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Category: dragonforce

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 12/3/25

Cold North N West wind as forecast for the DF65 crew today. It wasn’t blowing quite straight down the lake which had consequences as covered below.

Dave W set the usual course using the top set of windward marks and a nice wide line. The line looked to be starboard end biased, and was actually so, but no one fancied going paddling in the cold to adjust it.

The wind had enough north in it for the far side of the lake to have flat patches where the wind was chewed up by the trees and buildings and this meant that the breeze in the prestart park zone was variable to say the least, and caught a few people out. In one case the breeze simply disappeared for a minute or two, and in other cases there were heavy gusts in the last few seconds before the start resulting in the odd OCS.

Neil (“I like a good discard”) very kindly offered to RO and got the racing through very smartly. Most of the starts were very competitive, and the beats were challenging all day. It looked as if the starboard end would pay with then staying on starboard for a while before tacking. However, there were plenty of exceptions to this. Paul made a couple of early port tacks pay big time, but in other races this didn’t pay for those who tried it. It also seemed to pay to come across on port at the top of the beat to avoid a flat patch beyond the windward mark. This port tack approach to the top mark made for some close calls and a few port and starboard incidents during the morning.

Paul sailed very well to win four races and just win the morning overall, more so since he missed race 7 when a main batten started to detach. Mike and John were second and third, one point behind with Mike only ahead on countback.  Fourth, fifth and sixth were Simon, Dave and Clive all within three points – Clive discovering afterwards that his mast gate had loosened clearly upsetting the boat trim.

Overall results as shown below, with thanks again to Neil for ROing and Malcolm for collating the results. Another very competitive day of 65 racing.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 5/3/25

DF95’s

Spring has finally sprung, or at least it seemed like it for the df 95 skippers on arrival at Gautby road today. However, spring hadn’t brought much breeze with it and the morning’s races were held in very patchy conditions.

Sailing Sec. Paul’s plan to have the 95’s sailing in the morning on the first Wednesday of the month is clearly working so far, with an excellent 11 boats on the water. Neil kindly volunteered as RO, and very sensibly brought out two chairs, one for the start, one for the finish, and set the usual windward/leeward course with leeward gate.

To start with it looked like a running start, but this changed to a close port tack fetch to the top mark, sometimes with a short starboard hitch needed at the top end of the beat. Although the line seemed port end biased the wind along the left hand side was very fluky, and it paid to sail at least up the middle to keep in any pressure. Even then there were some big holes and shifts with boats literally changing tacks in a straight line.

Paul won the first race, Clive and Mike the next two, and then Paul the rest with 5 in a row to run out a clear winner. Clive beat Mike on countback for second, and racing was very close right across the fleet with 5 mid fleet boats covered by 11 points.

It was good to see Mike Mills from Wallasey Yacht Club sailing, and it was a very pleasant day to be there, even though the conditions were not ideal.

Many thanks to Neil for ROing, Dave W for the photos and Malcolm for collating the results which are shown in full below.

  1. Paul Plested                     6 pts    6 wins
  2. Clive Warren                  14 pts 1 win (ahead on countback)
  3. Mike de St Paer             14 pts  1 win
  4. Alan Watkinson            17 pts
  5. Malcolm Harvey          34 pts   (ahead on countback)
  6. Dave Williams              34 pts
  7. Frans King                     36 pts
  8. Phyl Fanning                 43 pts
  9. Mike Mills                      45 pts
  10. Paul Little                      64 pts
  11. John Carlin                    69 pts

DF65’s

After a challenging wind in the morning for the DF95s, fingers were crossed for the breeze to settle down for the 6 skippers who turned up to race DF65s, plus Alan W who opted for his RG65 for practice ahead of the upcoming TT events later in March.  Alas, the prevailing wind remained in the SW coming over the houses with big shifts, gusts and flat calms to challenge the sailors.  Frans King kindly offered to stay to be RO after racing in the morning, which was much appreciated by all.    Dave Williams opted not to sail, but to fish the lake for golf balls!  Given that Bidston Golf Club is at least half a mile away, it was a surprise to see more than a dozen balls recovered.
Paul P started as he’d left off from the morning’s session with a win in the first race, followed closely by Alan with his RG65 and Neil W.   Clive, who had a good afternoon,  found his form in the second race, just holding off Paul in a close finish to the line.  Alan got his RG65 tuned in and went on to win race 3, after a battle with Andrew, who finished 2nd.  Race 4 also went Alan’s way, with Clive taking line honours in races 5 and 6, leaving him 2nd overall and first DF65 on the day.
  1. Alan Watkinson  RG65   23       8pts  2 wins
  2. Clive Warren        DF65    53      9pts  3 wins
  3. Paul Plested         DF65   154   13pts  1 win
  4. Andrew Potter     DF65   194  18pts
  5. Neil Westbrook   DF65     03   19pts
  6. Phyl Fanning       DF65    550  30pts
  7. Malcolm Harvey DF65  1019  32pts

DF95 Winter 2024/5 #5 – 1/3/25

Another week on and another sunny day with a breeze that was on average down the lake from the far end, but with the typical big shifts, lulls and narrow wind bands.

This week was the turn of the DF95’s to have an afternoon of light to middle A rig sailing.  Thirteen boats had registered, but with one boat out due to a running injury (for its helm!) and two boats having gear problems (one rather catastrophic), we were down to 10 sailing.  We were once again fortunate to have Neil Westbrook turn out and act as RO, leaving us all able to concentrate on the sailing.

Racing was pretty close all afternoon, with the leader occasionally getting away from everyone after some good calls on the wind shifts.  Peter took Race 1, with Frans picking up a excellent second and John Br third.  John C then took races 2 and 3 with Peter and Martin sharing the other podium places behind him.  Peter then had another win in race 4, with John Br and Martin close behind.  John Br then found his form to take the next two races before we had a break for a drink and a bite to eat.  Whilst on the break a bit of boat fettling took place, with John Br re-rigging the head of his main in an attempt to get a better looking setup.  Being consistent could be hard as each place was keenly contested and being in the wrong place could see you suffer in the changing wind.  Dave Williams and Paul Little picked up some good places in this first session, but the majority of the fleet was always close at the finish line. It was first time out in the 95 for Noah this week and he also placed well in a number of races.

After the break, John Br took another win with a good lead, before Martin picked up the first of 3 wins in this second session. One of these saw him well in front of the fleet at the finish after rounding the spreader in a good breeze, leaving everyone else wallowing and waiting for the next gust.  Peter and John Br also picked up another win each.  Minor places in these races were taken up by these same race winners plus John Carlin and Dave Williams.

After twelve races John Br and Peter were tied on total points, with John just one point ahead after discards were taken into account, then Martin in third just two points behind Peter.  A very pleasant afternoon of close sailing, all made possible by Neil as RO and Dave Williams working out the scores.

  1. John Brierley                 84   19pts   4 wins
  2. Peter Baldwin              172   20pts   3 wins
  3. Martin Roberts           184   22pts   3 wins
  4. John Carlin                     50   32pts   2 wins
  5. Dave Williams               33   50pts
  6. Paul Little                       14   56pts
  7. John Beech                   288  67pts
  8. Noah Macintosh          49  73pts
  9. Frans King                     59   76pts
  10. Phyl Fanning              645  81pts

IOM racing again next week with a few missing, with holidays and another  DF TT.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 26/2/25

DF65’s

A good day weather wise, the sun was out and a slight breeze over the houses from the top corner with A+ being the appropriate rig. The regular course was sailed with the start at the Clubhouse end.

Sailing started promptly at 11:00 with ten sailors and then joined by two more for the rest of the morning.

John Beech took the first race easily while the rest of the fleet were trying to decide the correct place to be. Mike dap then joined us and took the next three races, he was not having it easy though and was involved in several close finishes. Mike then lost his touch, with the next three races going to Simon, Dave W and Clive before taking the last two.

Sailing was very close thoughout the fleet with the Windward mark becoming very congested. As the morning progressed so did the wind strength with most boats imitating submarines on the run and the beating boats flattened so after nine races it was decided to call it a day. It was good to see Simon and James back with us their results showing they are still ones to watch.  Thanks to everyone for taking their turn as RO and to Dave Williams for the photos taken at the start of racing.

  1. Mike De St Paer   8pts 5wins
  2. Clive Warren      14pts 1win
  3. James Douglas   18pts
  4. Alan Watkinson 23pts
  5. Simon Bates       26pts 1 win
  6. Dave Williams    29pts 1win
  7. Frans King           39pts
  8. Paul Little            40pts
  9. John Beech          45pts 1win
  10. David Worron    60pts
  11. David White       63pts
  12. Phyl Fanning     72pts

DF95’s

4 Skippers from the morning 65 racing stayed on to be joined by John C and Martin W J for the afternoon DF95 session. The wind was similar to the late morning and was perfect for the top end of the A rig. The direction was south westerly which in real terms it was coming from directly behind the houses so the south westerly became a westerly or southerly  with a few holes, but picking the shifts was the key. Pick a wrong one and the unsuspecting skipper would end up with his boat head to wind and dropping down the fleet.
With only 6 boats competing, the starts were self marshalled and first across the finish recorded the results. The same course as the morning was used providing a windward mark (port) spreader mark (port) to a leeward gate and back to the finish.
Racing was tight at the front and provided some excellent scraps around the circuit, Clive came out with all guns blazing using the knowledge gained from the morning, in fact the top 3 in the first race all sailed in the morning with Alan taking second place. Clive continued his winning streak in race 2 with Dave (guest from Gresford) second having his best result of the afternoon and the improving John C  who was ‘learning  the lake’  taking third. Race 3 and the improving John continued the trend with win and saw Alan moving up the fleet in third. Race 4 and 5 and this time it was Alan who continued his improvement taking 2 wins as the wind continued to increase. Race 6 and only 3 made the start line with honours going to John.
Summary
Good wind strength which built through the afternoon provided some very close racing in challenging conditions. With 3 different winners each picking up 2 wins it was Clive who came out on top backing up his 2 wins with 4 seconds.
Results
  1. Clive Warren                            8pts    2 wins
  2. John Carlin                              11pts    2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson                    12pts    2 wins
  4. Dave Worron                          15pts
  5. Martin Withington Jones  26pts
  6. Phyll Fanning                         29pts

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 19/2/25

DF65’s

None of the promised warmer weather was evident at Gautby road as the DF65 group arrived today, and the single digit temperatures were feeling even colder in the brisk SE breeze.

Despite the conditions 13 skippers showed up, although John B and Dave W did not compete for various reasons. Rig choice for the day was A, and as people rigged it started to rain heavily making everyone wonder what would happen next.

However, the rain stopped, the existing course looked OK and Dave W got race 1 away in a punchy top of A breeze blowing straight down the lake from the clubhouse end, and Neil then arrived and very kindly took over as RO for the morning despite the cold.

The first two races were won by Mike and Andrew P, but it was then agreed to change to B rig as the gusts were increasing, and the next four races had four different winners indicating how close the racing was. The beat seemed to work OK on both sides of the course at different times, but was very shifty nearer the top with almost everyone struggling to keep position at some point. The starts were very closely contested with two general recalls and some other OCS calls.

Paul P used some pressure downwind on the far side of the lake in a couple of races to good effect, but Peter B won the day with three wins and very consistent results over the nine races to beat Paul P and Mike who managed a couple of wins apiece.

An excellent mornings racing which ended up in sunshine and rather steadier conditions with results shown below, and with thanks again to Neil for being our excellent RO and Malcom for collating the results with grateful thanks to Dave Williams for the photos again and as can be seen from the last one, the sun did come out, but it didn’t make it much warmer!

  1. Peter Baldwin                12 pts        3 wins
  2. Paul Plested                    16 pts        2 wins
  3. Mike de St Paer             18 pts       2 wins
  4. Andrew Potter               24 pts       1 win
  5. John Carlin                     25 pts        1 win
  6. Clive Warren                  32 pts
  7. John Beech                     48 pts
  8. Charles Legg                  49 pts
  9.  Malcolm Harvey          54 pts
  10. Dave White                      67 pts
  11. Phyl Fanning                  75 pts

DF95’s

The morning may have started with a bit of rain but the afternoon started with sunshine but not enough to warm the 7 skippers who turned out for the DF95 sailing.  It was a small but well formed group comprising of 5 regulars and 2 relatively new members in Phyl and Steve. Apart for the sunshine the weather was the same as the morning so B rigs were chosen. No surprises in that the same course as the morning was used, with a windward mark, spreader and a run down the full length of the lake to a gate. The average person would say the wind was blowing straight down the lake, however the reality was it was coming from the clubhouse causing a number of shifts and a few holes for the skippers to deal with. The problem being, these were not the same for 2 consecutive races, so the skippers had to adapt accordingly. Self monitored starts and first to finish recorded the positions.
The racing predictably split into 2 sections with the 5 established helms leading the way, with Phyll and Steve having their own private battle, although not that far behind. They will soon be sailing in the pack.
Up at the front Peter was showing a clean pair of heals or should that be a shiny transom with 7 wins from the 8 races sailed, his only blemish was in race 4 when Clive and Paul relegated him to third. In the meantime Paul was notching up a consistent set of second places. The results don’t tell the true story with, more often than not, the top 3 places beingkeenly contested between 4 boats with places changing hands right up to the finish line .
Results  (2 discards)
  1.  Peter Baldwin         6pts       (7 wins)
  2.  Paul Plested          13pts
  3.  Clive Warren         17pts       (1 win)
  4.  John Carlin            17pts
  5.  Malcolm Harvey   30pts
  6.  Steve Miller           38pts
  7.  Phyll  Fanning        39pts

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 12/2/25

DF65’s

An almost non existent light wind from the North East greeted the skippers as they arrived in readiness  for the mornings sailing. It didn’t need our Commodore Dave Williams to utilise his many years of experience to volunteer for RO duty. That left 11 brave helms to hit the water and make the most of what there was, the only positive being it wasn’t raining.
By the time we were ready to start the wind had filled in a little, but was still very fickle and there were plenty of holes for everyone to fall into at some stage. A short course was set utilising half the length of the lake, 2 laps set so a shortening to one could be called if the wind died back again.
Dave got the first race away on time, as expected given the conditions a 20m lead could soon disappear and it was a bit pot luck who was in the right position at the right time as  the boats crossed the finish line after 2 laps in the first race seeing Clive followed by Alan, Paul P and John C.
For the rest of the day a longer course was set utilising virtually the whole of the lake, the pattern of one boat getting away and falling into a hole was basically the same all morning which did actually provide some very close racing all through the fleet and great frustration for others, amongst them Paul P who had gear failure in race 4. Race wins for John C, Paul P and Clive and some notable performances from Alan, Paul L and Charles who continued his greatly improved form of late with 2 x second places in the last two races.
After 6 races were completed, Dave called a halt to proceedings and I’m sure a heard a sigh of relief from all skippers!
  1. Clive Warren          9 pts      3 wins
  2. John Carlin            10 pts      2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson   14 pts
  4. Charles Legg         20 pts
  5. Paul Little              29 pts on count back
  6. Frans King            29 pts
  7. Paul Plested         35 pts       1 win
  8. John Beech           36 pts
  9. Dave Worron       38pts (visitor from Gresford)
  10. David White         39pts
  11. Phyl Fanning       42pts
DF95 Social Sailing
The wind didnt improve for the afternoon, but a small group were joined by Mike dsP and Steve Miller but because there were only 5 boats the afternoon was devoted to “training” including rig set up and on the water tutorial. Paul led the rig set up over lunch assisted by Clive which was greatly appreciated by Phyl and Steve who are both new to DF sailing and Dave Worren who was keen to improve his speed and on the water performance.
After going through the rig settings, it was onto the water for more tutorial, including the importance of correct position on the start line, and timing of the start, mark rounding, and general boat handling. For Steve who is not only new to DF sailing but also sailing in any form, today was super challenging  given the wind direction.
6 very informal races were sailed (no race results recorded) but it was very evident that the coaching had greatly improved both boat speed and general boat handling  to such an extent these two beginners were competitive in the informal races.  Many thanks go to Paul for his time and patience and Clive for the encouragement and tips. Definitely a worthwhile exercise to be repeated at some point in the future.