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Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Sailing Club |
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2007 Club Reports
The weather gods smiled on competitors in the Gorleston Sprint Series held on Sunday with the combination of warm sunshine & a south-easterly force 3-4 breeze. Four races were held over windward/leeward courses mostly in a strong flood tide. After close racing on the first lap each race was eventually led by the 3 catamarans competing but they never gained enough time to win on handicap. Consistent performers of the day with wins in every race were Dick Roe/Kate Dulieu sailing a B14 who enjoyed a close tousle in all the races with the RS800 of Chris Sallis/Geoff Tibenham who also managed a second and a third place. There was another close tousle between the RS400s of Martin Brown/Dinah Holmes and Richard Fryer/Carol Smalls with Brown/Holmes achieving 2 seconds and 2 thirds while Fryer/Smalls counted a second and a third. Race 1 (12) B14 776 (Roe/Dulieu);
RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes), RS800 942 (Sallis/Tibenham).
Sunday 29 th July Summer holidays led to a reduced turnout at Gorleston this Sunday. On reaching the race area competitors found that conditions were a good deal more boisterous than they had appeared on the beach. With the windward mark set fairly close to the beach & breakwater visitors to the Cliff Top gala were treated to some entertaining moments as some big gusts hit the boats returning downwind under spinnaker. The first race over a triangular course was initially led by the Fireball of Houghton/Symonds followed by the RS400 of Fryer/Smalls. However the late starting B14 of Roe/Dulieu soon overhauled them to lead the race on the water although they could only manage third on handicap with the Houghton/Symonds winning from Fryer/Smalls. Race two was run over a windward/leeward course and was led from start to finish by the RS800 of Sallis/Tibbenham with the chasing B14 of Roe/Dulieu close behind until they pitch poled and capsized at the end of the first downwind leg. However Houghton/Symonds made the most of the conditions to win again on handicap with Fryer/Smalls second and the borrowed RS400 of Highfield/Butcher third. As conditions had not improved after lunch the fleet decided not to sail in the afternoon. Race 1 (10) Fireball 14753
(Houghton/Symonds); RS400 721 (Fryer/Smalls); B14 776 (Roe/Dulieu).
Twenty boats sailed at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Sailing Club's Regatta day on Sunday on a day with no rain and even the occasional glimpse of the sun! A no discard series of three races was held in the morning followed by a one hundred minute pursuit race in the afternoon. The mornings races took place in a shifty light to moderate Easterly breeze and all were characterised by congested mark roundings and close boat for boat racing. Race one was held over a windward/leeward course and the Laser of regular visitor Simon Beckett made the best of the conditions to win from the RS400 of Richard Brown/Jenny Butler who were followed by the Fireball of Veronica Falat/Ben Falat. Race two which utilised a triangular course was won by the Falats ahead of the Lasers of Matthew Frary and Beckett. Race 3 run over a trapezoid course was again won by the Falats who beat the Fireball of David Houghton/John Symonds who in turn were ahead of the Laser of Frary. The final tally of points for the mornings races gave the winners bottle of wine to the Falats with bottles for second & third going to Beckett and Frary respectively. After lunch and a short wait for the sea breeze to fill in from the South the club ran its pursuit race with boats being started from the beach according to their handicap with the slowest boat a Flash starting one hundred minutes before the finish and the fastest boats the Formula 18 cats starting a mere sixty one minutes before the finish. Once at sea the boats sailed around a large square course until the finish when in theory all the fleet should finish simultaneously. As the breeze steadily built there were several capsizes and retirements with the new single-handed FX1 trapeze/spinnaker cat of Tom Quayle providing some entertaining moments for the committee boat! The race team monitored the position of all the boats in the fleet on the race course for the duration of the race motoring alongside the eventual leader the Fireball of the Falats and finishing them when the one hundred minutes had elapsed. The final positions of the rest of the fleet were noted and second place was awarded to the RS400 of Brown/Butler with the borrowed RS300 of Martin Brown taking the third slot. Regatta Race 1 (20) Laser
(Simon Beckett); RS400 (Brown/Butler); Fireball (Falat/Falat).
Sunday 15 th July Sailing
at Gorleston beach this Sunday was boosted by an excellent turnout of boats, a
total of 19 competed in the day’s races. The strong turnout was helped by the
warm temperatures and by the lack of sailing at Oulton Broad due to Power Boat
racing. The weather conditions in the early morning were light with a force 1
breeze from the south east, an overcast sky and a calm sea. The fleet consisted
of 7 RS400s, 3 Hobie F18s, 2 Fireballs, 2 Lasers, a Laser 4000, a 505, a
Contender, a Finn and a Hobie FX1. Phil Highfield and Tasmin Butcher were the
racing officers for the day and with such a wide range of boats in the fleet the
decision to set a short triangular course first and then to switch to a long
sausage course gave all the boats a suitable racing opportunity in the morning.
The changing wind direction resulted in a completely changed course for the
afternoon. With
a short triangular course set for the first race a good start was crucial; the
large number of boats produced a crowded start line and several boats found
themselves over the line when the starting hooter sounded. Richard Fryer and
Carol Smalls in their RS400 managed to get ahead from the start, with the RS400
of Martin Brown and Dinah Holmes close behind. Although Veronica and Ben Falat
in their Fireball were over the line at the start, they steadily caught up
during the race and by the end were challenging for the lead. At the finish it
was Richard Fryer who took first place with Martin Brown second and Veronica
Falat third. For
the second race the course was extended with the windward mark taken
approximately half a mile out to sea. The slack tide meant that this course was
suitable for the slower as well as the faster boats. Richard Fryer gained an
excellent start and took the lead with Martin Brown following close behind;
these two boats were then locked in a closely contested dual all through the
race. Although Martin challenged continuously for the lead Richard managed to
keep ahead and finish first. Veronica and Ben Falat were second with Martin
third; on handicapped time these three boats were very close with just a few
seconds separating them. Further down the fleet over the first two races there
were good performances from Nick Eastwood and For
the third race after lunch the wind had shifted to the north east and the
windward mark had to be repositioned. Again for this race it turned out to be a
close contest between the RS400s of Richard and Martin and for the third time it
was Richard who finished first ahead of Martin. Third place went to Tim Graham
and Mike Deith in their Laser 4000. With
7 RS400s competing during the day the club currently has a good sized fleet in
this class of boat. Richard Fryer is currently in excellent form with Martin
Brown now gaining in confidence since his absence due to injury. This bodes well
for a highly competitive asymmetric open meeting at the club on the weekend of
the 22/23 September. Next Sunday the 22nd July will be regatta day at
the Club with a series of different races coordinated by Chris Sallis as OOD. Race
Results- Race
1 (19) 1. RS400 721 (Fryer/Smalls) 2. RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes) 3.
Fireball 14867 (Falat/Falat) Race
2 (19) 1. RS400 721 (Fryer/Smalls) 2. Fireball 14867 (Falat/Falat) 3.
RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes) Race
3 (12) 1. RS400 721 (Fryer/Smalls) 2. RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes) 3. Laser
4000 4268 (Graham/Deith)
Sunday 1st July After many days of cloud and rain, sunshine greeted competitors at Gorleston for July’s Gorleston Sprint series of Windwind Leeward courses. With a shifty force 3 – 4, South to South Westerly wind and big seas, it was a good day for the trapezing boats despite a high turnout of RS400’s. Race one saw the Fireball of Veronica and Ben Falat round the windward mark first closely following by Richard Fryer and Ker Sinclair in an RS400. These two had a close match with the Fireball gaining upwind and the RS400 catching on the downwind leg. After a poor start Martin Browne and Di Holmes closed the gap on the leading two boats and at one time looked as if they might clinch second place but some close covering ensured Fryer / Sinclair keep their place By the time the next race began the tide had just about started to ebb and the wind a little stronger. Team Falat, Browne/Holmes and Fryer/Sinclair made the best starts and rounded the windward mark together. These three gradually pulled away from he rest of the fleet finishing in this order. Richard Browne / Jenny Butler and Team Stewart, sailing RS400’s had a close battle fourth place with Brown / Butler edging ahead at the finish Race 1 (10) 1 – Fireball 14867,
Veronica / Ben Falat 2 – RS400 721 , Richard Fryer / Ker Sinclair 3
– RS400 1129, Martin Brown / Di Holmes Race 1 (9) 1 – Fireball 14867, Veronica / Ben Falat 2 – RS400 1129, Martin Brown / Di Holmes 3 – RS400 721 , Richard Fryer / Ker Sinclair Sunday 24 th June With heavy rain and very little
wind present on Sunday morning it was clear that only the keenest sailors would
turn up to the club for racing. The forecast predicted heavy showers throughout
the day and this proved to be correct with large downpours dampening the mood of
all but the most enthusiastic competitors. Nevertheless, despite the weather a
small but determined group did decide to compete in the 3 races that were staged
during the day. All were hoping for the clouds to break and for some sunshine
but unfortunately this did not materialise. A fleet of 12 boats entered,
including 3 F18 Hobie catamarans, 3 RS 400s, 2 Lasers, a B14, 2 Fireballs and a
Contender. The first race was a triangle
course which was raced in extremely light winds; these conditions require a lot
of experience to do well in and so it was that some of the club’s most
experienced members took the top 3 positions. First place went to Ben and
Veronica Falat in their Fireball; a warm welcome back to the club for Martin
Brown sailing his RS400 with his crew Dinah Holmes, he took second place. Martin
has been unable to sail for most of this season due to injury. Dave Houghton
with John Symonds were third in a Fireball. For the second race the wind
increased to a force 2 breeze from the southwest and this made for better
sailing conditions. Over the sausage course Ben and Veronica were again the
winners on handicap, with the second boat, also a fireball, of Dave and John
close behind; Martin and Dinah were third. A good performance from one of the
clubs new members this season, Ryan Langston, saw him take fifth position in his
Laser. After lunch most competitors
decided to pack up and head home but the perseverance of Mark Quale, Martin
Brown, Dave Houghton and their respective crews enabled there to be a third race
after lunch. By now the wind was gusting to force 4 and the waves were
increasing as the tide increased. Dave and John were able to complete the race
as the only finishers and all three boats returned back having at least managed
to get a reasonable sail. Results- Race
1 (12)
1 Fireball 14867 (Falat/Falat); 2.
RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes); 3. Fireball 14753 (Houghton/Symonds); 4.
RS400 943 (O’nions/Porter); 5. RS400 843 (Steward/Steward); 6. B14
776 (Roe/Dulieu). Race
2 (12) 1. Fireball 14867 (Falat/Falat); 2.
Fireball 14753 (Houghton/Symonds); 3. RS400 1129 (Brown/Holmes); 4. B14 776
(Roe/Dulieu); 5.Laser 169986 (Langton); 6. Contender 604 (Alison). Race
3. 1. Fireball 14753 (Houghton/Symonds).
The
Annual Lowestoft Race is one of the highlights of the racing season for the
Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Sailing Club. The race course stretches from a
start close to the club house at Gorleston beach and continues along the coast
to Although
the forecast predicted strong winds only a light breeze from the south west was
present in the morning. This race is traditionally timed to start at high water
so that the strong tide flooding south takes the boats down to Lowestoft; on the
return leg the tide then switches to ebb north assisting the fleet back to A
total of 20 boats entered for the race including several guest entries from the
nearby Rollesby and Hickling Broad Sailing Clubs. The fleet contained many
different classes of boats with the asymmetric classes well represented
including RS 800s, RS 400s, a B14 and an RS 500, the catamarans included Hobie
F18s and a Dart single hander; the remaining boats consisted of Javelins, 505s,
Fireballs, a Laser, a Contender, a Wayfarer and a Albacore. OOD for the race was
Richard Fryer who ensured the start was as simple as possible with all the
different competing classes of boats. At
the start of the race the lead was taken by Dick Roe in his B14 as the fleet set
off for Lowestoft, eventually towards the end of the outgoing leg the B14 was
caught by the F18 Hobie catamarans with Mark Quale first to round the Although
the race was started 20 minutes after high water, when the fleet reached the Ultimately
it was one of those rare days that favoured the slower boats and for the first
time in many years the race was not won by a club sailor. In first and second
places were the guest boats of Robert Sparrow and Dennis Manning in a Wayfarer
and an Albacore respectively; Darell Tupper-Carey was third in his Laser. Result
of the Annual 1. Wayfarer 10213 (Sparrow/Parsons) 2. Albacore 8066 (Manning/Saddington) 3. Laser 75139 (Tupper-Carey) 4. Fireball 14182 (Riley) 5. Fireball 14867 ( Falat/Falat) 6. RS500 523 (Pilling/Pilling). ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday 10 th June The RS400 fleet continues to build with the
welcome return of the convalesced Martin Browne, another appearance by Nick
Barrett and the arrival of the “new” boat crewed by Ray Jones and Hayley
Parks. In the morning the light crews such as Phil
Highfield and Tamsin Butcher were favoured as was Chris Sallis in his powerfully
rigged Phantom. More wind after lunch produced a return to the form book
with the Fireballs of Veronica Falat and Dave Houghton eventually getting the
better of Chris Sallis. Results: Race 1 (16) 1st Phantom 1116 (Sallis)
2nd RS400 Hermione (Browne and Holmes) 3rd Fireball
Sharky (Falat and Falat) Race 2 (16) 1st Phantom 1116
2nd Sharky 3rd Hermione Race 3 (14) 1st Sharky
2nd Fireball (Houghton and Symonds) 3rd (Highfield
and Butcher). -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A pessimistic weather forecast the previous
afternoon depressed the number of entries for the Single Hander Open Meeting at
Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Sailing Club last Sunday. In the event they totaled
20 and those who made the start line were greeted with challenging sea
conditions; a large swell with waves at 3-4 feet and a force 4 to 5 northerly
wind. The testing weather conditions forced the race management team to set a
sprint course knowing that they would have to run a quick series before the gale
arrived. The decision whether to go ahead with the open meeting was close and
the shrewd judgement of the race officers paid off as
the day provided some of the best racing so far this season at the club. Credit
for the well organized racing must go to the whole race management staff,
including Tom Carr as OOD backed up by excellent safety cover both on the beach
and on the sea. The staff were busy throughout the meeting, there were multiple
capsizes and many boats were forced to abandon racing and head to land due to
the adverse sea conditions. The course consisted of alternating triangles
and sausages; with mainly Phantom and Laser boats entered for the meeting these
two classes were given separate starts. The plan was to run three back to back
races in quick succession; the forecast predicted increasing wind speeds later
in the day and it was hoped that three short races could be quickly completed. In the event 7 phantoms received assisted
launches off the beach and five completed their only race. The conditions were
such that only the very experienced sailors were able to cope adequately with
the combination of large waves and strong winds. Simon Fielden (1184) took the
lead early on in the race but a capsize at the wing mark allowed Chris Sallis to
take the gun followed by Rod Thorpe and Daren Pike in second and third
respectively. Phantom Race Result- 1 Chris Sallis (1116), 2
Rod Thorpe (1256), 3 Daren Pike (1183), 4 James Jarvey (1209), 5 Tim
Travis (1241). The Laser fleet found conditions more
manageable; the majority of boats were from Oulton Broad Sailing Club and
experience of the local conditions was a considerable advantage. The planned 3
races were completed by a fleet of 5 Lasers and the conditions tested these
boats to their limits. An excellent performance over the three races from Ben
Falat (149315) gave him an impressive two first places and a third place and he
was overall winner of the Laser fleet. Laser Race Results- Race 1-1 Simon Becket (180288), 2
Richard Fryer (159392), 3 Ben Falat (149315), 4 J Jones (160428) Race 2-1 B Falat, 2 S Becket, 3 R Fryer,
4 J Jones Race 3-1 B Falat, 2 J Jones,
3 S Becket, 4 R Fryer Laser Fleet Overall Result- 1. Ben Falat (149315) 2. Simon Becket
(180288) 3. Richard Fryer (159392) For entries to the meeting from other classes of boat, Nick Eastwood in his Finn sailed impressively upwind to successfully complete the course and club secretary Dick Roe sailed that most demanding of modern boats, the RS 300, with the poise of the well-practiced unicyclist! Although the day was cut short due to the weather conditions, it was finished with an excellent lunch and most went home feeling they had had an exhilarating day’s sailing. Sunday 20th May Competitors at Gorleston expected to be
sailing in light winds with flat seas when they launched on Sunday, but the wind
soon increased to a force 2/3 from the North East, couple this with sunshine and
a great days racing was on the cards. All fleets had tight racing, but
especially the Phantoms some of whom were visitors practising for the
single-handed Open to be held here at Gorleston on the 27th of
May. Richard Fryer prevented a Phantom domination winning the first race
after a excellent first beat. Chris Sallis kept the two visiting Phantoms at bay
winning three of the four races. Race 1 (12) RS 400 721 (R Fryer/ C Smalls);
Phantom 1116 (C Sallis); Phantom 1184 (S Fielden). Race 2 (12) Phantom 1116 (C Sallis); Phantom
1183 (D Pike)); Phantom 1184 (S Fielden) Race 3 (12) Phantom 1116 (C Sallis); Phantom 1184 (S Fielden); RS 400 721 (R Fryer/C Smalls) Race 4 (12) Phantom 1116 (C Sallis); RS
400 721 (R Fryer/C Smalls); Phantom 1184 (S Fielden) ------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday 13th May The Annual Britannia Pier Race from Gorleston Beach to Great Yarmouth's Britannia Pier saw a varied fleet. Daffy Holmes and Tom Quayle in a F18 Cat were first to return from the Britannia Pier but a mix up with the finishing buoys meant that they had to return back to round the final buoy correctly. Mark Quayle and Richard in another F18 Cat took full advantage and crossed the finish line first. On overall handicap performance Richard Brown and Jenny Butler, sailing a RS400, took a creditable second place behind Quayle. Results: 1st F18 Quayle/Richard, 2nd RS400 Brown/Butler, 3rd F18 Holmes/Quayle ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday 6 th May At last, after an eternity of north
easterly winds, the air recovered its seasonal temperature and balmy breezes
crept in from the continent during the day. Not so balmy as it turned out as
many capsized blaming gusty surprises, incompatible crews and general
inattention whilst the wind settled to force 3-4 from the South East. Eleven
boats were in the first race of the day with the asymetrics more numerous - RS
800s. RS 400s and the F18 cats. Short seas and a change in the tidal
current provided a wide range of conditions often favouring some of the older
designs for a change. ---------------------------------------------------------
Results for Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Sailing Club racing on the 15th of April 2007 Competitors at Gorleston expected to be sailing in light winds with flat seas when they launched on Sunday, but the wind soon increased to a force 4 from the North and this combined with a increasing tide running from the south provided increasingly boisterous conditions. Being only the second week of the 2007 racing season most of the racers experienced a few 'Wobbly' moments, including one F18 cat (whose crew shall remain nameless) who hit one of the race marks at full speed bursting it! Three races were sailed by the fleet of F18 cats, RS800's, RS400's and the new B14 of Dick Roe & Kate Dulieu. Race one was won on handicap by Roe/Dulieu followed by the Veronica and Ben Falat in their RS800, with the RS400 of Richard Fryer/Carol Smalls third. Race 2 was won by the Falats with Fryer/Smalls second and the F18 of Tom Quayle and Steve Knight sailing well within their handicap of 690 to take third. Meanwhile Roe/Dulieu had disappeared towards Lowestoft after they were unable to drop their spinnaker at the end of the first lap! Race 3 was sailed in the most challenging conditions of the day and would have been won by the Falats had they not capsized on the last lap allowing Roe/Dulieu to take the win from them with Fryer/Smalls third. Race 1 (10) B14 776 (Roe/Dulieu); RS800 870 (Falat/Falat);
RS400 721 (Fryer/Smalls). -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Competitors who arrived at Gorleston for the first race day of the 2007 season, the Start of Season Trophy, were rewarded with almost perfect sailing conditions, flat water, sunshine and a force 3 to 4 easterly breeze. Four races were sailed all of which were closely contested with congested mark roundings and finish lines being the order of the day, although the top 3 places of all the races were taken by the same 3 boats. Race 1 was held over a windward/leeward course and was won on handicap by Chris Sallis in a Phantom, with the RS800 of Phil Highfield/Tamsin Butcher second and the RS400 of Richard Fryer/Carol Smalls third. The next race over a triangle course was won by Highfield/Butcher, with Sallis second and Fryer/Smalls third. After lunch race 3 was sailed using a trapezoid course, this was won by Sallis with Fryer/Smalls second and Highfield/Butcher third. The final race tested crews grey matter with the first lap being a windward/leeward, the second a triangle and the third a trapezoid. This was again won by Sallis who also took overall victory with 5 points, second was Fryer Smalls who with a total of 10 points were pipped for second place overall by Highfield/Butcher who though they finished third in this race had a total score of 9 points. Race1 (10) Phantom 1116
(Chris Sallis); RS800 848 (Highfield/Butcher); RS400 721 (Fryer/Smalls).
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Sunday 15 th April
2007 Start of Season