28/3/05

The first race of the new season at Downs SC began on Easter Sunday in a Force 3/4 Northerly wind. The rain and sea mist had cleared and the chilly conditions helped to blow away the winter cobwebs from the fifteen crews that started the race. A few new boats had appeared over the winter including two Laser 4000s for Chris Stubbs and Mitch Webb/Rick Clemence. The start was fiercely contested and the short first beat close to shore ensured that helmsmans' lungs were well exercised in calling for water. The faster RS800s of Dom Johnson and Rory Sharvill pulled away along with the RS400 of Richard White and Martyn Styles. The first reach of the trapezoidal course was quite tight for the spinnakers but the tide helped the boats to make the mark and on the following run there was less tide inshore but more wind out to sea and so judging when to gybe was critical. The two Buzzes of Steve Restall and Simon Cory had a close battle until Simon's crew Penny sustained a head injury from a trapeze handle and they dropped back. Nigel Cureton in a Contender was going well and Clare Stubbs and Roger Phillips in an RS200 kept the faster boats in their sights. The wind increased in strength during the race and then swung more to the East before dropping away slightly for the tail-enders. Although the RS800 and 400 were first over the line, it was Steve and Katie Restall in their Buzz who won on Handicap.

Results: Spring Points 1 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 2nd Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 3rd Simon Cory and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 4th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 5th Nigel Cureton (Contender) 6th Dom Johnson and Jenny Heeley(RS800)
 

On Easter Monday, sixteen boats competed for the Marquis Medallion. The start of the race was delayed to allow the sea breeze to settle, which it eventually did from a Southerly direction, Force 1-2. The first leg was a beat against the tide towards Dover. The RS800s of Dom Johnson and Rory Sharvill were again to the fore, along with the RS400 of Richard White. Eric Styles and Rick Clements in their Hornet were also in contention. Steve and Katie Restall had opted to start inshore, out of the tide, but in less breeze and this relegated them to a mid- fleet position at the windward mark. Ed and Sarah Styles led the Buzz fleet. On the final lap, the tide increased and several boats were unable to make the offshore mark and retired or dropped down the rankings. The Restalls had been steadily working their way back up the fleet and were able to pass Ed and Sarah on the penultimate leg but were too far behind the leaders to make up their handicap.

Results: Marquis Medallion 1st Richard White and Martyn Styles
(RS400) 2nd Eric Styles and Rick Clemence (Hornet) 3rd Dom Johnson and Adam Heeley (RS800) 4th Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 5th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 6th Rory Sharvill and James Cooke (RS800)
 

27/2/05

The Hoo Freezer race on the River Medway lived up to it's name on Sunday with a bitingly cold Force 5-6 North-Easterly wind and frequent flurries of snow contributing to a minus 13 degrees chill factor on the water. Not surprisingly only 19 boats finished out of the 57 entrants, but those hardy sailors included Eric and Richard Styles from Downs SC sailing a Hornet who finished in 10th place, Tim Ellis (Laser Radial) in 5th Place and Chris Catt sailing an RS200 in 6th

In contrast, the event began on Saturday with a Practise race in ideal conditions, a Force 2-3 Northerly and relatively mild temperatures. The boats were split into fast, medium and slow handicap fleets The race officer set a long course with a short fetch to start, in the Medium Handicap fleet, Chris Catt, crewed by Mark Heather in an RS200 got a good start, with Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan in a Buzz just behind. After a reach and a run, there was then a long tight reach down the river towards the estuary. Chris and Penny were able to make good use of the spinnaker to pass the slower RS200 and pull out a good lead on the other Buzzes. At the end of the reach was a beat to a windward mark set close to the fort and then a reach back. The long leg back up the river was a fetch which was too close for the spinnaker, as was discovered by the helm of a Laser Vortex who rounded the wing mark with his spinnaker up and promptly took a dip in the icy river. Chris and Penny were lying in second position and on the next lap were able to make headway on the leading Merlin Rocket on the run. However, on the long fetch back up river, the wind began to swing round to a more North-Westerly direction which allowed the leading boat to pull away leaving Chris and Penny in second place on the water. When the handicaps were taken into account and the results combined with the Fast and Slow fleets, Chris Catt and Mark Heather were 6th and Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan were 9th.

But on Sunday the weather took a turn for the worst. On the journey up the M2 to Hoo the car was buffeted by the strong North-Easterly wind and flurries of snow and a deep layer of snow had to be removed from the boat. During rigging, once the mainsail was up, the boat had to be held down to stop it being blown off the trolley. With help from the efficient shore crew launching was completed and then once out of the harbour, the boats felt the full force of the wind. The Buzz team from Downs Sailing club consisted of Steve and Katie Restall, Simon Jordan and Amy Sleep and Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan. Steve and Katie took an early dip while trying to gybe. But they were more fortunate than the fastest boat in the fleet, the 49er, whose mast broke in two places in a gust just before the start. The race officer used the same course as for the practise race, but the first leg was now a true beat. Simon and Amy capsized just before the windward mark and decided that one dip in the icy water was enough and retired to the safety of the clubhouse. The other two Buzzes continued with Steve and Katie leading the fleet, just ahead of the Merlin Rocket. After two screaming reaches and a gybe in front of the quay, the fleet began a long beat downriver against the tide. Chris Catt and Mark Heather kept close to the shore out of the tide and made gains on the faster boats which were blown off to leeward. As the boats reached the open estuary they began to feel the full force of the North-Easterly wind which was whipping the spray off the waves into their faces. At the windward mark, the boats accelerated rapidly as they turned downwind in clouds of spray. The first leg was a run to the wing mark and the path was dictated by a large barge which was moored halfway down the course. The area in front of this was littered with upturned boats which had capsized while attempting to gybe. Chris and Penny managed to bear off below the barge and then sensibly dropped their spinnaker and tacked round. They tacked again at the wing mark, narrowly avoiding a rescue boat and then it was a case of hanging on for another spectacular reach to the leeward mark. After crossing the finish line, the majority of the fleet decided that one lap was enough and headed back to the harbour. But Chris Catt and Eric Styles carried on to complete a second lap and finish the race. The excellent rescue crews were kept busy throughout and many exhausted competitors were towed safely back to shore.

Results: Practise Race (Downs SC boats) 6th Chris Catt and Mark Heather (RS200) 9th Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan (Buzz)

Hoo Freezer 5th Tim Ellis (Laser Radial) 6th Chris Catt and Mark Heather (RS200) 10th Eric and Richard Styles (Hornet)

30/1/05

A strong contingent of Downs sailors travelled to Lamberhurst to take part in the Bewl Blaster Open meeting at Bewl Valley Sailing Club on Sunday. The relatively mild conditions attracted a good turnout of 38 boats including last year's winners, Mark Maskell and Vic Gomez from Fishers Green SC. The light North-Westerly breeze produced a wind shadow in front of the clubhouse and so the race officer set a P-shaped course beginning at the far end of the lake.

The first race started promptly at 11am, which caught out a few of the unwary who were tardy in leaving the shore. The Buzzes of Steve and Katie Restall and Chris Dutton, crewed by Penny Jordan were quickly away at the start and kept pace with the Fireballs at the first mark. Dutton had to duck behind several starboard boats at the mark, but passed them again on the reach once the spinnaker was hoisted. Meanwhile Steve and Katie Restall had pulled ahead and were keeping the leading Fireball in their sights. Further back, the RS200 of Lucy Heather and Helen Stubbs was keeping in touch with the faster boats. After two laps, the race officer shortened course and finished the slower boats, with the faster handicaps carrying on to complete a third lap. At the finish, Downs boats dominated the first race taking three out of the top four places, the Restalls (Buzz) were first followed by Mark Maskell and Vic Gomez from Fishers Green SC, Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan (Buzz) were third and Lucy Heather and Helen Stubbs fourth.

The second race began in a slightly stronger breeze, Steve and Katie Restall again led from the start, with the RS300 of Frank Catt also in contention. Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan were steadily recovering from a poor start but were unable to catch up with the leaders. Heather and Stubbs (RS200) again held their handicap to finish in 5th place.

After a break for lunch, the racing continued with the third and final race. At the front, the Restalls continued their dominance and finished ahead of the Fireball of Maskell and Gomez. Further back, Frank Catt and Chris Dutton were having a close battle, the RS300 was pulling ahead on the beat, only to be hauled in by the Buzz of Dutton and Jordan on the reaches once the spinnaker was set. The breeze began to die away toward the end of the race, which did not favour the faster boats that had to complete an extra lap, this made the final results very tight, with only two points separating third place from eighth. Nonetheless Downs boats took four out of the top eight places including the first prize which went to Steve and Katie Restall.

Results (Downs SC boats) 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 5th Lucy Heather and Helen Stubbs (RS200) 7th Chris Dutton and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 8th Frank Catt (RS300) 35th Jeremy Blackman and Julia Brazil (Buzz)

3/1/05

With racing at Deal now in abeyance until the start of the new season  at the end of March, many members have packed up their boats for the  Winter. However, a hardy few have ventured forth to events further  inland. On New Year's day Steve and Katie Restall travelled to the  Medway to take part in the Chilly Willies race at the Wilsonian  Sailing Club. The forecasted gales did not arrive until after the  race, however a blustery force 4-5 southwesterly gave the thirteen  entries some testing but excellent planing conditions for the mid-day  start. A lapping course was set within site of spectators on the  clubhouse veranda. Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) took an early lead  with Stuart Bailey/Hannah Packman (Buzz) and Grahame Smith  (Vortex) in hot pursuit while Tony Hunt/Suzanne Hall (Laser 3000) recovered from a late start. On the second lap Bailey/Packman had a dip and Smith had gennaker problems while Hunt/Hall closed the gap on the leaders. On the third round the Restalls established a clear lead, which they held for line honours and victory on corrected time, as Hunt/Hall failed to catch up sufficiently and had to settle for runners up spot. Meanwhile Mark Bew (Phantom) and Brian Lamb/Brian Warwick (Wayfarer) steadily kept up with the leaders for third and fourth places respectively. After a late lunch Steve and Katie Restall were presented with the Chilly Willies Trophy and RNLI burgee and it was announced that entry fees had raised £100 for the RNLI.

The following day a group of Downs sailors travelled to Cambridgeshire to take part in the Grafham Grand Prix, this is one of the major Winter sailing events, with a capacity 200 entries. Early arrivals on the day found a light Southerly wind and sunshine, but by the first starts at 11am this had worked round to the West exactly as forecast and was blowing at nearly 20mph.

Under the black flag all four fleets on both tracks got away first time, with both handicap fleets and the single handers sailing trapezoid courses and the Asymmetrics and Cats sailing windward/leeward. The wind continued to build steadily during the first race, providing a lot of people with an unscheduled January swim and causing some spectacular wipeouts. A number of crews elected not to leave the comfort of clubhouse, and quite a few more retired due to gear failure or else decided that they had spent enough time in the water. As a result only 105 boats completed the first race. Steve and Katie Restall mastered the conditions to finish 7th, with the other Downs entries, Clare and Chris Stubbs in an RS200 and Simon Cory and Sarh Styles in their Buzz, finishing 18th and 19th respectively. In view of the weather forecast a break between the races had been scheduled to give both the competitors and safety crews the chance to get ashore. During lunch gusts of 35 mph were recorded and a slightly depleted fleet went afloat for race two with everything still to race for.  Once again all fleets got away first time and the wind, while still strong, did not build any further. After more hard sailing and quite a few more crews checking the quality of the Grafham water, some very tired crews headed for the shore. Steve and Katie Restall went one better than the first race to finish 6th, with Simon Cory 15th and Clare Stubbs 17th. This gave the Restalls an excellent 5th place overall with Simon Cory and Sarah Styles 15th and Clare and Chris Stubbs 17th.