Club Racing 15th July 2007

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 Tom Carr sailing a Finn and a 505 respectively.

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)