Streakerramblings – Bosham 30th June 2012

A nice Bright sunny, if breezy, trip down to Bosham Village and sailing club. On the way there was massed, static,  traffic on the Chichester by-pass on its way to Goodwood for the ‘Festival of speed’. Fortunately that was all going eastwards whilst we were headed west.
Friday evening we had received a telephone call from the Streaker rep at Bosham SC to say that the RO was watching the weather forecast for the following day as it was not brilliant and that the event might be called off.  I had checked with Windguru – for the Itchenor Buoy – and it was giving Saturday morning readings of force 4 with gusts to force 5 and thus assumed the meet would still be on.

On arrival at the club we rigged the boat and went to the 10.00am briefing. All seemed to be going ahead although it was still fairly breezy when the six  Streakers  launched and headed into the wind for the half hour beat down the Bosham channel and into the Itchenor channel where the Committee boat was going to be moored - in the more open stretches of Chichester harbour. The two of us who were visitors were given a chart before going afloat with all the harbour marks (and required sides for passing) shown but there are dozens and we really did not know exactly where we were starting from to head for the first turning point  (Astra as it happened).

Just after the 5 minute sequence had started Alan Simmons (Lancing SC) was blown over in a gust and was still capsized when the start gun went. Graham Butler (Bosham SC) made the best start and was long gone before Alan. S  was upright and going once more.  Of the others,  Jan Garety (Bosham SC) using a Wave sail,  Hugh Garety (Bosham SC),  John Smith (Bosham SC) and Gary Hogan (Haversham SC) were all ahead of Alan.S.
Capsizes came thick and fast as the wind strength rose to force 5 to 6 and first John .S and then Gary.H decided to head for home.
Graham.B was first to round the top buoy and then reached off across the channel, not daring to go dead downwind as the course dictated, until he arrived at the east side whereupon his tiller extension parted company with his tiller thus ending his race. Next to reach the top mark was Alan.S who closed with Graham to ask ‘where to next’  the guide boat being nowhere in sight. The direction was dead downwind but there was no way Alan was going to take the direct course – he would have been swimming within seconds so he too started to reach off across the channel, tacking and reaching back again – with the sail out against the shrouds and spilling as much wind as possible just to stay upright. He finally closed with the two safety boats (later to be advised that one had been having problems) and directed one towards Graham.B who was just about staying upright.

After several cross channel tacks Hugh.G caught up with Alan.S and the pair continued in fairly close company until Hugh eventually succumbed to the gusts  and took a swim.
More by luck than judgement Alan had passed the next mark (Peacock) on the required side and was closing the area where the Committee boat was moored. He thought he had to go between the two pillar marks (‘Goal Post’ he thought) to the next mark (Wear), which although he did not know it was just a little north of the start line. In  tacking he fetched up close to the committee boat only to see the checkered flag flying. He tacked through the line, tacked again and rounded up above the boat only to be hailed that ‘all racing for the day was abandoned’. He then headed back to the club escorted by another of the Bosham safety boats which had been seconded from another event.  On coming ashore it was discovered, after she was finally towed home, that  Jan.G had attempted to sail dead downwind but had capsized and then lost contact with her boat before being picked up by the safety boat. Graham.B was also towed home – Alan felt this was probably more comfortable than the half an hour tacking/reaching sail he made back to the club.
The call to abandon the racing was a wise one, the wind and wave conditions were not suitable for a group of helms 50% of whom (I believe) were over retirement age and perhaps not as fit or agile as the conditions required. It would appear that  Graham.B was the only helm to stay upright with everyone else having at least one capsize, some several. The intial beat, in those conditions, was in the writers opinion also far too long  - although the RO did not subsequently  agree -and the downwind return leg downright’ unhealthy’.

There are of course no results for this meeting to be added to the Southern Paddle data but, given the conditions, all six helms deserve to be congratulated for their sterling efforts.

Alan.S 1700

PS. Begining to wonder if I am a Jinx – two opens in a row blown out when I attended.

Streaker Ramblings - Deben YC 23rd June, and Weston SC 24th June.

Deben YC 23^rd June

Not an unpleasant drive up to Deben YC, near Woodbridge in Suffolk, on Saturday 23^rd June. Bright sunny skies and no rain on the way up but not long after crossing the river Orwell I missed a turn and ended upon the backroads until finally we got back on the main road.

Rigging on the bank behind the Deben Clubhouse it was a bit on the breezy side, more than I was keen on. It was a late start so we finally launched at about noon with a mostly windward sail to the course area, just to the south of the island off Martlesham Creek.
The meeting was a joint open with Toppers and a dozen or more were out on the water with the six Streakers. After a bit of a delay, laying the course of  triangles and sausages format, the Streakers were first away on a short beat across the river towards the creek and then off on a long offwind leg to the south. Mike Hanes (Deben YC) led Veronica Falat (Waveney and Oulton Broad SC), Rob Adams (Deben SC) and Alan Simmons (Lancing SC) round the windward mark. By the halfway / on the reach Alan.S had caught a gust and went into the lead briefly but as this group approached the leeward mark first Mike.H, then Veronica.F and finally Rob.A got round on the inside. From there, on the second long reach, Mike.H pulled away  and established an unassailable lead and with Veronica.F well ahead of Rob.A who was likewise well ahead of Alan.S
Veronica stayed in second spot with Rob third and Alan 4^th to the finish. Not too far behind Alan.S Gary Hogan (Havesham SC) and David O'Riordan (Deben YC) were having a battle and frequently changing places but it was Gary in 5^th at the finish. Race two, over the same course, started soon after the Topper fleet had finished their race and it was Mike. H who rounded the windward mark in first position ahead of Veronica.F. Next up was Rob. A ahead of Alan.S and with Gary.H bringing up the rear. David.O did not start race 2 and headed off back up river to the club, he did not enter the final race either. Mike.H led for the remainder of race 2 and the finishing order was exactly as in race one.
The wind slowly eased from a top end force 4/ low end force5 at the start of racing until the last race started in a low force 3. Gone were the hairy reaches and the direction shifted 30 or 40 degrees to the south so that  the RO had to relay the windward mark for race three. Both Mike.H and Veronica.F were off in front once more but they had a close battle all round the course and it was Veronica who finally came out in front at the finish having taken the lead on the second or third windward leg. The others although closer together still came home in the same order with Alan.S barely a couple of lengths ahead of Gary.H
Thus it was Mike .H who was the overall winner of the event with Veronica.F second and Rob.A third.

Results (Unofficial/unchecked):-

1^st. Mike Hanes, 2^nd. Veronica Falat, 3^rd. Rob Adams, 4^th. Alan Simmons, 5^th.Gary Hogan, 6^th. David O'Riordan

PS. No photos - Bett forgot her camera but the racing area was too remote for her to reach anyway.

 Alan.S 1700

 Weston SC 24^th June.

Although the forcast for Sunday was not brilliant and it was blowing a top end force 4 to 5 on arrival Alan.S was only the second Streaker helm present . Paul Whyld from Seafarers SC, just down the Solent from Weston was already at the club but there were no other takers and as the Paddle races require at least three entrants we did not go afloat. There were only six Lightenings in their race and we stayed only long enough to witness their first start and several capsizes before heading home.

Alan.S  1700