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Category: Fleets

DF95 Winter Series 2023 #1 – 25/11/23

11 Helms turned up for the first race day of the DF95 winter series which was an excellent turnout, Dave Williams was our RO for the day and the original Race Officer borrowe Dave’s boat for a 95 outing instead.  Although the sun was shining, the wind gods were having a holiday and we were greeted by a light southwesterly of sorts. However depending where you were stood along the lake this could be a northwesterly,  or northeasterly, I think you can get the picture.
First race was slightly delayed as the ultra reliable Dave Williams had watch trouble, we won’t say any more.  The course was set with the start at the far end of the lake, with a windward mark taken to port a spreader then a run, reach and beat (not necessarily in that order on this ocassion) to the gate, the finish was between 2 buoys halfway down the lake. Due to the conditions a single lap was agreed
Race 1      Everyone got away reasonably well 5 boats Alan, John Br, Neil, Clive and Frans managed to master the light airs better than the others, or were they just in the right place at the right time. The lead changed hands many times, but rounding the gate Alan lead the fleet with John Br second, Clive third, Neil fourth and Frans fifth,  but it was anyones race.
Finishing position were Clive, John Br, Neil, Frans and the unfortunate Alan, dropping from 1st to 5th
Race 2      Started with the wind dropping even more, 3 boats broke drifted clear  Neil, John Br and Dave’s borrowed boat managed to stay clear to the finish. There was then a small gap to Paul, Alan and Clive. After the first 3 finishers the RO finished the rest of the fleet in their positions on the water as the wind had all but disappeared
Lunch was taken and a good chat ensued amongst the helms, the wind disappeared completely and the rest of the day cancelled as far as sailing was concerned.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2023 – 22/11/23

DF65’s

Today’s racing was held in an approximately North Westerly breeze, with all the usual holes and shifts with the wind coming over the houses. Turnout was again great with 15 DF65 sailors.

No one wished to go wading, and with the Port end of the line somewhat favoured the starting was all pretty close. In fact as the morning progressed it was agreed that one of the other gate marks would make a better line, although it remained so shifty this didn’t really affect the first beat much.
A rigs were chosen, and although boats were underpowered some of the time, the gusts would clearly have been difficult with A+.

Once again racing was very close, with 4 different winners, and the first two boats only one point apart after the 10 races sailed, with John Carlin the winner and results as shown below:

1. John Carlin               13.5 pts 4 wins
2. Mike de St Paer      14.6 pts 1 win
3. James Douglas       26 pts 3 wins
4. Clive Warren          29 pts 2 wins
5. Dave Williams       35.3 pts
6. Neil Westbrook     37,5 pts
7. Alan Watkinson    39.5 pts
8. Andrew Potter       42 pts
9. Malcolm Harvey  58.2 pts
10. Richard Walker  62.6 pts
11. Don Mackinnon  71pts
12. John Beech           76 pts
13. Frans King            77 pts
14. Dave Howard       80 pts
15. Paul Little             91.2 pts

DF95’s

The afternoon found 8 boats on the water for the DF95 racing, The wind remained similar to the morning racing, that being from the North West, with gusts and shifts to help or hinder depending if the helm picked the right one or not.   B rigs were chosen with the wind forecast to increase throughout the afternoon. Clive was the first casualty finding the eye on the head of the mainsail pulled out, with no spare he was left with the choice of A or C, he plumped for A and an exciting afternoon. Second to fall was Paul with his new 95 which needed the rudder reversing, the problem being nobody was used to the new FlySky transmitter and it cost Paul a start in the first race.  The same course as the morning was agreed, and the first home would record the positions of the fleet which allowed all 8 boats to compete in each race.

Alan got off to a flyer having his boat set up just right for the conditions which resulted in him winning the first 3 races, with Clive, John and Richard each sharing the second and third positions equally between them. Race 4 had Richard breaking Alans winning streak, with Alan in second. Race 5 saw Malcolm suffering forestay / jib halyard failure and was unable to finish the race, which was won saw Clive taking the honours Alan again taking the second spot. Unfortunately Alan had to leave and Malcolms breakdown left 6 boats to fight out the last 2 races, Richard won the 6th with Clive second and Dave having his best race in third. The 8th and  final race saw Clive getting his 2nd win  and John picking up his best finish of the day in second.

Once again the day was very competitive with everyone showing good boat speed at some stage.

Final Results were:

  1. Clive Warren               93       12pts   2 wins, 2 seconds
  2. Richard Walker          52       13pts    2 wins, 2 seconds
  3. Alan Watkinson         23       14pts   3 wins, 2 seconds (6 races)
  4. John Beech                288       19pts      2 seconds
  5. Dave Howard              00       26pts
  6. Frans King                   59        31pts
  7. Paul Little                     14        38pts
  8. Malcolm Harvey    2019       44pts

Although Clive won,  its fair to say that if Alan had been able to continue he would have been top of the leader board.

New Section added to Website

I have added a new section and menu Item under “Information”

“Boats for Sale or Wanted”

If you have a boat for sale or want a boat that meets the classes sailed at the club, please let me have further details and I will add it to the page.  The page outlines the process, but send me an email (if you have my email address) or a message via the contacts pages and I will confirm details with you. If you are emailing you can of course send details direct as a description and a couple of pertinent photos.  If you have more photos also state that in the advert so that any potential buyer can request them if required.

I was not planning to place contact emails or phone numbers in the advert only the sellers name.  They can then make contact directly if they know you or send me a message via the Contacts link on the page and I will pass the interest on.

Have a look at some point to become familiar with the page which may be accessed directly through this link.  The intention is to try and get more boats on the water and encourage boats to remain within the club and be used rather than sitting in a garage (or loft!) gathering dust.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2023 – 15/11/23

DF65 Racing

A blustery day, with a strong breeze blowing along the lake from the North West, greeted the 16 sailors who started racing with B-rigs all round. Charles Legg opted to act as Race Officer, ably assisted by Malcolm Harvey who elected not to sail and our thanks go to them for running the days racing. The course was set with a wide start line at the clubhouse end, a port-hand mark with a spreader at the far end of the lake and a gate just beyond the start line. The finish was halfway up the lake between two buoys. Even with B-rigs, racing proved challenging, with positions changing place on the downwind legs as even the best sailors experienced spectacular nose dives. In the face of these conditions two sailors, Alan Watkinson and Peter Baldwin, later opted for C-rigs (with Peters an enforced one due to gear failure), each with mixed fortunes. The final results were:

  1. Peter Baldwin                 63    16pts  1 win
  2. James Douglas                73   19pts  1 win
  3. Mike de St. Paer              35    21pts  1 win
  4. John Carlin                        11    22pts  1 win
  5. Neil Westbrook               03    26pts
  6. Andrew Potter               174   38pts  2 wins
  7. Dave Williams                233   38pts  1 win
  8. Alan Watkinson            373   39pts   1 win
  9. Richard Walker              39    41pts
  10. Clive Warren                   53   46pts
  11. Don MacKinnon           933  52pts
  12. Franz King                       93   52pts
  13. John Beech                       80   55pts
  14. Sally Collings                  29   62pts
  15. Paul Little                         45   68pts
  16. Dave Howard                  00   81pts

DF95 Racing

With people having various commitments there were only 4 x 95 helms which was a shame as the wind was a good B Rig and touching C rig leading to some nose diving on the run, unusual for Gautby Rd and not to far off straight down the lake from the far end of the lake. The same course as the morning was used

With only 4 boats it was more about social racing and enjoying the good conditions with a couple of 1 lap, sighting races before half a dozen 2 lappers. No official results were recorded, but great fun was had with each of the helms recording at least 1 win each the racing was also very closely contested.

Thanks to John Beech, Dave Howard, John Carlin and Clive Warren for participating

IOM Winter 2023 #1 – 11/11/23

A simple Report of:

  • No Wind
  • No Sailors
  • No Racing

Unfortunately the weather gods were not with us for the first of the IOM Winter Series, with a high pressure giving very little or no wind, although the sun was very pleasant the three sailors who might have turned up found other things to do.  Fingers crossed for better luck with Round 2 on 2nd December.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2023 – 8/11/23

DF65

Another good turnout of 15 DF65 sailors arrived to a brisk North Westerly breeze and a cool autumn day. After a bit of course adjustment the usual course format was used with a line which slightly favoured a pin end start. B rigs were chosen and racing was again close right across the fleet. Race officer  duties were initially going to be shared but Neil Westbrook arrived – but not to sail – and very kindly agreed to run the rest of the racing. Thanks Neil!

The wind proved unstable despite the direction, which is reflected in the results showing 6 different winners over the 10 races sailed. There was a fair amount of contact in the gusty conditions and a number of OCS calls.

Tony ran out the winner with a string of good results, very closely chased the whole way by John Carlin who only lost out on number of wins.

Finally, all sailors are asked to remember that Wednesday morning sailing is titled ‘Social Racing’ where all sailors are welcome to participate, no matter their skill or experience enabling them to grow and fluorish.  Occasionally problems do arise, but frustrating as it may be, there is a need for calmness and respectful behaviour at all times.

Final Positions were:

  1. Tony Sedgwick           15 pts           4 wins
  2. John Carlin                   15 pts           2 wins
  3. Mike de St Paer           25 pts           1 win
  4. Andrew Potter             35 pts
  5. Jon Whitehead            36 pts           1 win
  6. James Douglas            41 pts           1 win
  7. Clive Warren                42 pts
  8. Dave Williams             61pts
  9. Alan Watkinson          62 pts           1 win
  10. John Beech                    63 pts
  11. Richard Walker           76 pts
  12. Charles Legg                 81 pts
  13. Sally Collings                87 pts
  14. Malcolm Harvey          91 pts
  15. Dave Howard                97 pts

DF95

After the morning DF65 sailing, 7 skippers stayed behind to sail their 95s. The wind was very similar to the morning session with a good breeze, there were enough shifts and holes to keep the helms on their toes and to provide some very close racing throughout the fleet.
Unfortunately, John Beech suffered rigging problems whilst setting his boat up, and despite help from Clive was unable to sort the issue which seemed to be a winch problem. This meant 6 boats were left to fight it out for the days bragging rights
Race 1,  as John B was sidelined, he volunteered to be the RO for the afternoon (thanks John) Clive missed the start of the first race, which was won by John Carlin followed home by Alan Watkinson.  Race 2,  then saw Clive  back in action with a vengeance taking the win followed home by John C.  Race 3,  with  the majority of the fleet at the port end of the line it was Dave Howard saw his opportunity and got a flyer from the starboard end, which he held to the end, with Alan Watkinson closing in but ran out of time finishing second. This was a great win for Dave who is a newcomer to RC sailing and never sailed in any form previously.   Race 4, had a close finish with all boats close at the last mark, Richard Walker and Clive benefitting from a good wind shift which moved them up the fleet from 4th and 5th at the last mark respectively to 1st and 2nd across the line.  Race 5, saw Tony Sedgwick in his borrowed boat (kindly lent by Andrew Peter, whilst his own boat is on order) finally getting to grips with the 95 after showing very good speed in his 65, this was a rare outing for Tony in the 95 as a prelim to the weekend TT at Fleetwood.  Races 6, 7 and 8,  were very similar to each other, the main difference was race 8 being 2 laps. The races themselves were all very close with John Carlin picking up his 2nd win in race 6 with Tony following him home in second place. Unfortunately Alan had to leave after this race.  Then in race 7 Tony picked up his second win of the afternoon, with John chasing him home. Finally in Race 8 Richard picked up his second win with Tony following him home in second place.
The afternoon racing was very enjoyable with very close racing throughout the fleet with 5 of the 6 helms recording a first place. Thanks again to John B for being the RO for the afternoon and keeping us in check at the start.
Final standings after 8 races with 1 discard
1  John Carlin              15pts  (2 wins)
2  Tony Sedgwick   16pts  (2 wins)
3  Clive Warren           22pts  (1 win)
4 Richard  Walker     24pts  (2 wins)
5  Dave Howard         29pts   (1 win)
6 Alan Watkinson     30pts   (only 6 races sailed)