26th May 2019 - Early Summer Points. That's the way to cure flu, sail anyway. However I'm not sure I can recommend it - it leaves you drained.

Race 1. In my delicate state, there was more wind than I hoped for at around a force 4 from the SW. The course was conservative, downwind only as far as 25, beat south to 26, run back to 25, and then back to the club via 28 which meant a beat back along Gillingham Reach against the falling tide, and a good blast back to the line.

No Chris Sanders as he was doing a duty but then Stuart Bailey turned up in the National Champion's boat. Oh dear, it was not turning out to be the gentle ride I was hoping for. There were 5 Blazes in total.

An easy start, reach along the line and bear away on the gun. I don't understand where the others were but predictably Stuart Bailey did the same thing (he is a multiple Buzz National Champion). He soon planed through my lee and led to the first mark (29).

I was right on his tail all the way down Gillingham Reach but I couldn't catch him, but a round-up onto a beat was coming at 25. Manoeuvres are always the potential to lose distance.  I decided he'll try and round close so I can't get to windward of him so I thought I'll round fast and wide in the hope I can get through his lee.

Surprisingly he rounded-up and stopped head-to-wind. I tacked to get to Folly for less tide and looked back to see him stationary. I thought he'd broken something.

That was the finish of the race really and all I had to do was sail fast and safe, not taking any risks such as going too far into the shallows and being careful at the gybes. The blast back to the club from 28 was fast at times, fast enough to overtake some cruisers under power. One nearly sunk me when he rounded up to drop his mainsail - right in my path. Should we fit our boats with bicycle bells? No, not a complaint, just a good job I wasn't a powerboat. Perhaps they should fit mirrors!

Race 2. Perhaps even more wind at about 15mph. Nothing for a Blaze, in fact perfect for a Blaze but not for me as I was feeling feeble. So knackered I had to ask for some help getting the boat up the beach after the first race. Just no strength or stamina.

I had already set my rig for heavy weather. Normally about 18mph and whistling in rigging would be the time to do that but I was looking for an easy ride this weekend. The trouble with the heavy weather settings is not quite the bite in the rig to climb high when needed and not quite the power for planing to windward. On the other hand, gusts are easier to parry.

The tide was now flooding, but only just so the same start technique worked well and guess who was just below me? This time I committed more to getting right out on the rack. A slightly riskier move as the reach to 29 is full of holes due to blocks of flats. I managed to keep Stuart behind me to the first mark (29) and there were more waves to plane and surf on the leg down Gillingham Reach. Some of those surf's let me plane off to leeward so that I could avoid a double gybe to get deep enough for 25.

By the way we'd changed the course by deleting 26 and putting in 28 instead. So a slightly longer course but we did have a little tide under us on the beat. I tacked for Folly Point which I reasoned would put the tide under my bow on port and the bend in the river would then put the tide under my bow when I came back on starboard.

I had to put a couple of tacks in at Folly to get around properly into Gillingham Reach. It seemed the obvious way to go. It wasn't, looking over my shoulder I saw 2 Blazes coming up the opposite shore, John Goudie and Stuart Bailey. I crossed the river to meet them both crossed in front. I tacked just after I crossed Stuart's stern but was surprised to see he wasn't laying and nor would I. I drove deep and tried to plane but really hardly made an impression. We both tacked onto starboard to get up to the mark but a moored cruiser meant I had to call for space to tack. Stuart obliged but seemed to stop. I felt sure he had room to get around the mark but something happened and I rounded ahead. As I bore away there in front of me was John Goudie, swimming. I guess he'd borne away a little too much and rolled in to windward, that was a little warning for me and I kept a bit high. In fact, I nearly ran over his hat!

That was me back in the lead, so time to be a bit conservative. I had a decent lead so although not that windy I went as far as I could to the left of the rhumb line to 25 and then wore around rather than gybe to come into 25 slightly higher than dead downwind and on the right gybe to simply round up for the beat back to 28. This time, of course, I kept to the left on the beat. Not far behind was David Thornelow, really beating to windward very well, that's good to see. He's had the boat about a year and it's all coming together.

Other Blazes out today we're John Tinnams who didn't figure today but normally is fast downwind. I've mentioned John Goudie who led the second race up to 28 and Stuart Bailey. Both these guys do better in their native classes (Wayfarer and Buzz respectively) than I've ever done in any class so it's rather nice to finish the day ahead of them with 2 first places.

Many thanks to John Tinnams for coming down the beach to give me some help with the boat. I am so unfit after about 3 weeks off sailing with something akin to the flu.

Early Summer Points 7 July 2019

The last 2 races of this series and some close racing at the front of the Medium Fleet. A battle between the Wayfarer of Brian Lamb and the two Blazes of Colin Treadwell and myself, in the morning race. There was some doubt about the wind so the course was short, it took us, via 31 and 30 down to 24 and back to 27 and then back down to 24 and then home.

Martin and Ben Brown were out there too but the performance of the V3000 is so different from the other boats in the fleet that even when it's in the lead you have no idea if you are ahead or behind on handicap. It is a trapeze asymmetric whereas the rest of the fleet is nowhere as fast downwind. Actually, Ellie Kift was out in her Laser 3000 which is almost identical but heavier.

The battle at the front was between the Blazes and the Wayfarer. In these light to medium winds, the Blazes have about the same windward speed as the Wayfarer. On a reach the Blazes leave the Wayfarer but on a dead run the Wayfarer has a spinnaker and that makes it just a bit faster than the Blazes. We had a brilliant reach from 31 to 30 and so I got clean away from the Wayfarer but of course, Colin in his Blaze was close behind. Colin has only recently got back in the Blaze but all his years of sailing really show and he is fast upwind. He really points high which I think is not the best way to sail a Blaze but it really had me worried, I thought I had something wrong with my boat or weed on the foils I was sailing so low.

It was a struggle to keep him behind and indeed by the time we got to 24 the second time he and the Wayfarer were close. By 30 on the way back all three boats were neck and neck. Thankfully the leg to 31 was a reach and I pulled well ahead again. Then the short run to the finish but I knew I hadn’t enough lead to counter the handicap of the Wayfarer. Guess who was second on handicap - Martin and Ben Brown in their V3000, followed by myself and then Colin.

In the afternoon race, we decided on a longer course although Ironically the wind died a bit after the start. This was going to be a beat against the tide and a run back with it, that would have meant the Wayfarer’s advantage would be lessened but he didn’t join us and went off to MYC to join in with their Wayfarers. We also lost a Laser but we gained a RS200. Only 6 boats which is disappointing.

It would be a race between myself and Colin and so it turned out. I sailed the wrong course by adding in an extra mark (just for myself). That put me on the back foot but I got back into it on the long, against the tide beat to Folly Point. We were about equal as we left it to port on our route to 23, also against the tide. I took the low road by sailing free and staying in the shallows. Colin headed straight for 23 even though that meant he had to buck the tide.  Colin fancied he had more wind but actually, the wind freed a bit which put me on the outside of the curve and Colin laid up to the mark, rounded and was at least 100m ahead. I just couldn’t make up that difference. On handicap he came 1st, I was 2nd and the RS200 was 3rd. Well done Colin I was thoroughly beaten but at least I was 2nd which is one place better than the morning!