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Author: Peter Baldwin

DragonForce Winter Series #5 5/2/20

A beautiful sunny morning greeted the 10 DF65s to Birkenhead with A+ rigs the order of the day.  Racing was moved to the east bank by Race Officer Ernie, to give a windward / leeward course, but with the recent high winds there was a lot of debris along the bank and competitors that took the right hand gate kept clear of obstructions, whilst the left hand gate was the favoured one to gain the lift of the bank but the risk of picking up twigs was high.
There were four race winners and Don gained his first win with Neil having the most wins with 4.  Again it was the consistency of John to take the win, with Richard rapidly improving and take second place.  John C also had a very good day with a steady performance.  Thanks once again to Ernie for running the racing.
  1. John Brierley                 84      14pts
  2. Richard Robinson        01      17pts
  3. Neil Westbrook             03     24pts
  4. John Carlin                      11      33pts
  5. Alan Watkinson          373     38pts
  6. Don MacKinnon         983     40pts
  7. Dave Pickup                   86      41pts
  8. Mike St Paer                   35      50pts.   1x3rd
  9. Richard Walker             39      50pts   0x3rd
  10. Chris Weston               194      67pts.
10 races sailed

DragonForce Winter Series #4 29/1/20

The forecast this week looked to be a promising A Rig breeze from the WSW and so should have given the 12 sailors a good Windward Leeward course along the South bank.  Those sailors who put their boats on the water before the 11am start time indicated that the A rig was probably best as there were a number of strong gusts powering down the lake.  By the time the first race started however, it was becoming clear that an A+ rig would have been a better choice as the breeze slowly dropped in strength and backed towards the SW by the end of racing, leading to plenty of frustrated sailors trying to find the wind.

John was fast out of the blocks, winning the first race.  In race two, Ernie called two boats OCS, leaving Andrew to get well clear for his first of two wins on the day.  John then took a convincing lead and a win in race 3 after rounding the windward mark in a breeze that carried him down the run whilst everyone else sat and waited for the next gust at the windward mark.  Peter then got into a groove and took four out of the next five races, with only Andrew spoiling his run of form with a second win in Race 7.

After eight races the fleet decided to call it a day, with only an occasional breeze seen across the lake and rather different to the 12 gusting 26 knot forecast.  Thanks once again to Ernie for running this weeks racing.

  1. Peter Baldwin           63       8pts
  2. John Brierley             84      11pts
  3. Andrew Peter             19      14pts
  4. Richard Robinson    01       21pts
  5. Dave Williams           233     31pts
  6. Alan Watkinson       233      32pts
  7. Mike St Paer                 35      39pts
  8. Sally Collings           829W   43pts   2x4th
  9. Richard Walker           39      43pts   1x4th
  10. John Carlin                    11       44pts
  11. Dave Pickup                  86      47pts
  12. Chris Weston             829B   61pts

8 races sailed

IOM Winter 2019 #4 25/1/20

A challenging wind from the SW (clubhouse) blowing around mid to light top suit was the order of the first half of the days sailing for the 13 skippers. After Dave Williams had set the course, Bernie and Jack got us underway.
Quickly out of the blocks with an embarrassing lead to take the first race was Brad Gibson in conditions that suit the Red Wine well. 7 races sailed before a cup of tea with the racing now becoming a lot closer as skippers learnt the wind and especially the start line that had considerable bias compared to normal.
Another 5 races after tea and the wind straightened for many races that gave skippers the chance to experience winds not seen at Gautby Road for 25 plus years now the trees have gone, at last, wind in the Gautby Road corner. Racing at times was very closely fought throughout the fleet but the rules observed and penalties taken without question by all skippers was my observation.
It was great to see Dave Burke returning to the club for his Saturday afternoon fix of sailing and also the many guests that the ‘Birkenhead Winter Series’ attracts, all very welcome.
At the end, with light failing it was Brad Gibson (Red Wine) who took the spoils with 10 wins, Graham Elliott (Widget) in second position with just 2 wins and Dave Potter (Viper) 3rd.
Well done to all skippers for a brilliant days sailing, Jack, Bernie and  Dave for organising the sailing side of the day and finally Joyce for a cuppa at half time.
  1. Brad Gibson                   2             10pts       10 wins
  2. Graham Elliot              27           23pts          2 wins
  3. David Potter                 20           34pts
  4. Bill Culshaw                  21           36pts
  5. Dave Burke                    30           43pts
  6. Alan Watkinson           23           63pts
  7. Lawrence Drennan     57           64pts
  8. Chris Chatfield               7           70pts
  9. Neil Westbrook            03           72pts
  10. Phillip Davies                80          87pts
  11. John Pemberton          114        106pts
  12. Ken Jones                         71         108pts
  13. Charles Legg                   25        122pts

After 12 races

DragonForce Winter Series #3 22/1/20

Light winds and heavy mist met the 9 DF65 sailors for the third of the Winter series at Birkenhead today.  Race Officer Ernie used most of the length of the lake for the windward /leeward course in variable strength wind.
There were 5 race winners in the 10 races, with new member Mike recording 2 of them.  Both Neil and Alan were also putting in good results but Johns consistency gave him a narrow win.  Dave, who always says he does not like light airs, posted a win and other competitive scores.
Chris had his new “Everton” blue boat on the water and now we wait for Sally to get a “Liverpool”red boat to continue the local rivalry!
The racing is becoming extremely close in these one design boats and they provide a great introduction to the sport of Radio Sailing.

  1. John Brierley             84     16pts
  2. Alan Watkinson      373     19pts
  3. Neil Westbrook         03     20pts
  4. Dave Williams         233     24pts
  5. Mike St Paer               35     27pts
  6. John Carlin                 11       44pts
  7. Sally Collings         829      49pts
  8. Charles Legg             21       57pts
  9. Chris Weston          194      62pts

10 races sailed.   Thanks again to Ernie for running the racing.

Updates to the Website

Along with the New Year New Look to the lake, the website has had a bit of a makeover.  The Classes menu item has now been moved to the Information section and the menu “Current Standings” has been renamed as Results.  This menu now has past Open meeting Reports and Results added to it as a page of links, in the hope that it is easier to locate past information.

Peter Baldwin 20/1/20

RG65 & DF65 Winter Series #3 Report & Results

After last weeks IOM racing all of the marks needed repositioning to get a decent course for this weeks racing with a decent A rig (RG65) and A+ rig breeze from the WNW.  Racing started very soon after 12:00 with the four RG65’s sailing 10 metres further up the lake than the seven DF65’s (including four visitors from Gresford).

In the RG65 fleet of Pocket Rockets, Alan Watkinson used his tall A conventional rig to good effect and took wins in the first two races.  Peter Baldwin then got into a groove and won the next 5, before a break for lunch and a hot drink.  Suitably refreshed after lunch, Neil Westbrook took 2 wins from the next three races and Alan had a further win, before Peter took the final two races, with the wind by now easing a few knots as the sun went down.

Andrew Peter had a commanding day in the DF65 fleet, winning eleven out of the twelve races.  Only John Carlin managed to keep him from the podium, before he had to retire with some winch troubles.  David Bradley and Bob Andrews from Gresford both came close to beating Andrew in a number of races, with the result only being decided in the last few metres to the line.

An excellent day of 12 races with close racing in both fleets.  Thanks once again to Jack and Bernie for running our racing and making drinks at lunchtime. Our visitors from Gresford enjoyed the “Birkenhead Experience” and have promised to return for the final event in this Winter series, which takes place on Saturday 15th February.

RG65’s

  1. Peter Baldwin             63             13pts   7 wins
  2. Neil Westbrook           03             19pts   2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson          23             26pts    3 wins
  4. Dave Williams             33             31pts

DF65’s

  1. Andrew Peter              919            10pts    11wins
  2. David Bradley               98            23pts
  3. Rob Andrews               835            35pts
  4. Charles Legg                   13            41pts
  5. Keith Pizzey                   517          44pts
  6. Russell Owens              903          55pts
  7. John Carlin                       11            60pts     1 win

12 races sailed