Free Sailing

at Gosport Model Yacht & Boat Club

Graceful match racing after taking particular
care about boat set up and especially
setting the Vane correctly!
That's what Free sailing is about

Our Free Sailing Class Captain is

Mervyn Cook

Latest news from Mervyn Cook, your class captain, click HERE

News

The organisation of our club racing and open meetings has been made so much easier by the introduction of our home designed scoring system. This is a real tour de force.

It is so user friendly that even your class captain can use it, and so comprehensive that it will give any combination of results. Best upwind boat, best downwind boat, points and overall scores. It even prints out the race-cards.

It makes the task of the race officer so much easier, so there's no excuse for any of you to not volunteer as race officer for at least one race-day next year!

Events during 2011 which will be of interest to the Free Sailing skipper
Click on the event to see Race Report and Results

Club Championship Table

Gosport Model Yacht & Boat Club

				Programme 2011

			Nationals	District	Club	Venue
January	Sun 2nd				Sail In All Classes
January	Sat 8th				Vane 36
February	Sat 5th				Vane 36 (1)
March	Sat 5th			M&S Open Event 36R	Vane 36 (2)	Gosport
March	Sun 20th				Club Workshop Day
April	Sat 2nd				Vane 36 (3)
	Sun 17th				Vane A(1)
	Mon 25th	Easter Monday			BAYATADC
May	Sat 7th			M&S Open Event 36R	Vane 36 (4)	Gosport
	Sun 29th			M&S Open event VA	Vane A (2)	Gosport
	Mon 30th	Bank Holiday			6M Vintage
June	Sat 4th				Vane 36 (5)
June	Sun 12th			M&S Vane A District Championships	Vane (A) (3)	Gosport
July	Sun 3rd				Vane A (4)
	Sun 17th			M&S 36 Vane	Vane 36 (6)	Gosport
	Sat 30th		MYA VA Championships			Fleetwood
	Sun 31st		MYA VA Championships		BAYATAC	Fleetwood
August	Mon 1st		MYA VA Championships			Fleetwood
	Tue 2nd		MYA VA Championships(YM Cup)			Fleetwood
	Wed 3rd		MYA VA Championships(ATW)			Fleetwood
	Thu 4th		MYA VA Championships			Fleetwood
	Sat 20th				Vane 36(7)
September	Sat 3rd				Vane 36 (8)
	Sat10th		MYA Nationals Vane 36	MYA Nationals Vane 36	MYA Nationals Vane 36	Gosport
	Sun 11th		MYA Nationals Vane 36	MYA Nationals Vane 36	MYA Nationals Vane 36	Gosport
	Sun 25th			M&S Open Event	Vane A (6)	Gosport
October	Sat 15th				Special Vane 36
October	Sun 16th				BAYATADC
November	Sat 12th				Vane 36 (9)
December	Sun 4th				AGM

Sadly I have to start by remembering Mick Thomas, who died last weekend after a long illness. Mick sailed his vane 36 with us in the Friday group. His was an elderly yacht, but he often sailed it so well that he won boards against much more advanced outfits. He was always a gentleman, and it was a pleasure to have sailed with him. We will all miss him.

You will know from Gary Cooper's recent email that your committee continue to negotiate with Natural England over the use of vegetable dye to prevent the weed growing. The latest is that the club has commissioned a proposal from an independent company of marine biologists for the monitoring process which EN require. Once agreed it will be put to Gosport Council and to EN for their approval. When their formal approval is awarded we will need to have a further full weed cut before using the dye. Club sailing will not be possible again until later in the summer at the earliest, but you will be kept informed about progress and we all hope to get back to normal sailing just as soon as possible.

Due to the weed, the Metropolitan and Southern championships for A's and 36's due to be held at Gosport in the nest few weeks have had to be cancelled. However the vane 36 Midland Championship has just taken place at Bourneville. There were nine boats competing, and Max Buttimer flew the flag for Gosport. Winds were a decent southerly, and the racing was so close that by the end only five points separated first to fourth place. The winner was Mike Harris, second Peter Hopkins, in third place Chris Harris, sailing a new Mk2 Sybora design, and Max's Mk1 Sybora came in a close fourth, an excellent performance against all the big names and on a challenging lake.

The Friday 36 group have tried an experimental morning's vane sailing on the small lake. Sadly this was not a success, with very unstable wind patterns, difficulty getting at the boats if they did come in to the railings side, and pretty unpleasant water. But it was worth a try, and anyone wanting to get afloat is welcome to sail if the radio fleets are not using the lake. Organised Friday sailing will be put on hold until such time as we can get back into our proper waters.

The next major event will be the Vane A National Championship at Fleetwood. We hope to have four Gosport boats sailing; Shaun's 'Razor', Anthony's 'Shield', Mervyn and Peter's 'N-Lightened', and a fourth mystery yacht and crew. Fleetwood is quite a demanding place to sail, and anyone else who might consider sailing with the Gosport team, either with another yacht or as a mate, would be very welcome indeed.

I'm sorry we won't be meeting up at the lake for sailing in the near future, but I'll keep you all informed regarding progress. Jacque and I will however be down on Friday mornings for chat, coffee and lunch - whatever takes your fancy!

Mervyn

Return to Calendar info

Vane 36 club Championship series, day one.

Well for once, actuality exceeded the awful forecast! The day was wet and dark, and the wind was squalling to nearly 40 mph. Four boats braved the conditions, a courageous decision so early in the year.

But for once there were plenty of mates available, so major damage was avoided. The other bonus was that there were some real beats, with tacking required!

There were some very close races, particularly the beats, where races were won or lost by inches. An individually targeted squall just before the finish line was often enough to change the result of the race, and lady luck had simply deserted some skippers completely! However the boats were mostly well balanced and trimmed, and coped with the extreme conditions remarkably well.

At the end of a rather exhausting morning, particularly so early in the season, Jacque and Eric won by a single point from Mike and Katie.

Thanks must go to race officers were Pete and Julie Lawley, who braved the elements to make sure of a successful day's racing.

The second race day in the series is on Saturday the 5th of March, and the results will also count towards the MYA National Vane League. I look forward to seeing you all there, and as it is an MYA open event, don't forget your certificates.

Saturday 5th February, Vane 36 series, first event.

1st Jacque Cook and Eric Meighen 12 points

2nd Mike Dann and Katie Hadlowe 11 points

3rd John Smith and Andy Fernie 7 points

4th Peter Fothergill and Mervyn Cook 0 points

Return to Calendar info

Vane 36 series, Saturday March 5th.

10 boats signed on for the second vane 36 club series racing, which was also an open MYA League event. We were very pleased to welcome Richard Merrills-Browne and mate John Price from Reading.

Roy Scott sailed his unusual and very effective 'Lintel' design for the first time, and scored points in his very first heats. It was also good to see Russell and Lewis Wyeth sailing with their father and grand-father, making the fourth generation of Wyeths to race at Gosport.

The forecast was for a fairly steady 10 knot north-east breeze, but the reality was that the wind was extremely un-predictable, even changing from a run from the west to a beat from the south-east in a single board. Challenging conditions, which skippers responded to with the usual good humour which is a feature of Gosport's vane fleets.

The early racing was held in stronger winds, although top rigs were the unanimous choice. Race officer Anthony Warren arranged for boats to be covered by 'borrowed' mates where necessary, and there were remarkably few re-sails. One boat was raced with exceptional skill, reading the shifts to perfection. And at the end of the day, Shaun and Russell won by four points from Graham and Lewis.

Top boat on the windward legs was Shaun and Russell, with Mervyn and Andy tying with John Smith in second. And downwind Graham and Lewis tied for first place with Roy Scott.

The next 36 racing is scheduled for Saturday April 2nd. We'll look forward to seeing you there! And those of you who might feel the need for a little on the water practice are welcome to join the 36 sailing every Friday morning.

1st Shaun and Russell Wyeth 21 points

2nd Graham and Lewis Wyeth 17 points

3rd equal John Smith, 16 points

Mervyn Cook and Andy Fernie 16 points

5th equal Jacque Cook and Eric Meighen 13 points

Mike Dann and Katie Howden 13 points

7th Roy Scott 11 points

8th Peter Fothergill 9 points

9th Richard Merrills-Browne and John Price 5 points

10th Max Buttimer 4 points

Return to Calendar info

Vane 36 Club Series, April 2nd.

Nine boats entered for this the 3rd event in the club series, the fleet including Diversion, Sybora and Lintel designs. Race officers Pete and Julie Lawley ensured that those on a bye were available to help out the skippers without mates. The weather forecast was for stronger breezes in the early morning, dying away as the day wore on. Most skippers opted initially for full rigs, although these were at the limit during the early boards. However the wind did indeed seem to be reducing for a while, until late morning when it started to blow again at some 12 to 15 knots. By lunchtime half the fleet had reduced sail, however the ability of the modern 36 to carry sail showed that full sail was perhaps the better choice.

The oscillating breeze led to quite a few re-sails during the day, and the full round wasn't completed until after 4.00 in the afternoon. Mervyn had a lucky streak of nine wins in a row, which clinched the win. Mike and Katie were back on form, sailing their diversion to second place, and scoring best boat in the windward legs. Peter Fothergill's Sybora came in a close third, and Shaun and Max tied for fourth place but Shaun took the position by virtue of his own result against Max. And Roy and Helen Scott, as newcomers to the fleet, scored second boat in the down-wind legs with their exciting new Lintel design.

The next race-day in the series is also an MYA Vane League open event, on the 7th of May. Crews are always welcome in this fast and exciting fleet, so even if you haven't got a boat you will be very welcome to come along and sail with us. There's very nearly as much fun as a crew as there is as a skipper!

1 30 points Mervyn Cook

2 25 points Mike Dann and Katie Hadlowe

3 23 points Peter Fothergill

4 20 points Shaun Wyeth

5 20 points Max Buttimer

6 17 points Lewis and Graham Wyeth

7 16 points Roy and Helen Scott

8 15 points John Smith

9 14 points Jacque Cook and Eric Meighen

Return to Calendar info

GOSPORT VANE 36 SPECIAL TROPHY EVENT, Saturday October 16th

Ten boats entered for the inaugural club 36 Special Trophy event. The trophy is a superb carved oak shield, the Gosport 36 Shield, beautifully carved by club member Ray Hersee. The racing was in the format of the A classes Yachting Monthly Cup. The fleet was split into two by draw, and each skipper raced each other twice, on windward boards only, in each sub-fleet. Ties were decided by a run. The top two boats from each sub-fleet went forward to race in the semi-finals, and then the nail-biting finals.

On the day, the wind did not produce the beats hoped for, blowing at top of No 1 suit strength from a very turbulent northerly direction. However, race officers Pete and Julie Lawley made the difficult decision to declare that the beat was to east to west, and the heats began. Initially, they were closely fought, several going on to deciding ties. There was a short mid morning break during which coffee and cake were consumed. A heat after a rather late lunch finalised the results. Graham Wyeth had sailed superbly to win the first fleet with 23 points, Peter Fothergill had won the second fleet with 22 points, and Eric Thomas and Jacque Cook also went on to the semi-finals with 15 and 17 points respectively.

In the semi-finals Graham's very lightweight planked boat raced against Jacque's brand new pink 'Diversion' design, and Peter's 'Sybora' sailed Eric's 'Diversion'. Peter and Jacque went through to the final. Peter won the first beat, and Jacque the second, necessitating a nail-biting final run. Just like the A boats YM cup in August, this was sailed to the dramatic back-ground of heavy storm-clouds massing to the east, but the rain more or less held off allowing Jacque to win the run, and become the first winner of the Gosport 36 Shield.

While the variable wind conditions made the racing frustrating at times, it was a most enjoyable day's sailing, which will be definitely be repeated next season.