The Autumn Series finally turned very autumnal with colder temperatures and gusty conditions for round four of the Autumn Series at Cookham Reach Sailing Club. Winds were strong in the high teens frequently gusting to 25mph+ at points during the day. The day started with a southerly wind which meant winds were lighter near the clubhouse, but with the wind being strong it was windy enough to set a course starting from the club jetty. During the day, the wind turned to the south-west and meant there were stronger winds on the bottom buoy. The race officers Peter Wyatt, Wendy Crawford and Polly Bunce set a course with an upstream start from the OD box passing the B buoy on the bend taken to starboard, then up to the A buoy which was set above the group of willow trees (with one of these still in the water after falling a month ago) and taken to starboard. The sailors then tacked back downstream passing the B buoy to starboard and rounding the C buoy set in front of the club jetty and taken to starboard (this was changed to port for the afternoon races when the wind direction change meant it needed a jybe to round it).
The Lightning 368 class were started separately and four sailors took the start with Duncan Watts (LN 431), Martin Evans (LN 150), Clive Evison (LN 412) and Jerome Dreux (LN 155) all closely matched downwind to the first buoy. Martin took the lead ahead of Clive with Jerome and Duncan fighting for third. Martin stretched his lead through the race with Clive holding second. Behind, Jerome and Duncan swapped positions through the race with Jerome taking third on the last lap.
There was a decent turnout for the Handicap series with all the club’s OK sailors starting and Nick Reuter in his Laser (L 125425) and Marius and Tanja van Wyngaardt in their Enterprise (E 5980). Alistair McMichael (OK 1695) and Gary Adshead (OK 1998) making their customary excellent starts closely followed by Nick, Andrew Boxer (OK 2196) and Marius. James Long (OK 1990) made a poor start and trailed. These positions remained the same as they round the A buoy on the first lap with James having closed the gap a small amount. The windy conditions meant some different lines were taken tacking back down the river on the return leg and James caught up with the fleet and there were several lead changes before the bend. There was a wind shift at the bend which meant choosing whether to tack over to the Berkshire bank and take a high line back to the C buoy or to risk sailing closer to the Buckinghamshire bank where the wind was stronger, but risked needing a tack to get back across the river to the buoy and round it. With the sailors closely matched, this meant different approaches to the buoy, but all five sailors rounded the buoy close together. At the end of the first lap, Alastair led across the line just ahead of Andrew, then a small gap to Gary, James, Nick and Marius. They all sailed downwind back up the course with Nick Reuter taking a line closer to the Buckinghamshire bank after the B buoy which allowed him to pass James and Gary and rounding the C buoy in second place. After rounding the buoy, Alistair capsized on a tack just below the C buoy, but made it back into the boat but was now half a lap behind and last in the Handicap fleet. Andrew was also overpowered by the gust, allowing Gary through and he took the lead with Andrew now just behind. James retook Nick for third on the tacks back to the end of the second lap. Gary pulled away in the lead, but behind Andrew, James and Nick fought for second with Andrew holding second at the end of lap 3. Gary held his lead until the end of the race with James managing to pass Andrew on the tacks back to the line and Nick just behind in fourth. Alistair came home a distant fourth and Marius and Tanja fifth.
The start of the Lightning’s second race was again hotly contested with the sailors having to contend with stronger winds. Martin again took the lead ahead of Clive with Jerome third. Duncan failed to start when he was delayed and got stuck in the trees on the bank opposite the clubhouse whilst trying to avoid an approaching small hire boat which failed to alter course and forced him into the willows. The rest of the second race saw Martin hold his lead with Clive second and Jerome third and they finished in those positions.
Alistair made another good start in the second race and battled Gary down to the C buoy with Andrew, James and Nick fighting over third with Marius a small gap behind after a poor start. Gary managed to pass Alastair on the tacks back to the clubhouse and finished the first lap in first but separated from Alastair by a hair’s width. They had pulled a thirty second gap on the first lap with James in third, then a small gap to Andrew and Nick, then a gap to Marius. Alastair made the best downwind leg and took the lead and pulled out a good gap to Gary on tacks back up the course. James had a bad downwind leg on the second lap getting stuck in a piece of the river on the Buckinghamshire bank near the bend where there was no wind and was passed by Andrew and Nick. At the end of the lap, Alastair held the lead with Gary second, Andrew third and Nick fourth. On the third lap, the two leaders continued to pull away with Alastair holding a minutes lead. The wind picked up towards the end of the race which seemed to suit both Gary and James. James passed Andrew and Nick on the tacking leg of the third lap with Andrew getting into trouble and dropping to fifth. On the fourth lap, Gary closed the gap to Alastair but Alastair pulled out the gap again on the final lap and won the race. James finished third, Nick fourth and Andrew a distant fifth with Marius and Tanja retiring on the fourth lap.
After the lunch break, the Lightnings were reduced to three as Martin finished his sailing for the day. Clive made the best start and sailed away from Duncan and Jerome pulling out a huge gap over the course of the race. Behind, Jerome and Duncan got involved in another battle for second place and exchanged positions several times during the first two laps. Duncan eventually came out on top and finished the race in second.
The wind Dave Phillips and Martin Church joined the Handicap fleet in a club Enterprise (E 23158) for the afternoon races whilst Marius and Tanja sat out the afternoon. The wind was strong by the time the Handicap fleet started and at the start, Dave sped into an early lead with the OKs all closely matched behind down to the C buoy. About 30 metres before the C buoy a strong gust came through and James capsized. Dave and Martin held their lead to the end of the first lap with Alastair again closely battling with Gary for second. Nick held fourth with a gap to Andrew in fifth. James managed to right his OK, sailed round the C buoy but capsized again on the return tacks and crossed the line at the end of the lap four minutes behind the rest of the sailors. Alastair managed to close some of the gap to the Enterprise on the second lap and gapped Gary in third with Andrew closing in on Nick who held fourth. Dave’s lead remained static on the third lap with Alastair second, Gary now a closer third and Nick a distant fourth. Andrew retired from fifth and James continued slowly at the back.
Dave lost some ground on the fifth lap, allowing Alastair to close the gap to the lead with Gary just behind in third, Nick fourth and James about to be lapped in fifth. On the final lap, the win was decided at the bend on the return leg. Dave and Alastair both tacked at the bend across the river to sail a high line close to the Berkshire bank whilst Gary continued his line without a tack and sailed straight down the river getting a lift to keep him away from the trees and crossed the line first with Dave only five seconds behind and Alastair third. Nick came home alone in fourth and James was a lapped fifth.
For the final race, Clive again coped with the strong gusty winds and gapped Jerome and Duncan. Jerome held second at the end of the first lap but capsized on the second lap allowing Duncan through and the positions remained Clive first, Duncan second and Jerome third until the end of the race with all the sailors having to cope with frequent gusts.
The Handicap sailors were again closely matched on the downwind leg to the first buoy. On the tacks back to the line, Dave and Martin were caught out by a gust during a tack and the Enterprise took on water almost sinking. They fell to the back of the fleet whilst they tried to empty the boat. Alastair led across the line at the end of the first lap with Nick in second, Gary third, Andrew fourth and James fifth. Alastair pulled away during the rest of the race to take a dominant win and Gary held second to the flag. Andrew and James closed the gap to Nick on the second lap but Nick pulled out a good gap on the final lap to come home third with Andrew fourth, James fifth and Dave a lonely sixth.