Late August racing for the Bembridge Redwings and One-Designs
by Mike Samuelson 27 Aug 2018 06:39 BST
20-26 August 2018
Late August racing at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson
The breeze had decreased considerably from the previous day when nine Redwings and three One-Designs headed over to Seaview on Monday morning for the second day of SVYC's annual Regatta.
After two rounds of a triangular course off Seaview, the Redwings had a long reach across to Moreton before what had been planned as a beat into Under Tyne to finish, but unfortunately it ended with a close reach when the breeze backed to the South which was a pity. The start was a typical Seaview reaching start; Rory Morrison in Skua was first round the turning mark closely pursued by James Wilson in Quail and David McCue in Musicus. On the run out the leeward mark Quail took over the lead and never looked like subsequently relinquishing it. Indeed by the finish was two and a half minutes ahead of Musicus with Skua only five seconds later after a very close race. Mid-fleet Jonathan Nainby-Luxmoore in Snow Goose, Tom Scott in Siskin and Meri Benham in Paroquet were also quite close with only thirty five seconds separating them.
The three One-Designs meanwhile had a slightly shorter course at Seaview so reached Moreton before the breeze backed so had a challenging beat to the finishing line at Under Tyne. Mark Grzegorczyk, sailing single handed, in No 9 led virtually from the start and was well ahead after the Seaview circuit, helped after Hugh Doherty & Anna Row in No 10 and Alexander & Sophie Ross in No 12 got tangled up at the windward mark after a Seaview Mermaid had stalled trying to also round it at the same time. On rounding Moreton therefore it looked as if Mark was going to be the walk away winner, however with the breeze flicking 15º it became clear than the other two boats were rapidly catching up; indeed with about 25m to the line Alexander in No 11 managed to take over the lead and Mark had to make do with second finishing seventeen seconds later with Hugh close behind. However, in the bar afterwards Alexander decided to retire after in became clear that he had hit No 10 in the chaos of the windward mark at Seaview, which therefore meant that Mark won the Bullin Cup.
There was a nice gentle breeze on Monday morning; although slightly surprisingly there were no Redwings (quite a few helms were spotted helping grandchildren who were doing Shrimps Week!), it did make it easier for sorting out the One-Designs who were programmed for the Burrows single-handed race and an August points race. Seven helms entered the former which traditionally starts from the moorings with sails rigged but not raised; Russ Fowler in No 1 was first away, hotly pursued by Alexander Ross in No 12 and Hugh Doherty in No 10. After a short run to a laid inflatable before a beat to Footprint and a reach to Under Tyne, Russ had an unassailable lead and finished thirty seconds ahead of Alexander with Hugh twenty seconds later. Sophie Ross in No 8 was fourth.
For the August points race, the single-handers were joined by D Orange & William Bland in No 2 and Penny Stanley & David Bennett in No 5. Using the inflatable for the line, Garland as the windward mark and Ruthven as the leeward mark with the finish at Under Tyne via Fitzwilliam, the nine boats had an excellent race. Mark in No 9 was OCS but was able to rectify easily, just missing hitting the pin in the process. Sophie in No 8, John Suffield in No 4 and Hugh in No 10 lead the way on the long run to Ruthven however by the time they got there Russ in No 1 had made it to the front. With split tacks on the beat back to Garland it was difficult to anticipate the order that they would round it, but in the event it was Mark who came out ahead of Hugh with Sophie close behind. As happened the day before, the breeze began backing to the south for the final leg from Fitzwilliam to Under Tyne; however this time Mark git it right and finished just under a minute ahead of Hugh with Sophie holding onto third, a minute later. D in No 2 was fourth.
With little or no breeze initially on Tuesday morning, racing did not look promising, however three Redwings and six One-Designs decided to give it a go. The One-Designs were competing for the Cartwright Prize which traditionally calls for an old Olympic style course (triangle - sausage - triangle) so it made sense for the Redwings to do the same. Although for most of the race there was a 4 - 6 knot breeze, the tricky part was that it varied from SW/S/WSW which made course setting tricky and choosing the right way to go even harder.
Rory Morrison in Skua led for about half the Redwing race but Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II reeled him in and took over the lead as they made their way back from Under Tyne to the inflatable leeward mark to complete the 'sausage'. With the breeze continuing to fluctuate, the course was shortened at Under Tyne after it had been changed back to Garland as the windward mark. Red Gauntlet II finished just over a minute ahead of Skua. Redwing retired after rounding Garland.
The six One-Designs meanwhile also had a challenging race. That said, Mark Grzegorczyk with Peter Truman crewing in No 3 took a punt on the first beat to Footprint and on to Garland by heading inshore and rounded well ahead of the other five who had headed towards Priory Bay. Hugh Doherty in No 10 and D Orange & William Bland in No 12 were the closest to him but were never a serious threat. Indeed Mark ended up finishing twenty three minutes ahead of D who got well ahead of the others on the final beat to Garland. The rest of the fleet ended up very close at the finish with less than a minute separating Penny Stanley & Anna Row in No 9 who came in third and Alexander & Sophie Ross in No 11 who were sixth.
The Westerly F5, forecasted to go up to F6, breeze on Thursday morning made for more exciting racing for the seven One-Designs, two of which were also competing for the Margetson Trophy (family pairs). In view of the forecast, the course for the first race was kept well inshore; the pin was Under Tyne with Garland to port as the windward mark, Tara to port twice round and the finish at Under Tyne. In the event the breeze did not get up so as they were all rigged with storm sails it took 70 minutes for Anna Row with Dominic Powell in No 8 to finish ahead of Ashleigh & Morgan McLucas in No 6 with Charles Evans & Freddie Rusling in No 10 third.
For their second race, everyone swapped to normal jibs but even that put them under canvassed as the NNW'erly breeze remained under 10 knots. With Footprint as the windward mark and Tara as the leeward mark, the race was shortened after the first round. Mark Grzegorczyk & Peter Truman in No 3 won it finishing ahead of John Suffield & Helen Mathieson in No 4; D Orange & William Bland in No 12 were third. No 6 with Morgan helming was sixth and No 10 with Freddie helming was seventh which meant that Ashleigh & Morgan won the Margetson Trophy.
Friday's forecast was for stronger winds building as the morning progressed; in the event, however, there was a pretty steady, strength-wise anyway, F4 Westerly. Having agreed there would be one 'not too long course' the five One Designs started ahead of the four Redwings as they were ready first. Just for a change, the initial windward mark was Old Church which made a nice beat from the line at Under Tyne. Most went up the left side of the course, although Norman & Sophie Marshall in No 7, after trying for a port tack 'flyer' went right. D Orange & William Bland in No 12 were on a charge and rounded Old Church a country mile ahead of Mark Gregorczyk & Helen Mathieson in No 1 with Hugh Doherty in No 10 and Alexander Ross & Sarah Marshall in No 11 a bit further behind. After a testing run to Tara and beat back to Garland, D continued to dominate from the front; Mark remained in second and Alexander got ahead of Hugh. On the final round back to Garland via Under Tyne, Mark reduced the deficit considerably (to thirty seconds) but not enough to get D too concerned. Alexander was third nine seconds ahead of Hugh.
The four Redwings had the same course; Nick Woolgar in Goose was the early leader having tacked up the left side of the course, however Peter Grimaldi in Redwing, who went right was not far behind at Old Church. On the circuit back to Garland via Tara, Peter got ahead but by then had Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II snapping at his heels. Joe worked his way into the lead on the final run and despite best efforts, Peter was unable to break his covering on the final beat to Garland and had to watch Joe crossing the finishing line seven seconds ahead. Nick was third just over a minute later and Mike & Katherine Toogood in Tara, having battled with a problem with their main halyard brought up the rear.
Saturday morning certainly kept the Race Officers busy as not only was it the Jeannie Cochrane final but also the re-scheduled Redwing Crew race and the One-Design's Jubilee Trophy. The three Redwings in the JC final, Matt Alexander in Harlequin, Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II and James Wilson in Quail had a very close race with probably the closest finish that anyone can remember. Starting and finishing at Fitzwilliam with Derrick as the windward mark and Cochrane as the leeward mark, they had two long-ish beats and a long run. Reaching Cochrane neck and neck, Harlequin and Red Gauntlet II managed to get ahead of Quail in the shifty NNW'erly breeze. With 50m to go to the line it was impossible to predict the winner; indeed it was still touch and go with only boat lengths to go, however Matt got the break and just managed to 'shoot the line' close to the pin (Fitzwilliam) to finish a foot ahead of Joe.
The three Redwings competing in the Crew race had the same course; after an excellent start, Robert Pigot helming Siskin choose the best side of the course to Derrick and rounded ahead of Will Gosling in Gosling and Woo Cole in Goose. Although Woo managed to move into second by the end of the race, she was unable to close the gap on Robert who therefore won the cup.
In the meantime the four most successful One-Design helms were competing for the Jubilee Trophy. Anna Row with D Orange as her crew won the first race, with Hugh Doherty & Robin Joy second, Alexander & Sophie Ross were third and Mark Grzegorczyk & Rob Mathieson were fourth. In the second race, having changed boats, Alexander was first, Mark second, Hugh third and Anna was fourth. After another boat change, the final race saw all four boats make an excellent start and there was little in it as they rounded Britten and ran down to Tara. There was then a bit of an altercation between the front three with Alexander coming out worse off which meant that Anna came in first and therefore was the overall winner of the Jubilee Trophy.
Thirteen Redwings and two One-Designs (most of the other likely helms were 'raced out' after the morning's races) had excellent races in the afternoon for the BHYC Regatta cups. After quite a tricky start when the breeze backed in the final minute and at least half the fleet had to tack onto port to cross the line, Colin Samuelson in Toucan, Bruce Huber helming Blue Jay II and Robin Ebsworth in Quintessence held kept to the left of the course on starboard tack. Blue Jay II led the was round Derrick with Toucan and James Wilson in Quail close behind. After a slow run to Tara and another testing beat to Nainby, Toucan had taken the lead, albeit not by much. Quail was third with John Raymond in Harlequin and Lucy Benham in Paroquet battling it out for the next two places. On the final run back to Tara and beat to the finish at Under Tyne, Bruce managed to sneak ahead of Colin and after just over an hour and a half race, crossed the line over half a minute ahead. James was third, five minutes later. No sooner had John in Harlequin finished in fourth, and much to the advantage of the back markers, the breeze then backed to the south and the beat became a close fetch.
The two One-Designs in the meantime sailed a similar but slightly shorter course; although they quite often split tacks, they ended up very close round each of the buoys. That is until the penultimate leg from Footprint to Tara when No 5, helmed by James Beart had to stop to pick up his crew (his father Syd) who had fallen over the side after the mainsail had gybed unexpectedly! Although out of contention by the time Syd was back onboard, they nevertheless continued and finished the race as they had previously noted that No 7, helmed by young Ella Batt under the watchful eye of Norman Marshall, had failed to round Tara correctly earlier in the race. After a subsequent 'discussion' after the race, Norman agreed to retire.
Sunday afternoon lived up to the forecast (F7 Southerly with heavy rain) and all racing was cancelled. Obviously a real shame. Hopefully the improvement forecast for Bank Holiday Monday will materialise! After that it's back to weekend racing as another summer begins to wind down.