c

Author: Peter Baldwin

IOM Winter Series 2022/3 #5 (4/2/23)

There was only a very light breeze from over the houses today, with some occasional pressure, but also some holes.  A course was setup starting from the far end with a windward mark and spreader at the clubhouse end and a gate on the far side below the start.  Boats usually had to tack to make the Windward mark, but it was never too clear cut which was the favoured way there.

Graham Elliott set the initial pace with a win in Race 1, before Brad Gibson took races 2 and 3.  Martin Roberts then got the measure of the conditions and picked up races 4 and 5 before Neil Westbrook had a storming first leg, and along with Brad pulling out a big lead on the fleet. This culminated in a final leg tackle with Brad with Neil’s Widget getting the win over the TS2.

After a tea break (thanks Bernie), there seemed to be a little more pressure when we resumed, but hopes of a better breeze were dashed, with little more for the remaining races after that initial burst.  In the final four races Brad took races 7 and 10 with Martin picking up the wins in races 8 and 9.  There was some close competition through the fleet and some place changes possible if the wind filled in from the rear, although it usually seemed to favour those who were in front from the start.

The final podium places were Brad first with 13 pts, then Martin and Graham tied on 16 pts, with Martin picking up second on account of his four wins relative to Graham having only one.  Thanks once again go to Dave Williams for running the racing this week and taking a few photos of the, err action??

  1. Brad Gibson            17  TS2                    13pts
  2. Martin Roberts      55  Widget            16pts (4 wins)
  3. Graham Elliott       70  Fractel             16pts (1 win)
  4. Bill Culshaw            21   Britpop!          30pts
  5. Peter Baldwin        63  Britpop!           37 pts
  6. Neil Westbrook      03  Widget            42 pts
  7. John Berry               123  Lintel MMX 52 pts
  8. Alan Watkinson      23  Britpop!         56 pts

DF65 Social Racing 2023 – 1/2/23

After weeks of A and A+ sailing, today made up for it with a strong wind blowing straight down the lake to the clubhouse end. Due to several sailors not having C rig it was decided to try B which was okay apart from the downwind leg. The usual one lap course was laid with racing starting soon after 11.00am. Alan got into his stride straight away taking the first three races with Richard revelling in these conditions and giving him a hard time.

During the fifth race the wind strength picked up making it advisable to change down to C rig. Unfortunately, we lost 4 competitors for the rest of the races so the results are a little artificial. Those four then helped with the pipe lagging which the Club is grateful.

Thanks to Clive for acting as RO for the last five races out of 10.

  1. Alan Watkinson     9 pts 7 wins
  2. Richard Walker    20 pts
  3. John Carlin             21 pts 1 win
  4. Dave Williams       24 pts 1 win
  5. John Beech              50 pts
  6. Charles Legg           54 pts
  7. Frans King               55 pts
  8. James Douglas       60 pts
  9. Clive Warren           65 pts
  10. Paul Little                72 pts 1 win
  11. Simon Bates            76 pts

After a dinner break, 5 DF95’s under the watchful eye of Richard completed 5 races all using B rig.

  1. Clive Warren 6 pts 3 wins
  2. Alan Watkinson 8 pts
  3. Dave Williams 9 pts 2 wins
  4. John Carlin 14 pts
  5. John Beech 16 pts

DF/RG65 Winter Series 2022/3 #5 (28/1/23)

Racing got underway soon after 12:00 after Peter had rearranged all of the marks following the recent ice which had moved everything around.  There was a decent Top suit breeze from the far end with occasional gusts causing some nose diving at times and plenty of shifts to gain (or lose) places on the course.

Peter took the win in Race 1 after splitting from Martin and John at the leeward gate before the finish, then catching a significant lift to jump from third to first.  John then took races 2, 3 and 5, with Peter  picking up race 4 and Martin race 6 and a short break.  After the break, Peter took 5 of the 6 races sailed, with Martin managing to pick up one win to spoil the run.

John retired after seven races as he was suffering with a bad leak and spent the time identifying the cause.  Charles and Martin also unfortunately lost a few races each after losing contact with their boats. There was, however, plenty of close racing throughout the fleet though, with nearly all of the fleet having some time at the front.

This left Peter as clear winner after 12 races and what had been a very close first session, with Martin second and John hanging onto third even counting three DNC’s. Thanks go to Bill Culshaw for running racing at a great pace and managing to fit 12 races in before 3:30.  Next week is back to racing for the IOM with race 5 of the Winter Series.

  1. Peter Baldwin              63  Uno                        13pts
  2. Martin Roberts           133  Pocket Rocket  21pts
  3. John Brierley                84  Uno                       37pts
  4. Neil Westbrook           03  Uno                        40pts
  5. Alan Watkinson          23   Uno                        43pts  (3x3rd)
  6. Dave Williams              33  Uno                        43pts  (2x3rd)
  7. Charles Legg                 26  Uno                       59pts

DF65 Social Racing 2023 25/1/23

From no wind at 10am to a good A+ wind straight down the lake at 11am. A course was set from the start at the Clubhouse end, a windward mark on the far side of the lake which caused a few Specsavers problems, a spreader and then down to a starboard rounding of the start mark then a finish between the pole and middle finish mark.
Mike was able to read the condition well and took 6 wins. Alan and John C. were chasing each other through out the day with Alan one point ahead at the end of the day.
Thanks must go to Malcolm for volunteering to be RO after a terminal breakage put him out, giving us 10 races. The four sailors who had been RO had their average score taken after discards instead of the usual zero.

1st   Mike de St Paer      12 pts 6wins
2nd Alan Watkinson    21 pts 2 wins
3rd  John Carlin             22 pts
4th  Clive Warren          27 pts. 2 wins
5th  Charles Legg          27 pts
6th  Don MacKinnon   47 pts. 1 x 2nd
7th  Richard Walker     47 pts
8th  Paul Little                50 pts
9th  Neil Westbrook      54 pts
10th John Beech              56 pts
11th Dave Williams        62 pts
12th Frans King              71 pts

DF65 Social Racing 2023 18/1/23

Just for a change, a good A suit wind blowing straight down the lake. With ten sailors it was decided each person would drop out and RO. Racing started with John Carlin showing the way with a string of three wins and two seconds, but then Mike got into gear and finished with three wins in a row pushing John into second place.  The pair took nine race wins between them with Malcolm taking the other after a very tight race with Richard and John. Richard and Clive were also battling it out with just one point between them at the finish.

  1. Mike de St Paer              8 pts 6 wins
  2. John Carlin                     12 pts 3 wins
  3. Richard Walker             22 pts
  4. Clive Warren                  23 pts
  5. Alan Watkinson            25 pts
  6. Charles Legg                  34 pts
  7. Malcolm Harvey           36 pts 1 win
  8. Dave Williams                47 pts
  9. John Beech                      49 pts
  10. Frans King                       60 pts

After a short break for dinner six DF 95s sailed 5 races using the same course but two laps. Clive was trying his new B rig with the rest on A rig, as the wind increased he had the advantage and took wins on the last three races.

  1. John Carlin                6 pts. 2 wins
  2. Clive Warren             7 pts  3 wins
  3. Richard Walker      11 pts
  4. Dave Williams        14 pts
  5. Alan Watkinson     15 pts
  6. Malcolm Harvey    25 pts

DF/RG65 Winter Series 2022/3 #4

We arrived to find a decent breeze from the West, but with a lake full to overflowing.  Neil and Alan set to and cleared the overflow, although even by the end of sailing at 15:30, the level had only decreased by an inch or so.

Peter moved a few marks around and replaced some that had floated to the leeward shore because of the lake level and racing got started soon after 12:00 with most boats sporting their C rigs (where available).  Although  8 sailors arrived, we only had a maximum of 5 boats on the water at any time and occasionally only 2!  The wind took its toll on most if not all boats with rig and servo failures and others having to bow out due to the lack of a C Rig or problems with the walkway being flooded.

Wins were shared out among the 4 RG’s with John taking four (and the win overall), Peter and Martin three each and Alan one.  Clive was the sole DF65 today as he was unable to get anyone else to join him for the afternoon. Racing was close at times, although equally someone could gain a good lead if they picked up a gust at the windward mark and leave everyone in their wake.

Thanks to Dave for running the most of the races having loaned his boat to Martin who gave it a good run later with a bigger rig especially when the wind abated slightly.

  1. John Brierley          Uno  84  14pts
  2. Peter Baldwin        Uno  63   17pts
  3. Martin Roberts     Uno  33   28pts
  4. Alan Watkinson    Uno  23   33pts

 

  1. Clive Warren          DF65  53  9pts