- John Brierley 84 14pts
- Richard Robinson 01 17pts
- Neil Westbrook 03 24pts
- John Carlin 11 33pts
- Alan Watkinson 373 38pts
- Don MacKinnon 983 40pts
- Dave Pickup 86 41pts
- Mike St Paer 35 50pts. 1x3rd
- Richard Walker 39 50pts 0x3rd
- Chris Weston 194 67pts.
Category: dragonforce
RG65 & DF65 Winter Series #3 Report & Results
After last weeks IOM racing all of the marks needed repositioning to get a decent course for this weeks racing with a decent A rig (RG65) and A+ rig breeze from the WNW. Racing started very soon after 12:00 with the four RG65’s sailing 10 metres further up the lake than the seven DF65’s (including four visitors from Gresford).
In the RG65 fleet of Pocket Rockets, Alan Watkinson used his tall A conventional rig to good effect and took wins in the first two races. Peter Baldwin then got into a groove and won the next 5, before a break for lunch and a hot drink. Suitably refreshed after lunch, Neil Westbrook took 2 wins from the next three races and Alan had a further win, before Peter took the final two races, with the wind by now easing a few knots as the sun went down.
Andrew Peter had a commanding day in the DF65 fleet, winning eleven out of the twelve races. Only John Carlin managed to keep him from the podium, before he had to retire with some winch troubles. David Bradley and Bob Andrews from Gresford both came close to beating Andrew in a number of races, with the result only being decided in the last few metres to the line.
An excellent day of 12 races with close racing in both fleets. Thanks once again to Jack and Bernie for running our racing and making drinks at lunchtime. Our visitors from Gresford enjoyed the “Birkenhead Experience” and have promised to return for the final event in this Winter series, which takes place on Saturday 15th February.
RG65’s
- Peter Baldwin 63 13pts 7 wins
- Neil Westbrook 03 19pts 2 wins
- Alan Watkinson 23 26pts 3 wins
- Dave Williams 33 31pts
DF65’s
- Andrew Peter 919 10pts 11wins
- David Bradley 98 23pts
- Rob Andrews 835 35pts
- Charles Legg 13 41pts
- Keith Pizzey 517 44pts
- Russell Owens 903 55pts
- John Carlin 11 60pts 1 win
12 races sailed
DragonForce Winter Series #1 8/1/20
A new year, the start of a new series and a new look to Birkenhead’s lake, for the 10 DF65s today. Warm and overcast with light winds was the order of the day, with some very close racing, which was reflected in the final scores.
The battle at the pointy end of the fleet was one between John, Neil, Alan and Richard.
John and Neil tied on 16 points with John breaking the tie with 5 firsts to Neil’s 3. The third and fourth places were even closer with both Alan and Richard tied with one first each and requiring the number of seconds to split the tie in Alan’s favour. Dave Williams, after using his discards with servo damage, then put some solid races together to finish 5th. These One Design boats are certainly providing close racing!
With ALL the trees now removed from around the lake, the club starts a new season with enhanced sailing conditions.
- John Brierley 16pts 5 x 1sts
- Neil Westbrook 16pts 3 x 1sts
- Alan Watkinson 29pts 1 x 1st, 3 x 2nds
- Richard Robinson 29pts 1 x 1st, 1 x 2nds
- Dave Williams 36pts
- Mike St Paer 41pts
- John Carling 45pts
- Dave Pickup 49pts
- Richard Walker 54pts
- Chris Weston 69pts
10 races sailed.
Once again big thanks to Ernie for keeping us all in check.
Next Saturday is the third of the IOM winter series, start time 12:00. Wind looks to be from the Gautby Road End, so do come and see how the conditions have improved with the trees no longer there.
RG65 & DF65 Winter Series #2 Report & Results
A nice 6 to 8 knots straight down the lake from the clubhouse greeted the 10 sailors today for the second of the RG65 & DF65 Winter Series. There were four visitors (only 3 sailing) from Gresford who helped swell the DF65 fleet to 5 and five club Pocket Rocket’s competing in the RG65 section. Racing got underway very shortly after 12:00 with a Windward/Leeward course and separate windward marks for each fleet, well set-out by John Brierley.
In the DF65 fleet, Richard Robinson had the best day winning eight of the eleven races, with visitor David Bradley pushing him hard later in the day for two wins and the final win taken by Andrew Peter, before he had to leave early. As the light faded Richard was a clear winner on 10 points, David second on 19 and Bob Andrews (Gresford) in third, only three points ahead of Russel Owens (Gresford), who improved markedly during the day to be one of the top three at the end.
The RG65 fleet ended up being a two way fight for the top spot between Peter Baldwin and John Brierley, although both Neil Westbrook and Alan Watkinson also had spells at the front of the fleet during many of the races. At the end, Peter scraped the overall win with six firsts to John’s five, having overtaken John in the last race just30 metres to the line. A day of very close racing much of the time, with no clear indication of the “right way” up the beat and lots of guessing going on which sometimes paid off. A day that ended with only a light 3 knot breeze when a light keel seemed to pay off.
Thanks once again to Bernie for running the racing today – the last racing at Birkenhead in 2019. See you in 2020 on January 8th (DF65) or 11th (IOM)
DF65 Fleet
- Richard Robinson 01 10pts
- David Bradley 98 19pts
- Rob Andrews 835 30pts
- Russel Owens 903 33pts
- Andrew Peter 919 38pts
RG65 Fleet
- Peter Baldwin 63 12pts
- John Brierley 84 13pts
- Alan Watkinson 23 26pts
- Neil Westbrook 03 33pts
- David Williams 33 41pts
DragonForce Autumn Series #12 18/12/19
With a gusty 10 knot breeze, the rig of choice today was an “A” and even then there were some dicey moments in the gusts on the downwind leg. Nobody was immune to the effect of those gusts, although some managed the conditions better than others. The air temperature was 3 degrees, but with the wind chill factor it felt sub zero and everyone was feeling the cold after 10 races had been completed and glad to get a warm drink inside them.
Ernie set a good long course which gave a number of overtaking opportunities if the right shits were taken. John Brierley took the lions share (7) of the wins today, with Peter two and Dave Williams taking the final race after a few equipment problems earlier in the day. That left John in first, Peter second and consistent newcomer to the fleet John Carling in third. Thanks once again to Ernie for braving the cold and sitting (and standing) in the wind for over an hour to run the racing.
- John Brierley 84 9pts
- Peter Baldwin 63 16pts
- John Carling 11 35pts
- Richard Robinson 01 38pts
- Sally Collings 829 41pts
- Neil Westbrook 03 52pts
- Mike St Paer 35 58pts
- Dave Williams 233 60pts 1x1st
- Richard Walker 39 60pts 0x1st
- Alan Watkinson 373 65pts
- Don McKinnon 933 72pt
That completes the Autumn DF65 series for 2019 and overall results are on the Current Standings page. Racing for the DF65 on a Wednesday morning will begin again on the 8th January at 11:00 with the first race of the Winter Series of 2020.
DragonForce Autumn Series #11 11/12/19
There was a light breeze as the 16 sailors started to arrive (including two very welcome visitors in the form of Gary and Mike Benson from Fleetwood). However, by the time 11:00 arrived, it had all but disappeared and there were no ripples on the lake. The breeze proved to be fitful and from just about any direction accompanied by light rain for the hour that it took to complete the first four races. At this point, the top 4 were very close as Neil had two wins and sat on 6 points, Peter one win with 7 points, Richard with one win and 8 points and finally John no wins and 8 points
It was then agreed to call a halt and have a warming drink and take stock on conditions. Another race was run but with only 12 sailors, after a few had decided to call it a day due to minimal wind and the rain. Conditions had not however improved and as it was now past one o’clock everyone agreed to call it a day at 5 races. The extra race did however change the results at the top and the final positions were:
- Peter Baldwin 63 8pts
- John Brierley 84 10pts
- Neil Westbrook 03 11pts
- Alan Watkinson 23 13pts
- Richard Robinson 01 16pts
- Dave Williams 233 24pts
- John Carling 11 28pts
- Garry Benson 68 33pts
- Sally Collings 829 34pts
- Andrew Peter 919 37pts (1x4th)
- Colin Deakin 93 37pts (0x4th)
- Richard Walker 39 39pts
- Chris Weston 194 42pts
- Mike St Paer 35 47pts
- Don Mackinnon 933 66pts
- Mike Benson 883 68pts
Next Wednesday (18th December) will be the 12th and last race in the Autumn DF65 series. We then restart with the Winter series on Wednesday 8th January.