2006 Parhelion Autumn Series

The Parhelion autumn yacht racing series is run by the Portsmouth Sailing Club, with races in the Eastern Solent, off Portsmouth and in Hayling bay.

One More Knot's skipper reports each race in the series, blow by blow.

Appeal to skippers and crews

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Thanks : You will find an email address at the bottom of this page.

An exciting series, with all 12 races being run.
9 boats competed in the club class
One More Knot proudly claimed 3rd place.

Last Autumn, George of Genghis Khan, was talking about a new sail ..... instead .... he turns up with a new boat!

2006 Autumn Parhelion Series - Club Fleet Current Standings

Rank Boat Name Class Sail No Helm TCF Race 1
7 Oct		 Race 2
7 Oct		 Race 3
14 Oct		 Race 4
14 Oct		 Race 5
21 Oct		 Race 6
21 Oct		 Race 7
28 Oct		 Race 8
28 Oct		 Race 9
4 Nov		 Race 10
4 Nov		 Race 11
11 Nov		 Race 12
11 Nov		 Total
Club Fleet - Sailed: 10 Discards: 2 Ratings: TCF
1 Concerto Contessa 32 CO640 George Isted 0.880 3  6  1 1 1 2 1  5  1  4  1 1 12
2 Rhapsody MG C27 3075T Roy Pearce 0.911 1 1 2 3 3  4   4  2 3 2  4  4 21
3 One More Knot Elan 333 7563T Phil Duff 0.970 2 3  6   6  2 3 5  6  2 1 5 5 28
4 Total Obsession Too Westerly Typhoon TN12 Ricky Hodgeson 0.960 4  5  3 5 DNF DNC 2 3 4 3 2 3 29
5 Scallywag GK 24 215 Andy Taylor 0.840 5 4 5 4 5 5  6  4 5 5  8   8  42
6 Arrow Scanyacht 8105 David Gray 0.970 DNC DNC DNC DNC 4 1 3 1 DNC DNC 6 6 51
7 Just in Time Omega 36 4230 Tony Barnett 0.960 6 2 4 2 DNF DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 64
8 Uptown Girl Westerly Fulmar 319 Stephen Ray 0.900 DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 3 2 75
9 Rondo Ronautica 9691T R Ellam 0.930 DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 6 6 7 7 76

Result courtesy of Portsmouth Sailing Club

Race Results

Race Date Class Pos No in Class TCF OTW Time OTW gap to 1st Corrected gap to 1st Crew
Parhelion race 1 7/10/06 2 6 0.970 1:05:34 -1:23 +2:37 Phil, Kev, Berit, Lynn, Matthew
Parhelion race 2 7/10/06 3 6 0.970 1:05:53 -0:25 +3:30 Phil, Kev, Berit, Lynn, Matthew
Parhelion race 3 14/10/06 6 6 0.970 1:06:02 -3:01 +3:17 Phil, Johan, Ian, Andrew
Parhelion race 4 14/10/06 6 6 0.970 1:26:09 -1:46 +5:12 Phil, Johan, Ian, Andrew
Parhelion race 5 21/10/06 2 7 0.970 1:00:43 -3:02 +2:48 Phil, Barry, Phil B, Joe, Gareth, Angela
Parhelion race 6 21/10/06 3 5 0.970 0:40:29 +3:06 +3:00 Phil, Barry, Phil B, Joe, Gareth, Angela
Parhelion race 7 28/10/06 6 6 0.970 1:19:20 +0:22 +7:28 Phil, Barry, Les, Katie
Parhelion race 8 28/10/06 6 6 0.970 1:01:45 +11:50 +11:29 Phil, Barry, Les, Katie
Parhelion race 9 4/11/06 2 6 0.970 0:51:04 -4:09 +0:57 Phil, Phil B, Joe, Nigel, Rachel
Parhelion race 10 4/11/06 1 6 0.970 1:13:31 +0:00 +0:00 Phil, Phil B, Joe, Nigel, Rachel
Parhelion race 11 11/11/06 5 8 0.970 0:44:43 -0:34 +3:32 Phil, Phil B, Joe, Barry, Les
Parhelion race 12 11/11/06 5 8 0.970 0:42:40 -0:46 +3:10 Phil, Phil B, Joe, Barry, Les

Race Reports

Saturday 7th October, Races 1 and 2
Crew : Phil, Kev, Berit, Lynn and Matthew

Friday was windy with F9 and F10 in the channel. The forecast was for it to drop for Saturday morning to F5-F6. This proved to be largely accurate, with a touch of F4 under the Haslar wall. The wind was NW and the course was set off the Haslar bank, with the starts at Gleeds, near Horsesand Fort.

With the wind firmly in the F5/F6 region, we set the boat up with 1 reef in the main and #3 jib.

Race 1

Line honours in first race of series

This was Matthew's first race. Age 3 (2 weeks ago). We like to start 'em young. And with line honours too ....

The race course for the IRC boats was set on the side of the committee boat as usual. Their start was our 10 minute warning. At 5 mins to our start, the VHF points out to the club fleet that the course has been changed. This means that the fleet, who were busy avoiding each other in the prestart shenanigans had to sail out past the port end of the line to get the new course. Not the easiest thing with all the other things going on pre-start ....simply telling us the course on the VHF would cause less complications. Having made this little whinge, the course was good and interesting. Compared to the frequent simple sausage course the course was an essay! From Gleeds upto Hardway Marina, then Vail Williams, McMurdo Pains Wessex, back to Hardway Marina, Vail Williams (all to starboard) and then through a downwind finish at Gleeds (to port).

OMK made the run to the start from the port end of the line behind the committee boat, to tack onto starboard with 2 mins to go. The jib was unfurled and the speed controlled on the approach to the line. The rest of the fleet were to windward, but One More Knot judged the approach quite well with potential rights over everyone else. We hit the line, in the middle and at the right time. The fleet zoomed off on starboard to pick up some of the tide in the deeper water.

We sailed the first part of the beat in tight fleet conditions mixing it with Total Obsession Too and Concerto. All the boats looked evenly matched, but eventually OMK's crew and helm got it together, with a bit a sail tweeking we managed to sneak ahead. Once there, the cleaner air helped a bit too. It was difficult to judge the lay line because we would be tacking out of the tide and into different conditions. However, the fleet seemed to be following us.

Meanwhile, with all of this close fleet stuff going on, Rhapsody who had started closest to the starboard end of the line had managed to judge the lay line much better than every one else and tacked away onto port un-noticed. The other boats overstood the mark by someway. The consequence was that Rhaposdy was first to round the windward mark. Followed by One More Knot.

As both boats bore away, onto a broad reach (apparent wind on the beam), OMK's larger sail plan helped and she overtook Rhapsody on the leg to Vail Williams. There was some banter between Phil and Roy, with Phil encouraging Roy to use the kite .... wisely, Roy waited until they turned the corner. Thee was also banter onboard .... where was McMurdo? We were in front with no one to follow!

One More Knot was first to round Vail Williams, and once in front managed to stay there for the rest of the race.

Some improvement in strategy on the second lap helped, including not overstanding the windward mark, we needed to put in a bonus small tack near the mark. We also, shook out the reef for the downwind legs. Rhapsody had a good clean lap, but Just In Time was trying to make up some ground elected to hoist the kite for the reach along the Haslar wall. It appeared that they had some difficult, including a broach, when turning at Vail Williams down to McMurdo.

On the water, One More Knot finished 1st, with Rhapsody just over a minute behind with Just In Time being the third to cross the line. After the handicap was unwound, One More Knot was 2nd, behind Rhapsody.

Race 2

This time, the IRC and club class fleets shared the same course. It was amended from race one to include two dead downwind legs to McMurdo, just what we didn't want without the kite! From Gleeds upto Hardway Marina, then Vail Williams, McMurdo Pains Wessex, back to Hardway Marina, Vail Williams, McMurdo Pains Wessex and then through a upwind finish at Gleeds (all to starboard).

Another good start, in a tight fleet. On the beat out into deeper water and stronger tide One More Knot wanted to tack, but with Total Obsession Too hanging onto the starboard quarter, OMK had to sail both fast and high to get clear enough to tack.

One More Knot was first to round the windward mark, however after the 1st race, the rest of the fleet had built their confidence with the spinnakers and were getting ready to fly them on the reach. One More Knot was in trouble ... so we elected to shake the reef out of the main. We also tried to sail into shallower water by the Haslar wall to find less adverse tied. Sadly, we lost out. By the time we round Hardway Marina for the dead downwind leg, OMK was in third place.

At the start of the downwind leg Just In Time was leading, Rhapsody in second and One More Knot in third. The first two boats had their kites up and a reef in the main, while OMK used the poled out #3 and full main. As we approached the leeward mark, One More Knot moved swiftly across the stern of Rhapsody to take an inside line at the mark. Phil optomisticlly called "Water". Roy pointed our that we didn't have an overlap, we also weren't within two boat lengths of the mark. Phil's reply, was we will have an overlap! As Rhapsody's breeze faltered in the lee of OMK's sails and also with all of the attention on getting the kite down, One More Knot slipped into second place at the mark by rounding inside.

Not daring to take time out to drop the reef back in, we sailed up wind with the full main.

On the water Just In Time extended her lead on the next lap, with One More Knot and Rhapsody following in a procession to the finish.

One More Knot was 2nd in the series at this point.

Saturday 14th October, Races 3 and 4
Crew : Phil, Johan, Ian and Andrew

Earlier in the week light winds were forecast. There was a chance of 5 knots or less. With our intention to avoid using the spinnaker in this series, this was going to be a big problem. Fortunately, there was a bit more breeze.

After breakfast in Gosport and a bit of boat sorting out, the strings were untied a few minutes past nine. It was a bit hazy. We made our way out of the harbour to spot the committee boat Mary Sibhion near Gleeds.

Our pre-race antics and last minute practice were interspersed by entertainment over the VHF courtesy of the Island sailing club wittering away on the radio. Apparently, they wanted to use the same buoys for their race as the PSC Parhelion. They also seem to be unable to let go of the PTT switch! As a result, the PSC committee decided to change channel to retain everyones sanity! Good move.

One More Knot had the full main and #2 for both races.

Race 3

The course was set and was another essay! Gleeds (windward mark), Royal Albert (leeward mark), gate, Gleeds (windward), Hardway Marina (leeward), Gate where the shortened race actually finished. The full course added Gleeds , Hardway and the ODM but we never quite got that far! (Post race chat in the club house afterwards seemed to suggest that everyone enjoyed the course.) The breeze had built to about 8-10 knots true, much better than the 5 knot forecast.

The committee boat pre-start procedure was excellent and really helped to simplify the pre-start confusion surrounding the course on two counts, the course was the same as the IRC fleet and also by calling the course on the VHF. The line had a significant port bias, so One More Knot and Rhapsody elected to attempt a port tack start. However, we got a bit stuffed by Total Obsession Too who was on starboard but at the port end of the line.

After a difficult start, OMK got to the windward mark in touch but not in front. Then followed the difficult downwind leg to Royal Albert. Rhapsody, One More Knot and Total Obsession Too found themselves trying to share the same piece of water. The whacky races began! Boats were pushing up on each other and changing lanes with inches to spare. All great fun and done in a good friendly competitive spirit. Eventually Rhapsody and One More Knot separated from the rest of the fleet and ended up closest to the Haslar wall. Hiding from the adverse tide (although not that strong being on neaps and the state of the tide). When the depth showed 0.7m under the keel, OMK gybed to goosewing away from the wall. Apparently there was a discussion on Rhapsody about why ..... moments later their depth sounder went off to answer the question.

At the end of the 1st downwind leg OMK was 5th with only the smallest boat of the fleet Scallywag (GK24) behind. As we turned around the windward mark, the apparent wind built. The sails were cranked in hard and One More Knot set off upwind in pursuit of the fleet. We were able to point higher and sail faster than the rest of the fleet. Was this due to Ian Man Mountain Murphy sitting on the rail? Later in the bar, we were complemented on our pointing ability by master pointer himself, Roy of Rhapsody! It was a good recovery to round the windward mark in third behind Total Obsession Too, and Just In Time with a significantly closed gap.

The 2nd downwind leg was a damage limitation exercise, but fortunately we didn't have to go as far as the first lap. The leeward mark, Hardway Marina, was a broad reach rather than a run, so we seemed to not loose out too much to the boats with the kites. On rounding the mark, One More Knot once again settled into a sweet groove, pointing higher than the rest of the fleet with 6 knots plus showing on the log. One More Knot chased Total Obsession Too and Just In Time all the way to the gate, which turned out to be the finish of the shortened race. OMK was the only boat of these to make the leeward mark to the gate without tacking! One More Knot finished 3rd on the water, only 44 seconds behind the line honours boat Total Obsession Too. Just In Time split the two boats. After the handicap had unwound, it was the lower handicap boats that ran away with the prizes. OMK came .... errr .... aheemm ... last.

Race 4

The wind had built for the second race of the day to about 12-17 knots.

The course for this race was set with McMurdo (longer leg to the windard mark), Hardway Marina (leeward mark), gate, McMurdo, Vail Willaims, gate, McMurdo, Vail Williams, and finally the Outer Distance Mark. The course was offset, with the downwind legs being broad reaches.

The start was probably One More Knot's best start yet. It was a bit brave, but we managed to sneak around the starboard end of the line just in front of Concerto with about 40 seconds to go. We managed to sail fast enough to avoid an overlap (otherwise Concerto would have pushed us over) and started right on the line at the favoured port end just as the gun went. Yeehaaa!

With clear air and lots of concentration, One More Knot was the first to round the windward mark, followed by Just In Time and Rhapsody.

Then came the difficult downwind leg to Hardway Marina. This time OMK had initial advantage by being in front. However it wasn't long before the fleet were overtaking, fortunately only slowly. As it turns out, we were all sailing a bit high of the true course. Total Obsession Too, Just in Time, One More Knot and Concerto all arrived at the leeward mark together. Concerto pushed OMK up to make room for her to bear away for the kite drop. Then the sport started .... it wasn't the leeward mark at all. A new yellow buoy had been laid! Just In Time dropped her kite but realised her mistake and continued to the real mark. Ahhaa, so now we were even under white sails. Total Obsession Too went one better and came hard onto the wind at the "spoof" buoy. She maintained her course upwind for a minute or so before recognising the full horror of their mistake and then presumably keel hauling the navigator. Everyone thought that they were out of it now.

By the real Hardway Marina leeward mark, Just In Time had a bit of a lead. Concerto and One More Knot duelled on the up wind leg. OMK should have been faster, but with the increased wind handling was becoming a bit tricky. It was difficult to stay in the groove. Maybe we should have put on a bit more halyard tension. This leg also included an involuntary tack when Phil reached for a bit of string to ease the main in a gust. The rest of the crew were on the rail.

At the McMurdo windward mark, Just In Time had a commanding lead, followed by Concerto and One More Knot almost together and then Rhapsody.

The leg to Vail Williams was quite offset from the wind, and despite Concerto's huge spinnaker, One More Knot stayed in touch with the two boats only a boom length away from each other for the majority of the leg. In truth, One More Knot was to windward and Concerto couldn't get through the dirty wind. At the end of the leg, Concerto luffed OMK to make some room to run and drop the kite. OMK had to go the long way around. Meanwhile, Just In Time made hay and legged it into the distance as the 2nd and 3rd place yachts slowed each other down.

On the windward leg to McMurdo via the gate, One More Knot tweaked and tuned and opened up a gap on Concerto.

On the next downwind leg back to Vail Williams, the spinnaker of Total Obsession Too loomed large .... she was being sailed with vigor and looked angry about her earlier mistake. One More Knot took a defensive line into the downwind mark to ensure that she rounded first. Phil pointed out to the crew that the fetch back to the gate was a drag race, string were teaked and tuned. One More Knot initially opened up a bit of a lead on Total Obsession Too, but then fortunes started to turn as the gap closed. Eventually One More Knot was able to extend the gap a bit prior to crossing the pin end of the line, in 2nd place, only 11 seconds ahead of Total Obsession Too (a huge comeback after being written off earlier in the race).

Post race, OMK lost one of her mainsail battens as the main was being taken down .... I'll need to order another

Back in the clubhouse, everyone agreed that it had been good competitive racing. An excellent days sailing. Once again, thanks to those behind the scenes for their hard work in making it happen.

From the George Isted, skipper of Concerto:

Your race report always makes for good reading on a Monday, OMK seemed to be going well to windward but I think we had a bit of pace on you off the wind (if we have clear air?!). It was great sailing this weekend and just perfect wind for Concerto with No1, Full main and the Big kite. I'm amazed that we came first in race 4 as Just in Time seemed miles ahead of us but we beat them by 40 seconds.

I had Dave Feltham back on board on Saturday, we have both grown up racing Contessa's (man and boy) so if we can't get them to go now we never will!!

Looking forward to next Saturday now, Rhapsody chasing!!

We did notice that Dave was concentrating and looking a bit enthusiastic on the winch!

Results wise, its not the prettiest reading for One More Knot's crew. A 3rd place and then a 2nd place on the water translated into 6th and 6th after the handicap had done its dastardly deeds. Concerto (Contessa 32) cleaned up the points with 2 wins.

After 4 races in the series, One More Knot has dropped to 4th in the series with 17 points.

Rhapsody leads with 7 points, followed by highest climber Concerto with 11 points and Just In Time on 14 points. Then it gets very tight with both One More Knot and Total Obsession Too with 17 points and Scallywag with 18 points.

Saturday 21st October, Races 5 and 6
Crew : Phil, Barry, Phil B, Joe, Gareth, Angela

The forecast for this one during the week was all over the place. The inshore mentioned F7 yet a local Portsmouth forecast 10mph breezes. On race morning, there was barely a breath, apart from when a squall blew through. Was this to be the story of the day?

After brekky, the walk back suggested that the wind had picked up a bit. There was some debate about the #2 or the #3. Phil decided the #3 and then changed his mind! So we left the berth with the number 2, which was conveniently already on the furler.

On the way out, Phil announced his decision to change when we got out there, and once again changed his mind! The bow man was going spare .....

Race 5

Line honours again

Race 5 GPS plot

By the time we got to the race, the wind had settled in at the F4 and F5 region from the South West. We had the #2 and one reef in the main. Our cunning plan to get back downwind under white sails was to shake the reef out just before the windward mark to allow us to come back downwind with our enormous main compensating for the lack of the kite. The course, once again, was an essay, but a lot of fun. With the start at Gleeds, the first mark (windward) was North Sturbridge, then downwind via a number of gybe marks, Hardway Marina, McMurdo Pains Wessex, VT, and finally back to Gleeds.

One More Knot seems to have sorted out her start timing now and led the fleet to the line.

On the first beat, there was early duelling with the fleet. OMK stayed on starboard for longer than most before tacking to port to cover the fleet. The plan was to try and get into the beginnings of the assisting tide in the main channel as soon as possible. Newcomer Arrow did seem to go quite nicely upwind and appeared to leave everyone else standing. Eventually the fleet tacked back on to starboard and One More Knot managed to cross just in front of everyone else, including Arrow, but only just! The front runners in the fleet who were now on starboard managed to cross the line of a freighter being piloted out of Southampton.

OMK elected to go behind, but after a total mis-judgement of angles, tacked early and lined up to ram her like a torpedo. So after a minute (way too long) of feathering upwind, we belatedly tacked back onto port and then starboard again to clear behind the great lump of steel. Oooops. We gave away our slim advantage over Arrow and Concerto with a much reduced gap to the other chasing boats. Still kicking ourselves, we were about 150 yards to windward of Just In Time, both of us on starboard and approaching our final tack onto the port layline for North Sturbridge. We could see Total Obsession Too, on port and on the layline. We thought it would be a close call for Total Obsession Too with both Just In Time and then One More Knot. It turned out closer than anyone would have wished, with a collision between Just In Time and Total Obsession Too. It appeared that Total Obsession Too was completely unsighted until it was too late. This obviously spoiled their days racing with both boats retiring from the days events. We shan't dwell on this, other than to say that nobody was hurt even if the yachts where a bit wounded.

On our approach towards the mark, we shook the reef out from the main ready for the downwind ride. We tacked onto the layline and then at the mark we bore away onto a broad reach. Arrow had rounded some way in front, followed by Concerto and then One More Knot.

After we had sorted our own boat out, we looked around to see that Concerto had partially hoisted her kite and was chasing her spinnaker sheet. Shame we thought! A chat in the club house later revealed that a riding turn on the spinnaker haylard started the confusion. The GPS plotter showed us that we were being pushed west (windward) of the Hardway Marina gybe mark. We made a slight course correction enroute, sailing as deep as we could under the white sails. The headsail was collapsing at times, but we tried to keep it pulling. I think we rounded in front of Concerto by virtue of a slightly shorter route and then managed to pull away on the broad reach down to McMurdo. The wind had been building and now with the full main, One More Knot managed to pull away from Concerto. It was an exciting 7 knot plus ride all the way. Arrow had got lost somewhere, maybe they went to Royal Albert instead of Hardway Marina?

At McMurdo, a well powered gybe saw One More Knot well in the lead. We rounded VT and then a blast back to the finish at Gleeds to take line honours, and 2nd place. We crossed the line 3 minutes and 2 seconds in front of Concerto but after the handicap did its dirty deed, Concerto was 2 minutes and 48 seconds ahead. All that in a race of one hour! We need to do something ... are rocket engines allowed? Rhapsody took 3rd place followed by Arrow and Scallywag.

Race 6

The wind had been picking up during the previous race, and the spring tide was now running very strongly NE in the main channel. One More Knot changed down from the #2 to #3 and put the 1st reef back in the main prior to the start of the race.

The course this time was the start at Gleeds, the North Sturbridge, Hardway Marina and Gleeds (there was more, but the race was shortened to this because of the increasingly frisky wind).

Race 6 GPS plot

At the start, the wind speed was showing about 18-20 knots. However, during this race it increased further into the F6-F7 region. Our instruments recorded 36.4 knots TWS. Reporting on this race is a bit of a blur as our attention was focussed elsewhere.

One More Knot had another good start with a swoop down to the ODM (Gleeds) from windward to round and be the first boat across the line and right at the starboard end. Perfect! It felt a bit brave on the approach, but as we got near, we could see the other boats on starboard were too low to cause us a problem at this end of the line.

At the start of the upwind leg, the fleet were closely matched and One More Knot failed to pull away. Eventually, most of the fleet tacked onto port. OMK was about the last to go, but was able to cover the fleet (except possibly Arrow). In the stiff winds, we couldn't get One More Knot either pointing, or the speed that she had had over the last few weeks. We were a bit over powered, especially in the gusts. Concerto crossed in front of us pointing higher, although the confession from George in the club house later was that she too was pinching to try to stay in control. The fact was, she was in front of us on the upwind leg!

We recall slightly overstanding the windward mark courtesy of the very strong tide. Concerto seemed to be flying upwind in these difficult conditons.

On the leg across to Hardway Marina, we could see Arrow and Concerto getting pushed west dramatically by the tide. We were too, but the plotter told us that we were in a better position. Despite keeping the reef in for the downind leg we still had a few big broach moments resulting in some uncontrollable rounding up. There was no more mainsheet to dump! Maybe this is where dumping the kicker should help. A new trick to learn. Apart from the moments when we fell off our bike, the speeds were glued above 8.5 knots. As we approached Gilkicker Point, the tide was stronger and we changed to a goosewinged configuration to get to the buoy. We saw 9.9 knots surfing down the waves. It was a hot ride.

By the time we had made the Hardway Marina gybe mark, OMK and Concerto were neck and neck. One More Knot went the long way round and gybed before the mark, coming back in on starboard. Concerto sailed to the mark on port and gybed on the inside. As we passed the buoy, One More Knot had barely a boat length over Concerto.

Once again we managed to pull away from Concerto as we drag raced to the finish of the shortened course at Gleeds. The leg was dramtic, with a big destroyer wake of green water (yep green, not white) and sustained speeds of over 8 and mostly 9 knots. A few yards before crossing the line, One More Knot charged forwards in a sustained ball of spray that clocked up a ten knot run which built to 10.9 knots.

One More Knot crossed the line in 2nd place, just over 3 minutes behind Arrow and 2 minutes in front of Concerto. The PSC results for the race confirmed Arrow as winner, with Concerto in 2nd, One More Knot in 3rd followed by Rhapsody and then Scallywag. Given the high wind, we thought we may have got a better result but we didn't manage to capitalise on the situation, but what the hell ... the sailing was superb!

All in all, it was fantastic days sailing. The courses were great, with the boats given the opportunity to sail pretty close to their fastest speeds.

The skipper of Concerto submitted his view of the days racing:

Like most of the competitors I had spent all week watching the weather and by Friday night I thought we would be in for a soaking and the breeze would be 15-20Kts. Saturday morning, 7:30, 5kts but this soon came up to 15-20kts by just after 9am, fortunately the rain never really came so the forecast was half-correct.

In the first race we chose to fly the No 2 Genoa and had one reef in the main, this had the boat nicely balanced. While the rest of the fleet started at the starboard end of the line we chose to go to the port end. The idea being that although I would have to duck a few boats on the start line the tide would turn in our favour inshore closer to Hasler wall while still being slack further out. This seemed to work as we headed round the top mark in second place (if memory serves). We had prepared the small kite to go for the down-wind leg but had a problem with the launch followed buy a riding turn in the halyard, followed by losing the sheets and guys on the starboard side. As a result we dropped it back down on deck and continued under white sails. Fortunately the messing about didn't lose us much time and we were still ahead of Rhapsody (but OMK sailed through). By the end of the second race the wind had increased and we were getting very pressed and I spent a lot of time feathering Concerto up into the wind when beating.

For the second race we changed down to the No3, this made tacking much easier but this is still an overlapping sail and when the gusts hit the early thirty's I was feathering up 10 degree's or so to keep Concerto under control. I think we were showing a bit of keel at times but were able to point very well indeed. The second race was a short one, starting on Starboard and getting out into maximum tide. Once around the windward mark the crew persuaded me to take the reef out (the spinnaker was staying firmly in it's bag) and we were flying along to Hardway Marine before gybing onto a reach and heading for Gleeds and the finish.

Concerto has been going really well the last couple of weeks due to the hardworking crew and weather that is more suited to traditional boats such as the CO32 (eg windy).

See you next week!

The club house

There was lively post race debate in the club house afterwards. Obviously there was some discussion on the incident that marred the day, however everyone was very excited about the fast and thrilling racing. The offset downwind gybing courses were enjoyed by all. Everyone had been well powered up and going like the clappers. It was just great sailing, with no time to get bored. The crews were backwards and forwards between the rails and the cockpit all day. I'm not sure whether they preferred the "grunt" of very physical moments with the winches or the relaxed showers (err... baths) on the rail.

Conversations in the bar suggested that One More Knot was over powered in the 2nd race with just a single reef in the main. After writing this report, I have to agree. Arrow had 2 reefs in and did very well. We need to try to remember that in F6 upwards is definitely 2 reef weather!

After today's incident, I'd like take a moment to reflect so that we can reduce the chances of something similar in the future. This might feel a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but I'm gonna do it anyway ... for the future:

A bit of understanding between the skippers will help everyone, after all we are racing in the Club class. It's a lot better to get the protest flag out than the insurance man. It's even better to not need the protest flag.

On a brighter note, spare a thought for the crew of Scallywag sailing the smallest boat of the fleet in difficult conditions. I'm sure the waves seemed much bigger and the wind stronger to them!

After 3 weekends and 6 races Concerto takes the series lead with 13 points, and equal on points is the normally consistent Rhapsody, although she suffered a bit in the heavier winds this weekend. Concerto leads on a race win count back. One More Knot has 23 points, Scallywag is on 28, Just In Time on 30, Total Obsession Too with 33 and Arrow starts her account with 38 points.

Saturday 28th October, Races 7 and 8
Crew : Phil, Barry, Les, Katie

Once again, the longer term forecast during the week wasn't very predictable, however on the day a good stiff blow kicked in. Starting at the top end of a F4 South Westerly and increasing throughout to F6, veering slightly to a Westerly. Our recorded max wind speed for the day was 34.9 knots (0.1 knot less than F8). The tides were neaps, with the racing starting on the beginning of the south east flowing tide.

We used the #3 and full main throughout, after the usual uhmming and arrring.

Race 7

The course was set with the start at Gleeds, a beat to Bob Kemp, which meant crossing the main Southampton shipping channel. The next mark was to leave Mechelec to Starboard, then McMurdo to Starboard and finally cross the line back at Gleeds.

Race 7 GPS plot

The fleet lined up for the start. Most were on Starboard, but Concerto and Total Obsession Too were on port. One More Knot was in the middle of the starboard fleet and everyone was there or thereabouts when the gun went. The leading boat of the starboard mob was only about half way along the line. This gave the port tackers a bit of a gap at the pin end.

Concerto was closer to the pin, with Total Obsession Too just underneath her. With the prospect of being "done" all of the starboard boats really went for it to shut the door. One More Knot closed the door on Total Obsession Too. However, George helming Concerto held his nerve and managed to "do" the whole fleet. Concerto had hit the pin end of the line at speed on the gun .... well done (through gritted teeth) .. but don't do it again.

To compound the advantage, Concerto was already on port tack heading for the shallows, slacker tide and flatter water under the Haslar wall. The starboard tackers were all faced with the dilemma of when to tack. The leading boats couldn't tack until the ones behind had. So the fleet peeled onto port from the back of the fleet. Eventually One More Knot's turn came and the drag race for the wall began.

On the way, OMK was sandwiched between Arrow to windward and slightly astern, and Rhapsody, to leeward and slightly in front. Slowly, so slowly, One More Knot inched up alongside Rhapsody. Rhapsody was holding a slightly higher course but there was just enough room for OMK to squeeze past. As soon as Rhapsody's bow was level with OMK's mast, the dirty air caused Rhapsody to drop by a couple of boat lengths. Oh ... and in the middle of this battle, the Island Link ferry comes charging across our race track hooting and waving at us! He hoots and turns to avoid us, but he would have had his work cut out if some of the fleet had split and tacked. We would have had all of his options covered .....

As we approached the wall, Arrow and Rhapsody tack back out, but Phil, already realising we were not where we needed to be (i.e. ahead), went for the serious tactics. We keep going for the wall. Can you count the bricks yet? .... nope, keep going. Heeling hard and charging along, we wait until 0.9 on the depth (allegedly below the keel) shows on the instruments. During the tack. this drops to 0.5m and the depth alarm goes off. The other boats are slightly further out. One More Knot makes some room against the wall and then tacks to go back in. Once again, 0.5m on the inside tack and the depth alarm goes off again. The tactics pay off to this point. On the approach to Gilkicker point One More Knot, on starboard, crosses the fleet in front as everyone else is coming in on port. There's not much between OMK, Concerto, Arrow and Total Obsession Too.

The debate about whether to tack back onto port with the fleet was zipping around inside Phil's head. The trouble is, there is a bit of a race effect just at Gilkicker point where the tide runs stronger as it comes up onto the shallows. OMK elects to stick to starboard and get into the deeper water to avoid the issue. It turns out to be a bad move as the more inshore boats gain an advantage, particularly as OMK doesn't appear to be pointing too well this week (in hindsight we think we had too much jib halyard).

The next decision was when to tack and go across the channel for Bob Kemp, the windward mark. Arrow has her nose in front of Concerto. We wait for Concerto to go, OMK and Arrow follow suit as soon as she goes. However, by now, we are a few hundred yards to leeward.

Arrow rounded Bob Kemp first, followed by Concerto. I can't (maybe don't want to) remember the order of the rest of the fleet other than we were nowhere near the leaders. We rounded and sailed down to Mechelec under white sails. We sailed as deep as we could while keeping the jib working. Our saving grace being that the big main helps. Barry, Les and Katie were all sitting on the foredeck to try to keep us from dragging the transom. Katie was surprised at the technique, but acknowledged that it seemed to work for us.

Mechelec comes up and we gybe early as our lowest course has taken us slightly inshore.. The leg to McMurdo is a broad reach and OMK finds her proper sea legs again. We managed to close some of the gap to Concerto and Total Obsession Too, albeit completely academic as far as the results were concerned. We were clocking 7 or 8 knots all the way.

After McMurdo, it was a short beat to the line. Phil elected to do it in one tack. Most of the rest of the fleet did 3, maybe to avoid some tide. Katie thought we were hanging onto our tack for way too long, but in the end we were able to sail through the line and miss the committee boats anchor chain by a couple of boat lengths.

At the line, the results show the distant leader Arrow taking line honours, followed by Total Obsession Too, Concerto then One More Knot in 4th, with Rhapsody and Scallywag completing the fleet. After the handicap unwound, the order changed to give Concerto another race win, then Total Obsession Too, Arrow, Rhapsody, One More Knot (5th) and finally Scallywag.

Race 8

The course for this race is start at Gleeds, to North Sturbridge, Mechelec, McMurdo and then finish at Gleeds. However, in the pre-start, the course is called on the VHF, we didn't get it first time around ... so we ask for it to be repeated. Everyone on board agrees that they heard start at Gleeds, to North Sturbridge, McMurdo and then finish at Gleeds. You can already see where this is going ....

Race 8 GPS plot

With the wind now a bit stronger, 20 knots plus, it turns out that One More Knot is the only boat in the fleet to line up without a reef in the main. If we can get upwind ok, we may have an advantage off the wind. Especially since the wind is up a bit. Some of the other boats may elect to not use their kites, or if they do, there may be trouble ... We also let an inch out of the jib halyard, so hopefully we could point a bit higher.

Prestart OMK loiters upwind and uptide again. In the last 2 minutes on our run to the line Phil unfurls the jib, controls our speed and attacks the line for the gun. Concerto comes in from the port end on port again. Phil exclaims "He's bloody done it again!" as we realise that we can't shut them out. Concerto's port tack flyer does the whole fleet. Apparently there was talk on board about whether they should duck Rhapsody.

The fleet eventually all get onto port and drag race to the wall again. There's not much in it when the fleet all tack, more or less together. On the new tack, the bows are aiming high of North Sturbridge, the windward mark. However, One More Knot's technology (GPS plotter) shows that the fleet are not making the mark. The situation will only get worse once the fleet get into the deep water. One More Knot tacks back onto port to stay in the slacker tide. None of the fleet follow the tactic. Will it work?

Eventually OMK tacks back out towards North Sturbridge. It turns out that we were pretty much spot on the lay line. You can see the effect of the tide on the track in the GPS plot.

At the mark, OMK rounds in second just a few boat lengths behind Arrow. Concerto is about 2 inches .... yep 2 inches behind OMK. There was a very close call as Concerto cut inside as both boats bore away. There was a quick chat between the skippers when the boats were along side .... not a nasty one, but was McMurdo the next mark? Arrow was already heading off towards Gilkicker point for some reason ..... (like following the course!) Both crews agreed that McMurdo was next.

Concerto was now to leeward of One More Knot. We had already agreed our plan to gybe early, stay in the stronger tide for as long as possible and make use the angles to keep the boat going fast. However, now Concerto was in the way. We sailed OMK high of Concerto to make some room to gybe and establish rights. Concerto were preparing to hoist the kite. OMK gybes to starboard and now approaches Concerto who is forced to give way. After a while, we gybe back and the two boats track into together. As we approach the committee boat, the VHF crackles into life with a small message to point out the correct course for the fleet. We instantly recognise, with horror, the significance of the message and both boats come hard onto the wind to get back to Mechelec.

We manage to open a gap on Concerto on the way up to Mechelec, and again on the way back down to McMurdo. But its all pretty meaningless. One More Knot finished fourth on the water, with Concerto and Scallywag behind.

Arrow took line honours by a sufficient margin to hang on after the handicap had been unwound. One More Knot crossed the line 4th on the water, but finished last in the rankings. Not really a surprise given our blunder.

We were not really annoyed because it was a genuine, joint, mistake on our part not to check against the committee boat. However, we were a bit disappointed to let an opportunity escape, especially as we were close to Arrow at the windward mark. There was the prospect of a genuine race, on the water, as both boats share the same handicap. We had no reefs in our main, and they had at last one, maybe two, so we were hoping for a good downwind leg against the heavier 39 footer!

Here are race reports from Concerto and then Rhapsody, thanks for the contributions and keep it up!

From Concerto:

Halfway through the series are the crew on Concerto were feeling optimistic, the skipper on the other hand keeps praying to the weather gods that the strong winds continue. Looks like the prayers were answered again this week.

In the build up to race one we studied the tides and decided that there would be a big benefit to starting on port and heading directly to Haslar wall even if we had to duck some or all of the fleet. Fortunately our timing on the line has been improving and we hit the line on the gun. Watching to leeward there looked to be just enough room to pass ahead of everyone. With the No2 and full main we were a little over pressed but this allowed me to feather up into the wind in the frequent gusts adding height to our course with no loss of speed.

Dave did a great job of estimating when we needed to tack out to the windward mark and once round the small kite was up and we were off like a shot. The crew flew the kite expertly the whole time and we did a faultless gybe in the fresh breeze to keep it going to the leeward mark. We had a bit of fun getting the spinnaker down and lost 3-4 boat lengths but were confident when crossing the line that we had a result.

For the second race of the day we decided to hang on to the No2 but put a reef in the main. I was persuaded to go for the port end/port tack start again (to be first toward the wall) and thought a few more competitors would do the same and make this a slightly less risky decision. Again we crossed the line on the start gun and whilst holding my breath we crossed ahead of the whole fleet a second time. I think I aged a year in those three minutes and spotted a few looks of disbelief from the rest of the fleet. As in the first race we got to the windward mark close to the front of the fleet and gave Phil a few grey hairs as we cut inside OMK around N-Sturbridge. From here it all went a little wrong as noted in Phil's race report but sometimes these things do happen and we made the best of a bad job.

As for the Bar talk we didn't make it across this week. However its quite possible that we would have been strung up for port-end antics (the fact that we got away with it twice) and certainly questions would have been asked about the navigator's eyesight.

NOTE TO PHIL (from Karen).

It has to said, rarely do men underplay size but 2 inches???!!!
We thought it had to be at least 2.5

And "The View from Rhapsody"

The crew arrives at Haslar Marina at around 0845 to yet another breezy day. So far in this series we've had the number 1 Genoa out of its bag once and then only for the first race of two. Even the number 2 has only seen the light of day once. Still, it has made for some exciting sailing and today looks like more of the same.

Race 7

Race 7 GPS plot from Rhapsody

Condor is back as the committee boat and sets a long beat to Bob Kemps for the first leg followed by a run to Mechelec, and then on to McMurdo and a final beat back to the finish at Gleeds. The tide is going east at a fair rate and is doing funny things on the start line. We decide the pin end is best and we want to get onto port tack as soon as possible to keep out of the tide. Roy opts for a starboard tack reach down the line and hardens up to cross the line near the pin end - not near enough as Concerto, starting on port just manages to cross in front of us - damn! Then even worse to follow as the boats to windward of us seem to want to keep heading out into the adverse tide and so we can't tack. Eventually we do manage it and head toward the Haslar wall. We then short tack around Gilkicker, keeping in as shallow water as possible. The wind has picked up and we are over-canvassed with the number 3 and full main. We really need to put a reef in but we don't. Consequently our boat speed is between 4.5 to 5 knots. The big decision now is when to go for the windward mark. We decide to go on a bit further than the bigger boats in the fleet and only Scallywag goes as far as we do. Well, that was a wrong move as when we do tack and head out across the tide we find we have to free off a bit to arrive at the mark. The other boats are heading back to the next mark when we round and hoist our small spinnaker. We set off at a fair rate, around 8 knots. Then the broach, which shows quite well on the GPS plot - boom in the water, sea over the toe rail, a bit too exciting really. It seems as if we are never coming upright but after several false starts, we do. No more mishaps on the fast and really exhilarating broad reach down to Mechelec. The next decision is do we drop the spinnaker before we reach the mark or gybe it when we get there. We decide the next leg looks quite tight and go for caution. A white sail reach to Mcmurdo and then a short beat to the finish. On handicap we finished 4th, having beaten OMK and Scallywag. That was one place higher than we expected, sorry about that Phil.

Race 8

Race 8 GPS plot from Rhapsody

Before the second race we decide to put a reef in the main and the boat immediately feels much better. This time we start near the committee boat end of the line and tack onto port almost immediately. Concerto manages, yet again, to cross the entire fleet on port - how do they do it? We are soon heading for the Haslar shore with OMK right on our tail and just to windward of us. We are pointing a bit higher than they are but they still manage to pass us. Rhapsody is going much better with reef in the main; our boat speed is a good 0.5 knots faster than in the previous race. We tack for North Sturbridge, the windward mark, just after Concerto and Arrow. We watch as OMK puts in a tack towards Gilkicker and decide that it's not a good move on their part. How wrong can you be; they reach the mark quite a way ahead of us! This time we need to put in a further tack near the mark before heading into the mark on port. Total Obsession Too appears and is coming towards us on starboard; Roy decides that despite their call of "starboard" we can squeeze by ahead of them, we do so - just! We bear away and prepare to hoist the kite. Total Obsession Too is just behind us and also preparing to hoist, we harden up to give them room, just in case they broach into us. So with spinnaker set we head towards Mechelec at around 8 knots, Total Obsession Too pulls ahead, heading to the east of the mark. We then realise that we can see only two boats ahead of us; Total Obsession Too and Arrow in the distance - where are Concerto and OMK? We continue towards Mechelec deciding that this time we will gybe and carry the kite to Mcmurdo before the final beat to the finish. In front of us, we watch Total Obsession Too drop their spinnaker in order to get to the leeward mark. Then we see where Concerto and OMK are, oh dear they appear to have left out Mechelec! Our gybe goes well and we are soon in hot pursuit of Total Obsession Too who are now without spinnaker. We catch Total Obsession Too just as we both reach Mcmurdo. We drop the kite, round the mark and manage to get inside them for the start of the final beat. They finish just ahead of us. Our third place on the water turns into a second place on handicap.

Something to Amuse

Roy brought along his new hand held GPS a Garmin ETrex Legend which has a map display. It was already loaded with the race waypoints and Martin our navigator was trying it out for the first time. He kept saying that when he asked it to "go to" a waypoint it was giving funny directions, such as "head north to the A27". We realised afterwards that the route option was set to "follow road" and not "off road"!

Conclusion

Another day of really enjoyable racing with good courses.

The club house

It seems like this bit is becoming a regular.

George (Concerto) didn't show up ..... leaving Phil (OMK) to take all of the ribbing about navigation.

At least everyone seemed to enjoy the racing, although I suspect that this result has really stirred up the series results and may stop boats from pairing off too early in the series. We'll see.

After 4 weekends, 8 races and one discard Concerto continues to lead the series with 14 points. Rhapsody is now 2 points behind on 16. One More Knot remains in 3rd with 27 points. Total Obsession Too is this weeks highest climber, climbing 2 places, from 6th to 4th, still on 30 points. Scallywag the smallest boat in the series, is in 5th with 32 points. The big winds so far in this series are not helping the former series winning GK24. Arrow is showing some serious promise after a number of DNCs. Currently she is lying 6th, but with 2 wins out of 4 starts her cards are firmly on the table. Just In Time has fallen to the bottom of the table on 38 points, by virtue of not being able to get out on the water.

If One More Knot is going to hang onto 3rd place in the series, we need to get our act sorted!.

Saturday 4th November, Races 9 and 10
Crew : Phil, Phil B, Joe, Nigel, Rachel

Once again the weather forecasts kept the crews guessing until they were out on the water. Some local forecasts were suggesting 5mph from the north. The met office inshore was forecasting F3 or F4 from the north east. With relatively strong tides, we were expecting to race off Hayling on the other side of the barrier. However, as it turns out we raced off the Haslar wall again, with about 6-7 knots of true wind from the north west. It was clear that the tides would feature heavily with such light winds. A good tactical battle to be had.

Race 9

One More Knot takes line honours

The start was at Gleeds, with the first beat to Vail Williams just off the Haslar wall. Mechelec was next, not far away and then a long downwind leg to the Mary Rose. A beat back to the line at Gleeds completed the lap. The race was scheduled for 2 laps but shortened to one. There was a port bias on the line, so the pin end was favoured.

Race 9 GPS plot

Loitering pre-start in the NW flowing tide left OMK downtide with about 4 minutes to go. Our usual trick of unfurling the genoa (#2 this week) at the last minute was abandoned with the recognition of the urgency to make against the tide. One More Knot managed to get up just enough speed to sneak around the committee boat (and a very long anchor warp) in front of the pack. It seemed to take an age for the seconds to count down as we sailed down the line, trying to sail fast enough to stay in front of the pack but not so fast as to sail past the pin before the start. Once again we made a good start, although apparently from the committee boat it seemed like the fleet were a bit line shy.

Initially, the fleet stayed on starboard to maximise the tide the wind against tide effects in the deep water. One More Knot was in front, followed by Total Obsession Too and Rhapsody. Rhapsody were the first to tack off. It was clear that her tack was way too early, so she immediately tacked back again.

Eventually the fleet tacked onto port. One More Knot was last to tack. At the time, we thought we could go a bit further, but tacked anyway to cover the fleet. As it turned out, we had already overstood the mark slightly because the strong tide was washing us west. No real harm done, as this allowed us to free off a bit on the approach to the mark, increasing our boat speed. On the approach to Vail Williams, One More Knot lead from Rhapsody and then Total Obsession Too.

One More Knot rounded first, already about a minute clear of the next boat. With a tack just before the mark, the spinnaker was deployed for the first time this season. We managed a nice, if unhurried and careful, bear away set. Our one and only kite, is a heavy small reacher and doesn't really power us well downwind. So we concentrated on playing the angles, trying to keep the boat and kite moving. The plot shows the effect of the tide and the angles which meant that when we gybed we were some way off the Mechelec mark. It didn't seem to matter too much, as we gybed our way downwind trying to keep the boat speed somewhere around the 4 knot region. Any slip of concentration from the helm led to the boat pointing toward the next mark and slowing down to 2 knots!

By the time we made it to the Mary Rose mark, One More Knot had a big lead. We elected to make our last gybe at a time that looked a bit late to those on the committee boat. However our thoughts were to give ourselves plenty of time to drop the kite and still have the right angles to keep sailing downwind. On rounding the mark, we set up for the last fetch to the line.

One More Knot crossed the line to take line honours. We then watched the clock as the rest of the fleet made towards the line. As the minutes ticked by, we could feel a good result coming. Eventually, each boat could be ruled out in turn, except Concerto .... we thought the result would be a few seconds either way. It turned out to be Concerto's race by about a minute .... we lost count in all the excitement!

One More Knot was second, behind Concerto, followed by Rhapsody, Total Obsession Too, Scallywag and newcomer Rondo.

Race 10

One More Knot wins

The course was set with the start at Gleeds, then a beat to Mechelec, a run to McMurdo, a reach to Mary Rose, followed by a tight fetch to Gleeds and then another beat to Mechelec followed by a broad reach back to the line.

The tide was to play a very significant part in this race. We were about 2 hours after high water. The general tidal flow was changing from north westerly to south easterly. However, Portsmouth harbour has a huge volume hidden behind a very small entrance. Hence the tidal flow change near the entrance occurs after high water. Once the harbour start emptying, there is a strong southerly stream near the main channel.

Race 10 GPS plot

At the start, we were still in the tail end of the north westerly flowing tide. Once again we managed to get washed slightly course side of the line and with the light wind it was a struggle to get back to the line. Phil realised that we were too late to nip in front of the fleet. The committee boat had a very long anchor warp which would mean that we would have to drop a long way downwind, uptide to get around and get back to the line. In desperation, an alternative plan was needed. It suddenly struck Phil that there was no obligation to go around the committee boat, so we elected to go over the top and dip the line. As it turned out, this had loads of advantages, it was shorter, the sailing angles were better and the rest of the fleet were way downwind and couldn't interfere.

Having dipped the line, with 20 seconds to go everything was sheeted in hard. Observations later from the committee boat said that we were once again line shy and that Rhapsody got across the line first. One More Knot was at the pin end in clear air.

Once again, One More Knot made for the tide in the deep water and once again we were last to tack. It turned out that we had left it a little late, so we were able to free off again slightly on the final approach to Mechelec. However, by being sure that we could make the mark without tacking allowed us to rig the pole early ready for another bear away set. At the mark, the tide was slack. One More Knot rounded first comfortably ahead of the rest of the fleet.

The trouble with being in front is that there is no one to copy! A look ahead to the IRC fleet didn't really help, they had split .... So in the end, we just relied on what we know about our boat and sailed the angles. We also had the knowledge that if we got close enough to the harbour entrance, we would be greatly assisted by the ebbing tide after we gybe. We elected to sail down the Haslar wall towards the entrance. It was slow progress at only 2-3 knots over the ground. The wind was quite light near the shore. As we got closer to the harbour entrance we could feel some adverse tide as the ebbing tide spilled out across the sand bank. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet had rounded Mechelec. The crew were watching and it appeared that we were losing our advantage. Some elected to dead run to McMurdo, Rhapsody tries the angles too and follows One More Knot, although their course isn't quite so extreme!

Eventually, our nerves can't take it any more so we gybe. We had a decent approach to McMurdo, but on the final part we realise that the tide is washing us south and the wrong side. We run deeper (more easterly) to counter the effect. It was slow progress, but we eventually rounded. The rest of the fleet had taken a more direct line and would have had to battle this effect for much longer.

OMK rounded McMurdo first and we imagine by quite some way. We're not sure because we had other things on our mind. We thought we could carry the kite out to the Mary Rose, however we couldn't quite sail high enough. Plus, some idiot had put a whacking great castle right in front of the bow on our highest course ..... So out came the #2 and down came the kite. We reached the heady speed of 5 knots on this leg!

At Mary Rose we could see that we had extended our lead considerably. We were able to close reach to Gleeds, near the committee boat and then harden up to go for Mechelec. On the approach we could see that the tide was now washing us back to the east. Phil B on the foredeck saw a lift in the wind and called it. We eased OMK up a few degrees and it allowed us get around the mark in one.

A glance at the buoy told us that the tide was flowing quite strongly east now. A little jump of glee as we knew the rest of the fleet would have trouble getting up to the mark against both wind and tide. Especially as these conditions also had the effect of reducing the apparent wind speed.

Photo from Rhapsody

Click for the full size image
A photo from Rhapsody chasing Total Obsession Too. White Cloud with the spinnaker from the IRC fleet is in the foreground. One More Knot is long gone in the distance, about to round the windward mark. It's worse than it looks for Rhapsody .... its uptide and upwind all the way!

As for One More Knot, the kite was hoisted for our final leg to broad reach down across the line. We took line honours and looked back up the course. On the water, the next boat to cross the line was Total Obsession Too, over 6 minutes behind OMK. Rhapsody followed closely, with Concerto some way behind. After the handicap was unwound, One More Knot claimed her first win of the series, by 1 minute and 51 seconds. Yeee Haaa!

Well done crew: Joe, 11 was releasing the jib and dumping the pole downhaul on the gybes, Rachel was on the jib, Nigel on the main and Phil B on the foredeck.

Photo nicked from Nigel's website, www.woozle.co.uk

Phil on the way to his first race win at the helm!

Race reports from Concerto and then Rhapsody

From Concerto:

Having watched the weather all week the high that had settled over the UK potentially spelt disaster for Concerto. As a more traditional boat we are always going to suffer in the light winds that were forecast and we would have to get every last quarter knot if we were to stand a chance against competition like OMK and Rhapsody.

Our first start was fine and we left the starting blocks heading out into maximum tide on Starboard (no port-end heroics this week!) We were one of the last to tack on to port and head into Haslar wall and the windward mark. Rhapsody and TO2 were first around the mark but while they were having a "conversation" we could see that they were heading west on the tide fast. On rounding the mark we quickly turned and crabbed across the tide while preparing the spinnaker. Once on the run with the big Kite we headed almost directly for the leeward mark (Mary Rose?) and fought hard to keep up with the two boats ahead that were zigzagging their way down the course. I lost count of the number of gybes Rhapsody did to chase the wind and keep the boat moving but they were all very slick.

At the bottom mark OMK was already half way to the finish, we had Rhapsody to leeward (just ahead) and TO2 behind and to windward. With the spinnaker pole on the wrong side we decided to lose the pole and flew the kite right up to the buoy and the Foredeck (Dave) did a great windward drop as we hardened up after the mark (it worked excellently!!). Having rounded Mary Rose, Rhapsody were alongside Concerto but to windward, I decided to let them have the windward position coming out from the mark as we needed speed (not pointing) and the tide would push us easily through the finish. In the light airs Rhapsody just sneaked ahead and finished about 10 seconds before Concerto. OMK who loved the light airs (and using their spinnaker) had line honours and were on the second course of their lunch by the time we reached them!

Our start to race Two was bad - very bad. On the line we had TO2 ahead of Concerto and Rhapsody to windward. With hindsight we should have kept some boat speed and sailed below TO2 before coming hard on the wind and pushing them over the line (or at least causing them some problems!). What did happen was that I let Rhapsody in and ended up in everyone's bad air. As before we carried the Starboard tack out into the tide and then tacked on OMK's line into the Haslar wall. With the Kite up on the second leg the wind was starting to fade and try as me might we just couldn't keep up with the Rhapsody, TO2 and OMK who were well in the distance. By the bottom mark we were hoping the race would be shortened at Gleeds but we had to carry on.

There was a little glimmer of hope when we spotted Rhapsody do an extra couple of tacks to get around the windward buoy but with the tide now changing inshore it was a tidal gate that slammed in our face. On the final kite ride down to the finish we knew we had to accept 4th or 5th place.

Another great days sailing! What a change to get in to Portsmouth with the sun shining and a dry cabin. Phil did a great job on OMK this Saturday and deserves 1st and 2nd. Concerto scored 1st and 4th, Rhapsody scored 3rd and 2nd. We both gained 5 points but we gained a point difference between us due to having another discard. It's still all to play for next week ...

And The View from Rhapsody:

We arrive at Haslar Marina to a day of light winds. So we finally get to use the number 1 Genoa for both races. However the tides are going to be a big factor today.

Race 9

Race 9 GPS plot from Rhapsody

We manage a reasonable start and set off towards Vail Williams, the windward mark. We see OMK making rapid progress ahead and to leeward. We put in our first tack and very soon decide that it was wrong, so tack back onto starboard. Not long afterwards there is a significant wind-shift and we can now tack for the mark. The rest of the fleet have now over-stood it to some extent but not enough to compensate for our too early tack. We round the mark to port, close to Total Obsession Too but a fair way behind OMK. The spinnaker is hoisted with a bear-away set and we proceed to Mechelec in company with Total Obsession Too with Concerto not far behind. We had seen earlier that the class one boats had been swept past Mechelec by the tide so we wanted to gybe onto port fairly early, certainly before we got to the buoy. We had some lively verbal banter with Total Obsession Too to persuade them to gybe so that we would be able to do so without sailing into them. After the gybe we found to our horror that the rope through the end of the pole wasn't the guy, it was the Genoa sheet! It was soon put right in the light winds but it didn't go un-noticed on Total Obsession Too. The leeward mark was Mary Rose and we decided to sail the leg as much inshore as possible to reduce the adverse tide, this we did, putting in a total of 4 gybes along the way. This tactic paid off as we got to Mary Rose ahead of Total Obsession Too and the rest of the fleet, apart from OMK who were long gone. Then there was a short fetch to the shortened course finish at Gleeds. We crossed the line second on the water but were placed 3rd on handicap behind Concerto and OMK.

Race 10

Race 10 GPS plot from Rhapsody

Approaching the committee boat for the start and having to avoid its anchor line, we realise that we are in danger of being shut out by Concerto who are to leeward and slightly astern of us. We in turn were only about 1 quarter boat length away from Total Obsession Too. It was all looking very tight! We think Concerto was very kind to us - thanks guys! The beat to the first mark, Mechelec, to starboard this time, goes much better than the first race of the day. We decide to go for a gybe set of the spinnaker at the mark. Immediately it's up we see we want to gybe back onto port to get inshore out of the tide. We now have Concerto just behind us but manage to make the gybe and cross just in front of them. When we have a decent angle to Mcmurdo, the leeward mark, we gybe back onto starboard and reach Mcmurdo behind OMK, long gone again, and Total Obsession Too. With Concerto just behind us we begin to wonder how on earth we will ever shake them off. This is supposed to be our sort of weather, not theirs! We carry the kite and harden up around Mcmurdo and head for Mary Rose, the next mark. With the wind well forward of the beam Roy decides we need use the Genoa and so we drop the spinnaker. This pays off and we start to pull away from Concerto who are still carrying their kite. We round Mcmurdo and sail the fetch to Gleeds not far behind Total Obsession Too. We have seen that OMK made the following leg back to Mechelec in one tack so expect to do the same. We find that we can't make it in one, in part due to being in the dirty air from Total Obsession Too and partly due to the changing tidal flow. We see that Total Obsession Too has to put in a tack near the mark and we do the same. When we then go for the mark we realise that we have misjudged the strength of the tide and have to put in yet a further tack to make the rounding. Then it's a gybe set of the spinnaker followed by a broad reach to the finish at Gleeds. We are third on the water, close enough to Total Obsession Too and far enough in front of Concerto to achieve a second place on handicap.

Conclusions

We feel we should have done better given that these were conditions which we would consider ideal for Rhapsody. We didn't appreciate the complexities of the tidal flows, we need to prepare better. We were pleased to see OMK achieving good and well deserved results. It was nice to beat Concerto without them sailing the wrong course!

Just for interest, I have overlaid the tracks from One More Knot and Rhapsody.

Race 9 overlaid tracks Race 10 overlaid tracks

Race 9 and Race 10
In the second race, race 10, you can see how One More Knot made the final windward mark (Mechlec) without tacking, but Rhapsody got stuffed by the tide half way and then needed to tack up to the mark.

After 10 races, the series now stands as follows:

Saturday 11th Novemeber
Crew: Phil, Barry, Les, Phil B and Joe

Showtime
The series decider

This was the last day of the series, and no-one yet had a clear cut place overall. It turns out that all of the leading skippers had done their sums to see what they needed to do on the day. One More Knot could finish as high as second, but only if Rhapsody stayed in bed and OMK managed a double victory on the day ..... unlikely. More to the point, OMK could be demoted to 4th by Total Obssesion Too. They had some work to do. If we did well enough, we could defend our position. The gap was close enoguh for this to be a very real threat. OMK was aware that sailing Total Obsession Too out of the race would do enough .... desperate tactics to be reserved for the final race if necessary?

Hot off of last weeks success in light winds, the forecast early in the week was looking like a repeat. However, as the days ticked by, the forecast changed eventually presenting westerly F5 and F6 on the day with a big gradient across the course. It was much lighter and gustier inshore. The start line was laid near Horse Sand Fort and the course for both races was a Upwind downwind sausage. The upwind mark was Royal Albert just past Gilkicker point. With a strong easterly tide flowing thoughout, tidal tactics were once again important, although fairly obvious.

Milling around pre-start, it seemed very busy, with a good turnout. 8 boats in our fleet.

Race 11

Race 11 GPS plot

One More Knot was the first to dive under the stern of the committee boat, followed very closely by series newcomer Uptown Girl. We sailed just fast enough to stay ahead, concious of not overshooting the pin end of the line. In the final few seconds, Uptown Girl luffed hard and squeezed the fleet against the committee boat. Fortunately for us, we were free to sail unhindered. We struggled to sheet the jib hard and quickly and lost some of our potential advantage, but at least we had clean air.

With OMK on the left hand side of the fleet, we had to wait for everyone else to tack inshore. Once we had tacked, it was the usual drag race to the wall. From where we were sitting, it looked like Concerto and Rhapasody were sailing a bit low .... a cunning tactic George?

As things started to settled down, the fleet was being led by Total Obsession Too. Just what we wanted! OMK was chasing hard in second, cross tacking with Uptown Girl. Under the wall, the gusts were tricky to handle, with a dramatic lull for a few seconds which appeared to head the boat followed by being slammed by the gust. Bearing away in the lull made it even worse and it took a while to figure it out.

As we got towards Gilkicker, Total Obsession Too hung onto the starboard tack for too long, while OMK skirted the shore. Our tactics allowed us to make use of the slacker tide (and potential eddy).

One More Knot was ahead at last but a little too separated from Total Obsession Too to slow her down, so we rounded the buoy first, closely followed by Total Obsession and Uptown Girl. There was a strong tide running (wasn't there Roy?).

One More Knot was back to "no spinnaker" tactics, with the wind in the 18 to 27 knot region. We were hoping that the strong wind might stop the others too.

We made off downwind playing our angles game. By staying on starboard for as long as possible we stayed in the main tide, clocking 9 knots over the ground. Total Obsession Too went for the direct approach .... and up went their kite. They looked to be going well. Were our plans falling to pieces?

Total Obsession Too took line honours, with One More Knot in 2nd on the water, 1 minute 43 seconds behind. Concerto was next to cross the line. After the handicap had done its deed, Concerto had won, followed by Total Obsession Too, Uptown Girl, Rhapsody, One More Knot in 5th, then Arrow, Rondo and finally Scallywag.

Race 12

Race 12 GPS plot

In order to stay out of trouble, One More Knot was first into the start line area again, but we were a bit early towards the line and needed to lose about 20 seconds by feathering to windward in the countdown. We started at the pin end of the line, once again just below Uptown Girl.

The start was pretty much a repeat of the previous race, with OMK waiting for the fleet to tack into the wall. At least we had clean air. Total Obsession Too made a good start and we couldn't catch them this time. In desperation, we short tacked on the inside at Gilkicker trying to stay out of the tide. We could easily throw a stone to the beach!

At the windward mark, we were already behind Total Obsession Too, and with no opportunity to deploy dodgy tactics to push Total Obsession Too away, all we could do was race the clock. On this leg, with the wind gusting through at 30 knots plus, we elected to run goosewinged and go for the shortest course over the ground. We were on starboard and were running by the lee, parallel with Uptown Girl. We discussed our gybe tactics, but they weren't to be deployed yet. Meanwhile Uptown Girl gybes onto port and this brought the two boats closer together, a quick "Starboard" stabilises the situation.

Total Obsession Too doubled up her line honours for the week, with Uptown Girl pipping One More Knot to the line. However, the real results gave 1st to Concerto then Uptown Girl, Total Obsession Too, Rhaposdy, One More Knot, Arrow, Rondo and Scallywag.

Out on the the water and back into the club house, we didn't know the result and therefore how the series was going to turn out. It was fairly obvious that Concerto had done enough to claim the series, followed by Rhapsody. It was a real nail-biter for 3rd place between One More Knot and Total Obsession Too. In the end, it fell in favour of One More Knot by a single point.

George's report from the series winning boat Concerto:

Another good weather weekend for Concerto with 20-25kts. Before the weekend we were three points clear of Rhapsody which is a nice margin but not enough for us to sit back and relax - we still have to push hard. Race 11 and 12 both had the same Olympic windward-leeward course. Concerto's first start was good but with Rhapsody just to leeward we were in danger. Concerto didn't want to point this weekend but we had just enough speed to sail over the top of them (noting a mucky bottom). Everyone started on Starboard across the start and then tacked onto port to head toward Haslar wall and out of the tide. By the windward mark we were in third position on the water and with a gap between us and Rhapsody decided not to fly the spinnaker. The race was then shortened to one lap and had a quick yet uneventful sail to the finish.

Our second start was good and the course the competitors took was much the same as race 11. Concerto was continuing to have difficulties pointing but was going fast. At the top mark a number of the competitors chose to stay in close to the shore and have a long starboard tack into the mark. Concerto decided to stay out and risk the tide but it seemed to pay off as we gained 6-8 boat lengths as others overstood. Once heading to the finish the small spinnaker came out for the last time this season and was flown to the line. With about 25Kts is was a quick down wind leg and despite rolling a lot we managed to avoid a broach until crossing the line.

The weather this weekend really did suit Concerto again and we gained another two 1st although in Race 12 Uptown Girl were only 4 seconds behind us. I'm really pleased with the results through the whole series, it has been a real team effort from the crew and I'm very grateful to them all. I also want to pass on my thanks to the team at Portsmouth Sailing Club for organising another excellent race series.

See you in the spring when I'll have two bottoms to keep clean (but one will be in a nappy).

And The View from Rhapsody:

Having done the sums on the results so far, we have concluded that for us to finish 1st in the series we need to win both races today and Concerto has to do fairly badly. On the other hand for us to be beaten into third place by OMK, they have to win both races and we have to do worse than 3rd in both races. Having looked at the inshore forecast on Friday night and seen W 5 or 6, to be honest, we are not too confident of finishing the series in 1st place! A glimmer of hope as when we get to the Haslar the wind seems fairly light - not for long however. When we get out to Condor it's even stronger and we eventually go for the number 3 self-tacker, together with 2 reefs in the main.

Race 11

We manage a reasonable start together with Concerto fairly well down the line and we both soon tack onto port to head toward the Haslar shore in order to keep out of the tide. Rhapsody points higher but they have more boat speed and so when crossing we are fairly close to each other. Closer to the shore the wind is lighter and we lose boat speed because of our small sail area. However the sea is flatter and this compensates to some extent. On making the windward mark, Royal Albert, we are some distance behind Concerto and the bigger boats in the fleet. There is a lot of tide and we find an extra tack is necessary near the mark. Then horror of horrors the helmsman, Roy, has not given himself enough room and we finish up round the mark but with a slightly bent toe rail and some yellow paint! After the 360° penalty turn which didn't take too long with the stiff breeze, the small spinnaker is up and we are away to Gleeds and what proves the finish of a shortened course. We have no idea where we were likely to be placed but the results show we were 4th, behind Concerto, TO2 and newcomer Uptown Girl.

Race 12

Same course as the first race and we make a better start this time, close enough to Condor to prevent Uptown Girl squeezing between us. We are about a boat length ahead of Uptown Girl and decide we are clear enough to tack onto port to head inshore. They have the same idea and we tack simultaneously. As before Rhapsody points higher but they have more boat speed. Nearing the windward mark we are ahead of Concerto this time and take a final tack in towards Gilkicker before going for the mark. However, the tide has obviously reduced considerably and Concerto who didn't tack inshore, rounds ahead of us. No yellow paint this time and the spinnaker is soon on its way up the mast. Oops! The spinnaker sheet is inside the pole downhaul and we soon have Richard and Norman on the foredeck trying to rectify the situation. Having disconnected the downhaul from the pole, Norman holds the pole down while Richard re-routes the sheet. All that remains is to re-attach the down haul snap-shackle to the pole strop. It's nearly there when one of those big gusts that were a feature of Saturday hits and Norman decides it's either let go or follow the pole up the mast. This is quickly followed by a big broach to leeward and consequent crash gybe! Things aren't looking to good at this stage. However the spinnaker and pole are now blanketed by the main and the foredeck men manage to retrieve the pole and re-attach the downhaul. That, followed by a gybe of the main to get it back the right side and we are now in hot pursuit of Concerto who have decided to do the final leg without spinnaker. Having seen that we are now fast catching them they decide to hoist and we finish up crossing the line some 30 seconds behind them. Again the results show we were 4th, behind Concerto, Uptown Girl and TO2.

Conclusions

We didn't get our two wins but were very pleased to achieve second place in what has been a super series. Discussions in the bar after the racing confirmed what all the crew of Rhapsody had felt, that this was probably the best PSC Parhelion series that we have taken part in. The spirit in which the crews took part was a big factor in this. It was nice to see new boats joining in throughout the series and we hope to see them there in the spring, perhaps with some lighter winds, not too light though!

We heard in the bar from the other crews that our broach and gybe looked quite impressive! We aim to give entertainment to the other boats!

Congratulations to Concerto for a well sailed series - you're worthy winners.

Congratulations too to Phil and the crew of OMK for hanging on to that 3rd place.

Commiserations to Tony and the crew of Just in Time, we all hope to see you back in the spring.

Club house

Back in the club house, there was a bit of a party atmosphere. The series had been a stunner. 6 weekends of racing, no races lost, no rain and lots of sunshine. It had been mostly a strong wind series, with just one light weekend.

Skipper & crew with the trophy

Presentations were made in the club, and One More Knot's skipper Phil was delighted to receive a trophy for 3rd place .... although he's getting convinced that all the trophies must have 3rd place on them .... that's 3 now. Can I have one with a different number next year .... please!

It is also highly appropriate to thank all of the organisers, helpers, etc many of whom are behind the scenes. The competitors have enjoyed a fantastic series, none of which would have been possible without your help.

As for the other competitors, well done to George and the crew of Concerto, claiming the series. As Roy said, deserving winners. Tony, get that boat fixed and we'll see you on the water soon! And to everyone else, thanks for the good natured competition and it seems like we all enjoyed our sailing.

Just think, George won't be so fast in the spring when he and Karen will be new, but probably tired, parents!!!! Good luck guys.

Don't forget to enter the spring series
Portsmouth Sailing Club