Commodores Cup 2017/18
Sunday September 9th Round 8
Hi Folks,
Today was a second chance for the DF95 fleet to hit the water this weekend but the wind had moved somewhat so we had to find a new course to use the wind which was verging on 'B rig' at times. This time we went from the white marks 5 and 6 just off Paul's Spit and headed for Orange 5 in the mouth of the bay which we took to starboard for a change. We then reached, sort of, out to Orange 4 also taken to starboard and headed for the gate from where we returned to Orange 5 and back to the gate before finishing between White 5 and the edge of 'Paul's Platform'. For the first few races we tried a start further out in the lake between white 6 and 8 and used white 8 as the leeward mark before finishing between Orange 5 and the rescue boat parked on the bay side of Paul's Spit; this became Orange 5 and a pair of Mike Ewart's trousers - not the ones he was wearing - after the rescue boat had to be called to action. It was required to help retrieve Richard Dolan's yacht after it became disabled following a collision which set its rudder at right angles. One race later Richard retired his yacht after the rudder servo was observed faltering and making unusual noises suggesting that it had been overstressed somewhat by the excessive movement during the collision. Richard gamely stayed on to become 'Race Officer' and scorer.
There were several collisions and activities of note during the twelve races achieved in the brisk but changeable winds. Apart from mark rounding collisions where an incoming yacht was suddenly confronted by a yacht which a few seconds earlier was expected to have 'moved on' but came to a halt as the wind decided to change, there were windward / leeward incidents; incidents where yachts finished were getting in the way of yachts still racing, and one where a yacht apparently on target for a win was 'taken out' by another in a give way position. The finished / still racing incidents reminded us of similar situation during the recent I0M Nationals at Fleetwood where the 'finished' offenders were warned that any further such incidents would see the finished offenders summarily disqualified. The other, involving Mike Ewart and Paul Risdale, impeded Mike sufficiently to allow Mike K. to slip through and finish first. There were mutterings that Mike E. should claim for redress of, perhaps, a score equal to his morning average. Even if this had gone to a protest committee and they had found in his favour Mike would have ended the morning with a total of one point less than the 20 that saw him very firmly in second overall for the event. Overall the morning was characterised by close racing and numerous close finishes with boats crossing the line in very close order. That's the last time Furzton will see a DF95 for nearly two weeks - Fishing Festival next weekend: I wonder if the fish know what they are in for?
Cheers,
Mike
Hi Folks,
Today was a second chance for the DF95 fleet to hit the water this weekend but the wind had moved somewhat so we had to find a new course to use the wind which was verging on 'B rig' at times. This time we went from the white marks 5 and 6 just off Paul's Spit and headed for Orange 5 in the mouth of the bay which we took to starboard for a change. We then reached, sort of, out to Orange 4 also taken to starboard and headed for the gate from where we returned to Orange 5 and back to the gate before finishing between White 5 and the edge of 'Paul's Platform'. For the first few races we tried a start further out in the lake between white 6 and 8 and used white 8 as the leeward mark before finishing between Orange 5 and the rescue boat parked on the bay side of Paul's Spit; this became Orange 5 and a pair of Mike Ewart's trousers - not the ones he was wearing - after the rescue boat had to be called to action. It was required to help retrieve Richard Dolan's yacht after it became disabled following a collision which set its rudder at right angles. One race later Richard retired his yacht after the rudder servo was observed faltering and making unusual noises suggesting that it had been overstressed somewhat by the excessive movement during the collision. Richard gamely stayed on to become 'Race Officer' and scorer.
There were several collisions and activities of note during the twelve races achieved in the brisk but changeable winds. Apart from mark rounding collisions where an incoming yacht was suddenly confronted by a yacht which a few seconds earlier was expected to have 'moved on' but came to a halt as the wind decided to change, there were windward / leeward incidents; incidents where yachts finished were getting in the way of yachts still racing, and one where a yacht apparently on target for a win was 'taken out' by another in a give way position. The finished / still racing incidents reminded us of similar situation during the recent I0M Nationals at Fleetwood where the 'finished' offenders were warned that any further such incidents would see the finished offenders summarily disqualified. The other, involving Mike Ewart and Paul Risdale, impeded Mike sufficiently to allow Mike K. to slip through and finish first. There were mutterings that Mike E. should claim for redress of, perhaps, a score equal to his morning average. Even if this had gone to a protest committee and they had found in his favour Mike would have ended the morning with a total of one point less than the 20 that saw him very firmly in second overall for the event. Overall the morning was characterised by close racing and numerous close finishes with boats crossing the line in very close order. That's the last time Furzton will see a DF95 for nearly two weeks - Fishing Festival next weekend: I wonder if the fish know what they are in for?
Cheers,
Mike
Sunday August 19th - Round 7
Good afternoon All
Seven boats competed for the Commodores Cup event today. The wind was WSW but strong with forecast gusts of 29mph. We sailed from the spit with our eastern start line up to white 4 around red 5 then out to white 6 in the middle of the lake to force a good beat up to white 4 again then down to a new gate in the passage between the eastern island and the bank and finish
Two boats, John Simmons and Richard Dolman used A rigs (as they did not possess a B rig!) and the rest were on B rig. Although we did have some very strong gusts actually we didn’t have that many and the A rig guys were OK in the main. Mike Ewart started a bit slowly but half way through the racing he took a required tablet and wow it did make a difference! After race 5 he won 5 of the remaining races. John Simmons (nice to see him at the lake) sailed very consistently with nothing lower than 3rd place after discards. KC had a mixed bag of results with a not so good second half. Maybe a tablet was needed!
So Mike was first on 21 points, John second on 23 points and KC squeezing out Richard by just one point third on 32 points. It was a hectic session with blustery conditions but as always it required concentration and good decisions particularly on the beat
All for now
Keith
Good afternoon All
Seven boats competed for the Commodores Cup event today. The wind was WSW but strong with forecast gusts of 29mph. We sailed from the spit with our eastern start line up to white 4 around red 5 then out to white 6 in the middle of the lake to force a good beat up to white 4 again then down to a new gate in the passage between the eastern island and the bank and finish
Two boats, John Simmons and Richard Dolman used A rigs (as they did not possess a B rig!) and the rest were on B rig. Although we did have some very strong gusts actually we didn’t have that many and the A rig guys were OK in the main. Mike Ewart started a bit slowly but half way through the racing he took a required tablet and wow it did make a difference! After race 5 he won 5 of the remaining races. John Simmons (nice to see him at the lake) sailed very consistently with nothing lower than 3rd place after discards. KC had a mixed bag of results with a not so good second half. Maybe a tablet was needed!
So Mike was first on 21 points, John second on 23 points and KC squeezing out Richard by just one point third on 32 points. It was a hectic session with blustery conditions but as always it required concentration and good decisions particularly on the beat
All for now
Keith
Sunday July 22nd Round 6
Hi Folks,
Sunday dawned and some of us expected to be making the trek around to the spit to use the forecast WNW wind of 2 to 6 mph. That wind caught us out again, being largely NNW as and when it decided to bless us with its presence. Consequently we went from a start off the right hand 'normal' launching platform, out to the grey topped orange mark, back to white 3 and into the RH bay, out to the grey topped buoy, back into the bay and to finish across the same line where we started.
Racing went from a virtual standstill to a brisk pace, in line with the wind strength: the windward mark was a challenge as the wind varied in both strength and direction. As it has been for the last few DF95 sessions there was an assortment of winners and everyone finding themselves in all sorts of positions throughout the races.
There was a degree of excitement during the last race as Keith made a 'too close' pass at the windward mark and hooked his fin and bulb on the buoy anchor line. We all gave him a wide berth during our circuits and then turned to unhooking after we had finished. Mike Ewart launched his rescue boat and, after circling and making several attempts to gently ease 55 away from the buoy took a slightly more aggressive approach only to find the rescue boat 'beached' between the mark and Keith's shiny new 95. The dinghy was retrieved from its cupboard, inflated and Rob took on the role of rescuer of both the rescue boat and number 55: by this time the morning was over so racing was concluded.
Cheers,
Mike
Hi Folks,
Sunday dawned and some of us expected to be making the trek around to the spit to use the forecast WNW wind of 2 to 6 mph. That wind caught us out again, being largely NNW as and when it decided to bless us with its presence. Consequently we went from a start off the right hand 'normal' launching platform, out to the grey topped orange mark, back to white 3 and into the RH bay, out to the grey topped buoy, back into the bay and to finish across the same line where we started.
Racing went from a virtual standstill to a brisk pace, in line with the wind strength: the windward mark was a challenge as the wind varied in both strength and direction. As it has been for the last few DF95 sessions there was an assortment of winners and everyone finding themselves in all sorts of positions throughout the races.
There was a degree of excitement during the last race as Keith made a 'too close' pass at the windward mark and hooked his fin and bulb on the buoy anchor line. We all gave him a wide berth during our circuits and then turned to unhooking after we had finished. Mike Ewart launched his rescue boat and, after circling and making several attempts to gently ease 55 away from the buoy took a slightly more aggressive approach only to find the rescue boat 'beached' between the mark and Keith's shiny new 95. The dinghy was retrieved from its cupboard, inflated and Rob took on the role of rescuer of both the rescue boat and number 55: by this time the morning was over so racing was concluded.
Cheers,
Mike
Round 5 April 15th
Round 4 Sunday March 18th
Hi Folks,
This morning saw two brave, or crazy, souls meet up at the lake. They looked at the water and concluded that the wind strength was somewhere between 'B' and 'C' suit, with whitecaps appearing on the more open parts of the lake. It was cold with frozen snow on the ground, just the time for a chat about how Paul and Mike K. got into sailing which revealed that they both got the taste for sail with a 575, that'll get some wondering.
Anyway, at around 10:10 they concluded that no one else was coming to play so the safety gear and starter were put away and both retired to work on their Six Metres. Round Four of the Commodores Cup competition was abandoned without a sail being seen.
Cheers
Mike Kemp
Hi Folks,
This morning saw two brave, or crazy, souls meet up at the lake. They looked at the water and concluded that the wind strength was somewhere between 'B' and 'C' suit, with whitecaps appearing on the more open parts of the lake. It was cold with frozen snow on the ground, just the time for a chat about how Paul and Mike K. got into sailing which revealed that they both got the taste for sail with a 575, that'll get some wondering.
Anyway, at around 10:10 they concluded that no one else was coming to play so the safety gear and starter were put away and both retired to work on their Six Metres. Round Four of the Commodores Cup competition was abandoned without a sail being seen.
Cheers
Mike Kemp
Round 3 January 21st
Good afternoon All
Apologies for the late posting (laptop issues!)
However yesterday 6 yes... 6 mad skippers turned up at the lake in freezing temperatures and snow. I did say mad
But….with a SSW wind we were able to set a pretty good course with again a couple of challenging beats which needed a) good concentration and b) the ability to choose the correct side of the course. Some did this with consummate skill and some were just lucky. At times one side of the course suddenly was the favoured side leaving the leading boats floundering with little or no wind with places changing in the final moments
Despite the conditions (Paul and Keith sat under a gazebo) we managed 8 races which were enjoyable and provided excellent racing
As can be seen Mike Kemp came in first a couple of points ahead of Keith C with Mike Ewart taking third place on count back from Paul Risdale
A special mention should go to Mike Ewart and Paul Risdale who sailed their DF95’s in sunny skies on Friday, their 6M’s in absolute pouring rain on Saturday and as noted snow blizzards on Sunday. This is what real men are made of, well done chaps
All for now
Cheers
Keith
Good afternoon All
Apologies for the late posting (laptop issues!)
However yesterday 6 yes... 6 mad skippers turned up at the lake in freezing temperatures and snow. I did say mad
But….with a SSW wind we were able to set a pretty good course with again a couple of challenging beats which needed a) good concentration and b) the ability to choose the correct side of the course. Some did this with consummate skill and some were just lucky. At times one side of the course suddenly was the favoured side leaving the leading boats floundering with little or no wind with places changing in the final moments
Despite the conditions (Paul and Keith sat under a gazebo) we managed 8 races which were enjoyable and provided excellent racing
As can be seen Mike Kemp came in first a couple of points ahead of Keith C with Mike Ewart taking third place on count back from Paul Risdale
A special mention should go to Mike Ewart and Paul Risdale who sailed their DF95’s in sunny skies on Friday, their 6M’s in absolute pouring rain on Saturday and as noted snow blizzards on Sunday. This is what real men are made of, well done chaps
All for now
Cheers
Keith
Round 2 - December 31st
Hi Folks,
What a relatively fine morning for sailing: no rain, warm for the time of year, and wind. The latter was not as strong as most expected on arrival but still enough, in places, to support the 'B' rigs settled on by Alex, Paul and Rob: those of us who elected for the 'A' rig were occasionally flattened or forced to broach downwind but such is the flexibility of the DF95 that we survived OK.
With a nominally South-West wind we had the 'long march' to sail off the spit starting between 8 and 4 (I think), beating up to Red 2, turning to Port and heading down to the White bouy between the shore and the right-hand island, passing around the Orange at the mouth of the right hand bay on the first lap. From there we made our way back to the windward mark - the really challenging part with a whole range of paths, all of which could see one suddenly in a 'no wind' zone whilst others sailed by. After returning to the leeward mark once more it was a fight to the finish line, an apparently innocuous single port tack away - but with enough distance to see positional changes and several very close finishes.
Racing was generally pretty close, although those finishing in first place almost always had made the significant break from the rest between the start and the first mark leaving them to fight for the mid-order places. Similarly, the last place was often decided by some mishap or misdemeanour at or near the first windward mark after which the 'pack' seemingly streaked away.
There was enough wind going spare for Mike Ewart to give his Romanza (6 metre) a trial sail after recent re-engineering of some of its controls: it seemed to be doing pretty well in the blustery conditions.
Happy New Year to you all.
Mike Kemp
Hi Folks,
What a relatively fine morning for sailing: no rain, warm for the time of year, and wind. The latter was not as strong as most expected on arrival but still enough, in places, to support the 'B' rigs settled on by Alex, Paul and Rob: those of us who elected for the 'A' rig were occasionally flattened or forced to broach downwind but such is the flexibility of the DF95 that we survived OK.
With a nominally South-West wind we had the 'long march' to sail off the spit starting between 8 and 4 (I think), beating up to Red 2, turning to Port and heading down to the White bouy between the shore and the right-hand island, passing around the Orange at the mouth of the right hand bay on the first lap. From there we made our way back to the windward mark - the really challenging part with a whole range of paths, all of which could see one suddenly in a 'no wind' zone whilst others sailed by. After returning to the leeward mark once more it was a fight to the finish line, an apparently innocuous single port tack away - but with enough distance to see positional changes and several very close finishes.
Racing was generally pretty close, although those finishing in first place almost always had made the significant break from the rest between the start and the first mark leaving them to fight for the mid-order places. Similarly, the last place was often decided by some mishap or misdemeanour at or near the first windward mark after which the 'pack' seemingly streaked away.
There was enough wind going spare for Mike Ewart to give his Romanza (6 metre) a trial sail after recent re-engineering of some of its controls: it seemed to be doing pretty well in the blustery conditions.
Happy New Year to you all.
Mike Kemp
Round 1 - December 17th
Hi Folks,
This is a short note to keep you up to date on the state of the Commodore's Cup (DF 95) after round one which was scheduled for this morning.
Six gathered at the lakeside to contemplate a sailing area where there was only one launch pad, only the outer most bouys, and the opposite side of the lake showing clear water. The rest, including a lot that the 6 Metres used on Saturday, had a layer of ice thick enough, in some places for gulls to be standing somewhat forlorn. A swan family carved a narrow channel to our left and Mike Stevens, the only one to arrive at the lakeside with a rigged yacht, could not be persuaded to 'give it go' because there was obviously not enough of the off-shore breeze to guarantee that a DF95 would do likewise. After nearly an hour of chatting and contemplating it was decided to put the safety bag and starter away and turn our attention to other things that might be a bit warmer. There was a suggestion that those attending should get 'attendance points' towards the cup: I am not sure of the 'regulations' regarding this but, as we all qualified for DNS during the time that two or three races might have been started the attached score sheet reflects this. The Series Worksheet currently allocates 17 points to each of the six - but, of course that all could change! :o)
I also owe you all an apology for the Friday results - I mistakenly circulated the Excel workbook when I intended to send out a .pdf. The is now attached here.
Regards,
Mike
Hi Folks,
This is a short note to keep you up to date on the state of the Commodore's Cup (DF 95) after round one which was scheduled for this morning.
Six gathered at the lakeside to contemplate a sailing area where there was only one launch pad, only the outer most bouys, and the opposite side of the lake showing clear water. The rest, including a lot that the 6 Metres used on Saturday, had a layer of ice thick enough, in some places for gulls to be standing somewhat forlorn. A swan family carved a narrow channel to our left and Mike Stevens, the only one to arrive at the lakeside with a rigged yacht, could not be persuaded to 'give it go' because there was obviously not enough of the off-shore breeze to guarantee that a DF95 would do likewise. After nearly an hour of chatting and contemplating it was decided to put the safety bag and starter away and turn our attention to other things that might be a bit warmer. There was a suggestion that those attending should get 'attendance points' towards the cup: I am not sure of the 'regulations' regarding this but, as we all qualified for DNS during the time that two or three races might have been started the attached score sheet reflects this. The Series Worksheet currently allocates 17 points to each of the six - but, of course that all could change! :o)
I also owe you all an apology for the Friday results - I mistakenly circulated the Excel workbook when I intended to send out a .pdf. The is now attached here.
Regards,
Mike
