Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club

Our usual editor has an injured arm and can't drive so here's a late subs report....

Summer made a brief appearance for a lovely shorts and t shirt evening race. The wind was pretty much due west, allowing a bank start, which helps the duty team considerably, and a small but perfectly formed course of FX32 was set. And the breeze stayed pretty steady strength wise at a low F2 throughout with no huge lulls and just some gentle gusts. All very peaceful, except for the racing that is. Some argy bargy in the fast start resulted in at least one boat over (who returned) and later on the first reach the Phantom and an RS400 engaged in a dramatic luffing match that did neither party any good. In Richard's defence he was probably wise to protect his wind, especially as it was a close reach but Harry's unfamiliarity with the long bowsprit of an RS400 meant he was unsure about his ability to nip below the Phantom's stern when Richard made his defensive move. Both boats proceeded up to mark 8 allowing a bit of overtaking below.

Meanwhile in the slow fleet the N12 had nailed the favoured bank end of the start line and proceeded merrily around the course pretty much unthreatened. True, the fleet did close up a lot on the first run but then Mike and Sophie seemed to get decisively clear again upwind and even when passed by the leading RS400 was able to claw it all back and more on a run where Douglas & Ian gybed at the mark onto port just as the wind went right and proceed to sail on the unfavoured gybe into one of the aforementioned lulls.

Although gentle in nature the wind, as hinted just now, was swinging greatly, so much so that Kevin, having failed to fetch mark 2 on one circuit, had a senior moment the next time at mark 3 as he rounded up and got a good way to mark 1 before realising that the wind had gone considerably left. 

From the results I see that Caroline is back sailing her Byte after a long injury layoff, which is very welcome. Mike Storey won the race, which pleased him greatly after a series of technical problems in his National 12 this year. Andy Barnett was second in his RS200 and Kevin Pearson 3rd in the Laser despite his "senior" detour. Ian and Douglas took 4th in the RS400, Paul Playle 5th, and Harry Curtis, with Harry Phelps at the back this week, was 6th in a very lightweight RS400. 

The personal handicap went to Mike Jones & Uta in the Vision again, with Douglas and Ian 2nd, Caroline 3rd, Harry and Harry 4th, John Magrath 5th in his Laser, and Maisie Bristow in a Vision 6th.

Overall, well you need to pay close attention to the results because so far I haven't combined results for people sailing multiple boats. Mike Curtis is leading so far, but with a good number of people in close attendance. In the personal handicap, on the other hand, Mike Jones is well clear, discarding a win.