This event replaced IOM 2026 #3 that was cancelled earlier in the year due to lack of entries and was made possible by improved water conditions at the moment compared with previous recent summer’s allowing a few additional racing days to be scheduled.
7 helms assembled for the latest round of the clubs’ IOM Summer series, the wind was predominantly from the club house but due to the extreme heat we are enduring at the moment in the UK, it was moving around with some quite large shifts for everyone to deal with.
Due to the level of the water being low we decided not to use a leeward gate at the end of the lake, but instead just one leeward mark that worked well.
Dave as RO, brought a prompt start at 1pm and it was Clive that showed us the way taking his only win on the day in the first race. Race 2 was closely fought and saw our visitor, Harry, taking a deserved 4th.
6 races before tea with Brad and Graham on 2 wins apiece, Peter with 1 win and Clive with the other, all quite tight and everything to play for after the hydration break.
The wind did increase in strength after the break to a nice top suit at times but still predictably unpredictable shifts. Another 6 races were completed with Brad being the dominant force finishing with 3 wins on the bounce.Race winners were, Brad on 6, Graham on 4 and Peter and Clive with one apiece.
A most enjoyable afternoons sailing sailed in a good manner and impeccable starting, finishing, image taker and scoring by Dave, so thank you once again Dave.
Following on from the DF95’s in the morning, the IOM’s in the afternoon had very similar conditions, although the breeze was a little more right at times and the sun wasn’t as strong, making it feel cooler.
The four stalwarts started on the same course as the morning under the ever watchful eyes of Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook.
We then took an early break for Clive to repair his boat and restarted on Race 6, in which Peter once again took the win, but Alan picked up the second having done a few rigging tweaks during the break. After also winning Race 7. Peter decided to handicap himself by starting at the gate 10m back from the start line. Combined with a number of tactical errors around the course, it proved to be a major handicap and by the finish he was still 20-30m back. However, it did allow Guy to get his first win and after discussion we reverted to starting together and we became setup for an excellent second half, with great close racing and after Alan took a well deserved win in Race 9, Guy had two further wins before Peter took the last race.
Although the wind had been a relatively steady 5 to 8 knots for most of the afternoon, for the last few races we started to see much bigger shifts and holes and it was difficult to judge where the wind might come from next. We certainly had some beats where we might track down the lake on port and next time we would be going in the same direction on Starboard.
As can be seen from the results below, Peter easily took the afternoon, with Guy sailing well and fast for second and Clive third. Thanks to Dave and Neil for acting as RO and Dave for the photos.
15 skippers arrived for Round 2 and Pop-Up Open of this years IOM Summer Series with a light North Westerly wind flowing directly down the lake.
The field included 3 of our GBR team skippers, a hopeful reserve, 2 of the Worlds Race Team and a number of regulars on the Ranking circuit.
Racing got underway just after 10 am with Brad Gibson fast out of the blocks taking the first 2 races with Peter Baldwin, Graham Eliiott and Simon Fairman filling the early places.
After a slow start, Martin Roberts put his first win of the day down in race 3 in the light conditions with all having moments in the tricky upper course of variable shifts and wind pressure.
Races 4 and 5 were wins for Brad who was looking comfortable who along with Martin, were putting together clean starts and extending with low risk course management. Derek Priestly, Darin Ballington and Colin McGinnis were getting in amongst the placings up until a lunch break after race 8.
The afternoon session saw an increase in the wind of mid to at times upper range A rig. Wins were shared between Graham, Martin, Darin, Brad and a late to the party Rob McIntosh with a number of close races seeing the boats crossing the line in bunches that kept our scoring team on their toes. Like Rob, Paul Middleton shifted up a few gears for a number of podium finishes.
At just on 4pm and with 18 races completed, all retired to the clubhouse for an informal presentation.
Brad came out on top for the day with 10 wins and a couple of 3rds being his worst scoring results showing the level of consistency needed to do well in such a strong field. In second it was Graham (1 win) and Martin (4 wins) rounding out the podium with both having moments of brilliance as they ran through final testing and trims looking forward to the Worlds starting next week.
After a short briefing (and no questions), by Paul, racing got underway on time under the watchful eye of our RO duo of Neil Westbrook and Dave Williams. The start line was probably port biased at the start of the day, as long as you had the room to tack off and not get pinned all the way to the bank. Later on it became more even and occasionally slightly starboard biased, before returning to port.
First blood went to Robbie Mac, closely followed by Paul Plested and Graham Elliott. Brad Gibson then had a run of three wins, with Roger Crates, Martin Roberts, Graham and Paul Middleton all getting on the podium. Graham then took the final race before a coffee break, with Peter Baldwin and Brad following behind. Sailors were treated to a variety of Cakes and biscuits (mostly home made) all served up with free tea and coffee by Joss and Chris in the galley.
Following the break, Graham had three more wins, with Brad and Robbie taking one apiece. Podium places were gained by Brad, Graham, Martin and Bill Culshaw, who was starting to get to grips with the tricky conditions. The wind was not easy to manage with some strong gusts barreling down the course at times, usually knocking at least half the fleet over on the run, whilst a few might escape “scott free”. Lunch was then called, soon after 12:30 with ten races completed.
As the fleet emerged after the lunch break, conditions seemed pretty similar to just before lunch, but a few nasty gusts sent a number of sailors back to the clubhouse to change rigs and a small delay ensued.
As we resumed with about 5 boats on B rig’s Bill put his to great use and rounded the Windward mark well in the lead holding onto this through to the finish, with Graham chasing hard but unable to catch him. In this next session of five races, Graham took an additional win, Martin had two and Simon Fairman had a great start and picked up a win in Race 14. Podium spots once again taken by pretty much the same top 5 boats.
So, into the final session of five races and most were back in A rigs as the gusts were not as strong as earlier and having been good straight after lunch, never showed the same promise later in that session. Peter took the first win after the tea break, with Brad then picking up two and Graham and Robbie one each.
After twenty races, our RO decided to call it a day, a little before time, but useful for those who had travelled some distance. When the results were entered, the day went to Brad Gibson sailing his Post Punk design, closely followed by Graham Elliott sailing his 2011 BritPOP! with Martin Roberts third also sailing a BritPOP!
At the prizegiving, where Jacks’ daughter Debbie presented the prizes, Brad thanked everyone involved in setting up and running the event, Joss and Chris for running the galley all day, then thanked the six visitors for travelling to the event. He also wished Graham and Martin every success at the forthcoming World Championship being held at Datchet Water in mid May.
8 boats today, a little down on numbers due to the Easter holidays.
The wind was a lovely top suit from the houses, clubhouse end of the lake which gave everyone a massive challenge, one minute becalmed and the next nosedive, boat handling skills were needed by all.
The gamble today was sheet out and go for speed and risk not making the next mark or sail a little tighter and slower but guaranteeing you could lay the next mark. At least 8 of the 12 races sailed saw 4 boats finishing within 4 metres of each other.
By far the stand out race of the day was race 10, young Noah who had sailed well all day, finally got a position fitting his efforts, with a 3rd. Race winners on the day, Brad with 5, Graham with 3, Martin on 2 and Olly and Rob one a piece.
Thanks to Dave and Neil for starting and finishing us today and Dave for the photos and full results as below:
Sadly only seven IOM sailors came to the starting line for this last round of the Winter Series. Having decided to make this a longer racing session, starting at 11:00, the weather forecasts and illness reduced the fleet size to be our smallest on the series.
We were all pleasantly surprised to see a gentle 4 to 6knots blowing down the lake from WNW as we arrived, having had forecasts that were generally no more than 2 knots. Racing got underway soon after 11:00, under the watchful eye’s of Neil Westbrook and Dave Williams. Four races were completed in a breeze that started to die away afte race 3, such that the last race took over 20 minutes to complete and a decision was made to have an early lunch break. Brad won all of races in this early session, with Peter, Olly, Martin and Graham all making up the podium places.
This became an extended lunch break, with racing recommencing at 13:30, with a sea breeze that cane and went through the afternoon. However, we still managed to sail an additional eight races in a breeze that could vary from near zero to 6 knots and change its’ direction as the sea breeze fought with a Northerly gradient.
Brad once again managed to get to the front in most races (picking up five more wins), although the front bunch of five boats were usually not separated by much in most races. Martin had a better afternoon after changing his rig and was usually pushing the race leaders. Olly continued his good form from the morning, still picking up some good results, whilst Graham Elliott was much more on the pace in the afternoon. Peter unfortunately faded after taking a win straight after lunch, but unable to match his form from the morning session.
Clive and Alan meanwhile were having their own race battles behind the leading pack with little to choose between them, although Clive did come out on top in the final reckoning.
So, Brad took the day comfortably from Grahamin in second after a great second session, with Martin third. Thanks to Neil and Dave for running the racing and Dave for the photos once again.
