Last day of regatta - Thursday- a day of special races and raft building  Actually I only did one - the non-sticker race -a short race for people who had not aquired a placing in any race - you get a sticker for the position you come in. So the race is known as non-sticker race.  The wind was shifty but stronger and I had a pleasant sail - a very bad start and some mistakes in spotting shifts. I came 2nd - and got two Mars bars - which I have hidden so I don't eat them.
I was too exhausted to sail another race, so came ashore and ate cake and drank tea until the prize giving. Very enjoyable except for the bizarre wind, mistakes in tacking, mistakes judging the shifts and tides, bad starts and remembering that I used to be a lot better. But I am getting more at ease with the streaker and will practice a few things - probably tacking. I think sea sailing is more fun and less difficult as you don't have to avoid moorings, shallow mud banks and strong tides.

A lot of aches in muscles I did not know I had.

Today - hair cut - shopping and lots of sitting in the sun - muscles now stiff.

Here I am - sitting on the edge in a dignified way, concentrating on the wind indicator. Taken on Tuesday.

Race 7: Flat calm for the 14-00 start and so the race was postponed waiting for the wind to fill in. To mu surprise, the sea breeze came up the river giving a reasonable wind, punctuated by big holes, large wind shifts and a few gusts. And a sensible length race on an interesting course. I suppose I am getting used to the shifts and gusts as I came 6th - out of a smaller fleet because a lot of folks were not inclined to sail after yesterday.
Race 8: Similar conditions to the first race but the tide turned in the middle and the wind dropped so it was a bit of a struggle to get back through the much larger holes in the wind. I do not sail well in such conditions and I was tired by then. I also think I am not setting the sail right for runs and broad reaches. Yet  I got the best position of the week at 5th.

I came 8th overall out of a fleet of 21 signed up for the regatta week.  I was just behind the people I would expect to do better than I do.

The amazing victory was to finish any races at all - let alone 6. And to feel well after it all - I wonder what this means - why should quite hard physical effort result in feeling almost normal. Probably the absense of horrible toxins and the good fortune that cancer cells seem not to be growing again (yet) - against many expectations. So I dedicate this victory to the oncology department at Ipswich hospital for their care and choosing the right treatment.

Toppers and the slow handicap fleet coming ashore. This illustrates the horrors of the slipway, which is worse in high winds.

Regatta
Race 5: I got lost on the course and lost a bit of time + a bad start + a big gust blew me off a mark rounding. Crazy long course (it took 1 1/2 hours in strong and gusty wind. BUT I came 9th (out of 17). Just behind the good people.
Race 6:  Same course - even crazier length of race - 2 1/2 hours (the tail end was over 3 hours.) The wind dropped and we had to sail back against the strong ebb tide. BUT (inspite of being tired and angry by the end) I came 7th out of 17. Extraordinary.I am not sure whether I enjoyed it or not. One thing for sure - I love racing - even when it is also horrible.

I got onto the ramp OK and parked up on the pontoons for lunch - something of a victory in itself.

I am now running 7th in the slow handicap fleet.

BTW - I prefer fleet sailing to handicap sailing - so apologies to people in Tynemouth with whom I have argued about this. You are right - - .

I am tired but nothing like as exhausted as I would expect. Maybe the streaker can be sailed in a less hard work way than the Laser.

Brian and Lorraine getting onto the slipway.

The start of the slow handicap for race 2. My boat is like the one heading towards us.

Regatta: This week is the sailing club regatta and I have managed to sail two races. Weather - very shifty winds and not quite enough wind.
Race 1 - I got a very good start and kept up with the other streakers and then took the wrong side of the beat. But finished in the middle of the fleet in 10th position.
Race 2:  I did not try race 2 - too tired.
Race 3:  I was over the line at the start - but managed to keep up with the other streakers until I got tired. I came 9th.
Race 4 - I started but was too tired to finish - so DNF (which scores more marks than Did Not Start - a bit of gamesmanship here so that they will calculate an overall result as 6 out of 8 races have to be started to qualify.)

Main snag is that they are macho about the length of races and the first race of the day (1 and 3) lasted about 90 mins which is too long for me - and the back of the fleet barely had time to get ashore for a bite to eat.

Second snag is getting ashore to sign off the first race. The slipway is too narrow and the pontoons very hard to get onto without falling in.

Fun - fun - fun - and reminds me how much I like racing. Muscles ached yesterday, but visits to the gym have paid off.

Just before the start of the medium handicap race

Regatta last day: I did not sail as I had a hospital appointment and was not back until mid afternoon. Very wet in the morning and windy in the afternoon. There were various races, raft building and the like. I think I was too tired to sail again anyway!

Different type of race - they built the rafts in heavy rain in the morning.

The results overall for the medium handicap - the fleet I sailed in - 21 boats entered - I came 11th. I had two with a lot of points as I needed to do six races and only did four. Pleased with this - although I did worse in the race I thought I sailed the best - it is ever thus!

Bruises are healing well.

Regatta day 4: preparation paid off as I went in close to the bank. Bright and hot sunshine. No wind in the morning but racing did not start until 13-00, by which time there was a modest sea breeze. A good day.

Race 1: the right wind and a better course as it had some reaches as well as beats and a run. I sailed a bit better - but my boat speed is less than other streakers. No major dramas - apart from an almost-capsise filling the boat with water - and the self bailers are rubbish. Came 12th - lower down the fleet than I thought at the time.

Race 2: The wind got up for this. I started it and went as far as the Cut - then bore away and did some planing on reaches pretending that I was practising gybes. Then went shore, which was quite an effort and I had really had enough by the time the boat was on its trolly. Then changed, had tea and cakes, packed the boat and came home - the activities interspersed with talking to people..

The steep bank downstream from the start - at low water - to see how close in I can go.

Preparation: I have tried to do some preparation for the regatta - this a picture of the bend in the river to see how close I can go at high water. There is less tide here and also a bit of a lift (sometimes). But a lot of small tacks disadvantages me as I am not good at tacking.

Regatta day 3: I feel a lot healthier today. Modest wind and a pleasant day. BBQ in the evening in the best traditions of regattas. A few bruises sre beginning to look impressive. Good stuff.

Race 1: I started on the line. I was not far behind the fast streakers for about half the first beat. But I got tired and gradually dropped back but I still had a good time. I came 10th. I am not sure whether the feeling of sailiing in treacle is my technique or the (old) boat with slightly difficult sail controls. It went wrong at the last mark (which was from a run to a beat) - I got tangled with some agressive small children in a small boat (calling for water when they had no overlap!) - concentration goes - I lost my footing and  - splash. But I did  get the boat up and finished the race.

Race 2:  I did intend to sail it but the course was the same two mile beat that I did not fancy yesterday - so I did the start (to get more points than not sailing at all) for practice and played with some sail settings - and had cake and coffee instead.

Launching and recovery is difficult due to narrow slipway and a lot of boats

Regatta day 2: Better sailing and good weather. The start times are limited by the tides - so today it was an 11-30 start - with the tide stronger for the first race, the wind stronger for the second race.
Race 1: I got a decent start which made me realise the limitations of other aspects of my sailing - slow tacking and also not going as fast as I think I should.  I did finish and was not last! - I was actually 9th. But the races here are very long for my stamina (the 'short' morning race was well over an hour).

Race 2: Discretion the better part of valour and I decided not to race. This was the right decision as the wind got up and there was a very long beat to the furthest mark (I think over two miles and against the tide) and a long run back.So I pottered around, ate cake and drank tea. In bright sunshine.

Regatta day 1:  A learning experience. There was bright sunshine - light wind in the morning with a lot of tide - good wind for the second race. I am in the second of four fleets to start - the medium handicap. All the other streakers are a lot faster - sigh.

race 1 - DNF - it was awful as I messed up the start. Too far off the start - too much tide - too little wind - too little skill. So I did about ten minutes and decided it was a hopeless case and retreated to eat rolls and drink coffee. Fell in trying to get from my boat to the pontoon - if it goes wrong - it goes wrong properly.

race 2 - started badly but I finished - not last but not far off. I was actually 8th - so the others must have done even dafter things - - . But I felt a bit better about it all. Again - a lot of mistakes (including an almost-capsize filling the boat with water).

Today - we have the preparation for the sailing club regatta. This will involve going to the shops for high energy food, getting my sailing kit together and figuring out the logistics of getting launched alongside 50 other boats.

The two white marks on the bank defines the start line. (18 is a channel bouy and not part of the course). The problem is - where to start - there is a stronger current in the middle - the far side is shallow - starboard is the favoured side of the course.

I am also trying to figure out the start line. In a southerly wind the right end of the line is favoured because one needs to get to the starboard side of the course to avoid the tide downstream. But all the other boats are fighting it out there, as well as avoiding a pontoon and various moored boats. Is it better to avoid the crowds and get ahead in clear wind. So I am going to try to start at speed over the line between the moored boats. But that is only the start of course - - - .

Weekend - lots of streakering. And on Saturday - I came second in the slow handicap race - which was just the right length for me. Very shifty winds - so was quite pleased by this and grateful for the experience I had at Tynemouth.

Saturday - I completed a race - how about that! I never thought to do a race again, let alone finish one. I was last ashore - but who cares - I finished!

Course 19

The conditions are much more challenging than sailing a triangle or figure of eight on open water. It is more like an obstacle race, but I am expecting that I will learn where things are and where the regular gusts are. I went for the fast handicap - which meant three circuits of the course below Loder's Cut (which is a gap in the mud banks cut by some guy called Loder in the late 19th c.). The slow handicap fleet (I can sail in either) only did one circuit.

There are moored boats all along, the tide varies and the wind is shadowed in places by trees and banks. It also funnels down around 9 and C . So within about three boat lengths you go from being becalmed to being almost overpowered. The only decent wind was between 7 and D. It can only be good for my technique! One has also to identify the marks and remember the course (yea - it is written down but you don't want to take your eye off the wind to look.) I got lost twice - which I suppose is quite good really.

They do 5,4,1 starts from the clubhouse. I started almost on the line (which I could not see due to moored boats) - and did OK  until I could not spot 7 or distinguish D from a load of mooring bouys! There are two bouys at 14 so I headed to the wrong one - and then  the mainsheet untied itself (OK I had not fixed the knot properly) and I lost where I was whilst I re-tied it. I  slowed down as I got tired but hung on in there and finished. Fun - fun - fun. Or fun without the need to bring the boat ashore and pull it up the ramps by myself (everyone else was in) and then unrig it. But I did it and there was very nice cake and tea in the galley.