We were promised a decent 9 or 10 mph breeze from the West by 12:00 or soon after and the day lived up to the promise with plenty of sunshine and a breeze that was close to straight down the lake, with gusts, lulls and shifts galore to make gains (and for some therefore losses) around the course.
There were 15 entries for this week after losing one entry at the last minute, which included our two Junior members going head to head again. A course was set with a shortened windward leg for the two Juniors and the two adult beginners allowing everyone to finish much more together. The first race saw Brad take the win from Noah (on only his second time out in an IOM club race) with Alan Bennett beating son George to take third and fourth respectively. After this first race, George got into his stride and took wins in each of the next five races before the break. This left space for a variety of sailors to pick up the podium positions includng two seconds and a third for Noah, a similar clutch for Brad, and then a great second for Phyl on only his second outing in the IOM. Also taking thirds were Graham Brkett, Graham Elliott and Andrea.
After the break, the course was made a little more testing for those on a handicap with the first beat to the shorter windward mark, followed by a full length beat on the second. Even so, young George had a great set of results counting two seconds and two thirds from the six races, with some very close finishes which could easily have meant an even better placing. Brad had a consistent second half with three wins and a third, the other wins being taken by Peter, Graham E and the final race by Martin. This small group also picked up the other podium places with Andrea, Robbie Mac and Graham B being in close contention.
Overall, a great afternoon of sailing with close to “Champagne Sailing” at Gautby Road, especially after all the recent cold weather. Even more so, was the day fittied in between two storms on Friday and Sunday that would have proved testing for sailing with an “over the houses” close to gale force Southerly.
George took the afternoon after the string of firsts in the first session, with Brad close behind and Graham E, a number of points adrift in third. The handicap course with a shorter first leg seemed to work well in keeping the fleet in closer contact for most of the race and one likely to be repeated in future weeks. Thanks must go to our Race Team of Dave Williams, Neil Westbrook and John Beech and also for the photos from Dave and John. A few more photos can be seen in the Gallery.
Round #5 of the IOM Winter series takes place on Saturday 8th March, starting at 12:00, just one week before the first Ranking weekend taking place on 15th & 16th March.
- George Bennett BritPOP! 19pts
- Brad Gibson PostPUNK 22pts
- Graham Elliott BritPOP! 40pts
- Peter Baldwin BritPOP! 46pts
- Martin Roberts BritPOP! 48pts
- Rob Macintosh V9 61pts
- Noah Macintosh A2 62pts
- Andrea Roberts BritPOP! 63pts
- Phyl Fanning Lintel 82pts 1x2nd
- Graham Birkett Widget 82pts 1x3rd
- Alan Bennett BritPOP! 106pts 1x3rd
- Alan Watkinson Corbie 5 106pts
- John Berry Lintel 121pts
- Charles Legg Kantun 2 123pts
- Stan Metcalf Widget 126pts
