October - December 2003

(26/10/03) (16/11/03) (30/11/03) (14/12/03)

The fourth race of the Winter Series took place on Sunday, the previous week's race having been cancelled due to the high winds and surf. The morning dawned bright and clear but with a blustery wind from the West. Frequent gusts of up to Force 6 shrieked through the rigging of the boats on the beach and racing looked in doubt. However, five hardy crews decided to venture forth and the race officer set a triangular course, the first leg being a reach towards Dover with a gybe in the shelter of the shore. At the start, the RS400 of Richard White and Martyn Styles was quickly away, with Simon Cory and Annie Smith in their Buzz close behind, both boats flying their spinnakers. Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman followed suit. Then a large gust just before the mark capsized the RS400 and the two following Buzzes were forced to bear off and drop their spinnakers to make the mark. On the next leg out to sea the fleet felt the full force of the wind as they came away from the shelter of the shore. The following beat was characterized by large gusts which sometimes meant the boats having to let both sails flap to stay upright. At the end of the first lap, one of the Buzzes decided to retire, but the remaining four boats continued around the course. The boats which flew their spinnakers on the leg out to sea reached some impressive speeds when the gusts hit. Although occasionally they got blown off course. On the third lap, the Buzzes of Simon Cory and Chris Dutton both capsized in a squall, but they were quickly upright again without losing too much ground. At the finish it was the experienced team of Ed and Sarah Styles, the only boat not to capsize, which took the gun.

Results: 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 3rd Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 4th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz)

Sailing Report (30/11/03)

The third race of the Winter Series took place on Sunday, the previous week's race having been abandoned when the wind died away completely. In contrast to the high winds and torrential rain of Saturday, the morning dawned bright and clear with a gentle breeze from the South. The race officer set a triangular course, the first leg being a beat towards Dover. At the start, the RS400 of Richard White and Martyn Styles was first out of the blocks, with the RS300 of Frank Catt and Ed and Sarah Styles in their Buzz close behind. the beat was with the tide and so the boats that stayed slightly further out to sea got the best of the wind and tide. After a reach out to sea, the longest leg of the course was a run towards Ramsgate against the tide. For the asymmetric boats, judging the best angle to the wind and deciding when to gybe had the biggest effect and many places were gained and lost on the run. In general, the boats which came inshore, out of the tide, fared better. Eric Styles, sailing his Hornet single-handed, was keeping pace with the leaders, although when the wind increased slightly, it became more difficult for him to keep the boat level without the extra leverage of the crew. in the slow handicap, Helen and Chris Stubbs were having a close battle with Roger Phillips and Mike Banks in their Laser 2000s but Tim Waite and John Sharvill were also in contention for most of the race. On the third lap, the wind strength suddenly dropped and the teams that could keep their boats moving through the lulls fared better. The heavier crews also lost out, this included Simon Cory and Paddy Denby in their Buzz who dropped back significantly on the beat. Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman made the greatest gains, pulling through the fleet from the back to finish in second place on handicap.

Results:

Fast Handicap 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman 3rd Frank Catt (RS300) 4th Steve Restall and Zara Brazil (Buzz) 5th Eric Styles (Hornet) 6th Richard White and Martyn Styles

(RS400)

Slow Handicap 1st Helen and Chris Stubbs (Laser 2000) 2nd Roger Phillips and Mike Banks (Laser 2000) 3rd Tim Waite and John Sharvill (Laser 2000) 4th Phil Spicer and Pat Clark (Laser 2000) 5th Rosie Lord (Topper)

Sailing Report (16/11/03)

The second race of the Winter Series took place at the Downs Sailing Club on Sunday. The gentle breeze and flat sea attracted an entry of 16 boats despite the exertions of the previous night's prize-giving dinner and the competing rugby world cup semi-final. The race officer set a running start with the tide towards Dover to allow for a longer beat away from the shore. The start was fiercely contested with the boats which gybed out to sea from the pin end of the line coming out on top, this included the two Buzzes of Steve Restall and Simon Cory and the RS300 of Frank Catt. The next leg was a tight reach out to sea which had the crews at full stretch on their trapezes. Much ground was made or lost on the long beat against the tide and Ed Styles recovered from a poor start to challenge the leaders. Further back a fierce luffing battle between Nigel Cureton and Pete Lindley allowed Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman through on the run. The RS400 of Richard White and Martin Styles was also going well, but in the end could not pull far enough away from Simon Cory and Ed Styles to beat them on handicap.

Results: 1st Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 2nd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 3rd Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 4th Frank Catt (RS300) 5th Steve Restall and James Cook (Buzz) 6th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz)

Sailing Report 26/10/03

After three weeks without sailing due to bad weather, the Downs sailors were keen to get back on the water and the large swell at high tide did not deter 10 boats from taking to sea to compete for the Norman Atkins Trophy. The format of the competition was to be three short races back to back. The Northerly Force 4, gusting to 5 provided exciting conditions and after a short beat with the tide towards Ramsgate, the fleet set off out to sea on a fast reach. The pairing of Rory Sharvil and James Cooke were sailing their RS800 for only the second time and they quickly went into the lead. However a large gust hit them at the wing mark and they capsized, allowing the chasing Buzzes and the RS400 of Richard White to pull ahead. Steve and Katie Restall, recently returned from the Buzz Inland National Championships sailed at Datchet, where they finished 4^th, pulled ahead of the other Buzzes and won the race, followed by Simon Cory and Annie Smith, with Ed and Sarah Styles in third. After a short delay to adjust the course, the second race started in a slightly stronger wind. The fleet were close together at the wing mark, but Jeremy Blackman and Rick Clemence in their Buzz went over on the gybe. The long reach against the tide towards Dover allowed the boats to reach some spectacular speeds as they surfed down the waves. However on the second lap an ominous black cloud, heralding an approaching storm, appeared over Ramsgate and headed directly towards the fleet. The race officer sensibly shortened the race and most boats turned back and headed for the shelter of the shore. Nonetheless four boats completed the race including Simon Cory who took first position and with it, the Norman Atkins Trophy.

Results: 1^st Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 2^nd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 3^rd Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 4^th Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 5^th Chris Shelton (Phantom) 6^th Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400)