The Final Countdown - Race 8/8

The Final Countdown – Race 8/8

Conditions: NW moderate. Big shifts coming off the land. It's shifty, shifty, very very shifty....its very shifty!

Before the last race the race for the championships was tied between Mark Tait and Paul Kameen. We were on 23rd (dropped a place overnight as a result of a protest, which allowed someone to leapfrog us.)

Gate starts again today. The first is abandoned halfway after a huge header causes the starting procession to turn sharply into the melee of waiting boats. We are quite relieved after a second rate start, it being very crowded at the pin end.

The second start we take off with some space about half way along the line. Great, but the pathfinder is released just as we go, and tacks right on top of us. To make matters worse this is the boat we have to beat to gain a place in the series.

Crikey it’s shifty out there. Did I say that already? The boats that got away early are able to make more of the shifts. Peter and Dawn are 4th around the w-ward mark. We get there in the early 20’s with Dave&Betty on our tails. The boats that went left did best.

It’s opposite on the 2nd beat. A few boats head far right and overtake everyone to the w-ward mark. Nigel Wakefield goes so far right you’d think he was going home. But he effectively cuts a huge corner and comes out 100m in the lead. We play it safer up the middle-right and gain a few places, rounding in 19th.

The wind fills in on the final reaches and we manage to catch another, and some more on the final beats to finish 15th, just catching Peter&Dawn at the end. Sorry about that P&D!

At the front, Nigel manages to win the race, but the Chapionship is secured by Paul Kameen by keeping Mark Tait a few boats behind in the final beat. A series decided on the final beat of the final race – now that is proper job!
It has been a great week of sailing with some really challenging conditions. Our hands are raw, legs bruised and thighs aching. It looks like everyone feels the same, pretty much slumping into the bilges across the finishing line.

Our last score is enough to push us up to 21st out of 69 in the series, just inside the top-third where we were aiming to be. We are stoked. With no discards and including the practice race (Rothman’s Tropy) we have finished 14th overall. Whoaa, that’s worth the bruises – eh Liz! Thanks to Liz for putting up with me and being a top top crew!

Phil & Jilly finished top RSC boat, and 16th overall. Nice one guys.

Now for prize giving and the short drive back to sunny Kernow!

Catcha Later,
Ben

Cornish Olympics

Cornish Olympics

Twas fancy dress night, and the theme was Olympics, but to no ones surprise some of the Cornish contingent showed up in full Pirate costume. ARRRRR!

The contest for best dress was between a pair of gymnasts and a group of synchronised dancers who won with an impressive piece of choreography on the dance floor.

Liz and I won nothing for our Olympic efforts, but did win the day’s buddy prize with our buddies Lucy and Rachael (Buddies are allocated to eachother at the beginning of the week). Their 29th added to our 7th was the lowest buddy-score of the day.

One more race to go. Catcha later, Ben

Full Frontal - Race 7/8

Full Frontal - Race 7/8



This one was a gate start, so we went early to make the most of the shifts. We got a clean start, clean air, and hey presto, crossed off all bar a couple of the entire fleet. 4th to the windward mark. What a great feeling - its supposed to be easy from here, but we were sailing with butterflies now! After a long reach we began a long run. Liz even managed to get this photo in-between trimming the jib, bailing, and feeding her helm water! What a crew!! And just to be clear - thats looking behind, not infront!




The course was a Trapezoid, Sausage, Trapezoid, Beat to finish. We held off as many as we could, but the sailors at this end of the fleet arent just quick they are tactical and aggressive. we finished 7th overall - our best result yet.



Talking about great crews, check out 8yr old Ella, the lightest crew in the series, sailing with Dad Dan.

























We are now lying 22nd. Just inside the top third where we wanted to be. There's only 7 points between us and 19th - so a good result tomorrow might move us up the board. Here's hoping.

Now for a beer,

Catcha later,
Ben

PS. Thanks for all your comments and support - keep them coming.

A standing start - race 6/8

A Standing Start - Race 6/8

Conditions ssw light - moderate. Sunshine at last. Then Rain. Then neither.

Now we are 8 Restronguet boats in Torquay, with Guy English arriving overnight to join us.

After yesterdays racing, where the right hand side of the course was so favoured, there were a lot of boats trying to start at the commitee boat end of the line (line start). We were one of them. The first start went well but a general recall was called for a secont start with the I-Flag rule in play. Again we tried our luck at the committee boat end of the line, but we werent able to keep the boat moving in the thick of the melee, and came off the line slowly/stopped. A few tacks got us to the right and eventually out of the worst of the dirty air - which was everywhere.

in short, it was always going to be difficult to get back among the leaders, but slowly we picked off a few boats here and there to finish 25. Not a bad recovery. Phil&Jilly got away into clear air fast and wriggled their way into the leaders, finishing a fantastic 2nd. Dave&Betty sailed a similar race to us, managing to come up through the fleet after a dirty start, finishing 27th.

Sophie missing her usual form said "I seem to have prefected the art of going sideways instead of forwards. I can't wait to get back to Cornwall and get a load of practice in". RSC, it seems, is the place to be, and the envy of many of the National fleet.

A big falling out - The Gore - race 5/8

Conditions today:
Moderate SW with some marginal planing conditions - OUR WIND!

The big story today is for 2nd place; our local heros from RSC Peter and Dawn Langdon lead the Sir Ralph Gore Cup race for 12 of the gruelling 13 miles, before generoulsy handing it to someone who hadnt won it before, 38 years ago.

How was it for the rest of us?

The race was dominated by the conditions at the start. After two general recalls the black flag was flown and ensured a more obedient start. But the gun went as the wind begun a huge 40 degree shift to the right. The further right you were on the line, the better. We got a great start, but 3/4 down the line we were 1/4 mile behind the leaders within minutes. Of course we weren't on our own, but it was going to be a long fight back from the back of the fleet, rounding the windward mark in about 50th.

But its a long race, and we were going like a train. By the last beat, 3 hours later, we had gained about 35 places. But then disaster happened. A few hundred meters from the line Liz missed her footing on a tack and slipped overboard. Having filled up with water in the process we lost 16 places before limping over the line in 31st. Argh!


It's a blow and cost us a load of places in the series, but you cant dwell on these things. The positive is we were going really fast in the first place, and that will give us confidence going into the last 2 days.

However, that just might be a nomination for the Duckhams Award for Gross Over-achievement.

Now Neil, I have read your comments from the begining of the week and its worth saying that Liz, when she is in the boat, is the best crew anyone could hope for. Her agility on the reaches alone must have won us 20 places today. So unless you reckon you could do a better job yourself, I suggest you button it.

Catch lata, Ben

Langdons lead Gore

Today Peter and Dawn Langdon lead 68 boats in the Sir Ralph Gore Cup race, 38 years after they fist won this prestigious prize. The Restonguet veterans lead the race, a minimum 13 nautical mile marathon, for twelve miles, succumbing at last to the boat currently leading the Championship series, Paul kameen. Paul said "Peter and Dawn showed us the way around, but we were lucky to get them in the end. I wasnt even born the first time they won this Cup! When we finally got abreast of them on the final reach Peter called over "We wondered when you lot would show up!"

We are expecting the largest cheer ever for 2nd place at prize-giving tonight. Never mind Paul, you did well too!

Roller coaster riding – Race 4/8

Roller coaster riding – Race 4/8

Windy and choppy sums up the conditions today, gusting over 20 knots from the SW. These aren’t our best conditions – being light we struggle in heavy weather, but having said that there are plenty of other lightweights in the fleet too!

Today we took off from the far righthand end of the gate start. This was a good with clear air and open water, getting to the windward mark around 20th. The reaches were amazing, fast wave-riding planing all the way, and here we were able to make up a few places. Liz makes a superb spray deflector!!

In the end we finished 26th after a gruelling 1.5hr slog. Everyone looks as knackered as we feel right now.

The race wasn’t without incident. Several boats capsized around the course, and we only just escaped a swim by the narrowest of margins ourselves.

A couple of protests were made too. We are witness to one of the incidents, a barge on the leeward mark that messed us and another boat up. The protest hearing will be held at 1900 this evening.

Tonight the crews and helms split – the helms to the ‘Helms Dinner’ and the crews to the rather less sophisticated ‘Crews Union’, where it seems food is banned and potent punch is obligatory. But what would I know – the details of this dubious organisation are closely guarded secrets.

Tomorrow the fleet gets split in half on the racecourse too – the front half of the fleet racing for the most prestigious prize in Firefly racing, the “Sir Ralph Gore Cup”, whilst the remaining boats sail in the Marlow with a new mainsheet on offer for the winner. Entrants into the Gore are worked out by results in the previous races, so with our 9th we will qualify for the Gore. The Gore is a marathon of a race, with a time limit of 4.5 hours – more on that later.

We are still praying for lighter winds over the next few days.

Catch lata,
Ben

Flying the flag - Race 3/8

Flying the flag - Race 3/8
The race committee got the 2nd race started nice and quickly, with the 10th boat from the previous race acting as pathfinder for the gate start. A second rate start on our part left us fighting for clean air from the middle of the fleet, while Dave&Betty (RSC) and Rod&Jamie (RSC) got away nicely. Phil and Jilly meanwhile got caught off guard eating their lunch off to the side of the racecourse while everyone else started; A very rare mistake from the ever consistent Slaters.

Rod&Jamie sailed a fantastic race to finish 14th and 1st RSC boat, with us 3 places behind in Kong.

Looking at the results we currently have 5 RSC boats in the top 30, and that is before any discards take effect. (Lowest score is deducted once 4 races complete)

See the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/hosted2008/fire/fireos.html

Back home now with a Cornish cream tea – and some V tired legs on the table…and who’s that on TV? It’s us lot on the news – corr we’re famous!

To his great relief Patrick escaped the dubious honour of the Duckhams award last night. Interesting to see the RTYC have a bouncer on their door – to keep riffraff out or Firefly sailors in, we’re not sure!

A clean getaway – race 2/8

A clean getaway – race 2/8

Conditions: W 15mph – 20mph in the rain squalls. Shifty.

It’s a happy chaos launching 70 boats from the slipway in Torquay, launching and tacking out of the busy, narrow harbour. The RTYC are doing a great job marshalling us and looking out for us, but it’s even more fun on the way back in!

Two races back to back today. The first is a line start for a change, and we get away nice and clean in the middle of the line with a fairly big line-sag behind us. Jonathan – you can have fun explaining that one to everyone – if in doubt ask Ellen.

In a big fleet like this it really pays to get a good start and we managed to keep the advantage around the course, finishing 9th after 1.5hrs - The reaches were superb, and the waves were great along the runs. Our first National top-10 result...stoked!

See the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/hosted2008/fire/fireos.html

Five Ringed Fireflies

Five Ringed Fireflies
Yachting journalist Dave Henshall delivered a fascinating account of the 1948 Torquay Olympics to a somewhat captive audience! The Firefly was chosen as the single-handed class, and working with NMMC Dave has researched the event in match-of-the-day detail and uncovered some terrific images. Exactly 60 years ago to the day, sailing singlehanded in jumpers and oilskins the sailors battled away for Olympic glory. Paul Elvstrom took gold in very similar conditions to those we have this week – decidedly un-summery!

Firefly No 1 ‘Fe’ and Peter Scott’s Olympic Monotype both received mentions, and are of course both among NMMCs collection of famous boats.

Dave’s account will be published in ‘Dinghy Sailing’ magazine out 6th August.