Birkenhead Radio Sailing & Power Club
The second race of the IOM Winter series will take place on Saturday 7th December starting at 12:00. Entries on the day.
Then on the following Saturday 14th December, the IOM Christmas Open takes place. As of 28/11/19, there are 7 entries. Further details, NoR and a list of entries are available here. To give the club an idea of numbers, it would be helpful if you can advise Graham Elliott of your entry before the day, but entries on the day are always welcome.
Following the AGM discussion, three more dates have been allocated to RG65/DF65 open events over the Winter on a Saturday. The dates are in the Calendar as:
The start time will be 12:00 with no start scheduled to be after 16:00. Visitors are most welcome. Clubhouse open from approximately 11:00, with hot drinks available .
Mirror like conditions met the 9 DF 65 sailors today for the 9th race in the Autumn series. Only 5 races were possible in drifting conditions with jibs flicking on the run being a rarity.
Sally certainly mastered the conditions from the outset winning 2 of the 5 races and running John B close. Dave W ,who never likes light airs , liked them today finishing 3rd just edging out Richard R by one point. The racing was again run by Ernie and many thanks goes to him in keeping us all in check.
John Brierley 84 5pts
Sally Collings 829 7pts
Dave Williams 233 12pts
Richard Robinson 01 13pts
Alan Watkinson 23 18pts
Richard Walker 39 22pts
John Carling 11 26pts
Andrew Peter 919 28pts
Mike St Paer 19 32pts.
With the breeze averaging 10 knots and up to 15 or 18 in the gusts, it was decided that B Rigs was the most prudent choice for the day. Even so, there was an occasional hairy moment on the run for many during the 10 races sailed. Races were won and lost in some cases by being in the most pressure downwind and at other times by avoiding the pressure to stay upright! John and Peter had evenly shared most of the wins after Race 9, with otherwise only Alan managing to get a good win in Race 5. It turned out that the two lap Race 10 was the decider, which John won by no more than a boat length on the finish line having made the best of the last beat. A great morning of close racing. Thanks to Mike St Paer for running the races today and hopefully his new boat will be ready to race next Wednesday.
There was only a light S to SE breeze today that came in patches across the water. Alan Watkinson was the boat to beat in the first two races, followed by relative newcomer Richard Robinson, who took 3 wins in the next 4 races. Kris Morrow had wins in races 5 and 10 and John Brierley took 3 wins in races 7 to 9.
Overall John had the more consistent day to win overall, with Kris only two points behind and then Richard in third 6 points behind that.
Thanks once again go to Ernie for setting the course and running this weeks races.
The forecast for this first IOM Winter Series race was rather dire with rain potentially heavy at times all afternoon. As it was we raced for most of the afternoon without rain, which started during the last race or so, but even then not too heavy, making for a great afternoons sailing. There was plenty of discussion about was it a No 1 or No 2 breeze to start with and the fleet was split nearly 50/50. Putting a boat with No 1 rig on the water 10 minutes before the start looked like the right choice, but that all changed by start time as we waited for the final stragglers (some who had changed down). A number of nasty gusts swept down the lake from the clubhouse giving some tricky control issues for those in Top Rig as the race started and didn’t change when coming down the first run. By the time Race 2 started most of the fleet were in No 2 and things were a little more serene, although there were still a few difficult gusts leading to nose dives if you were in the wrong area on the run. Seven races were completed before a break for a late lunch, with the wins being shared around the top boats.
After lunch, the wind seemed to have abated and a number of skippers opted to change back up. There were a few difficult gusts during race 8, but then things settled down to be a good Top suit breeze and anyone who stayed in a smaller rig was now at a disadvantage especially at the sheltered top marks. Five more races were completed before the rain set in, the light was fading and racing was stopped. All of the racing was very close especially at the top of the fleet, where being on the wrong side of a shift could see a lead evaporate very quickly and even lost. As is often the case though, some helms always manage to make the best of the conditions and the final results after 12 races were:
For information Brad had 5 wins, Martin 4, Darin 2 and Peter 1
