Sunday 15th July
With a weather forecast of 5 mph, and heavy rain due some time after lunch, it was very pleasing to see 7 fifteens take to the water, with 3 silver, and 4 new boats. The reality was light winds in the morning, but surprisingly 10 + mph in the afternoon.
Race 1. Giles + Mike led off the line in the silver fleet, with Mick and Jim close behind. John Hardisty, sailing with Paul Wright in Paul's boat led off the line with Robin + Dave D close behind, both on port. Simon + Dave V decided to start on S'board, not a good policy. Tony + Trevor (yup, you read that right) had "technical problems" so were some 3 mins after us, and never caught up. Mark + Terry in "Skippy" joined in part way round, and seemed to be going significantly faster than last week. Robin got through into the lead in the new boats for lap 1, but part way up the second beat Simon sneaked past. At this point Giles was still in the lead. John H also caught Robin, who seemed to sail into a hole. Simon + Dave were now clear, and slowly pegged back Giles + Mike, getting past somewhere during the last lap. Giles nearly fought off John + Paul, but just failed.
Race 2. This time it was Mark + Terry who led off the line, and were first round the first mark, and even held off the on form Giles for some time. That said, once past, Giles was never caught again by any boats, new or old, and finished over a minute ahead of everyone. In the new boat section, yet again Robin + Dave were the pace setters for over lap 1. Tony + Trevor were close on their heels, and Dave V, now helming and with crewing nightmare Simon at the sharp end, were close behind. At this stage John + Paul were last, but you can't keep a good man down, and they eventually worked their way into a dual with Tony, who by this stage had sneaked passed Robin. All these boats had by now caught all the silver boats except Giles. After much place changing, Tony just finished in 2nd, ahead of John, with Dave V putting in a masterful last leg to just catch Robin on the line.
Race 3. Again the silver fleet got off to a good start, with Giles + Mike once more looking fast. In the new fleet, all 4 boats started very close together, with Simon (one crewing session is quite enough for a day) just eventually managing to squeeze the others to tack off, and he held this lead over the other new boats for all the race. Paul, now helming (at least up wind) was pushing him close, but the change over of helm and crew (spinnaker bags being a bit tough for non crews) meant they slowly dropped back, and neither Tony nor Robin were going to make it easy for him. Eventually Simon just caught Giles on the final beat, but was nearly re-taken near the finish. So Giles was second, with John just third ahead of Tony.

Sunday 8th July
Six fifteens sailed in almost perfect conditions, and we were particularly pleased to have Graeme Robinson join us from New Zealand (actually on a sight seeing trip round UK after Worlds) crewing for Tony Lee. Also very good to see Mark Piper out sailing "Skippy". There was one classic - "Freddy", 2 silver and 3 newer boats.
Race 1. Athol + Trevor generously only took part of their 4 minute start, with Giles following on 2 minutes after. In the new boats, Tony Lee just got the better of the first beat, while Robin + Dave D gave us a 200 yd start, and then promptly caught us up. The fleet came together after 45 minutes or so, and Tony smoothly went past the older boats, while Simon + Dave V and Robin + Dave D got in all sorts of problems trying to get past them for over a lap. In fact Athol very nearly got back into 2nd place, but superior boat speed from "Eleni" took them into 2nd.
Race 2. Again the older boats set off at 2 and 4 mins early, with Mark Piper starting in the Silver fleet this time. Simon + Dave V shot across the line on port, and were never header by a new boat, despite Tony's best efforts. Eventually Simon overtook the older boats, as did Tony, I'm a bit unsure of exact finishing positions after this.
Race 3. This time, the older boats seemed to have it all their own way, with Athol + Trevor leading from start to finish, and Giles + Mike likewise starting second and keeping it that way. Tony + Graeme just got the best of the new boats, but the gap between old and new was pretty near to what it was at the start.
A big thanks to young Athol and Kevin for doing the race duty at short notice.

Sunday 20th May
Four Fifteens competed in the racing this Sunday, with the 3 Worlds qualifiers putting in last second tuning prior to taking their boats to Porta Pollenca in Mallorca Two other Fifteens were also sailing, relaxing in the pleasant weather that May finally brought us. Wind strength varied from about 5 - 14 knots (marginal planing), but was both fluky in direction and strength.
Race 1: Robin + Dave choose to start at the pin end of the line, and held a commanding lead by the windward mark, and held off the challenge for the next 3 legs, being overtaken by Simon + Dave just before the next beat. Simon now covered the "rampant" John + Roger for the next 2 laps, with Tony + Chris moving into 2nd for a short while. John + Roger eventually outmaneuvered Simon round a Laser, and held that lead till the finish, Simon 2nd, Tony 3rd and Robin 4th.
Race 2: All 4 boats came out of the start flying, but it was John + Roger who sailed fastest towards the end of the first beat, and although challenged by Simon + Dave all the way round the course, held the lead for all the race. Robin just piped Tony to 3rd place on the line.
Race 3: A reverse of the last race, with Simon + Dave leading from start to finish, John + Roger 2nd after a slight detour and Tony + Chris piping Robin + Dave to the post.
Boats were packed up for the long journey, and John has just managed to stop Roger fitting foils to their Fifteen (that Moth really flies, literally).

Wednesday 16th May
5 boats ventured out in damp, overcast conditions, with the wind light, but never absent, 5 - 8 knots from the South West
Mick + Jim led off the line in the Silver fleet, with Martyn + Dave missing the start, understandably confused by the lack of lights (no electricity, rewiring etc), but closed a little on them over the race until they sailed over their spinnaker sheets. In the new boats, Tony + Chris led off the line, closely followed by Steve & Paul. Simon + Dave tacked off, put in a small hitch and got the right side of a shift / bend, to just be first new boat to Underwood. Tony + Chris re-took them down the broad leg, but on the next beat they got the wrong side of the shift again, and this let Simon + Dave into a lead they never lost again (in the new boats). With about 1 lap to go, Simon + Dave overhauled Mick + Jim (who seemed to be significantly faster than last year), and these 2 finished in that order, with Steve + Paul just behind.
In the garage, our fleet captain was straightening his rudder stock, having lost an argument with a tree!

Sunday 13th May
A damp overcast day welcomed the fleet this Sunday, but you would never guess from the racing. 9 boats ventured out in a North Easterly wind varying from 7 - 14 knots, lightish in the morning, and getting a bit stronger as the day progressed.
Race 1: 2 Silver boats, Giles Passmore + Mike Charlton and Dave Christie + Martyn Taylor set off up the beat, round Y, then promptly headed for different marks. The following new boats all seemed to arrive at Y more or less together, and eventually John H + Roger E worked their way to the front, catching Dave + Martyn about a lap before the finish. Robin + Dave impressed with a creditable 2nd, with Tony + Chris (up from Kent) 3rd.
Race 2: Giles + Mike sailed a near perfect race, finishing I would guess most if not all of the 2 min he had at the start over the new boats. Well done! 2nd was the ever reliable John + Roger, with Paul Wright crewed today by John Mathie a creditable 3rd. No one was disgraced, and all the boats finished close to each other (apart from Giles).
The final race had the best course, and yet again Giles + Mike led from start to from start to finish, this time though the new boats did real him in a bit. John + Roger gave us a chance by being across the line, and Tony + Chris showed touches of speed off the wind in his new boat, as did Simon + Norman (who gallantly agreed to crew at the last second with no sailing kit - thanks Norman) upwind. But it was Paul + John who got the shifts right up the second beat, and sailed an excellent race to hold off John + Roger. Again the fleet were all quite close, with no one being left behind.

Sunday 28th April
Winds varying from 6 - 12 mph, generally from the North East, with a sunny end to the day
Race 1. Simon & Dave (Dymond this time) led off the start, with Chris & John showing good speed to be second round the first mark. At the end of the off the wind leg, John & Roger were just behind Chris, but then missed out the gate, returned, took a completely different course and ended up 100 yds ahead. Simon & Dave slowly whittled that back, and re-took them on the final beat.
Race 2. John & Roger lead off the line, with Chris & John and Ali & Kate all close at hand, all more or less rounding the top mark together. Simon & Dave slowly worked their way of from the back of the fleet, but ran out of laps before they could catch John & Roger.
Race 3. This time John & Roger did the business, leading from the start and working in a good lead in the freshening conditions. All 4 boats showed good pace at one time or an other, with Chris & John particularly showing great pace in spurts. Ali & Kate now hate Millfield, loosing 100 yds each lap just by that mark.
The boat to watch was Graham Vials in his foil moth - wild!

Wednesday 18th April
2 silver and 4 open boats must have seen the weather forcast, as it was almost perfect sailing conditions, with about 12 - 15 knots breeze. At the silver start, Giles and Nick got a port flyer over Dave and Martyn, and slowly powered away from them ove the next laps. In the open fleet, Simon & Dave led off the line, with Athol and Trevor just sneeking round the windward mark ahead of John & Roger, but ambitiously tried to carry the kite on a shy reach. This left Simon & Dave covering John & Roger for 4 laps, only to be overtaken when Simon mismanaged a starboard Topper. Tony & Chris had by this stage caught up Athol & Trevor, but promptly tried "the spinneker sheets under the bow trick", and retired later. Athol was by now closign in on Simon & John, but not quickly enough to be any real threat. Both John & Simon overtook Giles after about 50 mins, and I think finished in that order. All agreed that it was excellent sailing. Well done to John & Roger.

Sunday 15th April
DRSC hosted the alternative Northern Inlands [sic] with fantastic sunny weather and northerly winds starting at 7Kts rising to 17Kts in the
afternoon.
Race 1 saw three boats take to the start line with Alistair & Katie (3695) the only boat to start on time. Giving them a head start of around 30 seconds were Chris & John (3634) and a further 10 seconds was Robin & David (3636). Ali & Katie were unlucky at the first mark (Jetty) where they parked up for a while and this allowed Chris & John and Robin & David to catch up. At the next mark (Anchorage) Robin & David took the inside to round the mark first and move into the lead. Ali & Katie frequently climbed back up but couldn't quite get past Robin & David who went on to win. Chris & John over took Ali & Katie on the last spinnaker run when they become tangled with other boats to take second place.

Race 2 saw Robin & David get a flier on port tack although Robin was convinced he was on starboard! They soon pulled out a good lead, again chased by Ali & Katie with Chris & John getting tangled with other boats. On the third lap Robin & David ran over [both] spinnaker sheets and then used the spinnaker as a sea anchor. In trying to sort it out they were passed by the others. Chris & John pulled into a narrow lead over Ali & Katie but it was their turn to run over the spinnaker sheets and this let Chris & John get away to win. Ali & Katie finished second with Robin retiring to sort out the spinnaker.

Race 3 saw Chris & John get a good start and move straight in to the lead, a position they were hardly challenged on to the finish. Robin & David and
Ali & Katie fought it out for a while with Robin eventually breaking free to get second place.

Sunday 1st April FF15 Sailing Report (by Robin)
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Race 1
A glorious sunny and warm day greeted the 3 FF15 teams which lined up on the start line. With a Northerly 6Kt wind rising to 12Kt at times the April fools were those who stayed away. Alistair Boyd crewed by John Boyd were first away in all three races, followed by Giles Passmore crewed by Robin Jefferson and Dave Christie and Martin Taylor starting the first race late. At the first mark (Jetty) Alistair sailed in to hole and was unlucky to get tangled up with a skiff at the same time, allowing Giles to sneak through. The positions and distance between boats stayed about the same until the end of the race.

Race 2
Only Alistair and Giles lined up for the start at Vallum after lunch and after a good start by Alistair and John, Giles & Robin were left in their wake. Alistair was pointing 20 degrees higher than Giles and it took 2 laps before Giles spotted that the rig tension was almost completely off. Alistair capitalised on this and was never caught, sailing a great race from start to finish.

Race 3
Again started from Vallum with Alistair taking an early lead after a good start. Giles managed to spot a few shifts on the upwind leg and sneaked in to the lead by the windward mark. Giles's new Genoa and spinnaker no doubt helped to secure victory although Alistair gave cause for concern several times on the downwind legs, closing the distance and looking to overtake several times.

First races blown off for the year.