Another gusty offshore northeasterly (how I wish for a nice southwesterly), but with sun and 5 boats (two each of Lasers and Topazs and one RS700). Andrew E set a good square course which gave Steve a chance to fly his spinnaker on two of the legs. It wasn’t enough for him to reel in Danny though (the RS700 needs to lap the Lasers within 3 Laser laps to win) but he lapped the other boats to finish 2nd, with Teilo in his Topaz in 3rd.

Andrew adjusted the course for the second lap which helped Andy T move up from 5th to 3rd in his Laser. Danny, despite a capsize, again finished first, further ahead of Steve with Nick and Teilo in 4th and 5th.

The overall results are all going Danny’s way. Neil is still in 2nd but as Andrew was in the Patrol Boat he slips to 5th with not enough results, leaving Robin in 3rd and Andy 4th.

Results

Sun and an easterly force 4 awaited the small band of sailors who could tear themselves away from the Easter eggs. Steve and Nigel set a large rectangular course giving Nick in his Topaz Race no excuse not to fly his spinnaker. He did, and although, after a closeish first leg Neil pulled away, Nick stayed in touch and was only 40 seconds back on handicap at the end. Nick and Alun had a close race on the water and only seconds separated them at the finish, with Nick ahead, but Alun needs more time on the water to master his new(ish) boat.

Neil was sent round for an extra lap to try to tire him out before the second race and Alun in his Laser put in a flyer of a port tack start to threaten to take an early lead and show he had already mastered the boat, but Neil again pulled away. Alun stayed well ahead of Nick this time to beat him on handicap, but Neil held on to win.

Danny still leads, but if he misses any more races will be down the pan. Neil is a strong second with Andrew Evans in 3rd (again needing to race next week to stay there) and Robin in 4th with plenty of races in hand ready to move up to 2nd.

Results

Nigel set a large square course in a fresh south-easterly breeze using the Barry Pin as a gybe. Pete found the run difficult, but the wind swung a little further south for the second race so he did better. Andrew fell in and you want to see the photo of Robin’s smile as he passed him.

The discards have kicked in this week, with Danny going to the top despite being missing. Andrew and Neil are both on 5 points but Neil gets the second place because he beat Andrew in the last race sailed. Robin has slipped to 4th, but has sailed all the races so should get a prize for that!

Results

On arrival at 0900 we had no wind and the tide was on the turn. Eventually around 1000 the breeze started to fill in from the SE. With no tractor (away being fixed) and not enough racers, the small rescue boat was launched manned by Pete Wells and Andy Fung. Six boats launched: 5 Lasers (4 full rig and one Radial) and Lawrence in the Comet. Due to the light breeze a smallest triangle course was set. Danny pulled away and was followed by Robin and Andrew. Andy had tiller problems and had to return to slipway to change his tiller.

Second race saw the breeze increase to steady force two. Once again Danny established an early lead and continued on to win the race. Robin and Andrew battled it out for second place with Andrew overtaking in the last lap to take second position. Andy continued to have tiller problems requiring assistance from the rescue boat.
During the final stages of the second race the sun went in so all crews were glad to get back for a warm shower.

Overall Robin still leads the series, but when the discards kick in next week Danny, with four firsts, will be clearly in the lead. Something must be done!

Results

Another sunny day with a gusty offshore wind, which made setting the course and sailing it a bit tricky, and six boats racing. Andrew in his Topaz CX14X catamaran led the way off the start but was overhauled by Steve in his RS700 on the downwind leg. In the mean time in the Lasers Neil led the way until a close encounter with a mark in the strong tide, and the resulting penalty turn, let Danny through. At the finish Steve was storming up to almost lap the Lasers but it was not enough to hold off Danny who finished first on handicap with Steve second, splitting the Lasers, and Neil third.

The second race sailed the course the other way round and a reaching start saw most of the fleet trying to round the first mark at the same time. Steve sailed ahead, but capsized onto the yellow mark trying to squeeze too close to the wind with the spinnaker up. The resulting recovery and penalty turn let Andrew pass and sail into the distance, but the Lasers were too close behind and pipped him at the finish, with Danny in first and Neil in second.

Robin leads the series due to sailing all the races, but Danny and Andy are not far behind, each with two wins.

Results

The Early Bird Series finally got underway with 3 boats taking to the water. New member Carmel went out in a Radial and Robin and Andy were in Lasers.

Blue Skies and a decent wind from the North East greeted the sailors. In the first race Carmel had the best start of the three and was sailing clear before capsizing as she gunned at the second mark allowing Robin and Andy to sail past. After the 3rd mark an over correction to a gust saw Robin have a swim and allowed Andy to sail clear for the win.

The course was changed to a triangle and the second race started not long after the first finished. Carmel unfortunately missed the start and was some way down because of the confusion. Robin and Andy were close racing for the first 2 marks before Robin sailed away. As he was completing the first lap he capsized and Andy was able to pass and hold on for a second win.

Results

Only two boats turned up to sail and they were happy to free-sail so no races took place. The final results for the Transom series are therefore as of last week. In the Fast Fleet, Neil wins the series, with Danny second and Steve third. There were no qualifiers in the Slow Fleet.

Yet another cold sunny day with offshore gusty winds. Only 3 boats this time but thanks to Andy who came all the way from London to sail for the Sharpe Trophy. Neil in his Laser won the first race and the Trophy. The second was closer and after his tiller extension became detached just before the finish he just managed to hold off Steve in his RS700 to win by 14 seconds.

Neil has now an unassailable lead in the series ahead of Danny who has an unassailable 2nd. Steve in 3rd could be overtaken by Nigel if he turns up next week.

Many thanks to Lawrence and Dan in the Patrol Boat who had a freezing time in the Jeanneau, which had to be used because we ran out of slipway, and to Oshi who suffered equally in the cold on the slipway. And to Robin who managed to both run the races and buy Bob’s Laser at the same time, while staying warm and dry.

Results

Freezing cold, but sunny; and with a shifty westerly wind which varied between F2 and 5 in the first race and dropped for the second. Shifty and variable winds seem to be the hallmark of this Transom series. Also the low number of boats. A different variety today with Neil and Danny back in the Lasers, Robin in his Dart catamaran and Steve in his RS700.

After a slow start and first leg, Steve surged into a commanding lead on the water on the huge course with a huge spinnaker leg, set by Andrew and Paul. The shifty inshore beat didn’t suit the boat and sailor so the lead was not sufficient to finish ahead of the Lasers with Danny coming in first and Neil second.

The wind dropped considerably for the second race and Neil demonstrated his light wind skills beating Danny in what used to be his best conditions. Steve floundered in the light winds before a surge on the final two legs which gave him a finish ahead of the Lasers on the water but 8 minutes behind on handicap. Robin went to find wind further out to sea.

Overall the results remain the same as last week with Neil first, Danny 2nd, Nigel 3rd, Steve 4th, Lawrence 5th and all still to play for in the 4 races remaining.

Results

Another beautiful sunny day with a gusty offshore wind. It started with gusts of a couple of knots but as the morning progressed so the wind increased with gusts up to force 4 or 5.

Jake and Josh set a small course which suited the slower boats and Nigel kept close enough behind Neil to seal the win on handicap. Lawrence got caught by one of the gusts and capsized, retiring hurt, letting Andy Fung (a frequent cruiser but rare racer) into 3rd.

The course was extended for the second race and this took the boats out into the stronger wind and chop which didn’t suit Nigel in the Topper but gave Neil in his Laser some screaming reaches. Nigel took 2nd place behind Neil with Andy again in 3rd.

Neil now leads the series with Danny 2nd and Nigel 3rd, counting 4 races (after discards) with 6 more races planned, so all still to play for.

Results