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Author: Peter Baldwin

IOM Winter 2022/3 #8 (1/4/23)

An unusually low turnout for the final round of the IOM Winter Series at Birkenhead, partly as a result of the endless events being run around the country/district in any number of classes.  Those who did show, had the lake present itself in all of its glory with sunshine and mid to top end A rig conditions blowing straight down the lake from the NorthWest.
Sixteen races were sailed with each of the 5 skippers showing form through the afternoon to take more than one win. Once again, older designs in the form of the Chris Dicks Widget and the Gary Cameron TS2 held their own when sailed to their potential, taking more than enough points from the two more modern BritPOPs. As the final scores after 3 discards reveal, it was a day for keeping fast with a flattened off rig, tacking on the shift when it presented itself and avoiding incidents.
A perfect day to end the Winter Series for 22/23 and a result that once again confirms that it ain’t about spending the most on the latest kit but practice and knowing how to get the best and use what you have that usually takes the day, and the series. A truism that has long been the Birkenhead way and most probably why the club boasts more International and National Champions than any other in recent times.
Thanks go to John Carlin for helping out with running the second half of racing and enabling a fantastic set of 16 races to be run in the afternoon.
Final Scores (16 Races/3 Discards)
1st   Brad Gibson        TS2           22 points
2nd Bill Culshaw        BritPOP  29 points
3rd  Alan Bennett       BritPOP  35 points
4th  Martin Roberts  Widget    42 points
5th  Neil Westbrook  Widget    43 points
Next up for the IOMs at Birkenhead is the UK Veterans  Championship on April 15th and 16th. Details on how to enter and a list of entered skippers can be seen at https://www.mya-uk.org.uk/events/#events/event-details/638b0efe7591d307868a5c3a/
Now is the time to get your entry in if you haven’t already done so.

DF65 Social Racing 2023 – 29/3/23

A dry day with varying wind strength from the Clubhouse end. The fifteen keen sailors opted to use the A+ rig even though it was near the limit. Peter donned the waders and moved the marks to give an even start and a decent beat & run. Racing was very close at the sharp end with four wins a piece for Peter and John C with Clive and Andrew taking one each. The strong gusts felt on the downwind leg caused most boats to bury bows and to pirouette, probably losing many places trying to regain control. Ten races were completed with the final being the usual two laps.

  1. Peter Baldwin          11.4 pts 4 wins
  2. John Carlin               16 pts 4 wins
  3. James Douglas        26 pts
  4. Andrew Peter          26.2 pts 1 win
  5. Neil Westbrook      35.4 pts
  6. Richard Walker       49 pts
  7. Dave Williams         49.1 pts
  8. Paul Little                 58.2 pts
  9. Alan Watkinson     61.7 pts
  10. Stan Metcalf            67.4 pts
  11. Clive Warren            69.7 pts 1 win
  12. Simon Bates             81 pts
  13. Frans King                81.1 pts
  14. Charles Legg            84 pts
  15. John Beech                88 pts

Average scores had to be used due to five members not being able to be RO.

RG65 Winter Series 2022/3 #8 (25/3/23)

The forecast of 17mph from the West was pretty close, although I am guessing it may have been a little less with gusts in the low 20’s, proving tricky if you didn’t have a B rig to use.  Dave had to use his C rig for the first session as his B is in “the garage” but was underpowered and so later changed up to the A, but could then be over powered if we had a strong gust, but it was certainly quick downwind in the lighter patches.  John C in his borrowed Pocket Rocket was in a B swing and everyone else had B conventional of varying sizes and setup. We were a little depleted today with only 5 entries, with people away at Ranking events and on holiday

John had a masthead rigged pocket luff sail that certainly had the edge upwind on everyone at the start of the day, not losing out enough downwind to take the first three wins, with Alan picking up a couple of seconds.  Peter then found a bit of a groove and took the next two wins, before an early lunch break as with the wind dropping slightly a few wanted to change up.  John B had a slightly larger B rig which didn’t perform as well, allowing Peter another win and after one race John changed back to the pocket luff.  This initially seemed to pay off and he took another couple of wins, albeit with some close racing with Peter and Alan around the course.  Unfortunately, John B then had some bad luck being dropped in the odd hole which could appear around you without warning and this allowed Peter to take the last 4 wins, albeit with some close finishes.

After 12 races were completed, Peter took the day with 7 wins, with John B second on 5 wins, followed by Alan in third.  John Carlin had a good day for only his second outing in an RG65 with swing rig finishing a few points behind Alan, even after losing one race due to a rig issue.

  1. Peter Baldwin         63     Uno                     13pts
  2. John Brierley           84     Uno                    15pts
  3. Alan Watkinson      23     Uno                    32pts
  4. John Carlin             163  Pocket Rocket   37pts
  5. Dave Williams        33      Uno                     44pts

Thanks as usual to Bernie for running the racing again today and making a brew at lunchtime. Next week is the last week of the IOM Winter series (12:00 start), before we move onto the start of the Summer series for the DF/RG65 on 8th April with a 13:00 start.

DF65 Social Racing 2023 – 22/3/23

A slightly depleted entry of 9 DF65 sailors arrived to what seemed like an A+ rig day, despite forecasts for some much heftier wind strengths. Shortly before the first race it became clear that A rig would be the order of the day so a quick change was required.

John Carlin then started Race 1 on a course which turned out to be pretty much of a Starboard tack close fetch and a reach / beat / fetch back to the leeward gate. Flat spots and some powerful gusts caught almost everyone out at some point, resulting in quite a bit of contact, both bumper to bumper and doorhandle to doorhandle.

During race 1 Dave Williams’ winch failed and he very kindly stayed to RO the rest of the racing which was comfortably won by Alan Watkinson who dealt with the tricky conditions much better than the rest of the fleet.
Mike St Paer and Clive Warren followed, separated by only two points, and then by Andrew Potter and John Carlin who finished only one point apart.
Paul Little and Don Mackinnon also finished only one point apart, and John Beech and Frans King also finished within three points so racing was tight right across the fleet on a typically shifty gusty Gautby road day.

Final Positions were:
1. Alan Watkinson      10 pts 4 wins
2. Mike de St Paer      15 pts 3 wins
3. Clive Warren           17 pts 2 wins
4. Andrew Potter        29 pts
5. John Carlin              30.3 pts
6. Paul Little                35 pts
7. Don Mackinnon     36 pts
8. John Beech               52 pts
9. Frans King                55 pts

ND IOM Winter Series #1 (Rescheduled) 18/3/23

This reschedule of Event #1 in the ND Winter Series for the IOM was after Ice stopped play in December.  Looking at the forecast for today might have put off a few from attending, but we had 13 boats on the start line for Race 1 in a light 4 or 5 knot breeze almost straight down the lake.  There was a slight delay to proceedings whilst Neil moved marks around after a 180 degree wind-shift occurred whilst we were about to start the briefing as a sea breeze formed early.  The breeze held for most of the day, with it strengthening after lunch and then dying back as the rain arrived for the last few races.

Darin Ballington (Pikanto) set the early pace with a win in Race 1, followed in Race 2 by a win for Bill Culshaw (Britpop!).  Next to gain a win was Graham Elliott (Fractel) in Race 3 and then James Hadden (Britpop!) had his first win in Race 4.  Next to see the front was Brad Gibson sailing his pimped TS2 with wins in both races 5 & 6, followed by another for Bill in Race 7, when we had a break for an early lunch.  So 7 races and 5 different winners with 4 different designs.  Key to getting a good result was choosing the right place to start and staying in the pressure. At the break James was leading by one point from Brad, with Bill 10 points behind them.  In the mix at this point and close behind Bill was Rob Walsh sailing a Lintel, with a number of results in the top 3.

After a short break for lunch, another 5 races were sailed in an increasing WNW breeze and some sun.  Brad took race 8 followed by another win for Darin in race 9.  After a string of good results, James picked up another win in race 10, before Rob picked up his first win in race 11.  Obviously eager to get to a drink at the next break, Brad gained the win in Race 12.  This left the top three after 12 races as James, followed by Brad and Rob.

After a  quick refreshment break (with cake as well, thanks to Judith), we had another 4 races to reach the magic 16 and a third discard.  John Tushingham (Vision) finally got his just reward with the first win after a number of top three places earlier.  Bill then took his third win in race 14, with James and Brad coming back to win races 15 and 16.

So the top 4 and in the prizes were in first, our long distance traveller James Hadden, Brad Gibson second, Rob Walsh, third and John Tushingham fourth.  Sixteen races, 7 different winners with 6 different designs!  Just shows that you do not need the latest design to do well even in light airs, although being an ex World Champion does give you a slight edge!Many thanks to our race team of Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook who kept things moving at a good pace all day, with Bernie and Jack keeping us fed and watered in the galley.  Thanks also to Dave for the photos.

All photos can be found in our Flikr Album here

 

DF65 Social Racing 2023 (15/3/23)

10 sailors were greeted with a light wind from the Clubhouse end. The usual course was set with the windward mark and spreader leaving to port.

Mike showed his intentions and took the first three races but after his turn as RO he could not get near the top spot. John Carlin showed his skill in the light winds and took five wins. Neil, after a few bad starts had several good races managing two wins.

The most improved sailor was Frans who managed four mid fleet finishes.
10 races were held with the final race the usual two laps.

1st    John Carlin              10pts. 5 wins
2nd  Mike de St Paer      14pts. 3 wins
3rd   Neil Westbrook      20pts. 2 wins
4th   Alan Watkinson    23pts
5th   Clive Warren           25pts
6th   Dave Williams        30pts
7th   Frans King               48pts
8th   John Beech              49pts
9th   Stan Metcalf           51pts. 1 x 4th
10th Malcolm Harvey    51pts