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DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2025 – 5/2/25

DF95’s

There was very little  wind as the DF95 sailors arrived with the only ripples created by the geese and seagulls.  As the first boats went on the water and Peter donned the waders to set a course for the morning, there was a light WSW breeze coming fitfully down the lake.

There was a good turnout of 14 boats for this inaugural “first of the month” DF95 morning session which included one visitor from Gresford whose lake foreshore and clubhouse are currently surrounded by water.

Racing was close from the very start with a number of boats vying for line honours during the nine races sailed with one lap over the full length of the lake.  Paul Plested had a great start winning the first two races before Peter Baldwin picked up the  first of his two wins.  Mike de st Paer then took the next race followed by a win for Alan Watkinson in Race 5.  Getting the right shifts and pressure was key, although there was an element of luck in it as well at times, with pressure coming from unexpected locations and no visula indication on the water to give any of us a clue.

Clive Warren then got the bit bbetween his teeth and won the next three races he sailed in missing one due to an RO duty as these were shared out over the fleet with us picking up average points when on duty.

The overal lwin went to Peter with Paul a close second and Clive only a  little adrift in third.  There were some other notable results with Dave Wiliams and Paul Little both picking up a third, but both struggling witth consistency.  Thanks to Paul P and Dave W for the photos and Malcolm for processing the results.

DF65’s

8 skippers hit the water after the morning with the DF95s and they had the best of the day’s breeze, which was perfect for A+ rigs.  Some big shifts, but almost straight down the lake with very few holes to catch anyone out.  After the first few races it was clear that both Peter and Paul had the edge on boat speed, or were just a tad quicker spotting the shifts, as between them they took the top two spots in all bar one race, where Alan managed a 2nd.  After 6 races they’d each won 3, but then Peter, with the tactical edge, managed to take advantage of the port leeward rounding on two occasions to sail home for two final wins.
Clive, after a great sail with the 95s in the morning was a little off the pace, but still having some good races, with the exception of being caught head to wind course side of the start line with 10 seconds to go.  Alan missed 4 of the 8 races, which was unfortunate and he was going well, with 3 podiums in the 4 races he sailed.  Charles was also going well today, with a 3rd and four fourths, which might have been even better if Paul hadn’t failed miserably when trying to duck his transom, snagging a rigging line, which required a quick lakeside fix.   Malcolm had his moments as well, with a well deserved 4 as did Dave, visiting from Gresford.  Also great to see Phyl getting to grips with the 65.  It won’t be long before he’s moving up the fleet.
All in all a great afternoon of racing.