14 skippers gathered for our annual Christmas race for IOM’s on the 18th December, with a start at 10.30 to give skippers an extra 30 minutes in bed for this race. The wind was perfect, straight down the lake from the clubhouse end, middle of top suit, shifts that could make you look like a fool or a hero, shifts that could take you from a decent top 3 to bottom 3 in a blink of an eye, the way to sail in these conditions is not to paint yourself into a corner.
15 races were completed on the day with race winners being Brad Gibson (BritPOP!) with 7 wins, Peter Baldwin (Lintel MMX) with 3 wins, Martin Roberts (Vanilla) with 2 wins and a single race win for Darin Ballington, Bill Culshaw and the hungover Paul Allen.
As normal there was no entry fee for the race but a Secret Santa (wrapped gift but no bottles) but before the gifts were handed out we had a bigger presentation, John Brierley our commodore presented Derek Priestley with the Acersail “Top Club” shield that had been residing at Birkenhead for quite a few years, as Fleetwood had pipped Birkenhead for the trophy in the 2021 season.
Many thanks to all competitors for supporting this serious but fun light hearted race and to John Brierley who gave up his sail to run the race with Bernie and Dave Williams and last but by no means least, Jack who opted to stay in the clubhouse and supply everyone with hot drinks.
Have a great Christmas and all the best for the new year.
Stay Safe
Graham Elliott 
All photos by Dave Williams
