Marconi Sailing Club
Membership open to all
SUNSHINE (PHWEW) AT STEWARTBY
All,
Great day's sailing at Stewartby Water yesterday. Four races in light to fresh winds from all directions. Now that the brickworks next door, which is how the lake came to exist of course, does not work anymore there is no occurrence of the smoke from the three large chimneys polluting the air.
Having said that it was very hot and I decided not to have another drive today so I hope you have had a great day's sailing too - it looks very windy here I have to say and in a way I'm sad not to be there.
That's all for now see you in a couple of weeks.
Roger
WEEKEND OFF!
Hello All, We had a weekend up at Thorpeness (with no sailing) by way of celebrating the end of Kath's treatment programme which has taken 10 months. We did however have a very nice lunch by the Tidemill at Woodbridge yesterday looking at the water, although of course the tide was out, but it was blowing a good half gale (enough to plow Kath's toast off her plate) so I guess the Piers Race must have been a good success. Thanks to you if you supported the event in any way - I will try to get involved again next year. Next Saturday I'm at Stewartby and then off to France for the Nation's Cup on Thursday. I might make it to the club on Sunday but only as a visitor I expect. Please see attached flyers for open meetings at Stewartby and Seafarers SC. Geoff Josey tells me that He and Margaret have sent out the posters for our Open Meeting to a raft of contacts, club fleet captains, previous visitors and local clubs - thank you very much Margaret and Geoff. Take care, Roger
SOLO TRAVELLER!
Hello Marconi Solo sailors, I've been on my travels again, this time just round the corner at Harlow (Blackwater) S. C. Only 9 entries and only one from the home club. Indeed, Rod Martin the fleet captain says they only have the one active Solo at the club now having lost 4 fleet members over the winter. It reminds me as to how lucky we are at Marconi - they really only have 4 hours sailing there. They cut short the last short race and we could only access the bottom area of the slip with rudder right up! Also, sailing around before one start I went towards Maylandsea and despite perfect conditions there was only a couple of boats out and apparently not many boats in the dinghy park. Apparently John Rutherford still has his boat for sale and the feeling is that although he has had several enquiries he does not really want to see it go. Solos have that effect on people! Also he has broken op the moulds and formers that he used for building boats which seems a pity, he could have probably sold them I would have thought. Another of the HBSC Solo sailors, who happens to live in Saffron Walden has sold his boat but is looking for another one. Keith Patmore is a leading light in the local Lions Club. Having said all that it was a fabulous day's sailing with much more wind than forecast and bright sunshine of course. We had two great races out in the bay with great reaches and hard beats against the tide. Godfrey Clark ran out the winner in his new (to him) boat, beating Steve Ede, Vince Horey and Rod Laurie (son of Ron Laurie who used to be a member at Harlow Blackwater) with a brand new boat No 5134. Keith Smith and I had a close battle with Keith coming out on top with 2 fifths and a 6th to my one 5th and 2x6th. I hope you guys had a good sail on Sunday although the wind here does not seem as vigorous as it was yesterday.
Take care,
Roger
SUPER SAILING SOLOS
Hello All, Well, most of you missed a great day at Marconi yesterday; a little cold? Yes; but the sailing was great with a firm F4 with stronger gusts in the morning and lighter in the afternoon. There was just John S and I to enjoy it from the Solos point of view but with the help of Steve Monk's courses (and making us do all the four rounds) we had a couple of good races sharing the spoils with one win each. There was quite a long fetch in the morning race and I found that John was getting away from me on those legs but I found that with a little more kicker I could hold my own! That's the tip of the week. The coming weekend sees the Harlow Blackwater open meeting on Saturday followed by the Jackpot Trophy on Sunday at Marconi. The Jackpot is a race up to Heybridge or thereabouts for members who own up to being over 40 years of age and then we take a break for a picnic lunch and then have a race back. Often some under 40s join in as well. After that we will have the East Coast Piers race, for me the Stewartby open meeting and then I will be thinking of travelling to France. So I must render my apologies for being an absentee fleet captain. Regarding the Marconi Solo open meeting we are indebted to Frank Burgess for offering the loan of his boat for the day as a committee boat. Frank himself will be away and he will ask Mark, his son if he is available to drive the boat or possibly John Burgoyne. So thanks to Frank that is a major problem put to rest. Take care and keep sailing, Roger
NORFOLK DUMPLING - 14TH JUNE 2010
Hello Marconi Solo Sailors, How was the sailing at Marconi this weekend? In Norfolk we had a very windy (F5) Saturday at Hickling Broad with a few capsizes and a light wind Sunday at Rollesby Broad. Capsizing in the very shallow broad results in a load of 'orrible black mud on the mast and sail even worse than the Blackwater. In between we had a pleasant evening at Ian Ayre's riverside chalet with fish and chips and watching the football. The competition seems to be getting more intense on the Eastern Area circuit with John Clark winning on Sunday and Vince Horey on Saturday. Godfrey Clark has had his boat smashed up at Salcombe and he took it to Kevin Gosling for repair and has now a newer Gosling boat which Kevin was storing at the time - so he has collected another boat. When I asked if he would sell the old one he was very emotional and said he had won more opens in that than many other people (as they tend to change boats more frequently) and I think he said he was second to Steve Ede at Marconi in 2001? If people are at the club on Sunday we need to talk about the open meeting at Marconi. I will send out the normal planning chart. Sailing at the club this week and the following week at Harlow Blackwater. Cheers, Roger
PETES PROWESS - 7TH JUNE 2010
Hi all, Pilots cup yesterday which turned out to be an interesting race. Very light winds to start with dropping to zero knots around Thirslet to Bradwell but then picking up and on the way back from the Nass at Bradwell again the wind dropped then filled in 180 degrees changed. That was of academic interest only to me as by this time I was about 3 miles behind Pete Playle, the only other Solo, who worked the shifts and pressure to get a handsome lead on the way out to the Nass. John Burgoyne in the Laser Vago was well ahead of Pete but I am not sure how the handicap difference will work out there. Well sailed Pete.
Thanks to Ron and Pat Stuart for the RO duty which must have been quite tedious at times and required some courage to set us off in very light wind; but it all worked out well in the end. Malcolm has an ear infection so missed all the fun - get well soon Malcolm. On the way back the stronger wind had encouraged Stone to come out and play and they have a foiling Moth there now showing off its paces. Always exciting to see. Next weekend is the first of the Summer points but I am off to the Norfolk Broads for back to back open meetings at Hickling (Saturday) and Rlooesby (Sunday). Take care. Roger.
I BLAME THE BANKERS! 31ST MAY 2010
Hello Solo Folk,
Yes, who else can we blame for every Bank Holiday being bad weather? Force 5s and 6s yesterday and drizzle today.
NEW START LINE TRIAL I was the lone competitor in the slow handicap class in the trial of the start line being off the hard. We only sailed the morning race: the wind freshened to a good F6 after lunch and we were treated to a display of high wind gybing by Nick Miller in a Pico off the hard. The only other competitors in the morning race were the 3 or 4 Sprint 15s, Dave's 505 and Simon's Dart 18 in the middle handicap class. The start was just past low water and starting far out it was difficult to see the flags on the club flagpole and also difficult despite the strong wind to get on the right side of the line in the strong tide. It was also very lumpy with wind over tide. It was also impossible to hear sound signals although would probably have been the same from the race box with the strong NW wind.
NO MORE PRATTS! As we have not a unanimous vote to try the PRATTs I do not think it would be sensible to go ahead with it. It is also possible that it would not work with our small fleet especially during the summer when I for one will be travelling quite often depleting the fleet even more.
VIP VISITORS - 30TH MAY. We were pleased to see some old friends at the club on Sunday. Ron was there with friend Audrey and also Peter Collis turned up with his daughter. Ron is looking for a RO assistant for the Pilot Cup next week - any offers? Peter reported that he had sold his large house and moved to a more manageable size house and garden. He has also recently sold his Solo which now resides in Montenegro of all places. Apparently the buyer was a "Yugoslav" who had been resident in the UK for years and was just returning and took a boat with him. When he first said it I thought it might have been one of these money laundering scams that you hear about! So you never know we might be able to visit a fleet in Petrovac or Budva! PILOT'S CUP NEXT WEEK. Its the Pilots Cup next week which is the long distance race down river typically to the Nass Beacon and the baffle and back. Not everyone's cup of tea but I shall give it a go. The week after that is the double event at Norfolk clubs Hickling and Rollesby Broads for which I have a pass and hope to go. Despite the funny start line and the strong gusty wind it was a rollicking good sail yesterday, very wet and the waves were difficult to get in a rhythm but the sun shone so the bankers didn't do too bad! Best wishes, Roger
PRATTS AHOY (expalined later!) 24th May 2010.
Ahoy shipmates, LAST WEEKEND 1. Warm sunny days at last - could have done with a little more wind though - still mustn't be greedy. Welcome back to John Salmon who has clearly been practicing down in the Antipodes leaving Martin and I trailing in his wake - no! - that would assume we were somewhere close - as he mastered the light winds and the tide. 2. Martin and I opted not to race in the afternoon leaving John on his own, but he then decided not to race in the light wind and diminishing water. 3. On Saturday I went to the Hunts S. C. open meeting at St Ives in Cambridgeshire - another 30 boat turnout. Its on a gravel pit close to the town of St Ives and is a pleasant open stretch of water to sail on and a friendly club too. I can recommend it. NEXT WEEKEND 4. Next weekend is bank holiday and racing reverts to the bank holiday series with the added "interest" of the trial of starting racing from the clubhouse area. You may remember this is to try and see if the starting area can move from the existing racebox and perhaps ameliorate the cases of damage to moored cruisers. This experiment has not been without controversy with at least one RO refusing to operate it due to potential danger and damage to catamarans. 5. Before all of that, on Saturday there is the first "Pro - Am" day. The idea here is to team up people new to sailing with more experienced folk either together in a two man boat or sailing side by side in single handers. It is not just on the water but also to talk through boat set up, racing entry process and marks etc. So if you are a "pro" or an "Am" why not come and have a look? PRATTS 6. If you read the last edition of Yachts and Yachting you will know that this stands for Personal Rating Against Time Taken. The idea is to use a simple personal handicap system to make racing more interesting for all levels of ability. What about trying it out for the Summer Solo Series at the club? 7. The idea is that if we assume that there are 8 of us likely to race the race winner will get 8 points, second 7 points etc. Each boat starts with a time correction. A middle of the fleet guy would rate at zero (lets say John Nisbet, Martin, Peter Playle and Bryan Spencer). Front of the fleet would have 5 minutes added to their time (lets assume John S, Mick and me) and rear commodore (say Malcolm) gets 5 minutes deducted from his time. After each race the winner gets a minute added to his "handicap" and the last in gets a minute deducted. We could put the results on the web site each week and see how it pans out. It is not a perfect system, especially for a small fleet like ours but it might make for some added interest?. 8. So please let me know what you think and I'll ask John and Kate to make sure ROs take the time of the Solos finishing. Thats All! Roger
SAME OLD FISHERS GREEN: 16TH MAY 2010
Hello fellow Solo Sailors,
Yes its true - Fishers Green has not changed. It is true that they have done quite a lot of work in removing some of the many little islands around the lake and enlarged a little here and there but the wind still fluctuates from zero to F3 and changes about 45 degrees erratically every now and then. Still with 34 entries it certainly concentrates the mind on starting and mark rounding. In fact if you don't get a decent start you are buried and you are fighting your way through quite aggressive traffic for the race. Contrast that with Marconi with low entries and widely spaced marks its quite a surprise if you meet anyone within hailing distance! The event was won by Vince Horey a renowned Fireball helm amongst others, with Steve Ede 2nd and Mark Maskell 3rd. Its worth reporting that there was a guy in boat number 1302 who came about 8th. The boat did not appear to be in immaculate condition but he certainly made it go well; he certainly showed me a clean pair of heels! I finished just in the top half - nothing to crow about but as I say it does concentrate the mind. Its also a very friendly club and even through I had a few "discussions" about rights at marks it was all friendly afterwards. I hope the winds were kind to you all at Marconi yesterday: I shall do Hunts SC open next Saturday and hope to be at Marconi on Sunday. Regards, Roger.
THREE MEN IN A BOAT: 10th MAY 2010
Dear All, It was a grand sight first thing with a BJRC Cruiser race setting off from Osea past the club, maybe 10 big boats in full sail. Yes: it was a case of three men in Solos yesterday. Not bad as Mick Taylor was on the RIB rescue duty, John Salmon in the antipodes. The morning race was rather windy and choppy and very cccold! It was difficult to get the boat moving through the chop upwind as the short steep waves seemed to knock you out of a settled rhythm. The wind eased towards the end of the race making progress a little easier despite a capsize for yours truly. Has Tina in the Galley has "special qualities"? When I ordered my lunch we discussed the cold weather and she said "Oh you'll be OK when you get in the water" I said that I had no intention of getting in the water - and what did I do? When I complained about her having a jinx on me at lunchtime she said I would be OK in the afternoon - and I was! In fact the afternoon race was much lighter with quite a few wind shifts to consider. Peter Playle held the lead for most of the first lap and then regained it on the second beat with a masterful tack deep into the shore which he was unfortunate not to hang onto until the end. Its Fisher's Green open meeting next Sunday; they have moved to the start of the season due to suffering from a lot of weed in their lake at the end of the last two seasons. By the way Stephen Bright has sold his boat (it was due to be picked up on Saturday) so we say farewell to him and hope to see him in a Solo again in the not too distant future. Take care, Roger
FAIR WEATHER SAILOR? 3RD MAY 2010
Dear Solo Sailors, I have to admit that I got out of bed on Sunday intending to go to Middle Nene at Thrapston for their open meeting. But the howling wind, and particularly the pouring rain made me think better of it and I went back to bed! Today I went to the club to do some odd jobs on the club Solo fully intending to take it out for a jolly afterwards. But the OOD abandoned all sailing before I'd finished so I did not even do that. (It was blowing a good 6 at the time and when the little weather station went to No 7 on the display the assembled Sprinters in the lounge let out a great cheer!) So - back to the club Solo. When I uncovered it I found a pair of spectacles on the foredeck. Anyone want to claim them? I expect they are more likely to be John Salmon's so I will try to remember to tell him when he gets back from Oz. I have them at home here now. As Bob said "I hope he can read the departure gate at the airport." Thank you to Bob Anderson with helping with the club solo today. We just changed the tiller extension, the downhaul cleat on the tiller and also put some aluminium supports on the side of the mast gate to vstop the mast damaging the deck around the gate. Finally the strong wind has exposed some problems with boats in the dinghy park. 3670 - Martins boat was bouncing up and down on the trolley as it was not tied down at the bow and the side ties were very loose. I have tied them again butIwonder if there is a stand which has gone missing upon which the bow should be perched? Also Solo 2418 Blue GRP deck - I am not sure of the owner - has the cover totally ripped open by the wind so that the sail etc. is exposed. May I also remind people that the Club's Code of Practice for Dinghy Sailing at the club requires anchors to be knocked flat into the ground so that they do not pose a hazard for people to trip over when the boat is out. Lets try again next week, Roger
LIGHT WIND FOR A CHANGE 18th April 2010
Hello Folks, How did you get on at the club on Sunday. We had a little get together for out wedding anniversary so the fine weather with no wind was just fine but sailing at Ardleigh on Saturday was not so funny with the first race a real lottery (which I got my best position) and then it was downhill with a silly capsize in the last race which had a fresher sea breeze filling in! Bob will find this amusing! I had arranged with Steve Ede to have my new sail measured before the races at Ardleigh. So I got there nice and early, Steve was there but he said he was unable to measure the sail as he had been unable to attend the training for the "off the boat" measurement method: he had asked Clare Clark to do it for me. Well, you know that Godfrey and Clare never arrive early but Clare did it after the racing. It involves removing all the battens and laying out the sail on a clubhouse floor or outside if the weather is fine. Having said that she got through it quite quickly but not so quickly as when you just rolled the boat over and laid out the measuring sticks over the battened sail. Needless to say the price has gone up too. £15.00 of which £3.00 goes to the RYA, or is it ISAF, as a sort of registration fee! Finally; it is very sad to report that Mary Greygoose died yesterday. She has been a loyal and committed club member for many years either supporting Ron as Commodore and in many other roles but also helping with the galley in the old days. It was so sad that after nursing Ron through his period of health problems that Mary was taken ill and deprived them of a few happy years together. Ron has very loyally supported Mary through the terrible period of her dementia and hopefully she will be at peace now. Funeral details unknown at this time. Our thoughts and sympathy are with Ron and the children and grandchildren just now. Best wishes, Roger
ANOTHER HARD DAY AT THE OFFICE
All, I think the gods are conspiring to make Mondays a day of aches and pains! It started out OK with FIVE Solos out on the water - well done guys. John Salmon was in the club Solo which he had been working on and it goes pretty well upwind although tends to lose out out on the marginal planing breeze on the long reach from B to C yesterday. I put my new sail up and of course I had to christen it! Went aground in about a foot of water towards Breezy and fell over trying to extricate myself. I was surprised as it was quite near high tide and the centreboard touched and very soon everything came up - the rudder downhaul pinged out and the c/board was right up such that when it fell over it was difficult to get it out to right the boat! There seems to be a big hummock around there. Others out were Peter Playle, John Nisbet, John S and Malcolm Stuart finishing in that order. Congratulations to John S on reducing his golf handicap and bon voyage for his trip to Australia. The afternoon race was a different affair with stronger wind, wind over tide making some seriously big waves and only 2 soloistas taking to the water - John Nisbet and yours truly. The only other boats out were the Dart 15 and 2 or 3 Sprint 15s plus a few people trying out the conditions with various degrees of success! Pete Richardson said they could only see the masts from the shore when we were in the wave troughs on the way to E mark. With the hard in a very slippery state it took a long time to get all the boats up to the top of the hard - thank you to all who helped out. Seeing the chairlift assembled in the clubhouse it was a pity it was not working for us to get upstairs to get a cup of tea and a cake! (actually I'm surprised that no one has marked it " for Solo sailors only" as yet! With apologies to out younger fleet members!) Good to see Margaret and Geoff at the club and also Mick Taylor called in after a visit to the Olympic Stadium. Next week I am at Ardleigh on Saturday and wedding anniversary do on Sunday - so see yo'all in a couple of weeks. Take care, Roger
ITS ALWAYS COLD AT EASTER! 4TH APRIL 2010.
Hello out there, Left home yesterday morning in a light breeze looking forward to trying out my new sail but when I got to the club it was a force 4+, NW and really cold! So the old sail got hoisted again! I thought it would be fun to try out the new Bank Holiday formula of three different handicap starts - not just cats and monos. At first I had delusions of greater speed by signing on for the fast handicap with a nice beat down to No.4 buoy - RO John Salmon suggested I might prefer a shorter route, thank you John, although in the event I might have won as there was a distinct lack of interest from the faster boyos. The middle fleet was well supported by the formidable Sprint 15 fleet and the slow "fleet" comprised just me and Gary Jackson in a Laser Radial. It was difficult to launch at low tide as the hard bit was taken up by the buoy laying gang loading the barge with miles of dirty chain, so I found myself knee deep in mud trying to get the boat off the trolley. The boat then decided to fall over and I was like a fly on a sticky trap and could not move my feet to stop it. But thanks to the cruiser guys who lent a hand to sort things out - but would you mind washing your hands first in future please! I was left with dirty rusty, oily glove prints over the deck where they helped out! Anyway, got to the start before Gary and after a quick look-see the flag came down and we were off. After that it was a nice sail in slightly eased conditions but neither Gary or I fancied getting cold and wet again so we called it a day. It's unusual to get a race with no gybe - but if we were careful on the run we found we could make that yesterday! At the club Rosemary and Mike Turner were handing out the new gate keys but the old and new ones will both work until all members have the new keys when the old key system will be removed. Steve, I will let you know when the old system has stopped (if I am aware) but in the event you want to move your boat try to call one of us first - or make it on a weekend when there will be at least an OOD around to let you in and out. I forgot to mention the great turn out last week for the first race of the season - 5 boats thanks to all for the support to the premier fleet. Points racing next Sunday - see you there. Cheers, Roger
OOH! AARGH! 28TH MARCH 2010.
Hello All, Ooh, aargh just about sums it up! Quite hard day's sailing for the first trip of the year. I'm not sure if there is any part of me that does not ache! It was a force 4 with lighter and a few stronger patches I guess but it was enough to be fully hiked for all of the time on the beats - oh! all right then for a little of the time between rests! New Soloist Peter's boat looks good and seems to go well too. Apart from a nasty capsize before the first race where some righting lines (or granny ropes) would have come in handy he showed good speed and tactics - at least until the end of the second race where he followed John S in a search for the F mark! (That is really F for fisheries mark - it does not refer to expletive deleted!) Capsizing in the conditions yesterday morning at the club can make it very difficult to get the Solo upright again. The wind over tide conditions seem to make the boat want to stick in a half way up situation where the tide is pushing the bottom half one way and the wind trying to push the top half the other, both of which cause a force opposite to what the poor guy hanging on the centreboard is trying to effect. Granny ropes do help in this very tide influenced situation. Next week is the Easter events at the club trying out the new formula of handicap starts mixing cats and monohulls together. I won't be sailing both days but I'm not sure which one to pick just now! Final mention from yesterday - Tina's Hot Cross bun went done well with a cup of tea after a shower. Take care, Roger
THE SAILING SEASON APPROACHES: 22ND MARCH 2010.
Hello All, Number One: Thank you Pat and Malcolm for arranging a fine for feast for the Solo Fleet at the Horse and Groom on Galleywood Common. The food was good, the company better - all washed down with a pint! Number Two: Thank you to John Salmon and Dennis Dear for completing the Solo Fleet work at the club on Sunday. Dennis creosoted the Race Box in splendid fashion even putting down plastic so the top of the pill box was not stained. John has done a lot of work on the Club Solo during the week and spent some time checking out a different mast as well as helping to move the wooden seats from the portakabin and oiling them. Indeed the club looked pretty good with lots of helpers all lending a hand to get the various jobs done for the start of the season. Chris Thwaites was there hacking away at the "Bund" and the danger signs were there for us as Bryan Spencer was driving a tractor - that's bound to end with him getting a cruiser! Peter Playle brought his boat down which looks a really nice job and also Bryan brought his boat down. That brings me to Number Three: The dinghy Park is all marked out - Richard Dixon had done it before Sunday. The Solos are in the same place as last year. Richard has not marked the individual slots but pacing it out I reckon we have about 2m each. We can even get a boat on the end of the "bund" if anyone wants a quick getaway! Number Four: Rather less happy news: Stephen Bright has told me that he will not be joining the Club this year - the pressures of work and children playing football etc on Sundays is taking too much time. He is looking to sell his boat (Wood 3330) so if anyone is interested please contact him. Good luck Stephen and remember where we are if you feel the urge to sail Solo again. Number Five: The season starts with sailing on Sunday - Hooray! Don't forget to put your clocks forward on Saturday night. It looks like being a grand start with a great turn out - so don't miss it! Have a great season, Roger.
WORKING AND OTHER PARTIES: 15TH MARCH 2010
G'day All, First off, thank you to all who did a great job at the working party yesterday. We got a lot done in setting up the race box and painting the mast step and base after much chipping away by Ron and Martin. If you missed out - don't panic! There is another chance next Sunday. From the Solo point of view we only have to get the wooden furniture out of the portakabin and oil it, the furniture - not the portakabin, plus some bits on the Club Solo if John has managed to complete the work on it at his home. But the club will still have lots of work needing to be done so please come along. On a social note we have the Start of the Season meal planned by Pat and Malcolm at the Horse and Groom at Galleywood on Friday evening: 7.00 for 7.30pm. This is a traditional time to meet for the group together with wives, partners, and significant others! So please let Pat and Malcolm know if you would like to come along on 01245 268218. We can talk of the sea and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings - well maybe! Take care everyone and thanks again for a good turn out yesterday. Roger
Hello Solo Sailors and Associates, 4th March 2010
My first job is to welcome another new member to the fleet. Peter Playle has given up his long association with his Laser and got a Solo. Welcome Peter and please do not hesitate to ask us questions about sailing the Solo.
You will have see from the Navigans that the club is planning working parties at the club to prepare for the new season on Sundays the 14th and 21st March. It is suggested that we do the work on the Race Box etc as a part of the working party on the 14th so we have a chance to revisit anything that we need to on the 21st. So please come along for a 10.00am start on Sunday 14th March. I shall send an e-mail covering the list of jobs to be done and any necessary tools to bring. In the event that too many of us turn up we can easily join in with the jobs to be done by the general working party at the club.
Regards,
Roger Smith.
Page last updated: 11/07/2010 12:50:48