Streaker Ramblings – Numbum – Races 5,6,7 & 8 - 20/01/2013

Numbum – Races 5 & 6 - 20/01/2013. Racing on this day was not held, the duty RO considering the forecast, the day before, would not permit safe travel to Piddinghoe. There was a lot of snow about and it did snow lightly again that day but the Pond was not frozen over as the writer had expected. Those travelling from farther afield and up country might well have had problems.

Streaker Ramblings - Numbum Races 3 & 4 - 13.01.2013

High Grey clouds, with the odd break showing blue patches, on the way to Piddinghoe  this Sunday with a light breeze – shown from the Incinerator chimney exhaust - coming from the eastern side of the Pond. By the time the boats were rigged or on the water it was a steady top end force three.

The Race Officer for the day, Chris Turner, set a figure of eight course with the start close to the clubhouse  - the twin buoys – with a beat to a mark about midway and off the east shore. This was followed with a reach back to the north west corner (fisherman’s bay) and then a  long reach past the island to the south eastern corner and finishing with another reach along the southern side back to the clubhouse.

Eighteen boats took to the water and at the start it was Steve Duncan (Laser full rig – NSSC)  who was first to cross the line but close to the shore as the gun went with Paul Ryan (Laser full rig – Hardway SC) a little further up wind. The best start however went to Alan Simmons (Streaker – Lancing SC) who, being close to the pin end of the line had clear air and could sail a higher course than the Lasers. .Steve.D got caught up with the later starters when he tacked out from the shore and got left behind somewhat in the first lap. Meanwhile Alan led Paul round the first lap with Jessica Cox (Laser Radial – NSSC) staying ahead of Rupert Smith (Laser Radial – NSSC) and Michael Veale and Mike Rosier (RS200 – NSSC). In the middle of the fleet Steve D was in 6^th position on the water ahead of Laurence Venus (Streaker – NSSC) followed by Roger McCall ( Laser full rig - Bexhill SC, )Graham Hardy (Laser full rig – NSSC), Tim Cox (Topper – NSSC), David Murley (Pico – NSSC), Chas Humphries (Laser full rig – NSSC) and Jasmin Sayed (Topper – NSSC). Bringing up the rear of the fleet were Dan Ford (Pico – NSSC) in 14^th spot with Quentin Thorp (Mirror – NSSC), Jasper Thorp (Topper – NSSC), David Hitchens (Laser full rig) and finally Colin Cryer (Otter –NSSC) who retired.

Lap 2 saw Paul squeeze past Alan to take the lead  and Steve climb three places to just behind Alan. Michael.V overtook Jessica – lots of lovely off wind legs on which to fly his spinnaker but Rupert came under attack from Laurence and Roger. Further down the order Chas overtook Tim and David.M to rise to 9^th whilst Dan passed Jasmin.

Lap 3 saw no change in the top three with Alan closing the gap on Paul to just 3 seconds. Roger, with the added close windedness of the full rig Laser, overtook both Rupert and Laurence and Chas passed Graham. There were no changes of position lower down the fleet. Lap 4 saw Steve sneak past Alan (by 2 seconds) whilst Paul stretched out ahead a little  and Jessica briefly overtook Michael. Again there were no changes down the fleet. In lap 5 there was yet again no change at the top but Roger passed both Jessica and Michael and Michael moved ahead of Jessica again by nine seconds. At the other end David.H ended the lap  ahead of Jasper. In the 6^th and final lap both Paul and Steve extended the lead over Alan but not by far enough on handicap. Laurence although crossing the finish line in 5^th place had his time corrected to place him second with Pual in third and David.M in fourth with Steve fifth.

 

The second race of the day (Numbum race 4) was held on the same course but with two less starters, neither Jasper nor Colin ventured out in the slightly stronger wind

- a good mid force 4.

Again it was Steve Duncan first across the line but this time Laurence Venus got the pin end spot, squeezing Alan Simmons outside the mark into the bargain. Third up was Jessica Cox - sailing in the Topper in this race having, swopped the Radial with dad Tim – with Michael Veale on her Starboard quarter.

Alan, having to break away and gybe away for a 360 degree turn crossed the line with some eight boats ahead of him. By the end of the first lap Steve was just 3 seconds ahead of Laurence with Paul over half a minute behind, then Tim Cox and, having recovered somewhat, Alan in 5^th just ahead of Roger McCall. Michael V was lying in 7^th position with Graham Hardy behind, then Chas Huphries Jessica and Rupert Smith. The last four were David Murley ahead of Jasmin Sayed, Dan Ford and finally Quentin Thorp.

 

Shortly after the start of lap 2, Alan having been caught up by Roger, was heading along the west shore but to windward of him. Whether it was a shift, or Roger beginning a tack to clear the shore, Alan ended up capsizing. Having pulled the boat up once it fell over again so he lost at least a couple of minutes.

By the end of lap two Laurence had overtaken Steve, seven seconds ahead, and Paul had closed up on him too. Roger was up to fourth with Michael behind him and then Tim, Chas, David.H and Rupert at ninth. Graham was next in line ahead of Alan with Jessica behind him. David.M was lying thirteenth with Jasmin next , then Quentin and finally Dan.

Lap 3 saw no changes in the top 7 positions but David.H dropped to last place (presumably he had at least one capsize) allowing Rupert up to eighth followed by Alan who also overtook Graham. Further back Dan climbed up to thirteenth and Jasmin- also having a swim – retired.

Lap 4 and the only change of places was mid fleet where Rupert and Alan climbed to seventh and eighth by overtaking Chas.

There were no place changes in lap 5 but Laurence pulled out 22 seconds ahead of Steve. In lap 6 Michael  dropped from fifth to eighth, moving Tim into fifth, Rupert to sixth and Alan seventh. The final lap saw no further place changes although Laurence slightly increased his lead over Steve by another five seconds with Paul also closing in to be just six seconds further adrift.

With the handicaps applied and times corrected Laurence was the clear winner with Jessica, having sailed a blistering race, in second place, Alan third, Steve fourth and Paul fifth.
Once all were ashore and de-rigging the skies went black and a squall rushed across the pond – it would surely have caught a few out had it come a few minutes earlier.

Alan.S 1700

For full (Official Results) follow this link to the relevant page on the NSSC web site :-
http://www.nssc.org.uk/results/2013/numbum.htm

Streaker Ramblings - Numbum Race 1 - 06/01/2013

High grey clouds but dry with a virtual flat calm for the journey down to Pidinghoe for the inaugural race(s) of the 2013 Numbum series. Whilst passing through Piddinghoe village the Sun briefly broke through the cloud cover but it only lasted a few seconds. On arrival at the pond there were a few patches of ruffled water in the south eastern corner – the rest was like a mill pond.

The RO for the day, Terry Jones, was praying that the breeze would fill in at least a little. By the start this was the situation but barely enough for the boats – thirteen of them – to get across the line. The course was much the same as on New Year’s Day with the exception of an additional mark near the east shore but north of the island to ensure that one and all stayed well clear of the island itself. Strictly speaking with the water level, as high as it is currently, one can safely sail very close to the island shore – at least on its eastern side.

 

At the start it was Alan Simmons (Streaker – Lancing SC) who was first away in about the middle of the line. Next off were Paul Ryan (Laser full rig – Hardway SC) who was attempting to cover Laurence Venus (Streaker – NSSC) . Alan had good clear air but by the time he was half way up the first leg to the twin buoys off the clubhouse Laurence.V had pulled out in front and to windward and Steve Duncan (Laser full rig - NSSC) had also pulled up level. There was very little breeze by the clubhouse mark(s) but Laurence eventually rounded in the lead followed by Paul.R then Alan.S. Just behind these three Steve.D led Julian Dobson (Laser full rig - NSSC) and then Roger McCall (Laser full rig – Bexhill SC). By the end of the first lap Laurence.V had pulled out well in front of Paul.R and Alan.S, who although having been passed by Steve.D during the lap, regained his place at third on the water and had stretched the gap. Behind Steve.D Roger.M was ahead of Julian.D who in turn was in front of Michael Veale and Mike Rosier (RS200 – NSSC). Next up in 8th place on the water was Ian Lambert (Laser Radial – NSSC) just ahead of Bill Waites (Laser full rig – NSSC) with Chas Humphries (Laser full mrig – NSSC) behind him in 10th position. Lying at 11th was Ben Ford (Pico – NSSC) ahead of Zoe and Lucy McCaig (Gull – NSSC) with Dan Ford (Pico – NSSC) bringing up the rear.

This latter pair finally ran out of breeze altogether when barely a length from the finish mark and even went astern briefly. Although being along side each other, when the wind left them, it took Zoe.M nearly five more minutes to cross the line after Dan.F eventually made it home.

For the leading group Paul.R was unable to catch up with LaurenceV who led him by nearly three minutes at the end of the second , and final, lap. Alan.S did pull back a few seconds on Paul.R to finish third on the water well clear of Steve.D in fourth spot who was some 30 seconds ahead of Roger.M. The lack of breeze did nothing to help Michael.V , who although using his spinnaker at every opportunity, slipped further astern of 6th placed Julian.D – by nearly 7 minutes. Bill.W managed to get ahead of Ian.L and stayed ahead on the last leg, the long beat up the southern side of the pond to the twin buoys. With the handicaps applied and the corrected time calculated Laurence.V was the clear winner with Alan.S in second place. Third spot went to Paul.R and fourth place went to Steve.D. – for the full results follow this link to the NSSC web site :- http://www.nssc.org.uk/results/2013/numbum.htm

 

An almost complete lack of breeze, it took the leader Laurence 43 minute to complete two laps and 67 minutes for  the late finishing (sinlge lap) of the slow boats, convinced the RO that there was little point in running a second race so nearly all went ashore and put their boats away for the day. Alan.S 1700

Streaker Ramblings - New Year's Day 2013

What a change, New year’s day , after a night of yet more heavy rain, dawned with a bright blue cloudless sky and just the hint of a breeze from a westerly direction. Yet again the road on the way to Piddinghoe had a few puddles but were passible. The rigging area was however a sea of mud and very slippery. Whilst getting the boats prepared we were very pleasantly surprised to see John Freeman preparing his OK to join in this one off race.

 

 

 

By the start the breeze was at the top end of force 3 and some 14 boats were on the water. Kay Young (Elford) was RO for the session. She set a course starting with a line adjacent to the middle ramp on the southern side of the pond giving a beat to the twin buoys in the south western corner of the pond opposite the clubhouse. From thence there was a close reach to the mark off the Fisherman’s bay and then a broader reach to a mark half way along the eastern bank. After a gybe it was yet another (very) close reach to the middle of the pond and then a leg going behind the island (with a further gybe) to a mark at the south eastern corner of the pond. The final leg was a long beat up the south shore to the clubhouse area.

The first group, close to the line, including Rupert Smith (Laser full rig – NSSC), John Freeman (OK- NSSC),  Michael and Sarah Veale (RS200 – NSSC) and Alice Smith (Laser Radial) were all a touch early and soon began to close with the bank.  A little further back but closer to the limit mark were Steve Duncan (Laser full rig – NSSC) with Laurence Venus (Streaker – NSSC) alongside (and inside him) with Mike  and Chris Rosier (Magno – NSSC).  Alan Simmons (Streaker – Lancing SC)  was behind even this group having been squeezed out and having to tack off for clear air.

First to reach the windward mark was Steve.D with Rupert.S  not far astern and Laurence.V a touch further back and Michael.V behind him. Alan.S was chasing Michael.V up the close reach to the middle of the pond. At the end of the first lap Steve was ahead of Rupert by some 12 seconds and Laurence behind Rupert by 13 seconds with Alan half a minute behind him. In fifth spot was Michael with Alice astern of him and then Chris and Carolyn Turner (Laser II – NSSC). Behind Chris and Carolyn the order was Roger McCall (Laser full rig – Bexhill SC) then Graham Hardy (Laser full rig – NSSC), Mike.R, David and Aiden Murley (Pico – NSSC) Zoe McCaig (Gull – NSSC) and Dan Ford sailing another Pico (NSSC). John Freeman , in his OK, considered the thought that he might possibly capsize, being so out of practice. The fact that he actually had no proper clothing, neither wet nor dry suit, made the decision for  him  and he  come ashore – a few days ago he could have asked Father Xmas with some help for suitable apparel.

In lap 2, at the front of the fleet, Laurence began to catch up with Rupert who himself began to fall behind Steve and Alan made a slight improvement towards these three whilst extending the distance between himself and Michael. Both Roger and Graham passed Chris and Carolyn but could not catch Alice. With Mike and Chris still in 10^th place, towards the back of the fleet Zoe passed David  but Dan languished at the rear. Lap 3 saw Laurence overtake Rupert and close in on Steve a little whilst Alan caught up with Rupert and they both finished the lap at the same time. Both Alice and Roger found their way in front of Michael whilst Chris and Carolyn briefly passed Graham to get back to 8^th place on the water .

Mike , Zoe and David stayed in the same relative positions at 10^th, 11^th and 12^th.

Lap 4 saw continued gains, in time, by Laurence, now only 14 seconds behind Steve whilst Alan pulled 20 seconds ahead of Rupert. There were suggestion that the breeze dropped off but looking at the lap times for Steve there was between 8 and 9 minutes per lap on average with no significant variation. In this lap Graham once again overtook Chris and Carolyn. In lap 5 Michael passed Roger and Chris and Carolyn once more got ahead of Graham whilst David got in front of Zoe. Lap 6 saw no change at the front with Steve still ahead of Laurence (just) and Alan slipping back just a tiny few seconds. Rupert in 4^th place still maintained his lead over daughter Alice and Graham and Chris continued to exchange places.

Lap 7 , the final lap, saw Laurence close to within a ‘knats’ of Steve – 3 seconds at the finish line.- but still was unable to pass him. Alan also edged slightly closer to the leading pair finishing 32 seconds behind Steve, with Rupert some 3 minutes behind Alan. In the closing stages of the last lap Graham edged ahead of Roger and the pair pipped Alice to the line (barley 12 seconds between the three boats) leaving Michael in pen ultimate spot ahead of Chris and Carolyn.

With the handicaps worked out  Laurence was the winner with both he  and Alan placed ahead of Steve with Rupert fourth managing to cling on to his lead over Alice (by about 30 seconds on corrected time).

It was a lovely day for a sail (not exactly hot but not too cold) and with bright sunshine and a nice comfortable breeze. Here’s hoping it is a sign of good things to come for sailing in 2013.
For the official results see the Newhaven and Seaford SC web site – follow this link:-
http://www.nssc.org.uk/results/2013/newyearsday.htm
Alan.S 1700

PS. Happy New Year to all my Readers – don’t forget if you would like to comment on my scribblings then click on ‘No Comments’  on this blog site and leave a message.