There were only a select band of three sailors for this weeks IOM racing, held in a decent middle to top A Rig breeze from the far end. After convincingly winning Race 1, Bill Culshaw had a few problems on the race course with various “objects” in the water stopping him dead and robbing him of his leading position and probably the win in several races. This allowed Peter Baldwin to string together a series of 6 straight wins after a second in Race 1. Alan Watkinson initially struggled to keep in the mix and after 3 races noted that his rudder shaft was bent and so a short stop was called to allow him to change his rudder over. This did help such that he was now challenging the other pair for the lead, culminating in winning Race 8.
The day went to Peter with 8 wins, three for Bill in second and just the one for Alan in third. Thanks go to Dave Williams for running the afternoon and giving us an early finish after 12 races, ably assisted by Bernie for the last few races after putting in a welcome guest appearance.
The next IOM racing will be on Saturday 8th October (all day) when Summer Series #10 is also the Strebor Open, with a planned start time of 10:00. Entry via the Event link. It will be good to see more club IOM’s turning out for this annual Open Event.
- Peter Baldwin 63 britpop! 12pts 8 wins
- Bill Culshaw 21 britpop! 18pts 3 wins
- Alan Watkinson 23 britpop! 24pts 1 win
It was already hot when sailors started to arrive this week, the clear sun in a blue sky and temperature approaching 30C, but at least there was a light, middle of top suit breeze blowing down the lake from the clubhouse. After the marks were moved around a little, sailing for the 7 particpants got underway soon after 1pm under the watchful eye of Dave Williams as RO.
Race 1 belonged to Alan Bennett (Viper) who started well and had a good lead at the first mark and was never challenged throughout, leaving the rest to a close fight for the other positions. Peter Baldwin (Britpop!) then managed to take the next 4 race wins, before Alan took the win in Race 6 and a short break for a drink and snack. Martin Roberts (Vanilla) must have been well refreshed as he took Races 7, 10 and 11 after the break, with Peter picking up three more in Races 8, 9 and 12. The top part of the fleet was always very close though with gains (and losses) to be made right up to the finish, in the shifty and patchy wind.
The breeze held as an ESE up until Race 10, when it became more light and patchy with some movement Northerly and be across the lake. By the start of Race 11, the breeze had switched to be WNW (probably a late sea breeze) and that race ended up as a running start and a windward gate as the course was totally inverted. For the final race the course was switched round and the first leg was once again a beat.
Peter took the day with his 7 wins, with Martin second and Alan close behind in third. Thanks once again to Dave for getting the 12 races in at a steady pace and Jack for manning the galley and keeping us refreshed – a very important role on such a hot day.
Next week it is back to the DF and RG65 for Saturday racing.
This week we had 10 sailors for IOM racing including our American visitor Chuck Millican and also anew to Birkenhead visitor from Etherow – Alan Bennett. There was a good top suit breeze from the Clubhouse end which had some decent shifts (and short flicks) which tested the patience of most sailors. Martin Roberts (Vanilla 2) started well, picking up wins in 4 of the first 6 races before the break for a late lunch, with Peter Baldwin (Britpop!) taking the other 2. There was some close racing though throughout the fleet with good results from newcomer Alan Bennett (Viper), Bill Culshaw (Britpop!) and Chuck Millican (Britpop!).
After the break, Martin resumed with a win in Race 7, Chuck then picked up Race 8, Peter took Race 9, Martin Races 10 and 12 and Bill Race 11. Alan Bennett was once again on the podium in a few races, John Berry also stepped up a gear in this second session and had two seconds in the later races (had Jack added something to his tea?)
After the overnight showers had cleared, a good breeze towards the top end of A Rig from the far end greeted the 5 sailors for this weeks IOM racing, along with some sunny periods for good measure.
Peter Baldwin (Britpop!) then took races 4 & 6 and Bill Culshaw (Britpop!) took his first win in race 5, before a tea break. There was close racing all afternoon but especially after the break with both Neil Westbrook (Widget) and the Kantun 2 of Charles Legg (after a few changes to rig settings), being well in the mix or even ahead at the first mark. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold onto any advantage and the wins were again shared between Bill, John and Peter. A great afternoons sailing with a good pace set by the RO so that we completed 12 races in good time even after a slow start. John took the overall win with Peter 2nd just a single point behind and Bill a further 4 points back in third.
