It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and it’s the first time that I had been at the Club on a Sunday. I was surprised how few LSC members were taking advantage of this lovely weather, as only 3 dinghies were sailing as well as 2 disabled boats and related powerboat assistance. I was very grateful for assistance from Rob E in one of the power boats for rescuing my Marblehead which had lost radio control as a result of a dodgy on off switch.
Guildford and Littleton Radio Sailing organised this annual Marblehead Open event, which was publicised in LSC Scene earlier.
The racing was a fantastic spectacle with the boats screaming downwind in the gusts with loads of spray, broaching and sometimes rudders showing.
The mark roundings are always exciting and on the beat the skill of those who could tack on the shifts and make a good rounding of the windward mark showed up clearly.
The 16 reaching starts were exciting, but it was easy to be too early and there were several general recalls and often with boats over the line OCS.
We used two of the dinghy circular orange buoys as turning marks which worked well with the scale of the tall rigs of the Marblehead standing up well above the mark. It is always difficult to judge whether you are past the mark or not, but the tall rigs throw a shadow of the rig on the buoy when you are past it, making the judgement easier.
In the control area in front of the clubhouse there are lots of strange things to see and questions to ask. What are those funny rigs with the jibs set on an extension to the main boom? How does that work? Don’t be afraid to ask as model sailors are always very helpful and can explain things like the setting of the sails, which in principle is no different to setting the sails on your DF95.
Finally don’t be afraid to ask to have a go at sailing a Marblehead as with the DF95 they give a great deal of pleasure, excitement and fun!
Roger Stollery, 1 June 2026
