all. Neil finished first on handicap which put him in the lead in the series on the same points as Nigel.

After a long delay so that Pete could complete a lap, boats could be towed back to the start, the course made smaller and the wind increase again to light, a second race was run. The boats were all unusually close to the line at the start and Neil and Robin were over the line, caught out by the back tide, and had to go back to re-start. Jake surged ahead in his second race in the RS600 and finished first on the water (but not so good on handicap). The Toppers managed to stay closer to the Lasers this time so Nigel won on handicap, with Pietro in second and Robin, who recovered quicker than Neil at the start, in third.

Overall Nigel, the only qualifier in the Slow fleet finished first in the series, with Neil second and Winner in the Fast fleet. Jason Williams in his first series came second in his Laser with Andrew Evans third in his extreme Topaz cat in third.

Results