Bembridge Sailing Club Platinum Jubilee Weekend
by Mike Samuelson 6 Jun 2022 17:04 NZST
2-5 June 2022
The ten Redwings and five One-Designs out racing on Platinum Jubilee Thursday afternoon enjoyed an almost cloudless sky and a boisterous F4 Easterly.
After a short postponement to allow the last couple of boats to get up to the start area off Footprint, the start of the first race saw Snowgoose helmed by Edward Nainby-Luxmoore having to return to re-start after finding themselves called OCS.
Start of the first Redwing race on Thursday afternoon
It was not long before all ten boats headed inshore to take advantage of the slacker tide en route for Moreton. Finding the lay line was not easy but Toucan helmed by Colin Samuelson got it spot on and rounded first just ahead of Gosling, helmed by Serena with Avocet helmed by Alastair Speare-Cole not far behind. The run to Nainby and beat back to the line at Footprint was quite testing and there was no room for complacency. Toucan finished about twenty seconds ahead of Gosling with Avocet close behind.
There were some interesting calls between Gosling and Blue Jay helmed by Crispin Kenyon as they approached the line at the Committee Boat end to start the second race! All followed the same tactics that they had seen work in the first race and headed inshore.
Start of the second Redwing race on Thursday afternoon
With the breeze veering slightly the beat to Moreton ended up as a bit of a procession, but keeping the boat going through some of the bigger waves is never easy. As in the first race, the first two to round Moreton were Toucan and Gosling; although Toucan was always just in front, crossing the line at Hello Sailor first was certainly not guaranteed and the crew had to work hard to make sure that they finished the day with two wins. Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II was third and Andrew Eddy in Plover fourth. Quintessence helmed by Robin Ebsworth had a slightly worrying five minutes after a runner mysteriously got caught on Moreton's light and she ground to a halt. Fortunately her mast remained upright and they were able to get unhooked once the main was dropped and subsequently make their own way back into the harbour so things could be more easily checked over.
The five One-Designs meanwhile had two bouncy races which again showed the importance of being able to keep the boat going through the easterly swell. In the first race, Mark Gregorczyk sailing single handed in No 9 and No 1 helmed by Simon Allocca started on port close to the pin end of the line and having crossed ahead of the rest of the fleet headed inshore before tacking out to round the windward mark, Fitzwilliam. Mark rounded first well ahead of the rest of the fleet who initially looked pretty close together on the run to Nanby, however they became a bit more spread out by the time they headed back to the finish line at Footprint. Also sailing single handed Alexander Ross in No 8 finished second a minute behind Mark. Susie Beart in No 5 was third.
Start of the first One-Design race on Thursday afternoon
Having spotted that Sea Breeze had had to re-set the line prior to the finish of the previous race after dragging her anchor, there were no port tack flyers at the start of the second race. In the event all made an excellent start with Mark closest to the Committee and going about to head inshore first.
Start of the second One-Design race on Thursday afternoon
First again to round Fitzwilliam, No 9 maintained the lead as the fleet made their way to Garland and finished at Hello Sailor. Susie Beart in No 5 was second and Russ Fowler helming No 1 was third.
Friday afternoon saw the One-Designs heading over to Seaview to race in the Westmacott Mermaid Centenary Regatta, leaving the Redwings to have one race for the Gunston Trophy and a second race for the Mercedes Trophy (Lady helms). Starting from Hello Sailor close to their overnight moorings, Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II was allowed to squeeze through the gap at the Committee Boat by Lady Laeitia helmed by Billy Clegg but by doing so could not avoid being called OCS and then have difficulty getting back to the pre-start side of the line. In the meantime Colin Samuelson in Toucan lead the seven Redwings inshore; although the SE breeze that had started at 10 knots dropped to around 5 knots, it was enough to allow reasonable progress towards the windward mark, Cochrane. Unsurprisingly Toucan was first round by a substantial margin; second was Edward Nainby-Luxmoore in Snowgoose followed by Lady Laetitia with Red Gauntlet II, Mike Toogood in Tara and Crispin Kenyon in Blue Jay within spitting distance of each other. The run back to Britten proved to be quite a test; Toucan was never under threat and finished at the line that had been set up about 200 metres back towards Hello Sailor two and a half minutes ahead of Lady Laetitia; Red Gauntlet II was third a couple of minutes later just ahead of Snowgoose.
There were only three takers for the second race - Becky Samuelson helming Toucan, Serena helming Gosling and Emma Toogood helming Tara. With Serena tight at the pin on port and Becky tight on the Committee on starboard when the hooter sounded, it was clearly going to be a close race. Serena was just first round Hello Sailor and maintained her narrow lead on the run to Drum. Rounding just ahead, it initially looked as if she would hold onto her lead on the final close reach to Pepe, but it was not to be and Becky was able to overtake to leeward and cross the line five seconds ahead. Emma finished a minute later, certainly no disgrace.
Over at Seaview, all seven One-Designs completed the first rather delayed (no wind) race; first was Mark Grzegorczyk sailing single handed in No 9, Andrew Eddy in No 10 was second and Alexander Ross in No 8 was third. Only Mark and Andrew stayed on for a second short race which Mark won.
Saturday's racing had been brought forward to the morning to de-conflict with the 70th Scow Anniversary Sail Past mid-afternoon; however with Easterly F7 winds forecast, the decision was made that both classes would return to the harbour overnight which meant that a morning race was then not possible as there was not enough water to get out of the harbour.
In the event a good decision as the overnight strong winds produced a classic Easterly sea that would have stopped crews getting to their boats safely if they had moored over night on the Under Tyne moorings. Come Saturday afternoon, conditions had improved but wisely it was decided to keep the 70th Anniversary Solent Scow Sail Past in the harbour; and anyway seeing fifty three Scows do two circuits of the eastern part of the harbour was certainly better spectator viewing than had they all headed off to St Helens Fort!
Although local Platinum Jubilee Street parties reduced the number of sailors wanting to race on Sunday afternoon, four Redwings and four One-Designs rigged up in anticipation of smooth seas and enough of a breeze for them to enjoy a final race of this special celebratory weekend. Starting off Garland in 5 knots of NNWesterly breeze and with the windward mark as Drum, the four Redwings got off to a slow start.
Start of Sunday's Redwing Race
Tara helmed by Mike Toogood tacked quickly and Colin Samuelson in Toucan headed in-shore; Red Gauntlet II helmed by Joe Robertson tacked up the middle and rounded Drum just ahead of Toucan. Opposite St Helens Fort on their way to Hello Sailor the breeze died completely and at one stage it looked as if the race would have to be abandoned, however after about quarter of an hour, it came back in, albeit having veered almost 180 degrees! Red Gauntlet II was first round with Paroquet, helmed by Rory Morrison, Toucan and Tara equally spaced out behind as they headed on a new course to Nainby. Fortunately the new breeze held up and saw the gaps between the boats reduce as they tacked to the finish at Pepe. Toucan almost made it into second but Rory held on by inches and Colin had to be content with third; however with three firsts already in the bag, it was another trophy weekend (the Gunston Trophy) for Toucan.
The four One-Designs were set Nainby as their windward mark and with the breeze flicking at the start it was no surprise to see Mark Grzegorczyk (sailing single handed again) in No 9 go for a port tack start - a move that paid off handsomely and put him well ahead of the other three boats from the outset. Second round was No12 helmed by Jos Coad and third was No 7 helmed by Sarah Marshall. As with the Redwings, the breeze dropped opposite St Helens Fort and although Mark's lead was slightly reduced on the final beat to the finish at Pepe, he still finished a minute ahead of Jos, with Sarah third, fifteen seconds behind. Having also won both races at Seaview on Friday afternoon, this meant a clean sweep by Mark for the weekend's Lowry-Corry Cup."
Additional photos at flic.kr/s/aHBqjzT5NY