15 skippers arrived for Round 2 and Pop-Up Open of this years IOM Summer Series with a light North Westerly wind flowing directly down the lake.
The field included 3 of our GBR team skippers, a hopeful reserve, 2 of the Worlds Race Team and a number of regulars on the Ranking circuit.
Racing got underway just after 10 am with Brad Gibson fast out of the blocks taking the first 2 races with Peter Baldwin, Graham Eliiott and Simon Fairman filling the early places.
After a slow start, Martin Roberts put his first win of the day down in race 3 in the light conditions with all having moments in the tricky upper course of variable shifts and wind pressure.
Races 4 and 5 were wins for Brad who was looking comfortable who along with Martin, were putting together clean starts and extending with low risk course management. Derek Priestly, Darin Ballington and Colin McGinnis were getting in amongst the placings up until a lunch break after race 8.
The afternoon session saw an increase in the wind of mid to at times upper range A rig. Wins were shared between Graham, Martin, Darin, Brad and a late to the party Rob McIntosh with a number of close races seeing the boats crossing the line in bunches that kept our scoring team on their toes. Like Rob, Paul Middleton shifted up a few gears for a number of podium finishes.
At just on 4pm and with 18 races completed, all retired to the clubhouse for an informal presentation.
Brad came out on top for the day with 10 wins and a couple of 3rds being his worst scoring results showing the level of consistency needed to do well in such a strong field. In second it was Graham (1 win) and Martin (4 wins) rounding out the podium with both having moments of brilliance as they ran through final testing and trims looking forward to the Worlds starting next week.Brad thanked our race team of Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook and wished our GBR representatives the best of luck for their challenge ahead. Photos also courtesy of Dave Williams and thanks to Chris Westbrook for manning the galley and keeping us hydrated all day.
Our next round of the IOM Summer Series is on Saturday the 23rd of May and all members and visitors are welcome to join us. Entry can be made at https://birkenheadrspc.co.uk/iom-summer-2026-3/
