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DF/RG65 Winter 2023 #6

Today was the final race in the Winter Series for the RG65 and DF65.  There was a reduced turnout as unfortunately a number of regular sailors were unable to sail for a variety of reasons.  This left just five RG65’s and only two DF65’s for today’s racing in a decent breeze and a little rain at the start of racing.  The wind was approximately SE and so coming out of the Clubhouse corner, although in the middle 4 or 5 races it seemed to straighten a little to be almost down the lake, but still with some good shifts to help in the snakes and ladders of racing.  Most RG65’s opted for A swing rigs, although after only 4 races we called an early lunch and those that could, changed down to a conventional A.  In this first session, Peter and Bill were chasing each other around the course, with Peter getting the upper hand with 3 wins to Bill’s one.  For the remaining three, Charles was having a good session and was neck and neck with Dave at this stage.

After the break, the wind had perhaps eased a little for a race or two, perhaps due to another light rain shower.  However, once this rain stopped, the wind slowly increased and even the conventional A rigs were losing control downwind at times and in one start, Peter was the only one near the start as the remainder of the fleet struggled to line up and start on time.  Bill put together a good series of four wins in the next 5 races and after 10 races he and Peter were tied on firsts (and seconds).  Peter then won the next race, giving him the advantage going into the last race.  Bill unfortunately couldn’t take the final win and thus left Peter with the overall win today with Bill a close second.  Alan had a better later session after some rig tweaking and unfortunately Charles had to sit out the last four races, being overpowered in his swing rig and without a conventional A to drop down to.  He did however just manage to take third place after being tied on points with Dave, but had five third places to Dave’s two.  They only just beat Alan who ended up the day only one point behind them.

Meanwhile in the DF65’s Clive and Jon had a match racing day, with Clive starting well and winning the first two races, before Jon strung a series of seven wins from the next eight races and take the overall day, although having been in A+ rig for ten races, they opted to change down and then Clive had an electrical issue as he put his boat back on the water which ended their day’s racing after only 10 races.

Thanks go to Peter for moving the marks around and Dave for watching over the start line and calculating the scores at the end of the day.

  1. Peter Baldwin          63   Uno  13pts
  2. Bill Cukshaw            21    Ivy    15pts
  3. Charles Legg            26   Uno  38pts (5x3rd)
  4. Dave Williams         33   Uno   38pts  (2x3rd)
  5. Alan Watkinson      23   Uno   39pts

DF65’s

  1. Jon Whitehead        770  9pts
  2. Clive Warren              53 13pts

Next week is the final day of the IOM Winter Series, but numbers may be limited with at least 5 skippers away at Open events.  If you are planning to sail, please make an entry soon.  Visitors are always welcome with only a minor race fee of £2 to pay.  Enter by clicking on the relevant link under “Upcoming Events”

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2024 – 13/3/24

DF65’s

The forecast strong SW breeze didn’t really reach Gautby Rd lake and, as it was blowing right over the houses, gave very fluky conditions even by the standards of the venue.

Another excellent turnout of 17 skippers arrived although, as reported below, this reduced for various reasons during the morning’s racing.

Dave Williams very kindly offered to RO the racing, and then as the first race ended John Brierley had to leave followed closely by Simon who had come with only an A rig having been led astray by the forecast. Charles and Sally also departed a bit later leaving the remaining helms to enjoy the conditions which varied from real knockdown gusts to complete flat spots,

There was initially a bit of debate about which end to start, but the decision to start at the far end of the lake turned out to be the right one. The usual course was used with a line which looked very starboard end biased, but once again enabled good starts to be made pretty much anywhere.

Despite the tricky conditions there was good racing, although after 8 races (and a couple of rain showers) all agreed that this was enough for the morning.

Thanks to Dave for running the racing and for untangling the results which ended as follows;

  1. Mike de St Paer     8pts           4 wins
  2. James Douglas     12 pts         2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson   13 pts         2 wins
  4. Clive Warren        24 pts
  5. John Carlin            27 pts
  6. Dave Howard       40 pts
  7. Richard Walker   41 pts
  8. Neil Westbrook   44 pts
  9. Paul Little              45 pts
  10. Sally Collings       49 pts (sailed 5 races)
  11. Don Mackinnon  53 pts (sailing an A rig)
  12. John Beech            58 pts
  13. Malcolm Harvey 67 pts
  14. Charles Legg         74 pts    (sailed 4 races)
  15. Simon Bates          90 pts    (A rig & ret’d during race 1)

DF95’s

The highlight of the afternoon was the turnout of skippers, 8 in total which given the wind and weather forecast was a great turnout especially considering regulars, Frans King, John Carlin, Tony Sedgewick weren’t racing. Double figure starters are just around the corner!!!!
The lowlight of the afternoon was the wind, no change from the morning conditions with a S SW breeze directly over and through the houses which provided wind from all points of the compass at regular intervals. Added to this were some strong gusts from any direction. it was a tricky day to sail for sure!! Having said this the DF95s handled the conditions better than the 65s in the morning and racing was as competitive as ever.
5 Races with one discard were sailed after a slightly extended lunch, when technical help was being handed out. With normal 95 racing protocol in place with self managed starts and with the winner recording the results (now we have a reasonable fleet we may need to change to dedicated ROs). We were ready for racing using the same course as the morning, providing a beat, reach and run on each leg.
Mike on his maiden voyage in the 95s showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with once he masters the subtle differences in the big boats to the 65’s, leading for most of the way round to take the first win of the afternoon, followed home by Alan in 2nd and Richard in 3rd. Dave took the second race showing his steady improvement before with Alan 2nd and Mike sailing very consistently 3rd. Alan then stepped up a gear and took the next 2 wins with Mike and Clive taking the 2nd places with Dave and Mike picking up the 3rds. The final race saw Clive take the win with Dave finishing 2nd and John 3rd
Final Results
1     Alan Watkinson        6 pts,     2 wins
2     Mike de St Paer         9pts      1 win
3     Dave Howard            13 pts  1 win
4     Clive Warren            15pts     1 win
5     Richard Walker       16pts
6     John Beech                17pts
7     Malcolm Harvey     20pts
8     Paul Little                  28pts

DF65 Northern District Championships – 9/3/24

This was the first time in a long while that a District Championships had been held for the DF65, such that some might consider this to have been an inaugural one.  With ever increasing costs for travel and accommodation, all MYA Districts are trying to organise more one day events for sailors in different classes.  Unfortunately, with other events and traveller series at the moment, it is often difficult to avoid clashes and fit them into club programmes.

The day started with light rain and a decent top end of A+ rig breeze from the top corner at the clubhouse end.  One or two opted to start in A, but most were in A+ and when those few changed up after race 1, all remained in the same rig all day.

Race Officer Martin Roberts along with assistants Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook opted for batches of 4 races with breaks between to get re-hydrated and enjoy the biscuits and cake on offer.  The first session belonged to John Brierley and Tony Sedgwick who had two wins apiece, with Peter Baldwin, Simon Fairman, Paul Middleton, John Carlin and Andrew Potter all figuring in the podium places.

After the break and with the wind straightening a little, this seemed to suit Peter as he took three of the next 4 wins, with John B picking up the other one.  Simon, Tony, Paul, Alan Watkinson and Jon Whitehead all figured in the podium places this time.  This late morning surge saw Peter leapfrog Simon and John B to take the lead at lunch by a slender one point margin.

Post lunch and with the weather and light levels improving, saw three new race winners with Alan taking race 9, Andrew Potter race 10 and Simon Fairman races 11 and 12.  Podium places were shared between Peter, John B, Jon, John Carlin and James Douglas.  Peter’s consistency kept him on top though with Simon taking second at this point ahead of John B before the final break was taken.

As we started the final session of 5 races before the 4pm cut-off, the wind had backed once again to be out of the top corner, giving more significant gusts, shifts and holes.  There were places to be gained by tacking at the right time, but it was never always clear when that time was.

This final session belonged to John Brierley with two wins and two seconds, with Peter, Paul and Tony picking up the other wins.  Other podium places were taken by Simon, Paul, Alan, Jon, John Carlin and James Douglas.

John Brierley missed the last race due to gear failure, but with Peter unable to capitalise on this fact, it left John Brierley with the well deserved overall win, just three points ahead of Peter in second and Simon Fairman third.

Winner John Brierley on the right with RO Martin Roberts

Overall, it was a tricky day at Birkenhead, leading to consistency issues across the fleet.  In his winner’s address, John Brierley thanked the race team and most especially Chris Westbrook for running the galley and making us tea and coffee, serving biscuits and cake all day.  All photos courtesy of Dave Williams.  A link to other photos taken is available here

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2024 – 6/3/24

DF65’s

A bit of breeze this week again, from the ESE/SE and getting towards the top of A+ in some of the gusts, and starting off quite chilly in the mist for the 15 skippers. Some significant shifts to make the sailing – and the beats in particular – very interesting, with the usual short shifts at the top end of the course.

Peter Baldwin went for his customary wade, and reset the course with a line which allowed a spread of starting positions. Not at times that you might have thought this was the case, as there was a certain amount of boat to boat contact and a couple of entanglements over the morning’s sailing.

As an indication of the conditions, the first 5 races had 5 different winners, and over the 10 races John Carlin had 3 wins, Peter Baldwin and Jon Whitehead ended up with 2 race wins apiece and the remaining race wins spread over three further sailors.  Much place swapping, quite a bit of frustration, and once again very close racing right across the fleet.

  1. Peter Baldwin       18pts            2 wins
  2. John Carlin            20 pts           3 wins
  3. Simon Bates          26pts            1 win
  4. Jon Whitehead      32pts            2 wins
  5. Alan Watkinson    33 pts           2 x 2nd
  6. Mike de St Paer     33 pts            1 x 2nd
  7. Andrew Potter       38 pts
  8. Clive Warren          40 pts            1 win
  9. Tony Sedgewick    43 pts            1 win
  10. Andrew Peter         65 pts
  11. Dave Williams        66 pts
  12. John Beech                75 pts
  13. Richard Walker       78 pts
  14. Dave Howard           99 pts
  15. Frans King                101 pts

DF95’s

Following on from the morning DF65 sailing, 7 helms enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoons 95 sailing. The wind was generally more southerly meaning the houses came into play more providing the normal Gautby Rd holes and shifts. While this can provide good overtaking opportunities it can be very frustrating if you get the wrong side of a wind shift or sat in a hole watching boats pass you on either side. The choice of rig was an A which perfectly suited the conditions. Unfortunately, John had rigging problems during the practice before racing and had to swap to a B rig, and as the wind started to recede, he struggled against the A rigs.
Normal 95 protocol of self monitoring the start, thank you Peter for monitor duty. First home recorded the results, this gives maximum sailing opportunities for all the helms. After 7 races were sailed, part of the fleet had to leave, a further 5 races were sailed for fun but not recorded as part of the overall results
Peter mastered the conditions and sailed very consistently winning 6 and was second in the other. The rest of the places were closely contested with both Dave and Richard showing good boat speed, culminating in Dave posting one of his best run of results in the last 3 races, a second and 2 thirds. However it was Alan and Clive who battled it out for the second and third places. Competition throughout the fleet was as competitive as ever with 6 helms posting a third place and better (not surprisingly, only John on his B rig struggled in the lighter airs)
Final Results (with 1 discard)
1   Peter Baldwin         6 pts  (6 wins)
2   Alan Watkinson   17pts  (1 win)
3   Clive Warren         18pts
4   Dave Howard       24pts
5   Richard Walker   26pts
6   Frans King             27pts
7   John Beech             37pts

DF95 Winter Series 2023/4 #4

Unusually for recent time we arrived to a north westerly light breeze, which comes generally from the top right hand end of the lake and the industrial buildings which provide the typical Gautby road conditions. Enough shifts and holes to tax the patience of the 12 helms on the starting line. Added to the lack of wind, persistent rain fell for most of the first session and you can picture 13 well wrapped up sailors. Unfortunately Dave Williams suffered gear failure whilst rigging his boat, so the rest of us didn’t complain when he volunteered to be our RO for the day, his loss was our gain – many thanks Dave! We also had 1 visitor from Gressford, John Pritchard who proved a worthy addition to the fleet.
The course was set, with the start line at the club end, a beat up to the top right hand corner (to port), over to a spreader mark  and then down the full length of the lake to a single buoy (again to port) and a beat back up the lake using either one or two laps with the finish halfway up.
Racing was extremely competitive from the start with several lead changes in each race, thanks to the shifts and holes. Five races were sailed in the first session with a mixture of 1 and 2 laps just to change things as the wind strength varied. At the half way stage John Br was leading the way with 3 wins, chased by a group containing, Alan, John C, Clive and Tony, who themselves were only just ahead of Martin, John Pritchard, Frans and Paul.
After the lunch break the wind strength improved a little but there were still a lot of holes to trap even the best helms. Martin was getting his eye in and set the early pace taking the first 3 wins, Clive sailed very consistently to take 5 seconds, John Pritchard gaining a well deserved win and John Br taking the final win in the last race. Racing was very tight throughout the rest of the fleet though with many duels being fought all the way to the line.
The final standings after 10 races
1.   John Brierley           15pts      4 wins
2.   Clive Warren        20pts      7 seconds
3.   Martin Roberts    23pts      4 wins
4.   Alan Watkinson  29pts      1 win
5.   John Pritchard      35pts     1 win
6.   Frans King             43pts
7.   Dave Howard        58pts
8.   John Carlin            59pts
9.    John Beech            62pts
10.  Paul Little               62pts
11.  Tony Sedgwick      68pts
12   Malcolm Harvey   99pts

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2024 – 28/2/24

DF65’s – Wednesday Morning

A bit more breeze this week for the sixteen DF65 skippers, although still from the clubhouse direction making it very shifty for the top half of the course. Once again the breeze went slightly right during the morning’s sailing but the pressure remained ok for A+ rigs.

Racing was very keen right across the fleet, with John Carlin and John Brierley sharing 10 of the 11 race wins between them, with James Douglas taking the other win.

Although John B won 6 races to John C’s 4, consistency paid off with John Carlin taking the day from John Brierley in what had been tricky conditions. Further back Andrew Potter beat Mike dsp by one point, and then Clive and Alan were only separated on countback, with further close results throughout the fleet.

Good racing, and many thanks once again to Dave for sorting out the results with 11 races and average points to sort out.

  1. John Carlin                   16 pts            4 wins
  2. John Brierley               19 pts            6 wins
  3. Andrew Potter            38 pts
  4. Mike de St Paer          39 pts
  5. Alan Watkinson         54 pts           1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rds
  6. Simon Bates                 54 pts          1  x 2nd, 1 x 3rd
  7. Clive Warren                 58 pts
  8. James Douglas             60 pts          1 win
  9. Jon Whitehead             61 pts
  10. Neil Westbrook           67 pts
  11. Richard Walker           72 pts
  12. Dave Williams             75 pts
  13. Paul Little                      88 pts
  14. Frans King                     91 pts
  15. John Beech                    97 pts
  16. Dave Howard              117 pts

DF95’s – Wednesday Afternoon

Eight helms stayed behind to enjoy the afternoon 95 racing, the wind was the same  south easterly from the clubhouse end but also over the houses  at times, which makes it tricky but also allows regular changes of position. Picking the right shifts was imperative to making a good result.  A rig was the order of the day. Same course as the morning was used with a start at the far end of the lake, beat towards the clubhouse, spreader mark followed by a run down the full lake to a gate and then to the finish.
Normal 95 protocol was used with self monitoring the start (thanks Neil) and first over the finish line recording the results.
Racing was as close as ever in the fleet with 7 of the 8 skippers recording a 3rd place or better, After 7 races the final results are were slightly skewed as Alan had to leave early after 5 races as did John C, and Paul had to sit one race out suffering from a bad back.
1.  Clive Warren          10pts      3 x 1
2.   Neil Westbrook   14pts      2 x 1
3.    Alan Watkinson   25pts
4.    Dave Howard       26pts
5      John Carlin           28pts     1 x 1
6      Paul Little             30pts
7      John Beech           31pts      1 x 1
8       Frans King            31pts
It was good to see our best turnout for a while and with the numbers creeping up towards the double figures its looking good for more competitive sailing