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STONE WEEK AUGUST 2002

CATAMARAN MENAGERIE

ENTRIES : 5 - UNICORNS,  1- DART 18, 1- HURRICANE

RACE NO. 1 - CLUB MARKS LIGHT VARIABLE NE WIND

• Bob Dorks (Unicorn 1073), Peter Toft ( Unicorn 1074) and Gary Piper made a good start but Dorks read the wind shifts better and led at the windward mark. He maintained this position for the rest of the two lap race while Piper and Toft changed places a few times with Piper eventually taking 2^nd position and Toft 3^rd.

RACE NO. 2 - CLUB MARKS FORCE 3 NE WIND

•           Phil Chester (Unicorn 1094) made a flying start and led at the windward mark by several boat lengths from Piper, Dorks Toft and Nick Dorks (Hurricane 64). Chester continued to sail well in the freshening conditions throughout the 3 lap race. Piper and Nick Dorks pulled away from Bob Dorks and Toft who exchanged places several times on various legs. The final result was Chester 1^st, Piper 2^nd, Bob Dorks 3^rd.

RACE NO. 3 - 'P' Course Light Force 1/ 2 E Wind

• The first beat against the strong tide with many wind shifts resulted in a split fleet on either side of the main channel. Finally Toft on the far side of the channel reached across the tide to make the first mark but then encountered difficulty in rounding it as the wind died. Dorks and Piper closed up, but Toft then found sufficient wind to round the mark first and held this position to the end of the race which was shortened to one lap. Dorks was 2^nd and Piper 3^rd.

RACE NO. 4 - 'P' COURSE FORCE 2/3 E WIND

• A good start and first beat by Piper and Toft saw them clear of the fleet at the windward mark. While Port starter Dorks was left stranded on the line with an unfavorable wind shift. Piper continued to lead the 3 lap race to the finish without making a mistake but Toft chased him within two or three boat lengths all the way making for a thrilling race to finish 2^nd. A similar close encounter for 3^rd place was between Chester and Bob Dorks who had recovered well from his poor start. It was finally won by Bob Dorks on the final beat by less than a boat length.

ONE WHOLE DAY WAS LOST DUE TO NO WIND

RACE NO. 5 - CLUB MARKS LIGHT FORCE 1/2 SW WIND

• A wind shift just before the start gun resulted in a Port start by the whole fleet and a fetch to the first mark. Bob Dorks led closely followed by Piper and Toft but the windless run across the tide and subsequent reach against the tide allowed Chester to join the leading boats. The first true beat across the tide allowed Piper and Bob Dorks to create a small gap from the next two boats. The subsequent run and reach to complete the first lap ended with high speed maneuvering through the fast handicap fleet rounding the same mark in the opposite direction. Fortunately no collisions occurred but this allowed the two leading boats to extend their lead with Piper in front. The next beat Dorks tacked early and aided by a favorable wind shift beat Piper to the mark. Similarly Chester followed a similar course and moved into 3^rd position. While Toft was blocked by slow handicap boats and failing wind to hit the mark with subsequent penalty turns. There was little change during the following legs until the next beat when a major wind shift caught the early tackers up river down tide of the mark. This allowed Piper to again take the lead over Dorks and Toft in front of Chester for 3^rd position. The 3 lap race was completed with the boats in this order.

RACE NO. 6 - 'P' COURSE FORCE 2/3 SE WIND

• A major wind shift at the start put Port starters in an unfavorable position while Starboard starters had a thrilling fetch/reach to the first mark led by Piper, Chester, Dorks and Crawley in the Dart 18. The wind reduced gradually over the 3 lap race and coming off the shore was variable in direction causing difficult beats through the moored boats. Piper continued to hold his leading position to the finish just ahead of Chester 2^nd and Dorks 3^rd.

RACE NO. 7 - 'P' COURSE FORCE 4/5 SE WIND

• Piper decided not to sail as he had already won the event. Chester made a flying start to lead at the first mark by several boat lengths ahead of Toft and Dorks. Chester continued to sail away from the fleet throughout the 3 lap race and finished 1^st. Dorks and Toft continued their close race to the end with Dorks finally getting the better of the dual to finish 2^nd and Toft 3^rd. John Wade    ( Unicorn 1086) was starting to close on the leaders but in the end could not  tune his new sail to be competitive. 

GENERAL - Congratulations to Gary Piper for winning the Catamaran Handicap trophy and the overall Stone Week Regatta Trophy. It was good to have so many visitors from Stokes Bay and Weymouth which made for very close and exciting racing. Gary has certainly tuned his new boat and sail well and should be very competitive at the 2002 Unicorn Nationals. Bob Dorks was 2^nd and continued to demonstrate his experience and skills especially in the lighter winds. It was good to see four different Unicorns winning races over the series, again showing that boat and helm age are no barrier to being a successful competitor. It was great to see Chris Doughty back at Stone after his operation and recuperation. We wish him well in his efforts to get back to sailing fitness. Thanks again for coming and hopefully we can repeat the experience next year.

 

Peter Toft Unicorn 1074

 

Stone Stuff

AUTUMN 2001

The 2001 Sailing season at Stone on the River Blackwater in Essex has been a roller coaster ride with mainly medium Force 3 / 4 to strong Force 5 plus winds for most of the season. While this has given some exhilarating sailing it has also resulted in many uncompleted or DNS races especially as we were expected to compete with Hurricanes which resulted in longer races. Just the wrong formulae for the aging Unicorn fleet. There are eight Unicorns in the dinghy park but only four raced on a regular basis. These were 1073 Bob Dorks, 1074 Peter Toft, 1075 Ivor Harris and 1089 Bob Higgins. Three of these four boats are Condor built fibre glass hulls of 1987 vintage while 1089 is self built wood ply hull of circa 1993 era with more hull rocker than the Condor shape. This makes for very competitive racing with any one of the four boats winning races, depending on tactics, skills and some luck. There has been an additional handicap for Bob Dorks this year as he has embarked on a major house building project on a plot next to the Sailing Club. From May onwards this has fully occupied his time and energies but with the benefit of first hand observation of the Club and sailing activities this has tempted him out for a sail on many weekends. Next Season he will have NO excuses. The Seasons results are :-

Spring Series - 1^st 1074 P Toft 2^nd 1073 R Dorks 3^rd 1089 R Higgins

Summer Series - 1^st 1074 P Toft 2^nd 1073 R Dorks 3^rd 1089 R Higgins

Autumn Series 1^st 1073 R Dorks August Trophy - 1^st 1074 P Toft

                     2^nd 1075 I Harris                         2^nd 1073 R Dorks

                     3^rd 1074 P Toft

Peter Toft