DF65’s
Spring had definitely sprung at Gautby road this morning with blue sky, blue water, sunshine and a nice SSE breeze blowing more or less straight down the lake. Thanks to Peter B’s well publicised morning dip on Saturday all the marks were in really good positions, with the start line, top marks and gate all looking square on. The first two races used the lower top marks giving a long spreader leg, but then it was agreed to use the topmost marks giving a shortened spreader leg, but introducing some big shifts approaching the top mark.
An excellent turnout of 13 skippers made for a busy line, and all agreed to RO in turns with line discipline really not too bad and, although there was some barging at the inner end of the line, turns were being taken as appropriate.
Mike won the first race comfortably, then RO’d race 2 and never quite got back into it. John then won races 2 and 3, and then later went on to win races 5, 8 and 10 to run out a clear winner. The following pack was led by Clive who sailed very consistently to a clear second overall without any race wins, and then the next 5 places were covered by 9 points as shown below. Almost everyone – except John – had to count some really disappointing results as the day proved deceptively tricky.
The first beat and run seemed reasonably straightforward (well by Gautby road standards anyway) but then on the beat back up to the line it was very easy to make a wrong move as boats came across to the finish line side. There was much place swapping and not a few “hero to zero and sometimes back” moments giving four different winners as shown below.
The pressure very gradually increased over the morning’s racing to reach nearly the top of A+ for some of the runs but overall the conditions made the sailing a pleasure. Thanks as always to Commodore Dave for keeping things moving whilst also acting as photographer, and to Malcolm for the results of a great mornings sailing which are shown in full below. 
DF95’s
The sun was shining and a perfect breeze for an A rig was blowing down the lake from the clubhouse end with a slight bias from the houses making for just enough “challenging stuff” to keep everyone on their toes for an afternoon of social sailing. The same course as the morning was used which meant using the full length of lake and the approach to the windward mark would be a bit tricky being in the lee of the clubhouse, but in fairness the bigger 95s coped well, sailing through the lulls and shifts. Stuart Trunkfield brought his son Joe along for a first racing experience, and Joe’s girlfriend Sadie didn’t take a lot of persuading to be the RO for the afternoon, and kept us under control. A good turnout of nine skippers, lined up for the first race.
The racing was close all afternoon with places being gained and lost all the way around the course, Alan was fast out of the blocks and took the first race and was on the pace all afternoon, Stuart Mearns was 2nd and had his best ever consistent set of results, and 3rd was Neil.
Race 2: it was Clive’s turn to take the first of two consecutive line honours, with Neil improving his 3rd place to take the 2nd spot with the consistent Stuart M 3rd.
Race 3: we lost Stuart T before the start when trying to tension his forestay a bowsie broke and he lost all rig tension, but returned after repairs for race 5. Meanwhile Stuart M was 2nd behind Clive with Malcolm Harvey 3rd, sailing with a B rig. Unfortunately, we also lost Neil at this point with terminal boat problems which was a shame as he was prominent in the 2 previous races.
Races 4 and 5: it was Alans turn to post 2 bullets, with Clive two 2nds and Stuart M two 3rds. Further back Joe was showing some good boat speed and was having a good battle with Phyl and Steve.
Race 6: Stuart Ms consistency finally pay off and took the win, with Clive 2nd and Joe posting his best result in a deserved 3rd place. Phyl was now posting consistent results just outside the top 3
Race 7, 8 and 9: Steve Miller had rigging problems and had to retire in race 7. The results were all similar with only minor changes in the pecking order. Clive posted 2 wins and a 2nd, Alan a 1,2,3, Phyl taking his best result of the day a 3rd in race 7, Joe posting a 2nd, his best result of the day in race 8.
Summary
A great afternoon of sailing, Clive taking overall honours from Alan and Stuart M, who had a stellar day. Bragging rights in the Trunkfield household definitely goes to Joe, although I did hear Stuart saying it was beginners luck, Im not so sure!!!
Almost spring like feel to the weather today, with a light S.S.E. breeze and no rain. The marks at the top end of the course were just outside the clubhouse flat patch, although not ideally placed, and at the leeward end the start line looked to be heavily pin biased although that varied significantly over the mornings racing. The first race used a course with the beat running inside the start mark, but thereafter it was agreed to go direct to the top mark. Using a single bottom mark and not a gate resulted in some close encounters of the DF65 kind, and although there were a number of minor contacts during the morning in general everyone was good about doing turns where they were required. 
It was great to see such a good turnout, and of the twelve skippers there were some very welcome returning faces including Paul Little, Don, and Andrew Potter.
Conditions were shifty as always with the wind direction, and racing was very keen right from the start, with four winners in the first five races, Alan, John, Andrew, and Mike. The other two race winners during the morning were James, and Paul Little who was sailing a brand new hull after his previous one failed. The excitement of winning race five was clearly too much for Mike’s boat which had to be retired with a failed rudder servo, and Stuart missed a couple of races fixing a minor rigging problem. 
The wind went somewhat left during the morning and got lighter, but John continued at the front by winning two more races to finish on 13 points well clear of the rest of the fleet. Behind John second to fifth was extremely close as shown below, with only 2 points covering the next four boats, with full results shown below.
If we thought the morning wind was tricky, well in the afternoon it was twice a tricky and half the strength. It swung from SSE in the morning to SSW, which doesn’t sound a lot but meant it was now coming straight across the lake from the houses. This possibly counted or the reduction in strength but definitely provided a difficult and frustrating challenge.
The conditions were a great leveller and it was literally anybody’s race and the skippers couldn’t relax. Beats turned into runs and you could change from starboard to port tack without changing course. Added to this there were more holes than on a golf course to catch even the better skippers out. Its fair to say that Ian probably suffered the most going from the front of the fleet to the back on more than one occasion. As an indication of how competitive it was, 5 of the 6 skippers all recorded at least one 2nd place or better. However generally speaking it was Ian, and Clive leading the pack with Stuart T a close 3rd and the others making the most of when the front 3 got into trouble or just sat in a hole, which was frequent. Ian who had the worst of the luck decided enough was enough after 5 races, and after 8 races providing 2 discards the rest of us followed his lead back to the clubhouse
If you didn’t laugh at times you could have cried, but it was the same for all and in the end it was quite enjoyable in a masochistic sort of way. Good competition throughout the fleet, good banter and sailed in a social manner.
With a ridge of high pressure offering a brief respite from the continuously rainy month of February, it was a sparkling sunny scene that welcomed the seven skippers to Gautby Road. Great to welcome Phillip Barnes of Budworth SC for his first time racing his new 95. Philip and Graham Birkett of Budworth SC have done an amazing job at enthusing 16 of their members to buy DF95’s from a standing start only a few weeks ago and we wish them great success with their fleet.
Racing commenced in a light WSW breeze of about 5 knots max down the lake. A slight port bias was accepted on the line with clean starts and overall a good standard of rule compliance, following the excellent racing rules talk given by Clive and Paul the previous Wednesday.
Race one was a close battle of the “dynamic duo “of Clive and Guy with Clive taking the bullet. Phillip had some minor transmitter set up niggles on race 1, but with help of a tweak from Clive soon picked up the pace to take a well deserved second overall on the day.
Clive decided in race two to park on a yellow mark, which was not part of the course and several boats attempted to free him but to no avail. In assisting him Guy damaged his rig slightly, which caused him a few issues down the line scuppering his chances of a podium finish.
Eventually it was time to get the waders out to rescue Clive who by now had been stuck for ten minutes. Guy elected to wade out and got to within three feet of Clive’s boat when it miraculously freed itself! Was this another classic Clive wind up on Guy, or just Sods Law in operation?!! Either way racing could now recommence.
Neil Westbrook had a good day with great pace in the light airs often choosing to break away from the pack onto port into clear air and gain some good lifts. Dave Williams and Stuart Mearns both had a mixed bag of ups and down finishes, as did Charles Legg who looked strong in the early races.
.
Another grey day with a real chill in the air, but dry and with an A+ S.E. Breeze blowing straight (or at least as straight as it ever does) down the lake from the clubhouse end. Even better the marks were in an almost perfect position with a good start line and gate, and as there were only five takers for the mornings 65 racing it was agreed to us a single windward mark with no spreader.
Alan was Mr Consistency with four wins and two seconds to finish on 15 points, well clear of Guy on 19 – who also won three races – in second. Mike followed one point later, with Clive on 22 and Dave on 25 with the detailed results shown below.
The full length of the lake was used with a standard windward mark, spreader and gate set, 1 lap races in order to fit more races in. Malcolm Harvey volunteered to keep us in check and be the RO for the afternoon, and unfortunately we lost commodore Dave before the first race with a main winch servo issue.
As seems to be the case recently, the racing was very competitive with 6 of the remaining 10 helms recording at least 1 win. Paul was fast out of the blocks posting back to back wins with Ian second. Clive was next to post a win with Guy second. Stuart T sailed a brilliant fourth race and build a 20m lead at the first mark which he held to the finish, Stuart M. posted his best result of the day taking second. Unfortunately we lost Paul in race 4 with a burnt out rudder servo. Race 5 and our fourth different winner, this time it was Ian’s turn who had been knocking on the door in a couple of the previous races but made it to the line this time.
Clive then switched on his motor and took 4 bullets from the last 6 races with Alan and Andy each picking a deserved win. The minor places were split between Ian, Alan, Guy and visitor for the day Matt Pritchard from Great Orme MYC.
At the end of 11 races, the light was beginning to fade and we decided to finish. Because the racing had been so competitive nobody knew who would walk away with the overall win. It had been a very closely fought taxing afternoon of sailing, with some big wind shifts and plenty of passing opportunities, and also plenty of opportunity to lose out by picking a wrong shift or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Thanks to Malcolm for the results, being our RO and getting some photos of the action as well.
An “all persons bulletin” was distributed among the WhatsApp group of DF sailors polling for an early 09:30 Saturday session prior to the DF/RG 65 racing in the afternoon.
Five Skippers braved the rather dank and blustery morning at Gautby Road, with a fresh south easterly looking promising for some exciting sailing.
Starts were self monitored and to a good standard. Guy had to bail a few starts at the last minute, as Clive hounded him until his nerve cracked!
On a day with some huge shifts near the weather mark throughout the eleven races sailed, it was a masterclass by Clive drawing no less than seven “bullets” from his holster to win the day on 11 points. In second place was Neil Westbrook, sailing consistently well and only 6 points behind Clive. Guy seemed to fade a little mid morning but enjoyed some good tussles with the top three. Phyll Fanning finished the day with a well earned fourth having finally had a bit more luck with some wicked wind shifts.
Nine skippers were greeted to blue skies and a lightish, but promising, breeze blowing from the clubhouse end of the lake. Racing got underway with A+ rigs a little after 11:00 using the standard one lap windward/leeward course with a beat to finish, with skippers self policing the start line and first finisher logging the results.
The early pace setter was Paul Plested who scored a 1,2,2 in the first three races. Clive Warren and Alan Watkinson also took a top spot in each in this spell. Peter Baldwin, who was quick all day, had a relatively slow start recording his two discards in this session to go with a 2nd place. Guy Cowper, who took a bronze medal spot in race two, was competitive all morning with plenty of boat speed, especially upwind.
In the next three races the wind continued to switch back and forth and getting into the rhythm of the shifts was key. Paul and Peter had very close racing to the line in all three, with Paul just edging out Peter with two 1sts and a 2nd, with Peter notching up two 2nds and a 1st. Alan picked up another 3rd as did Guy. Clive was a little off the pace for a spell, but did pick up a third. Dave Williams also picked up a 4th, his best of the day.
In race seven Paul picked up his fourth 1st of the day followed by Peter and then Clive not far behind. The final race of the day proved to be the most tightly fought with places continually changing on the last beat. Alan took line honours very closely followed by Peter, Clive and Paul, with Guy just a few boat lengths behind them.
Paul, with four wins and discarding a 2nd was the overall winner on the day, followed by Peter. Alan finished off the podium positions, followed by Clive in 4th. Also worth noting that David White was much closer to the fleet especially as the morning progressed, he would have scored higher in at least two races if it wasn’t for misjudged tacks boat lengths from the finish line.
The sun was shining and a light breeze was blowing down the lake from the clubhouse end for an afternoon of social sailing with the 95. The same course as the morning was used which meant the approach to the windward mark would be very tricky being in the lee of the clubhouse. The starts were self monitored and first to finish recorded the results. Seven skippers including new member to the club and DF95 racing, Stuart Trunkfield, took to the water to contest the first 2 races and there were 2 different winners in Andy and Guy, with Alan and Stuart M sharing the other podium slots. The seven were then joined by Clive, Paul and Dave to bolster the fleet to 10, a good turnout considering a couple of regulars were unavailable.
The racing was keenly contested as ever, with the pack roughly split into 2 groups, Guy, Alan, Clive and Paul all setting the pace upfront, but there was no exclusivity and both Stuart M, Andy and New member Stuart T all posting top 3 places at some stage. Unfortunately, Commodore Dave suffered winch problems in race 5 and had to sit the rest of the afternoon out, but he kept busy looking after the starts and finishing and taking the days photos. Meanwhile further down the fleet John B and Steve M had a couple of fourth places each but were also a bit inconsistent. Stuart T started slowly but climbed steadily through the session managing to take top spot in the final race. A great achievement in his first outing.
After 10 races (2 discards) the sun was below the neighbouring houses and it started to get chilly so we called it a day.
