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Author: Peter Baldwin

DF65 Social Racing #28 (13/7/22)

You couldn’t get a much better morning to race than today with “champagne sailing” conditions for the twelve DF65 sailors that turned out.  There was a good breeze straight down the lake that was towards the top end of the chosen A+ rig, with some gusts that were close to overpowering boats on the run and some lulls where the boats almost stopped.  Shifts were there and allowed places to be gained if you picked the right way to go in those shifts.

We were joined once again by visiting AMYA President Chuck Millican, and racing was at times very close and this occasionally proved difficult for the RO watching the line and record the sail numbers, without some external assistance.  We opted to run a race each and so with 12 races sailed (using the whole lake) each sailor had nine races to count (with 2 discards) , which were completed soon after 1pm with a final two lap race.

Peter Baldwin put in a rare Wednesday appearance and had the lions share of the wins (7), with Mike De St Paer gaining two, Dave Williams, Andrew Peter and Alan Watkinson one each.  So, the overall win went to Peter, with John Carlin relishing the opportunity to sail once again taking second after a very consistent day of podium finishes and Mike third, 4 points behind him.

  1. Peter Baldwin            63      11 pts
  2. John Carlin                  11       23 pts
  3. Mike De St Paer        35       27 pts
  4. Alan Watkinson      373      34 pts
  5. Andrew Peter           919      41 pts
  6. Dave Williams            33      49 pts (1 win)
  7. Simon Bates                69     49 pts (no win)
  8. James Douglas            73     52 pts
  9. Richard Walker          39     64 pts
  10. Chuck Millican           21      68 pts
  11. Malcolm Harvey    1019     75 pts
  12. John Beech                   80     77 pts

DF/RG65 Summer 2022 #5 (9/7/22)

Once again we were fortunate to have both sun and a decent breeze between a top suit swing and full size (lower aspect) conventional for the RG65’s and one that was sailable in a DF65 A+, but more controllable in an A rig.

Seven RG65’s and six DF65’s started the day and their helms took it in turns to run one race each until a break at Race 7.  There were some early dropouts in the DF65 fleet leading to only 4 boats completing most races.

Graham Elliott sailing the Electronica took four of the first six races he sailed, with Peter Baldwin’s Uno the remaining two.  After the break, we were fortunate to have three volunteers from the DF65 fleet who ran the remaining five races for us, giving a total of 12 races for the day.  Graham took 4 out of the 5 after the break using his Argon, with Peter only managing a single race win, mostly underpowered with the conventional A versus Graham’s Swing rig.  Although Peter and Graham shared the wins, there were some strong performances through the fleet , with Dave Williams (Uno), Alan Watkinson (Uno), Charles Legg and Bill Culshaw (Pocket Rocket) all vying for the lead at various times.

In the DF65 fleet, it was our visitor Chuck Millican (AMYA) who had the Lions share of 8 wins from 12 races, with Andrew Peter and John Carlin each taking two.  This left Chuck the clear winner with Andrew narrowly second one point ahead of John.

Thanks must go to everyone who helped out in running the races especially those DF65 sailors (and support crew) who helped run the last 5 races.

RG65’s

  1. Graham Elliott           09/29  Electronia/Argon    10 pts (8 wins)
  2. Peter Baldwin             63         Uno                               15 pts (4 wins)
  3. Alan Watkinson         23          Uno                              28 pts
  4. Bill Culshaw               163         Pocket Rocket          33 pts
  5. Dave Williams            33          Uno                               38 pts
  6. Charles Legg               26         Uno                                43 pts
  7. John Brierley               84         Uno                                51 pts (gear failure race 5)

DF65’s

  1. Chuck Millican              21        12 pts (8 wins)
  2. Andrew Peter                919      21 pts (2 wins)
  3. John Carlin                      11        22 pts (2 wins)
  4. Graham Reeves            614      40 pts

Photo by Alan Watkinson.

DF65 Social Racing #27 (6/7/22)

A bright, cold day (well it is only July!) with a good wind straight down the lake.  After a trial sail, B rig was selected. Our Commodore was able to read the conditions very quickly and managed to win every race, however he did have to fight for it with several contenders pushing him all the way, notable Neil, Alan, Andrew and Charles. 9 races were held with the usual 2 lap finish.

  1. John Brierley          7pts 9wins
  2. Neil Westbrook    19pts
  3. Alan Watkinson   22pts
  4. Andrew Peter        27pts
  5. Charles Legg         27pts
  6. Richard Walker    36pts
  7. Don McKinnon     37Pts
  8. John Beech              52pts

IOM Summer Series 2022 #5 (2/7/22)

After the overnight showers had cleared, a good breeze towards the top end of A Rig from the far end greeted the 5 sailors for this weeks IOM racing, along with some sunny periods for good measure.

John Brierley (Britpop!) won the first three races in quick succession and after the first start was abandoned with first Bill then Peter caught up together in fishing line.  They had to be extracted by our RO Dave Williams who then spent a while untangling the many metres of line strung between and around the mark warps.

Peter Baldwin (Britpop!) then took races 4 & 6 and Bill Culshaw (Britpop!) took his first win in race 5, before a tea break.  There was close racing all afternoon but especially after the break with both Neil Westbrook (Widget) and the Kantun 2 of Charles Legg (after a few changes to rig settings),  being well in the mix or even ahead at the first mark.  Unfortunately, they were unable to hold onto any advantage and the wins were again shared between Bill, John and Peter.  A great afternoons sailing with a good pace set by the RO so that we completed 12 races in good time even after a slow start.  John took the overall win with Peter 2nd just a single point behind and Bill a further 4 points back in third.

Many thanks to our photographer,  RO and course setter Dave Williams and Jack for making a brew all afternoon.

  1. John Brierley      Britpop!   84  16pts (5 wins)
  2. Peter Baldwin     Britpop!  63   17pts (5 wins)
  3. Bill Culshaw        Britpop!   21    21pts (2 wins)
  4. Neil Westbrook  Widget     03    37pts
  5. Charles Legg       K2              25    45pts

DF65 Social Racing #26 (29/6/22)

The wind from the Gautby Road end was a good A+, the only problem being not consistent, and so it was imperative that you tacked on the right shift or you were left drifting for a few minutes – any lead built up soon disappeared. Unfortunately our RO to be, John (the Boot) Carlin has contracted COVID again, we wish him well.

After Neil had donned the waders to move a couple of marks we all decided to sail without an RO, the skipper of the first boat over the finish to mark the boats in. This worked well with no problems. The racing was very close with 5 different skippers having a win. 8 races sailed with the usual 2 laps before finish.

  1. Neil Westbrook            10 pts 2 wins
  2. Dave Williams              14 pts 2 wins
  3. Derek Matthews          15 pts 2 wins
  4. Alan Watkinson           19 pts 1 win
  5. Richard Walker           20 pts 1 win
  6. Charles Legg                24 pts
  7. John Beech                    41 pts

DF/RG65 Summer 2022 #4 (25/6/22)

An excellent days sailing for the 4th race in the RG/DF Summer series at Birkenhead today. Sunny and windy from the clubhouse end with big enough wind shifts to make the racing interesting.  Swing rigs and conventional rigs were both used in the gusty conditions.

4 Uno’s competed in the RG65 class and 2 DF65’s joined in as well. Although John Brierley won 9 of the races, the finishing was extremely close in many races, with the result only decided on the last leg to the finishing line keeping our RO (and part-time photographer) John Carlin busy.  Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook were so close all afternoon, that they were tied on points and discards at the end with the tie only   broken in Dave’s favour with his win in race 8.

RG65

  1. John Brierley       Uno   84 8pts. ( 9 wins)
  2. Dave Williams    Uno   33 20 pts ( 1win)
  3. Neil Westbrook  Uno   03 20pts
  4. Charles Legg        Uno  26 28pts

DF 65

  1. Andrew Peter             919
  2. Robin (visitor)             0

10 races sailed.