c

Category: rg65

RG65 Social Racing #2 1/8/20

Six skippers this week were again treated to a predominantly NNW breeze and not too strong for top suits.  As it was straight down the lake from the far end, the course did not need changing from last week.  Some close racing throughout the small fleet with one boat occasionally getting clear, but very often the first three places were swapping up to the finish line.  Brad Gibson started the day with a first, but then John Brierley had a string of three  before Brad picked up another one.  Peter Baldwin opted to sail with a conventional lower aspect A rig expecting that the breeze was going to get up, but was rarely lucky enough for the other boats to struggle downwind  but having led for a good part of Race 6, picked up a second.

After a short break and a few changes of rigs and equipment through the fleet, Graham Elliott had better boat speed and comfortably won race 7 (he hadn’t changed anything, just ate some food). After this Brad won a further three races (with a shorter and so called “reject” fin from the manufacturer!) and John only one.  Dave Williams was unlucky in Race 9, picking up a second after leading for the whole race until the short beat to the finish.   Thanks again to Bernie and Jack for running the races again for us.

  1. Brad Gibson                Electronica              9     14pts  5 wins
  2. John Brierley               Uno                          84     16pts   5 wins
  3. Graham Elliott            Argon                     55     22pts  1 win
  4. Peter Baldwin              Pocket Rocket    63      33pts
  5. Dave Williams             Pocket Rocket    33      34pts
  6. Alan Watkinson          Scurry                    23      51 pts

11 races sailed

Next week is IOM Social Racing #6 start time 13:30

 

RG65 Social Racing #1 11/7/20

Five RG65 skippers were treated to a super sunny afternoon sail in a decent top suit breeze of 6 to 10 knots with a few stronger gusts from the NNW.   John Brierley set out his stall for the afternoon winning four of the first 6 races before there was a short break for drinks, with Neil Westbrook and and Peter Baldwin taking the other two wins.  After initial problems with a wayward receiver and missing the first race, Dave Williams was loaned a replacement and went well to gain a second in race 2.

After the break, John continued his wining ways with another two and a further one each for Neil and Peter.  Alan Watkinson came good in the very last race, gaining a second after some early problems with rig selection and setup.  This gave John the overall win after 10 races, with Peter second and Neil third.  Many thanks to Bernie for acting as RO and scorer for the afternoon.

  1. John Brierley           84     Uno                         10pts
  2. Peter Baldwin          63     Pocket Rocket    16pts
  3. Neil Westbrook       03     Pocket Rocket     19pts
  4. David Williams        33     Pocket Rocket     28pts
  5. Alan Watkinson       23     Scurry                     32pts

Next week (18/7/20) continues with IOM Social Racing #4; if you are interested in joining in, please contact Graham Elliott to be added to the list.  Further events listed on the 2020 Calendar.

RG65 & DF65 Winter Series #4 15/02/20

Another week on and another storm in the form of Dennis threatened to batter the boats at this, the last of the RG65/DF65 Winter series.  As it turned out, the club happened to be in a fortunate location with manageable winds and very little rain.  The average direction at the start was SSE and so diagonally across the lake from the clubhouse to the far corner.

Four RG’s and three DF’s were on the start line for the first race after John Brierleys journey from North Wales was blocked by floods and fallen trees and other visitors decided that Dennis was going to cause problems for their journey.  The three DF’s opted for their B rig due to the expected gusts whilst in the RG’s there was a mix of B swings and low aspect A conventional rigs.

Key to getting a good result was keeping the boat moving and being on the right tack for the rapid shifts that occurred.  Boats could be overpowered in a gust one second and sat waiting for the wind the next.  Seven races were completed before tea with some strong gusts causing problems downwind for most boats.  At the break Neil had three wins, with Alan and Peter two apiece in the RG fleet.  Andrew took the lions share of 6 wins in the DF fleet with Richard one, having taken the first.

After the break, the wind initially seemed to have moderated due to the light rain now falling, but the rain soon stopped and the gusts started again, some of which were from a S or SSW direction.  After completing 11 races, the RG wins were shared between Neil (conventional A) with 5, Peter (swing B) with 4 and Alan (conventional A) taking 2 wins. Peter took the day by two points from Neil who had an unfortunate sinking feeling during the last race, with Alan in third.  Andrew comfortably took the overall win in the DF fleet with 10 wins, with John Carlin second after Richard dropped out at race 6.

RG result

  1. Peter Baldwin            63            14pts       4 wins
  2. Neil Westbrook         03            16pts       5 wins
  3. Alan Wilkinson          23            22pts      2 wins
  4. Dave Williams            33            30pts

DF result

  1. Andrew Peter             19             9pts        10 wins
  2. John Carlin                  11            20pts
  3. Richard Robinson     01           26pts         1 win

Next week (22nd February) is round 6 of the IOM Winter series.

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

  1. Peter Baldwin             63             13pts   7 wins
  2. Neil Westbrook           03             19pts   2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson          23             26pts    3 wins
  4. Dave Williams             33             31pts

DF65’s

  1. Andrew Peter              919            10pts    11wins
  2. David Bradley               98            23pts
  3. Rob Andrews               835            35pts
  4. Charles Legg                   13            41pts
  5. Keith Pizzey                   517          44pts
  6. Russell Owens              903          55pts
  7. John Carlin                       11            60pts     1 win

12 races sailed

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

  1. Richard Robinson           01      10pts
  2. David Bradley                    98     19pts
  3. Rob Andrews                     835    30pts
  4. Russel Owens                    903    33pts
  5. Andrew Peter                     919    38pts

RG65 Fleet

  1. Peter Baldwin                    63      12pts
  2. John Brierley                     84       13pts
  3. Alan Watkinson                23       26pts
  4. Neil Westbrook                  03      33pts
  5. David Williams                  33       41pts

Additional RG65/DF65 Open Events over the Winter

Following the AGM discussion, three more dates have been allocated to RG65/DF65 open events over the Winter on a Saturday.  The dates are in the Calendar as:

  1. Saturday 21st December
  2. Saturday 18th January
  3. Saturday 15th February

The start time will be 12:00 with no start scheduled to be after 16:00.  Visitors are most welcome.  Clubhouse open from approximately 11:00, with hot drinks available .