RACE DAY NOTES

Date	Notes
13/11/05	It seemed as if it was going to be another poor sail with a very light North wind but there was a NE force 2, dropping to Force 1 for the last race, that gave a remarkably good sail on the last day of the season. It worked well using the outer distant mark on the start line as the upsream mark to avoid sailing in the lee of the clubhouse.
06/11/05	Terrible day. Rained continously fhrough the first 2 races, drier for the last one; at least it was warm. Very fluky S to SW wind; 2 to 3 gust 4 in the morning reducing to 1 to 2 by the last race.
30/10/05	At the mast head it was a S wind but at water level it was extremely fluky and any direction. At first it was 3 gust 4 but reduced as the day progressed. There was a big conlict with rowers at one time.
23/10/05	Steady wind from the SW which increased during the morning, stayed steady and gradually died during the latter part of the afternoon.
16/10/05	Sunny and warm. Fairly steady moderate East wind early but it died away later.
09/10/05	Very warm but little SSW wind, 0-1, also variable and shifty. Still big problem with weed.
02/10/05	At the top of the flag pole it was generally a N wind but on the river it was often W but could be any thing and light, (3knt). Very varible and fluky givIng a frustrating sail. Weed is still a big problem; 3 boats had to be towed off the Surrey bank after getting trapped by weed.
25/09/05	Excellent sailing in warm sunshine and a fresh SW - W wind and (surprisingly) a moderate stream . 3 lasers and two bosuns enjoyed some fine tactical upwind racing and a nice downstream reaching leg. The Signet Open Meeting at Ferry Meadows (Peterborough) had brilliant weather for sailing and spectating. A SW force 2 to 4 wind with sunshine.
18/09/05	Terrible sailing day. The forcast was 2mph and generally it wasn't even that much from the NW. All races were sailed but it was VERY slow going.
11/09/05	Very little wind, 0-1, from NNE to NNW, some times NW. Large shifts, and a lot of weed gave very frustrating sailing for some.
04/09/05	Another hot fine day with an E 0-2 gust 3 wind. Although it looked a good sail it was very patchy and fluky for an Easterly and the sailors said it was very frustrating.
29/08/05	The Bewl Autumn Regatta also had excellent sailing in hot sunny weather with a 8-12 knot wind. There were 2 pursuit races with Signets being the second class away a having a race duration of abou 90 minutes.
28/08/05	There was brilliant sailing at the Fishers Green Signet Open Meeting; hot and sunny with a rather patch and shifty a 4-14 knot wind.
21/08/05	Again basic wind seemed to be N but all directions; 0-2 very variable and patchy, a bit better by the last race. There was a lot of conflict with cruisers.
14/08/05	Extremely gusty, shifty and fluky with many 90 to 180 wind shifts. Basically a North 0-4 although upstream of the club it was often a run down stream. The wind came from all directions. There was a period of heavy rain during both afternoon races.
07/08/05	Hot sunny day very fluky wind from N but variable at river level giving amazing wind shifts and lots of local anomalies and frustrating sailing.
31/07/05	Fine day very light but consistent wind from NE (usually). Died to nothing in last race. Fun series for all races.
24/07/05	Very wet day and not a lot of wind. Watching the German Grand Prix on a portable TV was much more attractive than racing. The rain eased after the end of motor racing but no one wanted to sail. Various jobs like clearing out weed and working out a repair to the launching ramp were done.
17/07/05	Wind every where 0-1 gust 2 very variable, shifty and fluky.
16/07/05	The Signet Open Meeting within the Beds & Cambs Regatta at Grafham Water had much better wind than expected; NE 2-3 gust 4 although it was quite patchy. There were separate course for the fast (42 entries) and slow (38 entries) fleets. Richard Cannon was 1st Signet and 8th in the slow fleet.
10/07/05	Very hot day with an ENE wind that was quite variable and patchy. Upstream of the start line it was very light but down stream it was much better force 1-2 gust 3.
03/07/05	SW wind but very little and it got less as the day progressed. After rain in the1st PM race there was no wind and there were 4 retirements. It was no better for the last race.
26/06/05	The 2nd day of the Hampton SC regatta was even better than Saturday. It was hot and sunny as well as a good 5 to 10 knt wind straight up the reach giving an excellent sail through out the day.
25/06/05	The Hampton SC regatta had perfect weather with a 5 to 10 knt wind straight up the reach giving an excellent sail. For the morning race it was a bit lighter, shifty and patchy.
19/06/05	AQSC Regatta. Very hot fine day, first thing no wind but then more than expected. S 1-gust 3 extremely variable and fluky; instant changes from a beat to a run. At the start of the Ladies/Novice race all boats had a lady helm.
18/06/05	AQSC Regatta and Jazz/BBQ. Very hot fine day, first thing no wind but then more than expected. SE 1-gust 3 very variable and fluky. Ideal for the BBQ.
12/06/05	A Westerly 2-3 gave a good sail although for the last race the wind was lighter and quite shifty down stream of the club.
05/06/05	W 2-3 steady wind gave an excellent sail. All 2 handed boats had crew; new members taken out.
22/05/05	SW 2-3 gust 4 variable. No morning race as various prospective members were taken out. Laurie B & Dave J took their cruisers out. Good sail. Mike Baker had the kicker strap pulleys pull out from his mast foot.
15/05/05	AQSC Open Day. NE 1 but generally there was enough wind to take visitors out, very hot day. At the end of the day the wind got up a bit and a couple still out had the best sail of the day.
14/05/05	AQSC Open Day. NE 1-2 wasn't too fluky and gave a reasonble sail.
08/05/05	The basically West 2-3 gave a very good sail BUT there were big gusts and shifts; there were 2 capsizes. It looked good for going upstream so the first afternoon race was also made the Cundy Long Distance race up to Sunbury Rivermead Island, It was a great sail except for the last 50m to the Rivermead mark where the wind died and was very fluky. The last race ended with a torrential thunder storm and very wet putting boats away with out wet gear.
01/05/05	Another very light W0-1 wind day. 6 marks set in line in front of the club were sailed as a slalom in each direction; fun races giving close proximity sailing as a rules excercise The 0.25knt current made things tricky.
30/04/05	A very fine day for the 19 boats taking part in the Mid-Thames Trophy inter club regatta. The light SSW to SW wind was very patchy and dropped to almost nothing in the afternoon. There was only a slight current but it caused big differences in boat times and Hampton SC Merlin and Enterprise were doing 2 laps well before many boats had done one lap. The best wind of the day was after racing finished and a couple of boats had a very good sail.
24/04/05	Fine day starting with a N force 1 but quickly went round to ENE, was fairly steady and increased to force 2 in the afternoon and it was a very good sail; best of the year.
17/04/05	A fine day with a 0-2 South wind; very fluky and shifting from W to E. Although not a strong wind there was a capsize in each of the races.
10/04/05	A fine day with a VERY fluky and shifty NE force 1 -2 wind and 0.5 to 1 knot current.Not too difficult to make way against the current but a beat could change to an opposite tack run in an instant. There were 3 Laser capsizes.
03/04/05	Very fine day, quite breezy SE 2-3 nearer S for the last race. Very fluky and surprisingly about 1 knot of current but it didn't give a problem.
27/03/05	With Easter very early the new sailing season started with the Easter Egg races. The good news was no current and an East wind forecast, the bad news was it was a rather light NE although surprisingly steady, The first race was OK with a force 1-2 but it dropped to a 1 for the last three races. All races were 30 mins.There were 7 ties in the results.