Race Reports 2008    Home

Melody has the last laugh as weather strikes again! 31 Aug 08

 August 31^st should have been the last race of 2008 but for the 3^rd time this year extreme weather prevented sailing. Well not entirely, the first two boats in the series were both out sailing to show that race headquarters might have been a bit timid but the wind was gusting to 30 MPH and the boats that were out seemed to be struggling at times.
To reiterate what Wendy said at the prize giving, 18 boats sailed in the series, 6 boats won at least 1 race, 1^st Place being the only boat to win two races but Melody’s consistency was enough to give her a 3 point lead after 7 races. The top 6 boats could all have won the series if there had been a race today and they had won. Melody, Time to Go and Spindrift were the only boats to sail in all seven races, 9 boats sailed at least 4 races to qualify. Harmony sailed just 1 race but won it, beating Moonbeam by just over a minute on handicap. Moonbeam sailed just 4 races but came second in two of those and 3^rd in another. Moonbeam is the only boat to have won the Trophy twice in the last 10 years. Last years champion, Humble Pie only managed 3 races out of the 7 and was unable to challenge. No boat has ever won the Trophy two years in a row and unless someone pays me a lot of money, they never will! 

 When Lightnings are away, Sonars will play!  24^th  Aug 2008

With no threat of Lightnings on the horizon others were able to indulge them selves and play unmolested. Notwithstanding no Lightning, Sunday’s race started with a bang, actually 2 bangs as the start line was a bit crowded and two incidents occurred but no serious damage resulted as far as the author is aware. When there are many boats in close proximity, particularly in light winds, the boats blanket each other and control can be difficult. Always look for clear air even if it’s not the best line.
As a few weeks ago the regular fleet had not proceeded far when the 5 minute horn went and Time To Go was right on their heels and indeed, toes by the time the Sheep Island buoy was reached, forcing Lori & Kai in the Flying Scot to tack away just before the mark. These two were going well and did not lose much time on the run down to Hojo or over to Rich Man’s but the third leg, up to Sheep again was to be a real tester as the wind dropped, everyone except Melody and Time to Go struggled against the strong incoming tide.
But I digress; by the end of the first leg Harris & Tom in Spindrift were running 3rd still ahead of Peter & Theresa In Melody and there was just over 2 minutes
between Moonbeam, 5th and Sage in 9th Place although the latter had started 5 minutes later. Sandwiched between were 1st Place, Shearwater & Cleo, Pattie B Too suffering from an ill advised attempt to tack away from the fleet while in the middle of the river and were held back by the strong tide, never to recover. The 2nd leg over to Rich man’s presented no real problems except that the wind began to drop and the tail enders suffered more than the leaders, Time To Go particularly benefitting as they rounded Sheep for the 2nd time and were able to drift down to Hojo with the tide while the others were still struggling up to the mark. Macy & Bevan in Cleo were having their usual battle with the Typhoons, the orange hats of 1st Place, Eric, Suzy,Steve &Steve on one leg and the more soberly attired Leighton’s on another. Rink, Kat and Jim in Sage went badly astray on the second beat up to Sheep and almost dropped back into the clutches of Jim & Jacquie in Pattie B Too who had a better 3rd leg although still running last. Finishing last the week before placed Nick’s marriage in jeopardy but Wendy was placated by a first win for Time To Go!

Time To Go finished before all boats except Peter & Theresa in Melody had started the final leg and there was another twist in the story as the wind freshened for the late runners. Sage was quicker than all on this leg, from Shearwater, Moonbeam, Cleo and Pattie B Too, Melody being slowest and that was to cost them second place to Moonbeam in the final results. Will this have an effect on the series? There are 6 boats still in with a chance of winning the series, ties will be resolved in favour of the most 1st places, then 2nds etc.

Many thanks to Bill & Margaret for impeccable timekeeping.

1^st Time to go       2^nd Moonbeam      3^rd Melody  4^th 1^st Place  5^th Spindrift
6^th Flying Scot      7^th Shearwater      8^th Cleo       9^th Pattie B Too    10^th Sage

1^st Place again  17^th  Aug 2008

 After a few weeks of variable wind the traditional Southerly was back and blowing pretty well for the 9 boats that took to the water including the eagerly awaited debut of Windsong.

Hours Too missed breaking the hour mark by just 45 seconds, Humble Pie 23 seconds later after a couple of good excuses ( hitting mark, capsizing etc.) while Time To Go was less than a minute slower than Humble Pie. Melody & Windsong were next up, the latter crossing the start line nearly 4 minutes late after some teething problems with their jib but still managed to catch Sage on the 3^rd leg. 1^st Place & Cleo were having a rare old battle with never more than 40 seconds between them, 1^st Place finishing just 7 seconds ahead to cries of “protest” from Cleo! Skipper Maslen proceeded to bamboozle everyone at the excuses party by quoting from an archaic catboat racing manual while Skipper Whitehead pulled out an even older rules book to try and rebuff Eric’s alleged defence. As no money was passed to the Protest Committee, both parties were sent packing. Spindrift, behind Cleo after the first leg passed them on the 2^nd . Trivia:- Every boat was faster on the 3^rd leg to Sheep than they had been on the 1^st, except Melody who was 4 seconds slower, any story there, Peter?

Humble Pie couldn’t quite get back on terms with Hours Too, but there was never more than 11 seconds between them on any leg. Time To Go was only quicker than the Lightnings on the final leg to Rich Man’s, a massive 7 seconds quicker than Hours Too and 16 seconds quicker than Humble Pie. Spindrift’s closest rival on the water, as far as elapsed times went, was Sage which was quicker upwind but slower on the reaches over to Rich Man’s. Less than 6 minutes separated the boats on handicap after over an hours racing and the series is still wide open.

With two more races to run, Melody leads with 194 points from Hours Too on 193 and 1^st Place on 192, Time To Go on 190, Spindrift on 189, Shearwater on 171 and Pattie B Too on 170. Humble Pie, Moonbeam and Sage have sailed just three races each and need one more to Qualify. Whistler and the Flying Scot have each sailed two races and could just qualify.

Thanks to Margaret & Bill Holcombe for being timekeepers this week backed up by Eleanor. We do appreciate it!

1.   1^st place               2. Sage              3. Cleo               4. Hours Too        5. Humble Pie

6.  Windsong              7. Melody           8.Spindrift          9. Time to Go

Melody in tune with weather!  10^th  Aug 2008

 11 boats took to the New Meadows on a fine sunny day; the only question for crews was the wind? Varying from South to East and from a good breeze to a flat calm, things didn’t look as though they were going to be simple and so it proved.

With no little boats the main fleet got under way at 2pm, 1^st Place leading over the line from Humble Pie. That was about as far as they got though and before they were half way to the Sheep buoy, the wind dropped and the clock ticked away to the big boat start at 2.05. Both the larger boats made the mistake of not sitting on the line and were not too close when their horn sounded, Time To Go being the closer but they both had an advantage over the smaller boats when the wind got up and by the Sheep Island Buoy only Humble Pie was still ahead of the Sonar. Hours Too was in third at the end of the first leg, Bob having misread the wind on the beat to Sheep, but recovered well and then overtook Time To Go on a tight reach back from Rich Man’s.  Catspaw was the fastest of the Typhoons on this leg, 4 minutes ahead of 1^st Place and Shearwater who were neck & neck as they rounded HoJo and set off for Rich Man’s. Spindrift was just holding off Melody and the Flying Scot, Moonbeam  next a couple of minutes ahead of Catspaw. The Flying Scot overtook Spindrift on this leg but were to lose out again on the final beat up to Sheep, the race being stopped after 3 legs when the tail enders were already over 30 minutes behind the leaders. Biggest change on the last leg was the demise of Catspaw who lost a 3 minute advantage over Cleo and 6 minutes over 1^st Place, just managing to hold off Shearwater at the end. Cleo overtook 1^st Place on the last run down to the finish but was to lose out on handicap.

A good win for Melody with a little help from the delayed start, Peter’s handicap will suffer next week! A different boat has won each week and plenty of boats are still in contention but with 2 seconds and a 1^st, Melody is leading the table from Time To go and will be hard (but not impossible) to beat.

Thanks to Wendy & Eleanor for the timekeeping, the Shoal Cove Catboat race is this Saturday 16th, briefing at 12 noon at Van Ordens and our next race will be Sunday at 2.00, usual format.

 1^st Melody, 2^nd Humble Pie, 3^rd Spindrift, 4^th Time To Go

5^th Hours Too, 6^th 1^st Place, 7^th Moonbeam, 8^th Flying Scot

9^th Catspaw, 10^th Cleo, 11^th Shearwater

Weather relents reluctantly!  3^rd Aug 2008 

16 boats made the start after a morning when it looked as though we would be stymied yet again. With rain and thunder all morning the marks were not even put out till after 12 but people were keen to sail and they came in numbers though two didn’t peek out of the narrows till the shouting was all but over. With the wind changing from North to South during the course of the race, things were always going to be difficult, some helms, the author among them,  losing the will to live.

After a hiccup with the start everyone got away, some later than others, Hours Too and Union Maid feeling they could give the rest a head start. Unusually there was a running start and the boats drifted up to Sheep Island in a light breeze hot on the heels of Sam Maslin in the Sunfish. Getting back to Hojo wasn’t so easy however and a strong outgoing tide saw a variety of tactics used to try and battle the current. Most successful were Chris Schwabe and Chris Kidger in Humble Pie followed by Time To Go with Harmony and the Flying Scot slightly quicker than 1^st Place comfortably quicker than the other two Typhoons as well as (surprisingly) Bob Wilbur & family in the other Lightning, Hours Too & Melody.

There were more problems for some on the second leg to Rich Man’s with Humble Pie again fastest followed by Harmony, the Flying Scot and Time To Go. At the Start of the second lap, Humble Pie led by 5 minutes from Harmony and the Flying Scot who were locked in battle, these two over minute ahead of Time To Go. Melody followed and Shearwater was leading typhoon at this stage, Moonbeam, 1^st Place, Spindrift and Pattie B Too were also locked in battle with less than 2 minutes between them. Further back Sage & Whistler were neck & neck, Whistler playing a joker by setting a spinnaker at the start of the second lap but the joke turned out to be on them, Sage finishing the leg 12 minutes in front! On the 3^rd leg fastest of all was Hours Too from Sage then Moonbeam which was just quicker than Harmony, Pattie B Too next just faster than Spindrift. Melody beat Time To go by 4 seconds on the leg who in turn were 14 seconds quicker than Humble Pie.

On the final leg to Rich Man’s, Humble Pie again asserted their authority, Hours Too taking second fastest just ahead of Harmony and Melody, who would have been quicker if they hadn’t sat by the finish line for what must have seemed an age, unable to tack across the finish line in the light wind and strong current! As always, a late start did for the ambitions of some of the sailors but Lightning and Pea Pod arriving in the river as the race was finishing, must be a record. I have said it before but life jackets must be worn in all boats less than 20ft and it does no harm in larger boats either. You’ve only got to be hit on the head with the boom and knocked overboard unconscious and then what happens? It’s such a simple thing to do. Pattie B Too would have finished a fine 2^nd this week instead of last but for this omission.

Thanks to Wendy who struggled with 16 boats on her own and apart from the affore mentioned hiccup at the start did very well with boats crossing the line in both directions and in some cases sitting on the line while others were trying to cross/finish.

Four boats have now sailed 4 races, and the leader at this stage is Melody on 187 points from Spindrift and Time To Go. There is still plenty of time with 4 more races, (if the weather be good) for others to beat these current leaders.

   
Watch Time To Go sail across the bows of Melody in these three pictures!

Records smashed as boats finally get to race!

After two weeks of no racing, 8 boats ventured out on a windy New Meadows day and some might say it was worth the wait. There were excuses aplenty afterwards but some didn’t need them and two boats broke Humble Pies record of 59:40 minutes for a 2 lap race, the spoils going to Bob Wilbur and daughter Alwyn in Hours Too accompanied by some hired muscle who by all accounts was put to good use! Time to go, with it’s almost all British crew couldn’t quite get on terms and finished 1:52 behind after losing some time when a main sheet shackle dropped its pin on the second beat up to the Sheep Island Buoy.  Hours Too completed the 2 laps in 54:06 and they were flying!  Melody was only  just over the hour mark in spite of doing a 360 when they touched the HoJo mark while rounding. Whistler made it’s debut and she was a pretty sight although probably better suited to lighter winds. Starting 6 minutes late didn’t help either! All the Typhoons and Spindrift sailed their fastest races ever and most crews came back pretty wet but exhilarated. There was a near mutiny on Pattie B Too but the skipper was firm and after a few (verbal) lashes the rebellion was quelled.

There were also a few misdemeanours on the course and rather than disqualify the miscreants, time penalties have been imposed. Handicaps have been altered to keep the series open, as always a few dollars will improve your chances no end!  Even a brutal handicap reduction couldn’t prevent Hours Too claiming second place and after his win in the previous race Bob Wilbur is a strong front runner for this year’s title. Peter Blachly also has 2 good results and if he can eliminate the brushes with the marks he is a strong contender. Harmony made a brief appearance on the river but thought better of it, we hope to see more of them in the next races. Once they got going Whistler seemed to be a shade faster than the Typhoons but in these conditions there was not too much in it. Various reefing ideas were tried, Shearwater reefed their main, 1^st place reefed the jib for the upwind legs, Pattie B Too were sailing with a small jib, Spindrift also had a reefed main and small jib as well as a crew of 4 but were disgustingly quick downwind regardless. Melody had a reefed main and the only two boats flying full sails were Hours Too and Time To Go. Time keeping was expertly handled by Wendy & Virginia with flag waving and horn playing by a variety of small supporters. If anyone is available for next Sundays race to help with time keeping, please let us know.

Some are going, one is coming back!

6^th July Eye Opener!

 9 fine boats came to the line this Sunday and the series is on! What looked and was a perfect sailing day was enlivened by a distinct lack of visibility at times but when the fog cleared Hours Too sailed by Bob “Ready Agout” Wilbur and Celia “Radar” Whitehead had won by a street. That’s two wins for this pair in two weeks in two different boats. How versatile is that? With the larger boats starting just 5 minutes adrift of the main fleet this week as an experiment, Time To Go, Melody and Sage set off to see if they could get amongst the little ones and by the end of the first leg to Sheep Island Buoy Time To Go, crewed by Wendy “get me out of here” Price, cousins John & Ellen “Rent a Wind” Harper  and Lori “Oops my pants are undone again” Kidger had overhauled all but Hours Too and had closed up by two minutes on the leaders, seemingly on schedule to overtake before the end of the race. This was as close as they got however and Hours Too extended the gap from that point on and finished nearly 10 minutes ahead on the water. Melody, sailed by Peter “No Mates” Blachly had closed right up on Moonbeam, sailed by Ky “Gypsy” Whitehead and crewed by his dad Harris “No Mast” Whitehead & Bevan “Cookie Monster” Whitehead who were 3^rd round the mark with Spindrift, sailed today by Tom “Mushroom”, Camilla “Duchess” Lionel “Schnozzle” Whitehead and  just ahead of 1^st Place, in which Eric “The Dark Knight” Maslen (or Boatman as he’s sometimes called) was reunited with his harpies, Mary “Quite Contrary” (Little deer all in a row) Hobart & Babs “Peppy” Kirkham. Pattie B Too followed sailed by Jim the younger and ably crewed by cousins Bob “Power Nap” & Josh “ Sleepy Time” Price, then Sage with Rink “Hard Hat” & Phil “No Chance” Goiran  and Shearwater helmed by Geoff  “Altered Images” Leighton & friends with a large support group of cheerleaders on the Leighton dock. The 2^nd leg saw Hours Too claw back that 2 minutes and Melody was also quicker with Sage just a touch slower. Shear water was the quickest of the three Typhoons on this leg while Moonbeam was just a few seconds faster than Spindrift. At the start of the 3^rd leg to Sheep, the fog had closed in again and finding the buoy was a matter of faith and keeping the courage of your convictions. As far as the author knows everyone made it. Hours Too was over 2 minutes quicker than Time To Go this time with Melody a further 2 minutes slower. Moonbeam struggled on this leg being slower than Sage, 1^st Place and Spindrift while Pattie B Too also had their problems. Shearwater, 1^st Place and Spindrift, (marginally) were quicker this time than their first laps all the other boats being slower.

On the final leg to Rich Man’s finding the mark was again a problem for some though Hours Too seemed to have no problems and they were again nearly 2 minutes quicker than Time To Go, next fastest. Melody & Spindrift were next, Pattie B Too was fastest of the Typhoons on this leg with 1^st Place in last place on the leg but still finishing 1^st of the 3 Typhoons by 5 minutes, adrift of Sage by 3 minutes on the water, less than 2 minutes on handicap.

Time keeping was by the Price family A team, Jacquie, Rube & Norma with heckling from Big Jim. (Actually he was reading his book but he can heckle with just a look).

2008 Season starts with gentle opener 29^th June

 Just 4 boats made it to the line yesterday but it was a pretty high quality field with Spindrift and Time To Go being joined by Melody and Pattie B Too.

The weather earlier in the day had looked distinctly unpromising and after a front came through about 11.00 there was no wind at all by noon.  As the boats rigged however, things improved, the sun came out and brought a gentle breeze with it.

Virginia Ayres and friend Peggy kindly offered to do the Race Officer duties and handled it immaculately after just a few minutes of explanation before the start.

Spindrift led off Pattie B Too with Time To Go and Melody starting 10 minutes later. Bob Wilbur stepped in at the last minute to crew Celia Whitehead in Spindrift while Jim & Jacquie Price were having their first sail of the season in Pattie B Too,  having just rigged it for the first time, minutes before the start. Nick & Wendy were joined by Mary Hobart in Time To Go while Peter Blachly was sailing on his own in Melody.

The course was the usual beat up to the Sheep Island Buoy against the beginnings of an incoming tide and after the first leg, Spindrift had opened up a 7 minute lead on Pattie B Too who was now concerned to fight off the advancing Time To Go, now less than a minute behind and Melody a further 3 minutes adrift. On the first leg over to Sheep Time to Go took Pattie B and Melody was breathing down her neck at the start of the second lap. Time To Go had closed to within 4 minutes of Spindrift at the head of the field and were right on their tail as they rounded Sheep. Down wind however they could make no impression and it wasn’t till they started over to Rich Man’s for the last time that Spindrift had to give up the lead in spite of trying to luff up Time To Go on the reach. The race finished with Time To Go ahead of Spindrift, Melody and Pattie B Too but what would the outcome be on handicap? Will the Lightnings finally make an appearance next week? Who else has a sleek craft lurking under canvas in the woods?

Closely fought “warm up” in testing conditions

The pre season warm up on June 22^nd 2008 was sailed in difficult conditions and a threatening sky in the offing. Just three boats made it to the line albeit, in the case of Jim Loney in first timer Peapod, a trifle late. Taking on Spindrift was another new comer, Time To Go literally having it’s first sail in the hands of Brightwater Dog Warden, Nick Price ably crude crewed by Wendy, Mary & Virginia. Both the larger boats got away cleanly at 2pm with Peapod being given a start time of 14.10 in deference to something or other.

With Spindrift seeming to point higher but going slower up the first beat, Time To Go could only just cross in front after their first tack by Sheep. With the tide still coming in strongly it should have been good to stay by the island, out of the tide but it also seemed to be out of the wind and when the Sonar rounded the mark first, Spindrift had already lost a lot of ground over by the island, this was ultimately to cost them the race. As the boats headed back to HoJo the wind shifted dramatically to the East and what would have been a broad reach to Rich Man’s became a run. That was fine but the leg back from Rich Man’s became a beat and decisions had to be made about where the wind and tide would most affect the boats. The wind continued to shift periodically and there were the odd heavy gusts but the pattern had been set and Time To Go gradually extended their lead to the finish. Would it be enough? Peapod completed one lap and their time was doubled to put them on an equal footing with the other two boats and at the finish just 3 minutes 17 seconds separated the three boats on handicap with Time To Go taking a narrow 38 second win from Spindrift ably sailed by Celia with Lori & Harris as crew.

The 7 sailors retired to the Price Cabin where the usual tactics were discussed, buns were displayed eaten and excuses offered, Time To Go having dragged their propeller in the water around the course and Spindrift losing the race when virtually becalmed by Sheep Island on the first leg. With the first official race next Sunday, 29^th June and the season finale 10 races later on August 31^st the best 5 results will count for the championship, ties to be decided on 1^st places, then 2^nd etc.

You don’t need to be a hotshot to sail and you don’t need the fastest boat to win. Last year we only managed 7 races because of the weather and 7 different boats won a race each.

Come and join the fun.