Storm Antoni decided not to visit Gautby Road lake, but three very keen IOM sailors arrived expecting the worst. The very light wind “appeared” to come from the Clubhouse end so a course was set from the top end of the lake to the windward mark at the clubhouse then to a spreader both to port back through a gate, two laps and a finish at the middle mark as usual. The racing for the first three races was such that it was impossible to guess who would come out on top with all three boats taking turn to lead. Bill scored two wins with Alan the third.
At this point the wind finally disappeared and an early tea break was called (see pic above). After about twenty minutes it started to rain quite heavily then we had wind but from the opposite direction. Course then changed and racing recommenced. This new course and wind suited Alan who took the next seven races with seconds and thirds shared between Bill and John. Considering it was supposed to be mid summer, ten races in the cold and wet was deemed enough and RO Dave Williams called it a day. Many thanks to Dave for turning out and running the racing and keeping scores and taking the few photos today.
The weather forecast on Saturday was for a lot of weather to happen. As it was we had a bit of rain, not a lot of sun and Mrs Jones at No 30 opening and closing her back door at regular intervals. (Translated means a squally day through the houses) It was an afternoon of snakes and ladders. John started the afternoon with a bit of Welsh fire, but faded with the weather after some gear issues. Bill was well Bil = 2 wins along with some average scores. Alan was a consistent top 3. Neil and Alan battled all afternoon wtth Neil winning the battle on countback. Charles’ scores were much improved after a Bernie inspired tea break. Martin though nailed the leeward side of the course to come out on top overall.
7 skippers, 5 sailing BritPOP!’s, 1 Widget and 1 Chimera, the new design from Craig Richards. The wind was a beautiful top suit breeze from Gautby Road although it did gust up in a few races that caused everyone to cope with the odd nosedive.
The course was near perfect for the conditions and the start line well placed. 7 races before break with Graham Elliott winning 5 of them, Martin Roberts and Alan Bennett winning the other two. 5 races after break with Graham winning 4 and Martin the other one.
Sailing was quite tough and boat control and picking the shifts was key, some very close sailing in most races and lots of gains and losses if you never went on the shift at exactly the right time. 6 out of the 7 skippers got a second place or above in at least one race out of the 12 completed which shows how close the fleet were.
Dave Williams started and finished us and called at least 2 general recalls, many thanks Dave.
Race winners, Graham Elliott 9 wins, Martin Roberts 2 wins, Alan Bennett 1 win, well sailed Alan with a great average.
Windguru was spot on, with no wind forecast before 1.00. At 1.20 RO John Carlin pressed the start button with an 8 mph shifty breeze from the top end. For the first of 12 non stop races. Martin nailed the first 3, with John robbed of race 4. Andrea got to it together for wins in Race 8 and 11. Alan after some near misses earlier in the day, got his bow first over the line in Race 9.
A sunny start to the day with a very light breeze from the Clubhouse end. Racing commenced soon after 1.00pm with a guest from Kendal joining in with a boat he had just collected from Martin.
Another welcome club member Andrea joined us with her main objective to beat Martin. After two leisurely races the wind increased and swung 180 degrees, the new course seemed to suit everyone with very close racing and four different race winners. The only downside of the day was with the amount of debris floating down the lake with the wind change with some boats being affected more than others.
Thanks to Dave for running the racing and to Bernie manning the canteen providing welcome drinks. After 12 races the results were:
Day 2 began with totally different conditions to Saturday. The breeze had swung around and was blowing (even at 8:30) at 5 to 8 mph from the clubhouse end and pretty straight down the lake, although we did start with light rain which dampened things down a bit. The format followed that on Day 1 with a 4 race group followed by a break with the aim of completing an additional 16 races by the end.
After moving the start and changing the spacing of the new windward marks and gate, racing got underway soon after 9:30, with Peter Baldwin having a good first session taking three of the four wins, whilst Nigel Barrow took the remaining one. Podium places were shared between Nigel, Bill Culshaw, Simon Robinson and Roger Errington. As usual for Birkenhead, there were some good shifts in the breeze which could help or hinder you around the course and some made better use of them than others.
In the second session (after biscuits and more sweet treats from Jocelyn Watkinson) the rain had stopped and the wins were shared around more with Nigel, Alan Watkinson, Simon Robinson and Roger Crates all taking one each. Podium places also shared around with Simon, Roger, Peter and Nigel all picking up good places.
At the lunch break and with 24 races now completed, Nigel was leading, 13 points clear of Peter in second and Roger Crates in third some 30 points further back.
The weather changed again after lunch with steady drizzle that continued through until the end of the day, although the only good part was that the wind held up, although did soften slightly towards the end of the final session. Suitably refreshed by lunch, Peter took two wins in this session, with one each to Nigel and Bill. Podium places were taken by most of the previous names, with David Adam now picking up a third.
Onto the final four races, Nigel was well clear barring any disasters. The races this time were shared between Roger E, David Adam, Roger C and Bill with Nigel, Simon, Peter and Graham Whalley with podium places.
So when the final results were entered, Nigel Barrow became the new Veterans Champion 2023 with Peter Baldwin in second and Roger Crates in third. Bill Culshaw took fourth place from Simon Robinson on countback.
At the prizegiving, Nigel thanked the Birkenhead Club for hosting the event and all of the volunteers – Martin Roberts as RO assisted by Neil Westbrook and Dave Williams (our photographer) and Bernie McNulty in the galley, who all helped make the event a very enjoyable weekends sailing. Thanks were also given to all competitors for attending and sailing the event in a competitive but non confrontational manner.
All the photos taken by Dave Williams are available in the Gallery here
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