News & Reports

Courage Cock event this Sunday, 18th March

Dear All,

Unlike previous years, this event is not a match racing event but a standard club race. Once again, like our last event and Abbey Meads the forecast is for a good breeze and a bit of sunshine so, whilst it may be cold we should be in for a good day’s sailing. For those going to the Worlds in BIBLIS in May, this is a good opportunity to practice or in the case of new boats, get experience of sailing in other than A rigs. Peter and I will be there so please come along and join the fun.

Cheers, Roger

By Mark|2018-03-14T13:00:54+00:00March 14th, 2018|Categories: Sailing|Comments Off

New IRSA Rules

News from the INTERNATIONAL RADIO SAILING ASSOCIATION (IRSA) Technical Committee

New certification material for revised class rules 2018

The EC recently voted for the 2018 updated class rules which are now published and come into effect on 1 April 2018.

Click on Read More (bottom right) for IRSA Website page Link (blue button):

IRSA

By Mark|2018-03-06T13:15:23+00:00March 6th, 2018|Categories: News|Comments Off

GMYC Friday Evening Meeting – Victoria Hall Ash 16th March

Evening Meeting Friday, 16 March 20:00 – 22:30

Victoria Hall Ash

RACING RULES, STRATEGY and TACTICS: this workshop will concentrate the mind and help focus on the new season’s racing. At any of these workshops, those taking part can ask questions, which the team will try to answer and so the discussions may not necessarily be limited to the plan above.

By Mark|2018-03-02T10:30:08+00:00March 2nd, 2018|Categories: Evenings|Comments Off

ICICLE Trophy, 25 February 2018

Dear All,

The 2018 ICICLE has been the best event of the year so far because of the wind and sun and of course the competition!

This was an absolutely cracking day’s racing with 16 races in B rig in bright sunshine, but a cold wind 8-15 mph from the east north-east.

GMYC ICICLE 2018

We were delighted to greet Phil Holliday and John Shorrock, who were not sailing at Datchet, and this made for a very competitive fleet. Before the racing started there was a presentation of the 2017 GAMES Improver’s prize, which was a bottle of whisky presented to Peter Dunne, who had finished 16 places above his 2016 placing.

The first race gave an indication of the closeness of racing with Phil Holliday sailing an F 5 in a photo finish with Roger Stollery’s UP and the win was awarded to Phil. Roger then went on to win Races 2 & 3. Phil came back to win Race 4, but let John Shorrock sailing a QUARK win Race 5. At this point Rob Vice had got his UPROAR going well and starting to get good consistent results, either winning or coming second in all the following races except Race 9, which was won by Martin Crysell sailing his PRIME NUMBER. The race winners included Phil in Races 10 & 16 and Roger in Races 7 & 14. With this level of competition Peter Dunne was pleased to get his STARKERS going well and not finishing last on several occasions.

The designer of any new boat is always concerned by how it might perform and whether anticipated problems might materialise. UP has no reverse flare like UPROAR and so there was a questionmark against the new design’s seaworthiness under the pressure of its swing rig. At the end of one downwind leg there was a strong gust which wiped out all the adjacent boats and whilst UP did dip its bow, it popped up again without slowing down and so removed that question mark. The result sheet is attached.

GMYC ICICLE 2018

With the good news that all the entries to the Marblehead Worlds in BIBLIS Germany have been accepted, we are hoping that we shall get more visitors wanted to practice at Abbey Meads.

Cheers, Roger

Icicle Results

By Mark|2018-02-27T18:47:19+00:00February 26th, 2018|Categories: Sailing|Comments Off

ICICLE Trophy Sunday 25th February

Dear All,

This is a reminder that this month’s club race for the ICICLE Trophy is on Sunday.

For a change the weather forecast is good, with sunshine and a fresh breeze from the east which is a very good direction, giving the convenience of operating from the south bank. It will be cold over the next few days, but not sufficiently long below zero to give us a problem with Abbey Meads Lake freezing up, because of the great depth of the lake.

The 16-24 mph forecast should give us some really good B rig or even C rig conditions from an excellent direction parallel to the control bank, so those who have been complaining about the lack of wind, the rain and the lack of sun can confidently get out your lower rigs for a really good sail.

I have been promoting Guildford’s free ALE, (after lunch events between 2 and 5 PM on alternate summer Wednesdays) at the recent Friday Evening Workshop and also at the Frensham Pond MYG this idea seems to be going down well, so the club can look forward to some good racing in the summer.

I look forward to some good racing on Sunday, so wrap up warm and come along to enjoy the fun.

Cheers, Roger

By Mark|2018-02-23T09:47:03+00:00February 23rd, 2018|Categories: Sailing|Comments Off

M&S Marblehead Interclub and GAMES 2

Photo by Oliver Bangham

A mirror calm greeted 11 competitors from five clubs for some frustrating racing when the variable light breeze eventually filled in from the south, blowing diagonally over the trees and the competitors’ left shoulders. The 3 Rivers’ extensive race team did a grand job in running 10 races around a windward leeward course.

In the very first race virtually the whole fleet were approaching the gate together and race officer, John Shepherd mustered all the observers at the potential incident, but as Marbleheads are considered to be sailed by gentlemen, they talked to each other and there were no collisions.

David Adam, sailing a PRIME NUMBER won this race from John Carter, sailing a STARKERS and Martin Crysell also sailing a PRIME NUMBER. The lead changed several times during the race and this was to set the scene for the day’s racing with isolated puffs letting some of the backmarkers get to the front.

The next two races belonged to Roger Stollery and his new UP design followed in Races 3 & 4 by Rob Vice, sailing an UPROAR taking the top podium finish.

After lunch, new recruit to Marblehead racing, Norwegian Odd Nordanger, sailing a STARKERS won Race 6, but then let Roger and David win again in Races 7 & 8. Unlike all the other competitors, Odd travels with his boat by train from the other side of London.

Photo by Oliver Bangham

In Race 9 there was a very close finish between Roger and Alf Reynolds, who had been struggling with radio problems at the beginning of the event. He was sailing one of the earliest PARADOXs with a much modified bow and distinctive camouflage paintwork. He was absolutely delighted! It shows that designs from the early 1990s are still competitive against the very latest machines. The final race was won by Rob with Roger second and Peter Popham sailing a CREAM CRACKER in third place.

Photo by Martin Crysell

It was encouraging to see Max Lembke’s new Marblehead, which he designed and made himself from readily available carbon sheet to form a multi-chine hull. There were some teething problems which didn’t allow the MAXLEM design to show its full potential.

The prize winners thanked the 3 Rivers race team for running a good event despite the frustrating conditions. The latest GAMES results can be found on the www.guildfordmyc.co.uk website, with further information about Marblehead events on www.marbleheadsailing.wordpress.com.

Results:

1st Roger Stollery Guildford UP 14

2nd Rob Vice Guildford UPROAR 27

3rd David Adam 3 Rivers PRIME NUMBER 28

4th Martin Crysell Guildford PRIME NUMBER 33

5th John Shorrock Datchet QUARK 35.5

6th John Carter 3 Rivers STARKERS 36

7th Alf Reynolds Chelmsford PARADOX 47

8th Dick Grainge 3 Rivers STARKERS 52

9th Odd Nordanger 3 Rivers STARKERS 57.5

10th Peter Popham 3 Rivers CREAM CRACKER 58

11th Max Lembke 3 Rivers MAXLEM 74

By Mark|2018-02-20T16:22:15+00:00February 19th, 2018|Categories: Games|Comments Off

2018 Fred’s Big Toephy Footy Open event at Guildford

Eleven entries from three districts descended on Guildford’s water at Abbey Meads, Chertsey hoping to start the year’s nine open events with a bang. However, the weather was really unkind, as it was cold, it rained relentlessly all day and worst of all there was little or no wind.

However that didn’t stop RO Martin Crysell and Peter Dunne from running 10 races for which they were thanked heartily by the prizewinners. These little boats usually sail well in light airs, but there was a lot of drifting sideways instead of going forwards for much of the time, because there was insufficient wind to drive them forwards. Despite this, the boys from Abington Park coped well with the conditions better than most to secure all the podium places.

Peter Jackson led the way with a win in the very first race, sailing his IBEX. The most remarkable performance however was that of David Wilkinson, who had revived his American Bill Hagerup BACK BAY FOOTY design. This is a simple hard chine box shape made from balsa with foils of suitably reinforced similar material. Initially with a balanced una rig, it did not perform well, so David changed to his beautifully made and set up swing rig, similar in concept to other boats and transformed the performance in the lightest of airs. He was often seen streaking away from the starting line leaving the fleet behind to get two wins before lunch.

However, John Burgoine sailing an ICE also gained two wins and was more consistent, to head the lunchtime leaderboard with just 7 points to David’s 9. By this time the two junior competitors Oliver 8 and Nathan 5 found the cold and the wet too much and retired from the event.

After lunch there was a touch more breeze, with puffs that allowed the boats to heel briefly and make some recognisable progress to windward and downwind. John continued to be consistent with another win and three more thirds, but not consistent enough, as he was beaten on three occasions by Keith Bell sailing an IBEX, with two seconds and two wins.

This brought the scores level and Fred’s Big Toephy went to John on count back, as a result of his three wins. Further information on Footy news and events can be found on www.sailfootyuk.com.

Results:

1st John Burgoine Abington Park ICE 17

2nd Keith Bell Abington Park IBEX 17

3rd Peter Jackson Abington Park IBEX 20

4th David Wilkinson Cotswold BACK BAY FOOTY 21

5th Roger Stollery Guildford ICE 33

6th Keith Parrott Frensham Pond ICE 51

7th Sid Sims Birmingham ICE 54

8th Peter Stollery Guildford ICE 72

9th Oliver Stollery Guildford ICE 80

10th Nathan Stollery Guildford ICE 87

11th Tony Butler Birmingham ICE 88

NovICE trophy – Keith Parrott, (best skipper who has not been on the podium in previous Footy events).

By Mark|2018-02-04T23:01:30+00:00February 4th, 2018|Categories: Sailing|Comments Off

Chipstead SC Radio Sailing Marblehead GAMES 1 Report

The Marblehead radio sailing members visited Chipstead SC for the first GAMES event on the 20^th January 2018. There were twenty entries, but due to flu, sixteen came to the start line. Marblehead skippers from ten clubs were made very welcome indeed to the first M&S interclub event of the season. Peter Crisp even greeted everyone individually as they arrived at the entrance to the car park.

Although it was a cold damp drizzly day, Chipstead Lake provided a long course with light consistent north easterly winds. This gave some excellent conditions for racing throughout the day, with enough variation in direction to make the beats interesting.

Image by John Caruana

Race officer, Dave Allinson and his team handled the racing very well and was able to run 11 races consisting of two laps of a 150 metre windward beat course that was close to the control area along its whole length. The wide start line helped to prevent incidents and there was only one general recall.

Throughout the day the racing was very close with five different race winners, culminating in only 3 points between the first three overall and only 15 points difference covering the middle of the fleet. A win in the first race by Roger Stollery using his new UP design was followed by wins for Peter Stollery sailing an UPROAR, Tony Edwards, Colin Goodman sailing GRUNGEs and Hugh McAdoo sailing a PRIME NUMBER. The lunch break was welcomed, giving an opportunity to get warm and enjoy sausages, chip and beans and a hot drink, laid on especially by the Chipstead SC Radio Sailing members.

Image by John Caruana

Assistant race officer, Garven McKie, kept the racing going with back to back races. The afternoon period produced similar results, but no one skipper managed to dominate.

Overall it was an enjoyable and good natured day’s racing for all those who attended. Special thanks were given by the prize-winners to Dave Allinson , who managed the racing well and organised a team from Chipstead SC Radio Sailing for scoring, observing, catering etc. as well as making a good photographic record of the event.

There is no doubt that this radio sailing club has fantastic facilities, very well suited to running big events with a large lake with good access on the banks and the clubhouse and excellent launching facilities right in the centre of the activity.

After the prize giving for this event, Roger Stollery presented the Midgley Mug for the overall winner of the 2017 GAMES series to Peter Stollery.

Image by John Caruana

Report by Peter Crisp

Results for the Chipstead SC Marblehead GAMES 1 Event 2018:

1st Peter Stollery Guildford UPROAR 19,

2nd Tony Edwards Yeovil GRUNGE 21,

3rd Colin Goodman Coal House Fort GRUNGE 22,

4th Hugh MCAdoo Datchet Water PRIME NUMBER 38,

5th Roger Stollery Guildford UP 52,

6th Martin Crysell Guildford PRIME NUMBER 58

7th Trevor Binks Eastbourne PRIME NUMBER 64

8th Phil Holliday Datchet Water NIOUTRAM 70

9th John Shorrock Datchet Water QUARK 73

10th Nick Ennion Harwich & Dovercourt QUARK 84

11th Peter Crisp Chipstead STARKERS CUBED 84

12th John Cleave Ryde SKALPEL 86

13th Alan Viney Guildford PRIME NUMBER 89

14th Peter Popham Three Rivers CREAM CRACKER 109

15th Terry Rensch Datchet Water QUARK 111

16th Alf Reynolds Chelmsford PARADOX 148

By Mark|2018-01-28T22:04:17+00:00January 28th, 2018|Categories: Games|Comments Off

First GMYC Race of 2018 This Sunday 14th January

Dear All,

This is just a reminder that our first club race is on Sunday. The weather forecast looks good with sunshine shown all day, relatively warm temperature and a light easterly breeze so charge your batteries and come out for an enjoyable sail – quite a change from the freezing cold snow at the BRASS MONKEY a month ago!

I hope that you have all been looking at the GMYC website which Mark has updated over the Christmas period it is now looking very good, with pictures in between paragraphs etc in the reports. In reporting Guildford’s activities to the District Councillor, I have been more upbeat than usual, praising the good things about our club and our lake, which is still one of the best lakes in the district. This report was copied to all M&S club secretaries, so the hope is to encourage more M sailors to come and sail with us. There is also an updated PDF publicity sheet for 2018, which is also more upbeat and which you could copy at A5 for handing to those who pass our activity and show interest. Many thanks Mark!

Rob Vice has affiliated via GMYC this year and this is very welcome and other member news is that Paul Tickner has borrowed Peter Dunne’s CRAZY TUBE and we may see him at Abbey Meads, probably at the new summertime After Lunch Events (ALE), but hopefully at some of our Sunday events. See the club website for dates etc.

I am hoping to have my latest design UP ready to launch on Sunday, but am struggling with the time left and transoms sticking in the new moulds………..

Cheers, Roger

By Mark|2018-01-12T16:08:15+00:00January 12th, 2018|Categories: News, Sailing|Comments Off

Guildford Model Yacht Club Report January 2018

Heavy snow at the BRASS MONKEY Marblehead event brought an end to the successful 2017 GAMES series won by Peter Stollery. 46 competitors from 21 clubs took part in the 9 event series. 8 GAMES open events are planned for 2018, starting with the Marblehead Interclub at Chipstead.

Guildford continue to run Friday Evening Workshops, usually on the last Friday of the month, which our open to all district club members and provides useful guidance for getting the best performance from your boat, strategy for avoiding incidents on the water etc.

Membership is on the up and will be enjoying the superb sailing facilities at Abbey Meads Lake, Chertsey, with upgraded launching platforms and vegetation clearance. A full series of Marblehead handicapped club events, open to all newcomers, will continue in 2018. Also a new series of free ALE events, open to all boats, will be introduced on Wednesday afternoons over the summer. Abbey Meads is too deep to suffer mid season weed problems.

Our open water lake offers fantastic visibility with control areas high above the water, good access to allow you to follow your boat to the furthest marks of the long courses. These can be set from either the South or the West bank to relate to any wind direction and still give good windward leeward courses.

Come and visit us!

By Mark|2018-01-08T21:51:05+00:00January 8th, 2018|Categories: Afternoons, Evenings, Games, News, Sailing, Workshop|Comments Off