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Author: Peter Baldwin

DF95 Social Racing 2025 – 9/8/25

Seven DF95 skippers turned up for the second extra Saturday morning social racing sessions that had been added to the sailing calendar and it would be fair to say, that most if not all, probably wished they’d found something else to do with their time.  The forecast was for a stiff breeze from the SW moving to the West with boats on B rigs.  Martin Wittingham-Jones even came ready to sail with his B rig with 10 minutes to the start, only to have to quickly swap up to A rig just in time to race in what was a very shifting lightish breeze coming from over the houses.  This combined with the ever present algae, made it a challenge for all.
Races one and two saw Paul Plested and Peter Baldwin pull away from the pack early on, and both took the option of de-weeding on the run/reach from the the starboard rounded windward mark and spreader mark.  Paul managed to hang on for two firsts, with Peter close behind in 2nd.  Steve Miller, who had a good day, managed a 3rd in the first race and a 4th in the second.
In race three Paul got away quickly rounded the top buoys first, again with Peter close behind.  Paul opted to come close to the shore to clear the algae, whilst Peter stayed out in the better breeze.  The latter paid off and Peter had a good lead at the leeward gate, which he held until the finish.   Alan Watkinson scored a 3rd place, to go with his 3rd in race two.
As with earlier races, both Paul and Peter got away with Paul taking the win.  Steve Miller bagged another 3rd just pipping Alan to the line.  In race five both Phyl Fanning, who had finally got his boat going in the conditions, and Martin, who suffered with electrical problems all morning, had a good first beat and were both in contention as they approached the leeward mark, with Peter just ahead and Paul just behind.  Peter took the win and Paul managed to get through to 2nd, with Martin taking 3rd.
In the final race of the morning Paul got a good start and lead from start to finish.  Both Peter and Alan were neck and neck towards the end of the run, when Alan misjudged his sailing line and, frustratingly for him, ended up snagged on one of the starting buoys.  John Beech was the beneficiary of Alan’s misfortune scoring his best result of the day in 3rd.
Not the best conditions for racing, but all the skippers made the most of it.  Thanks to Garry benson for acting as RO for the last few races and Paul for the few photos taken whilst racing.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2025 – 6/8/25

DF65’s

A good turnout of eleven skippers, including two newcomers with Noah Macintosh (first time out with his 65) and a prospective new member, Duncan Neale, joining in the racing. The breeze, for most of the morning was Westerly with swings to the NW at times, which combined with the persistent algae growth, made for interesting sailing. Paul Plested donned the waders (where’s Peter Baldwin when you need him?) and set the start line. Robbie Macintosh offered to be RO, which enabled all to race the standard windward/leeward one lap course.

For the early races a quick tack on to port after the start for a long drag race up the lake was the way to go. After two races, to make the beat less one sided, the course was switched to a starboard rounding of the windward and spreader mark. Mike De St Paer seemed to have the conditions and start sorted, and managed to cross the finish line 1st in three of these races. Clive Warren also got going quickly with a 2nd and a 1st early on. Paul Plested, despite being in the lead at times, didn’t manage to cross the line first until later on in the day, but was in the top three in all of the first four races. Duncan, who is new to the sport, showed his potential, with a 3rd and a 4th. Alan Watkinson was also in the mix with a 2nd and a 3rd at this point.

In the second half of the morning Paul did manage to hang on to promising positions posting two 1sts, but Mike also was dominant throughout adding a further two 1sts and a 2nd to his impressive score line.  Clive and Alan featured in the top three in the final four races, as did Duncan, posting another 3rd. Richard Walker, who had been in the mix early on in several races, finished the day well with a couple of 3rds.  Noah also showed his potential in the class with some consistent mid-fleet results, including two 4ths.

Given the conditions, and despite the presence of algae being frustrating at times, it was, overall, an enjoyable morning of racing. Well done to Mike with an impressive run of results and thanks to Robbie for running the show and providing the photos.

There is an Album of all photos and a short video available here

DF95’s

Seven skippers stayed on from the mornings sailing to take part in the DF95 racing including potential new member Duncan Neale and Noah McIntosh, along with 95 sailors Steve Miller and Martin Wittingham Jones, there was a healthy fleet of nine boats on the start line.

The wind was similar to the morning, perhaps not quite as strong but just as shifty with various holes and large shifts along the length of the lake as the direction generally south westerly swinging to the north at times as it passed through the houses. A standard course was set similar to the morning, with the odd tweak during racing to try to keep up with the shifts, a forlorn task for our RO Robbie Mac, who kept us in check on the start line on more than one occasion during the 8 races sailed.

From the get go, racing was tight throughout the fleet with 4 different winners and eight different skippers sharing the podium positions.

Race 1 – Clive was quickly out of the blocks chased all the way by Paul, Duncan and Guy.  Race 2 – it was Phyll’s turn to eventually run out in top spot with Clive, Martin W.J and Paul chasing close behind.

Race 3 – and Paul, who had started well all day found a bit more speed out of his setup led the fleet across the finish line, but it was  young Noah who was finding his feet (with a bit of rig tweaking and coaching by his father between races) who made the biggest leap up the field taking the second spot with Clive and Guy close behind.  Race 4 – Noahs improvement continued and deservedly got his maiden victory which didn’t come easy with Alan, Clive and Paul in the mix right up to the finish line.

Races 5 and 6 – played out to similar conclusions with Paul finding consistency across the start line really pays off, and Noahs boat speed carrying them through to the first two spots with Clive, Guy, Martin and Duncan fighting it out for the last podium place

Races 7 and 8 – again followed a similar pattern to each other with Paul taking another pair of wins with the chasing pack of Duncan, Clive and Guy close behind

It was clear that Paul had won the afternoon with 6 wins but as for the minor places it was anyone’s guess, with the results table below courtesy of Paul.

IOM Summer 2025 #7 – 2/8/25

Lovely sunshine and a decent mid to top end of ‘A’ rig wind straight down the middle from the top end of the lake.
With 7 skippers sailing 4 different designs it promised to be a good afternoons sailing and it was.
The first race was won by Graham sailing his BritPOP! but it was tight up the first beat with all the usual Birkenhead shifts to contend with, unfortunately Paul hadn’t listened carefully to what was the first windward mark was and this put him out of contention for this race.
Six races sailed before a break with some close races, Simon sailing his Alioth got a deserved 2nd in race 4, Alan in race 1 with a decent 2nd place and Ian banging in 4 3rd places but it was Peter and Graham out in front most of the time. Unfortunately we lost Paul at the break due to wiring problems on his battery connections.
The wind stayed pretty much the same for the remaining 6 races, Charles featured in a few of these races which was great to see, often picking out a great shift from both banks.
The water is still occupied by blotches of green algae that did effect boat speed in the lighter stuff, the art was to keep the momentum and stay away from the far bank.
It finished with race wins going to Peter with 2, should of been 3 and Graham with 10.  Neil and David watched us all afternoon and weren’t afraid to recall any premature starters, thank you Dave and Neil.  Photos courtesy of Dave and Paul.
  1. Graham Elliott         Britpop  09  10pts
  2. Peter Baldwin           Britpop  63  18pts
  3. Alan Watkinson       Corbie 5  23  39pts
  4. Simon Fairman        Alioth      71   40pts
  5. Charles Legg             K2             40  49pts
  6. Ian Davies                  Britpop   33   52pts
  7. Paul Plested              Britpop    35  59pts

DF65 Social Racing 2025 – 30/7/25

DF65’s

With folks away over the Summer, and perhaps because of recent problems with algae in the lake, only five skippers turned up to race their DF65’s.  As it turned out it was a good morning of racing with the wind blowing straight down the lake, with boats running with A+ rigs, although smaller rigs would have been beneficial towards the end of the session.  A typical one lap windward/leeward course was used throughout the morning.
In the first five races Paul Plested was fastest out of the blocks on four occasions.  In race three Dave Williams got the shifts right and led until the leeward gate when he sailed into rather than around the right-hand buoy.  This gifted 1st place to Paul making it five bullets out of five races with Charles Legg also getting promoted to 2nd.  James Douglas was close throughout the opening five races scoring four 2nds and Phyl Fanning picked up a 3rd in race five.
In both races six and seven Dave got great starts and led to the finish.  Paul, having been OCS is race six, pulled back up to 2nd on the last beat to the line and James picked up another 2nd in race seven.
By race eight the wind had picked up considerably and the fleet would have been much better on A or even B rigs, but as the session was close to ending the skippers agreed to carry on.  With hindsight, they might have been better calling it a day then as all were getting wiped out on the run.  Towards the leeward gate all five boats were broached and virtually uncontrollable.  James was the first to zig-zag through the gate and then beat back up to finish, followed by Paul and then Dave.
Despite the breeze, the skippers decided to try one more race as the wind had abated slightly, for the start at least.  Again, possibly not the best decision, as the race became a struggle against the conditions.  James again won this battle and posted his second 1st of the day.
In summary, it was a very enjoyable morning of racing helped by negligible impact from the algae, which looks to be dissipating.  Thanks go to Dave and Malcolm for the few DF65 photo’s
1. Paul Plested              9pts  5 x 1sts
2. James Douglas        12pts  2 x 1sts, 5 x 2nds
3. Dave Williams          20pts  2 x 1sts
4. Charles Legg           20pts  2 x 2nds
5. Phyl Fanning            33pts  1 x 3rd

DF95’s

Two skippers stayed on from the morning’s DF65 racing and were joined at various stages by three others.  Unfortunately with B rigs the order of the day, Steve Miller was unable to take part as he currently only has an A rig.  The benefit for the other four was that Steve stayed on to run the racing.
Martin Whittingham-Jones turned up with about ten minutes to the start, but he’d rigged A rig, so he missed the first race whilst changing to B rig.  As with the morning racing, a standard one lap windward/leeward course was used, with the beat being up the lake away from the clubhouse.
Despite there only being four boats, the starts were as competitive as they could be with all four vying for a clean fast start on starboard in most instances, with the odd shot at a port end cross the fleet job now and again.  Although having to work his way through the fleet on several occasions, Paul ended up hogging most,  but not all of the 1sts in the ten races sailed.  Phyl Fanning scored a well earned bullet in race five and Martin crossed the finish line 1st in race seven.  John Beech, despite not picking up a top spot was quick all afternoon and there was only one point between him and Martin at the end of the day.
In race nine Phyl’s battery died and his boat needed rescuing, and in race ten Paul’s rudder servo started to play up, so all agreed it was time to call it a day.
1. Paul Plested                                      8pts
2. Martin Whittingham-Jones    19pts 1 x 1st
3. John Beech                                      20pts
4. Phyl Fanning                                 27pts 1 x 1st

DF95 Summer 2025 #5 – 26/7/25

The DF95 open scheduled for today had been cancelled due to algae in the lake.  However, club sailing was still on the cards and 8 skippers turned up from noon for a 1pm start and some DF95 racing, albeit with the added challenge of the sailing through green gloop for the afternoon.
The wind was A rig from the top of the lake for the duration of the 12 races sailed, with some reasonably regular shifts and the odd gust and softer patches to keep everyone on their toes. The standard windward mark, spreader and leeward gate with 2 laps was used throughout. As for RO, Neil Westbrook was on hand to run the show assisted by others during the afternoon such as Dave Williams, Steve Miller and Alan Watkinson.
Given the algae the trick, if you could pull it off, was to keep your boat powered up and driving, even if it meant sailing through some headers.  Trying to point and looking to tack on every shift just slowed you down too much.  It was clear from the 6 races before the tea-break that Paul Plested and Peter Baldwin had sussed out how to sail in the conditions, both scoring 3 firsts each.  Phyl Fanning also had his boat going well with three 3rds in the first session. Martin Whittingham-Jones was also quick off the start line in several races and managed two 3rds before the break. Dave Williams scored a 2nd in race two only to have rudder servo problems again, which put paid to his day, although he did get to race later as a few skippers lent their boats out for a race or two.  In race five Steve Miller kept a cool head with a cracking start hitting the line on port, crossing the whole fleet approaching on starboard. Great to see the improvement in his sailing given how new it is to him and to have him back sailing after a time away due to injury.
After a short stop for refreshments and a natter, it was more of the same with Paul and Peter hogging most of the top two spots.  However, Paul had clearly had some Red Bull at the break as he bagged five of the six firsts on offer, with Peter scoring one 1st and four 2nds.  Alan Watkinson, who had been mixing it at the front of the fleet in most races, scored two 3rds in this session.  Phyl continued where he left off and scored another three 3rds in the post tea break slot, which gave him a very worthy 3rd overall on the day.  Both Dave and Neil had a sail of Steve’s boat for a race each, both managing to finish 2nd.
Thanks to Neil for running the racing and Dave for producing the results and supplying the photos.
1.  Paul Plested                                  12pts     8 wins
2.  Peter Baldwin                              17pts     4 wins
3.  Phyl Fanning                               39pts    6 x 3rds
4.  Alan Watkinson                          41pts    3 x 3rds
5.  Martin Whittingham-Jones  49pts    2 x 3rds
6.  Clive Warren                                 50pts
7.  Steve Miller                                    58pts
8.  Dave Williams                               79pts   2 x 2nds (in different boats!)

DF65 Social Racing 2025 – 23/7/25

Seven skippers arrived at the club to be greeted by a grey sky  with a bit of drizzle in the air, which soon stopped. On a brighter note there was a nice A+ rig wind blowing down the lake from the far end which had a bit of westerly in it, meaning it came through & over the houses to add some interest. On the downside, the algae was a problem with it sometimes building up on the foils to various degrees. This would prove a problem trying to tune the boat, a lot of weather helm was noticeable immediately, I can only put this down to the algae making it more difficult for the fins to cut through the water.  This was even more evident on the run when all too easily the nose would disappear and the transom would raise up ending in the inevitable broach, although there were some gallant efforts to stop the broaching throughout the day.

Never the less, the course was set, windward mark to port straight back down to a gate and then to the finish half way back up the beat. It was decided to have a dedicated RO for each race with the skippers taking it in turn.  Dave W took first duty and got us off on time.

Race 1 and Clive seemed to have a good set up and was out of the blocks quickly and led from start to finish but was pushed all the way Charles finishing second and James taking third.

Race 2 and  James took the RO role, but it was Clive again who got a port end flyer crossing the fleet, and would remain ahead until the finish with Charles holding off Dave W to finish second. At this stage Alan who had struggled with boat setup decided enough was enough as the frustration got the better of him. As the number of skippers was diminishing it was decided to ditch the dedicated RO and the starts would be self monitored and first to finish would record the results. To make things fairer the 2 helms who had RO’d (Dave W and James) would have an average score used to complete the missing scores

Race 3 and once again Clive crossed the field on port with James in hot pursuit, leaving Dave W, Charles and David White to have a very close battle for third. Richard was struggling at this stage and decided enough was enough.

Race 4 and this time James who had a bit of advice from Clive on his set up, joined Clive in crossing, what was left of the fleet. on port tack from the start. The pair had a good battle to the finish with James taking line honours. There was also a good battle going on behind with Charles getting his revenge over Dave W for third

Race 5 and this was the race that nearly wasn’t. We had just decided we  would call it a day, David W had packed up his chair when Richard, having decided enough was obviously not enough, wanted to try an A rig in the hope of better balance and performance, who were we to argue. So once again we set off, James and Clive were away quickly again but Clive soon slowed with algae build up, giving Charles and Dave W the chance to pass. James continued in the lead, and Dave wasn’t able to get past Charles despite a valiant effort. Richards trial didn’t produce the result he had hoped for and finished sixth.

It was decided that enough really did mean enough and we decided to retreat to the clubhouse, although the sun did start to come through the clouds.  Thanks to Dave for a few photos from Race 1.

  1. Clive Warren         5pts (3wins)
  2. James Douglas      5.4pts (2wins)
  3. Charles Legg          9pts
  4. Dave Williams      12pts
  5. David White           17pts
  6. Richard Walker     22pts
  7. Alan Watkinson    27pts

After sailing Malcolm, assisted later by Richard and Clive replaced the damaged waste pipe from the gents sink. Hopefully this will help preserve the brickwork where the water was running down previously.  Many thanks Malcolm.