A total of 7 IOM’s turned out for the last of the Summer Series in 2023 and were greeted with a decent middle top suit breeze straight down from the clubhouse end, with the usual mix of shifts and pressure variations to help (or hinder) someone’s progress up or down the lake.
After Peter had re-jigged the marks after last weeks DFTT, our RO Dave Williams got things underway on time with six of the seven for the first 4 races. In the first session of six races, Alan got the lions share of five wins, with Peter taking one win and Bill plus Martin vying for the lead at any time during the race. We were joined this week by Alan’s young son George in his first visit to Birkenhead, sailing a Mirage and showed great ability to get off the starting line and around the course with the rest of us. We hope to see him again at the lake in the future to further hone his skills.
After the break, the fight continued at the front of the fleet for the wins, with Peter gaining three then Alan and Martin one each such that in the last race, the overall winner on the day was going to be either Alan or Peter. Alan led for a good part of the race, until Peter managed to pass him up the last beat and looked to be safe, but then sailed himself into a bit of a hole. Alan meanwhile kept in the breeze to cross the line half a boat length ahead of Peter for the win and the days honours. Bill was third, Martin fourth after missing the first 4 races and Tony sailing an IOM for the first time, was fifth. Very many thanks to Dave for running the racing once again, taking a few photos and getting racing completed before we had much rain.
- Alan Bennett Britpop! 15pts
- Peter Baldwin Britpop! 16pts
- Bill Culshaw Britpop! 28pts
- Martin Roberts Widget 39pts
- Tony Sedgwick Lintel MMX 44pts
- Alan Watkinson Britpop! 58pts
- George Bennett Mirage 63pts
Next IOM Race is Race 1 of the Winter Series on 11th November.
