Author: Peter Baldwin

There were 8 RG65’s (but no DF65’s) for the first in this Summer Series of races now that restrictions are easing and Saturday attendances typically less than the limit of 18 entries.  Unfortunately, the sailors were greeted to a light and fickle breeze that couldn’t make up its mind whether to blow from the East or West.

The first race was started near to the clubhouse, but ended up being a broad reach to start, although most points of sailing were covered during the race, with John Brierley taking the first win of the day.  The fleet then moved ends to start in the opposite direction for race 2, which was taken by Dave Williams in his new Uno on its second outing.  Races 3 and 4 went to Graham Elliott sailing the Electronics after servo issues in the Argon meant a retirement in Race 2.  By now (and after an early refreshment break) the wind had picked up to a 5 or 6 knot WNW breeze with some good shifts and variations in pressure around the course.  Martin Roberts took his only win in Race 5 and then John had his second in Race 6.  The afternoon ended with Graham mopping up the last three races and the afternoon.  Martin’s consistency gave him second, just one point ahead of John in third.

Thanks as usual go to Bernie for running the racing and scoring for us.

1. Graham Elliott           9         electronica             9pts   5 wins
2. Martin Roberts      184         pocket rocket      17pts   1 win
3. John Brierley            84         uno                          18pts   2 wins
4. Dave Williams          33         uno                          23pts   1 win
5. Peter Baldwin           63        pocket rocket      27pts
6. Neil Westbrook        03        pocket rocket      35pts
7. Charles Legg             26        uno                         42pts
8. Alan Watkinson       23        scurry                    48pts

After 9 races.

   A select group of six IOM helms turned out for this afternoon at the start of warmer weather. With a high pressure sat over the area hopes of a decent sail weren’t very high when arriving at 12:00 to a flat calm lake with the merest hint of a breeze.  Fortunately by the start of racing a gentle 5 or 6 knots was blowing from the NW which held for most of the afternoon leading to close racing with a number of place changes if you got the shifts wrong.Under the eagle eye of Start Line Judge Dave Williams, John Brierley started the day well with a close win over Andrea Roberts trying out the “Vanilla” sailed by Martin two weeks ago.  Andrea then proceeded to dominate the fleet by taking the next three wins, before Martin took race 5 and Andrea the final win before a short break.Martin spent his break on re-rigging the jib on the Rubix of Charles Legg (sporting a new set of Housemartin sails), which helped place him in the mix for most races.

Racing re-started in a slightly lighter breeze, although it soon returned to previous levels.  Peter won Races 7 and 9, Martin took Race 8 and Andrea the final race of the day.  Neil Westbrook took several second places in his Widget, proving that this older design can still hold its own in Club racing.

Andrea took the afternoon comfortably, with Peter second and Martin third, followed by Neil in fourth and without a race win.  Thanks again must go to Bernie and Jack for running our racing and the photos are courtesy of Dave Williams (whilst he wasn’t watching the line and calling us back).

1. Andrea Roberts           122            Vanilla               12pt     5 wins
2. Peter Baldwin                63            Lintel MMX    19pts    2 wins
3. Martin Roberts             55            Widget              22pts   2 wins
4. Neil Westbrook             03            Widget             27pts
5. John Brierley                  84            brit pop           32pts   1 win
6. Charles Legg                  25            Rubix                42pts

After 10 races

With a steady North Westerly breeze, ‘A’ rigs were chosen, to give the maximum number of 18 sailors quite a challenging day’s sailing.  The finishing positions varied significantly across the fleet (with wins liberally sprinkled around the top places). The 18 starters produced a busy starting line – position, timing and a clear start were critical in doing well.  As ever, the wind shifts across almost the entire lake proved hard to read, even for experienced sailors, and also gave some difficulty on the top windward spreader marks.

Richard Walker did a great job as RO today, setting a full lake course (using mark positions from last Saturday) and reminding several sailors of their misdemeanours throughout the day .  Ten races were completed by 1pm, but it actually felt like more, because of the fleet size. The DF65 racing fleet has grown, and the enthusiasm of new members is very encouraging for the future.

Results

1. Mike De St Paer              35   22 Pts
2. Peter Baldwin                  63   23 Pts
3. John Carlin                        11    31 Pts
4. Richard Robinson          01   32 Pts [ 1x 1st, 2 X 2nd ]
5. Neil Westbrook               03   32 Pts [ 1 X 1st, 1 X 2nd ]
6. Alan Watkinson            373   36 Pts
7. Andrew Potter               194   46 Pts
8. Andrew Peter                 919   57 Pts
9. Tre Joinville                       19  58 Pts
10. Charles Legg                     21   78 Pts
11. James Douglas                 73    81 Pts
12. Don Mackinnon            933   84 Pts
13. Paul Little                          45   91 Pts
14. Malcolm Harvey         1019   95 Pts
15. Stan Metcalf                    46   96 Pts
16. Dave Williams               233  100 Pts
17. George Smith                   18  133 Pts
18. Paul Hounslow                82  137 Pts

After 10 races

Another great WNW breeze of around 10 knots greeted the 7 RG65 sailors this week, with much discussion as to what the rig of choice would be, while Graham moved a few marks around to sort the course this week.  Most opted for a reduced height full area rig, with a good mix of swing and conventional rigs. Martin Roberts started the day well to win races 1 and 2 in a Pocket Rocket sporting a swing rig, before John Brierley spoilt his run with a win in race 3 in his Uno in a low aspect conventional rig.  Martin then won the next two races before David Potter took Race 6 (Pocket Rocket, Swing) and we stopped for a short break.  John took the first race after the break, before  winch and servo failure stopped David Potter and Graham Elliott from racing again.  Martin picked up wins in races 8 and 9, although the wind was now up a notch, making upwind progress and tacking more difficult at times.  Peter Baldwin took a win in his Pocket Rocket sporting a low aspect masthead conventional suit, in Race 10. Martin then took the win in Race 11, with Dave Williams ending the day winning Race 12 in his Uno with a swing rig (after some help adjusting his swing rig by Martin).

Thanks once again to Bernie for running the racing this week.

1. Martin Roberts    184             pocket rocket        14pts     7 wins
2. John Brierley          84             uno                          18pts     2 wins
3. Peter Baldwin        63             pocket rocket         32pts    1 win
4. Dave Williams        33            uno                           48pts    1 win
5. David Potter            20            pocket rocket          51pts     1 win
6. Alan Watkinson     23            scurry                        51pts
7. Graham Elliott        55            argon                        56pts

After 12 races

Although it was sunny, a brisk NNW breeze made it chilly enough to remind us it’s not summer yet. With ‘A’ rigs selected, Mike De St Paer, acting as race officer for today, set a full lake length one lap course, giving great sailing conditions across the whole course. With 16 entrants, one ‘no-show’ gave us 15 at the start line, and made Mike’s job as RO quite challenging at times, with a couple of general recalls and some very close finishing to record.

10 races were completed, with the last race over two laps.

1. Neil Westbrook         03     11 Pts
2. Richard Robinson    01     21 Pts
3. John Carlin                  11     32 Pts [ 1 X 1st ]
4. Alan Watkinson      373    32 Pts
5. Andrew Peter           919    35 Pts
6. Charles Legg               21    45 Pts
7. Derek Matthews        57   46 Pts
8. Tre Joinville                19    51 Pts
9. Dave Williams         233    63 Pts
10. Sally Collings           829   66 Pts
11. Andrew Potter         194    71 Pts
12. Don Mackinnon      933    81 Pts
13. Paul Little                    45    83 Pts
14. Malcolm Harvey    1019 105 Pts
15. Colin Deakin                93 109 Pts [ Rtd ]

Please note that the next 3 sailors in line for race officer on a Wednesday are

1. Richard Walker No 39
2. Paul Little No 45
3. Stan Metcalfe No 46