B Series so far

Four races have now been completed in the B Series. The results are extremely close in most of the fleets so the handicaps are working well. I have included a link to the results so far below. Of course everything could change with B5 and B6. As long as we get two races in next Saturday each sailor gets to discard their worst race result from the series.

Luckily the wind filled in enough to make the second race of on the 11th February a club champs race. I will get the results of the champs up to CC6 up on the website soon. Remember the champs have no handicaps so the results will look different to the A and the B Series.

B-Series so far

Rob Ebert put in a bit of extra training after the last race and while attempting to execute a smooth gybe he locked his tiller extension into the Zimmer frame and rolled into an elegant capsize. Clearly 'Dorsal Fin' material. Apparently the water quality is still acceptable. There were also two blood bin retirements - the aptly named Ralph Skinner and John S A Elliott (Static Agility).

Points Races P7 & P8

Light winds from anywhere in the west kept the sailors busy. No lap was like the previous one. It was good to see a couple of Opti Green sailors out on the race course with Sara Pairaudeau showing real staying power completing both races. Results below.

Points Races P7 & P8

(Remember that these races are scored using skippers personal handicaps to adjust the times).

For those keen to work out a puzzle, have a look at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place Zephyrs. They all ended up with 6 points but different places. Do you know how ties are separated using standard low point scoring?

Sprints 2 and more

Last Saturday the second half of the season got off to a start. Perfect wind, perfect sky, perfect lake level, marginally dubious race officer (but 3 out of 4 isn't bad). Unfortunately Jan 14th coincides with peak holiday season and the P fleet were in travelling mode competing in the P Nationals at Murrays Bay in Auckland.

2 Farr 3.7s, 7 Lasers, 5 Zephyrs, 1 Starling, and 2 Optimists signed in. The course was a simple triangle with a long beat the length of the lake for the senior classes and slightly shorter for the smaller boats. 1 minute spacing between the starts for the 5 fleets kept the skippers and the tower staff on their toes.

Unfortunately a period of boisterous wind in the second race forced a few retirements in the 3.7, Zephyr, Starling, and Optimist fleets. The hardy Laser sailors battled on and the wind soon settled back to a solid 10-15kts leading to ideal racing conditions.

For full results click on the link below. Duncan White was a clear winner in the Lasers but he was kept honest by Ken Atchison, Duncan Barnard, and Chris Raynes. Unfortunately Jonathan McMullan continued his program of testing equipment to the point of failure and blew out his mylar mainsail.

Sprint Series 2

Its a busy time of year with lots of away regattas and Optisail starting on the 19th Jan at HYC. Congratulations to Isaac McHardie on back to back wins in the Tanner Cup and also for winning the Tauranga Cup. Congratulations also to all the HYC P Class sailors at the Tauranga Cup. HYC was very well represented and I am sure further reports from these two P Class events will be circulated soon.

Xmas Regatta 2011

There was a strong sense of optimism emanating from the sailors attending the breifing at 1000hr. Although the start of the race was postponed pending the wind deciding which direction it would blow from, there was this unsaid belief that the weather forecasters had it wrong. The wind wasn't going to fill in from the undesirable northeast, and those predictions of heavy rain showers and thunderstorms were well wide of the mark. The major factor responsible for this optimism came in the form of a fleet of Zephyrs.

A fleet of 7 boats is not a bad sized fleet and since the Zephyr skipper's mantra runs - we don't do rain, we don't do northerlies, we don't do no wind, we don't do thunder and lightning (or hail or snow etc) - the forecast was clearly incorrect and on this occasion the meteorolgists had made a blue. Clever though their computer models are, this time the Waikato weather was not going to sing to their tune.

Though the healthy optimism was a little shaken by the appearance of a northeast breeze, it was not until race three that we all conceded just how clever those weather models are. It is truly remarkable the quantity of water that can come out of a cloud and also how unnerving it is to sit underneath a tall conductor or electricity (a boat mast) while thunder rumbles and booms overhead. Fortunately the Race Officer Jim Brokenshire took pity on the well washed fleet and abandoned the last scheduled race.

Racing was followed by a short prize giving, then Santa appeared and somewhat violently distributed some not so healthy food options (no doubt he had also been led astray weather wise by the Zephyr fleet), then sailors and supporters settled down to a fine Xmas feast. Many thanks must go to team of people who made the day such a success. Click on the link below to see the results.

Xmas Regatta Results 2011

Aggregate so far

The Aggregate results are worked out by combining the results of the A, B, C, Twilight Series and the Points Races. No discards, no handicaps, and scoring using the HYC high points system. It ends up being a combination of turning up regularly and getting in some good performances a long the way that wins it. Have a look at the results below. It is quite interesting how some of the sailors who don't often win a race can still build up an impressive score because they are willing to turn out regularly even if the forecast is a bit iffy (like the Xmas Regatta where the conditions were atmospheric but thats another post).

Aggregate results for the first half of the season