Another week on and another sunny day with a breeze that was on average down the lake from the far end, but with the typical big shifts, lulls and narrow wind bands.
This week was the turn of the DF95’s to have an afternoon of light to middle A rig sailing. Thirteen boats had registered, but with one boat out due to a running injury (for its helm!) and two boats having gear problems (one rather catastrophic), we were down to 10 sailing. We were once again fortunate to have Neil Westbrook turn out and act as RO, leaving us all able to concentrate on the sailing.
Racing was pretty close all afternoon, with the leader occasionally getting away from everyone after some good calls on the wind shifts. Peter took Race 1, with Frans picking up a excellent second and John Br third. John C then took races 2 and 3 with Peter and Martin sharing the other podium places behind him. Peter then had another win in race 4, with John Br and Martin close behind. John Br then found his form to take the next two races before we had a break for a drink and a bite to eat. Whilst on the break a bit of boat fettling took place, with John Br re-rigging the head of his main in an attempt to get a better looking setup. Being consistent could be hard as each place was keenly contested and being in the wrong place could see you suffer in the changing wind. Dave Williams and Paul Little picked up some good places in this first session, but the majority of the fleet was always close at the finish line. It was first time out in the 95 for Noah this week and he also placed well in a number of races.
After the break, John Br took another win with a good lead, before Martin picked up the first of 3 wins in this second session. One of these saw him well in front of the fleet at the finish after rounding the spreader in a good breeze, leaving everyone else wallowing and waiting for the next gust. Peter and John Br also picked up another win each. Minor places in these races were taken up by these same race winners plus John Carlin and Dave Williams.
After twelve races John Br and Peter were tied on total points, with John just one point ahead after discards were taken into account, then Martin in third just two points behind Peter. A very pleasant afternoon of close sailing, all made possible by Neil as RO and Dave Williams working out the scores.
- John Brierley 84 19pts 4 wins
- Peter Baldwin 172 20pts 3 wins
- Martin Roberts 184 22pts 3 wins
- John Carlin 50 32pts 2 wins
- Dave Williams 33 50pts
- Paul Little 14 56pts
- John Beech 288 67pts
- Noah Macintosh 49 73pts
- Frans King 59 76pts
- Phyl Fanning 645 81pts
IOM racing again next week with a few missing, with holidays and another DF TT.
