c

Category: iom

IOM Summer 2025 #1 – 12/4/25

Saturday had 12 starters for Round 1 of this years Summer IOM series with a few missing on Europeam Championship duty. Well done Graham Elliott on your 6th place!

The wind was out of the South south east with a healthy number of shifts to keep all on their toes in a light and puffy A rig breeze. 

Brad hit the ground running with a number of firsts leading to tea break paused by wins each to John Brierly and Phyl Fanning. Phyl made the most from our slightly reduced course length designed to help and encourage new skippers as they build confidence in the fleet.

Paul Plested was showing his continued rise within the fleet with a solid set of scores, having a 4th as his worst. Martin, Andrea and visitor Simon Fairman each had moments in the at times difficult conditions.

With a pause for refreshments after race 6 allowing time for some re-tuning and gremlin sorting in the winch department for Martin and Robert we were back for another 5 races.

Wins were shared between Brad, Robert and Martin in a veering wind that at times had beats that went to a reach and back within a blink, keeping all on their toes. The final race of the day had the predicted Westerly breeze swing from the far end of the lake mid race with Noah McIntosh making the most of an excellent start to only lose his lead on the now run to the finish.

It was a good hit out for skippers heading to the Nationals at Lincoln over the Easter long weekend.

Brad took the win with Paul scoring a steady and well earned 2nd and the strong finishing Martin in 3rd.

Once again thanks to our fantastic race team of Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook who kept the racing ticking over at a welcome pace.

Our next round of the IOM Summer Series is on the 26th of April with a start time of 1.30pm. Enteries can be made at IOM Summer 2025 #2 – Birkenhead RS&PC

IOM Winter 2024/5 #5 – 8/3/25

Glorious sun and wind at Gautby Road for our 12 skippers. Great to see a few guests travelling to join in.
The wind was quite an unusual one for Birkenhead, predominantly down Gautby Road but with some cruel shifts if you got on the wrong side of them but hero shifts if you got on the correct side of them, nice top end of A rig with some nosediving in the first 6 races before tea.
It was Brad that showed early pace, taking out the first two races and Alan also showing us some great speed in these races with a third and fourth, unfortunately Josh, sailing Pop, missed the first race with a temperamental knob, on his transmitter which was quickly fixed with a bit of fiddling.
Race positions throughout the day switched very quickly due to the shifts but it was Brad who stayed consistently in front, winning 8 in the end. Martin had a better last 6 races that included a string of seconds, probably due to him growing into his new sailing glasses. Andrea should have won race 10, but in the excitement and concentration she unfortunately forgot to finish but still managed a third.
There was also a great battle all afternoon between Andy, Phil and John, I am sure they enjoyed their afternoons sailing.
Race winners included, Brad, Rob, Graham, Simon and Josh.
Many thanks to Neil and Dave (who also took the photos) for starting and finishing us and good luck to all Birkenhead skippers at next week’s ranking weekend in Scarborough.
  1. Brad Gibson          42   Post PUNK    13pts
  2. Graham Elliott     09   BritPOP!        31pts
  3. Martin Roberts   168  BritPOP!        35pts
  4. Simon Fairman    71   Alioth             40pts
  5. Andrea Roberts   127  BritPOP!       43pts
  6. Josh King                 26  POP!               46pts
  7. Rob Macintosh      66  V9                   50pts
  8. Alan Watkinson    23  Corbie 5         77pts 1x3rd
  9. Graham Birkett   133  Widget           77pts
  10. Andy Backhouse 142  Widget           97pts
  11. Phyl Fanning         37   Lintel           106pts
  12. John Beech           139   Gadget         109pts

IOM Winter 2024/5 #4 – 22/2/25

We were promised a decent 9 or 10 mph breeze from the West by 12:00 or soon after and the day lived up to the promise with plenty of sunshine and a breeze that was close to straight down the lake, with gusts, lulls and shifts galore to make gains (and for some therefore losses) around the course.

(c) John Beech

There were 15 entries for this week after losing one entry at the last minute, which included our two Junior members going head to head again.  A course was set with a shortened windward leg for the two Juniors and the two adult beginners allowing everyone to finish much more together.  The first race saw Brad take the win from Noah (on only his second time out in an IOM club race) with Alan Bennett beating son George to take third and fourth respectively.  After this first race, George got into his stride and took wins in each of the next five races before the break.  This left space for a variety of sailors to pick up the podium positions includng two seconds and a third for Noah, a similar clutch for Brad, and then a great second for Phyl on only his second outing in the IOM.  Also taking thirds were Graham Brkett, Graham Elliott and Andrea.

(c) John Beech

After the break, the course was made a little more testing for those on a handicap with the first beat to the shorter windward mark, followed by a full length beat on the second.  Even so, young George had a great set of results counting two seconds and two thirds from the six races, with some very close finishes which could easily have meant an even better placing.  Brad had a consistent second half with three wins and a third, the other wins being taken by Peter, Graham E and the final race by Martin.  This small group also picked up the other podium places with Andrea, Robbie Mac and Graham B being in close contention.

(C) Dave Williams

Overall, a great afternoon of sailing with close to “Champagne Sailing” at Gautby Road, especially after all the recent cold weather.  Even more so, was the day fittied in between two storms on Friday and Sunday that would have proved testing for sailing with an “over the houses” close to gale force Southerly.

(c) Dave Williams

George took the afternoon after the string of firsts in the first session, with Brad close behind and Graham E, a number of points adrift in third.  The handicap course with a shorter first leg seemed to work well in keeping the fleet in closer contact for most of the race and one likely to be repeated in future weeks.  Thanks must go to our Race Team of Dave Williams, Neil Westbrook and John Beech and also for the photos from Dave and John.  A few more photos can be seen in the Gallery.

Round #5 of the IOM Winter series takes place on Saturday 8th March, starting at 12:00, just one week before the first Ranking weekend taking place on 15th & 16th March.

  1. George Bennett           BritPOP!     19pts
  2. Brad Gibson                  PostPUNK  22pts
  3. Graham Elliott            BritPOP!      40pts
  4. Peter Baldwin              BritPOP!      46pts
  5. Martin Roberts            BritPOP!     48pts
  6. Rob Macintosh            V9                  61pts
  7. Noah Macintosh         A2                  62pts
  8. Andrea Roberts           BritPOP!     63pts
  9. Phyl Fanning                Lintel          82pts  1x2nd
  10. Graham Birkett           Widget        82pts  1x3rd
  11. Alan Bennett                BritPOP!    106pts  1x3rd
  12. Alan Watkinson          Corbie 5     106pts
  13. John Berry                    Lintel           121pts
  14. Charles Legg               Kantun 2     123pts
  15. Stan Metcalf                Widget        126pts

IOM Winter Series 2024/5 #2 – 8/2/25

Saturday saw a rescheduled IOM Winter Series Round 2 with a faint Easterly wind over a glassy lake greeting 11 skippers.  From the outset it was clear that reading the faintest puffs and keeping momentum would be the key to good results over boat design or setup.

After Race 1 where Alan Bennett took a close win from Graham Birkett, PRO Dave Williams made the smart call in switching the format to ‘sprint’ style one lap racing for compact racing.

With 5 races completed and wins for Alan, Martin Roberts, Graham and Brad a break was called to warm hands in the clubhouse with a hot drink and a bite to eat.

Back to the water minus Charles Legg who suffered winch issues, the wind had not strengthened as predicted it was decided to stick with the one lap ‘sprint’ racing.

As always on any race day there are races within a race where friendly rivalries take place, but this week we witnessed one that had everyone smiling. This was the first meeting of our IOM junior skippers with both George Bennett and Noah Mcintosh negotiating the tricky winds and potholes as though they were years into their craft. What wasn’t missed among keen observers was their ability to apply a simple approach to racing that is so often overlooked through overthinking and over complicating what is, a simple sport.

I mean why would you start low on the line on starboard, heading straight across the lake when you could be on port aiming at where you need to go? Don’t you just have to get around the course quicker than the rest?

While the finer points of rules will come with age and experience, it was refreshing to see how quickly the bigger picture was taken on board with both leading the fleet at certain stages and seperated by a single point at days end. With some boat swapping to help sort setups and encouragement from all skippers we look forward to following the progress of the new Birkenhead RSC breed.

Fresh from recent strong showings at discrict open races, Robert Mcintosh found the go button to record a strong win and a number of second places to chase the focussed Martin Roberts who was purring like a well tuned engine, linking shifts for fun to take out the win. Brad took the final podium place holding off the fast Graham B with his timeless Widget.  Thanks go to Dave Williams as our RO for the afternoon (and took the exciting photos) assisted by Malcolm who did the scoring.

Our next race in the Winter Series is Saturday the 22nd of February where another strong turnout is expected with returning DF skippers who were absent in Southport and a number of guests looking to sharpen themselves for upcoming ranking events.

Enter here to join us

IOM Winter 2024/5 #4 – Birkenhead RS&PC

IOM Winter 2024/5 #3 – 1/2/25

We had a great turnout of 20 boats for the third in this years Winter Series for the IOM, including 5 visitors and a new Junior member in his first time out competing with a Widget.

Busy Starts!

The sun was out and although the breeze was forecast to be SSE, it was generally SE or even ESE at times, with a strength that was mid to top end A rig.  Although it did die back later in the afternoon, it was still sufficient to give close racing throughout the fleet. Racing got underway at 12:00 after Robbie Mac had donned the waders and moved the marks slightly to align with the breeze and cope with the fleet size.

Everyone seemed to be keen, in fact too keen to get started and so we began the day with two general recalls before we got away on the third attenpt with just 3 boats recalled.  Brad Gibson set out his stall for the day by winning race 1 with Peter Baldwin in second and Rob Walsh in third.  Graham Elliott was awarded Redress having been taken out by a running boat on his final approach to the finish.  This fired him up for race 2, which he won, with Rob second this time and Brad third.  Come Race 3, Brad resumed his winning ways, with Simon Fairman in his new Alioth V3 taking second and Brian Summers in his self designed Buzz 6.

Race 4 was another win for Brad, with Graham second and John Brierley getting his setup sorted to take third. Race 5 was time for Rob to pick up his first win over Brad in second and then John B third again. Brad reversed the results with Rob in Race 6 with Paul Plested taking a well deserved third.  So the end of the first session and a break for some lunch and refreshments.  It was also useful for the finish team to have a break as the finishers were coming in thick and fast at times as racing was so close for the majority of the fleet.

D750PHYL

After the welcome break, Rob picked up another win from Brad in second and Graham in third.  Martin Roberts then seemed to pick up a gear and won race 8, with Brad in second again and Rob third.  Brad then managed another win in Race 9 with Martin second and Rob third.  Graham was quietly plugging away near the top bunch and picking up a couple of fourths before finishing on the podium for the final 3 races.  These final race wins were shared between Rob (2) and Brad (1)  with Graham or Martin usually filling the podium spots. This however still left Brad as the clear winner, followed by Rob in second and then Graham quite a few points adrift of Rob and Martin snapping at his heels in fourth after a great second session.

D750PHYL

There were some notable performances throughout the fleet with Paul Plested picking up fifth with some excellent results having only had an IOM for a few months and Simon Fairman going well in his V3 Alioth on it first outing having been measured earlier in the day. Grahm Birkett picked up some good results in his Widget with a fourth and fifth. Visitors Colin McGinnis and Brian Summers both had some decent results with Colin just getting the upper hand placing ahead of Brian on countback. Finally, a great first day of competitive IOM sailing for Noah Mcintosh including a fifteenth in the final race with four boats behind him.

Thanks go to the race team of David Williams, Neil Westbrook and scorer Judith.  Photos above from Phyl Fanning,  a good number of other ones are available in our Gallery here.

Also a reminder that there will be another IOM Winter Series event next week (8/2/25) when event #2 which was called off due to ice on the lake will be re-run.

Change of Event be IOM Winter #2 on Saturday 8/2/25

It was decided at the recent committee meeting to change the event on Saturday 8th  February from DF95 Winter #4 to be IOM Winter #2 which was lost due to a frozen lake.

When the club’s Winter Calendar was produced, the DF TT series dates were not available and so a DF95 Winter series event was planned on the weekend of the West Lancs DF TT.  As this is one of our more local clubs, a number of DF95 sailors will be attending and so DF95 turnout was expected to be rather low.

Therefore, IOM Winter #2 will be run in its place in an attempt to produce a 6 race series, but also to provide additional racing opportunities for those planning on campaigning for a place as a GBR representative at the IOM 2026 Worlds being held in the UK.

Any previous entries for this event have been cleared down and so new entries will need to be made.