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Category: Fleets

DragonForce Winter Series #5 5/2/20

A beautiful sunny morning greeted the 10 DF65s to Birkenhead with A+ rigs the order of the day.  Racing was moved to the east bank by Race Officer Ernie, to give a windward / leeward course, but with the recent high winds there was a lot of debris along the bank and competitors that took the right hand gate kept clear of obstructions, whilst the left hand gate was the favoured one to gain the lift of the bank but the risk of picking up twigs was high.
There were four race winners and Don gained his first win with Neil having the most wins with 4.  Again it was the consistency of John to take the win, with Richard rapidly improving and take second place.  John C also had a very good day with a steady performance.  Thanks once again to Ernie for running the racing.
  1. John Brierley                 84      14pts
  2. Richard Robinson        01      17pts
  3. Neil Westbrook             03     24pts
  4. John Carlin                      11      33pts
  5. Alan Watkinson          373     38pts
  6. Don MacKinnon         983     40pts
  7. Dave Pickup                   86      41pts
  8. Mike St Paer                   35      50pts.   1x3rd
  9. Richard Walker             39      50pts   0x3rd
  10. Chris Weston               194      67pts.
10 races sailed

RG65 & DF65 Winter Series #3 Report & Results

After last weeks IOM racing all of the marks needed repositioning to get a decent course for this weeks racing with a decent A rig (RG65) and A+ rig breeze from the WNW.  Racing started very soon after 12:00 with the four RG65’s sailing 10 metres further up the lake than the seven DF65’s (including four visitors from Gresford).

In the RG65 fleet of Pocket Rockets, Alan Watkinson used his tall A conventional rig to good effect and took wins in the first two races.  Peter Baldwin then got into a groove and won the next 5, before a break for lunch and a hot drink.  Suitably refreshed after lunch, Neil Westbrook took 2 wins from the next three races and Alan had a further win, before Peter took the final two races, with the wind by now easing a few knots as the sun went down.

Andrew Peter had a commanding day in the DF65 fleet, winning eleven out of the twelve races.  Only John Carlin managed to keep him from the podium, before he had to retire with some winch troubles.  David Bradley and Bob Andrews from Gresford both came close to beating Andrew in a number of races, with the result only being decided in the last few metres to the line.

An excellent day of 12 races with close racing in both fleets.  Thanks once again to Jack and Bernie for running our racing and making drinks at lunchtime. Our visitors from Gresford enjoyed the “Birkenhead Experience” and have promised to return for the final event in this Winter series, which takes place on Saturday 15th February.

RG65’s

  1. Peter Baldwin             63             13pts   7 wins
  2. Neil Westbrook           03             19pts   2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson          23             26pts    3 wins
  4. Dave Williams             33             31pts

DF65’s

  1. Andrew Peter              919            10pts    11wins
  2. David Bradley               98            23pts
  3. Rob Andrews               835            35pts
  4. Charles Legg                   13            41pts
  5. Keith Pizzey                   517          44pts
  6. Russell Owens              903          55pts
  7. John Carlin                       11            60pts     1 win

12 races sailed

IOM Winter 2019 #3

There was an excellent turnout of 18 boats at this the third of the Winter IOM series at Birkenhead.  Everyone was treated to a new view as they looked across the lake from the southern shoreline as shown in the photo above.  The trees all along the Northern edge have been cut down over the last week and the factory units are clearly visible again.  This brought back memories of the lakeside and the surrounding areas from years ago for some long standing members!

With a breeze from the South as we started, a course was set with two beats across the lake and a long reach back to one end of the start line.  Although there was a good 6 to 8 knot breeze blowing whilst the course was being setup, this seemed to disappear during the early races with boats getting stuck in significant holes whilst boats behind caught up with them on a light breeze from a different direction.  By the lunch break, the wind seemed to have moved to a more westerly direction and so marks were moved around so that races could be run in the opposite direction.

Racing was mostly very tight between the top four or five boats with places often only decided in the last few meters to the finish line.  Occasionally, a boat would get a good breeze off the start line and have a commanding lead by the first mark and then keep or even extend this lead by the finish.  By the end of the day, conditions had become very difficult at times with significant gusts causing boats to lose control if you were in the wrong place on the course when the gust hit. Everyone seemed happy to finish at race 10 with the conditions as they were.

Graham Elliott made the best of the conditions with his Britpop, taking the day by winning seven out of the ten races.  Brad Gibson sailing his Red Wine was second with a consistent set of results including one first, that very rarely saw him out of second place.  John Brierley in a Britpop rounded out the podium in third place and another win, with Peter Baldwin taking the other win in his Lintel MMX.

Thanks once again must go to Bernie and Jack for running the racing and Joyce for providing a hot cuppa at break time.

  1. Graham Elliott             9                 9pts
  2. Brad Gibson                  2                 17pts
  3. John Brierley               84               27pts
  4. David Potter                20               32pts
  5. Peter Baldwin             63               34pts
  6. Martin Roberts            55              37pts
  7. Neil Westbrook            03              53pts
  8. Lawrence Drennan     57              60pts
  9. John Berry                     112              73pts
  10. Howard Garner             67             74pts
  11. Alan Watkinson            23              77pts
  12. Chris Chatfield                7               80pts
  13. Vicky Gibson                  62              89pts
  14. John Pemerton             114            106pts
  15. Charles Legg                   25            110pts
  16. Dave Williams                33            117pts
  17. Ray Woods                       51            122pts
  18. Mike Williamson          43            133pts

Ten races sailed.  The next event in the IOM Winter series is on Saturday 25th January.

DragonForce Winter Series #1 8/1/20

A new year, the start of a new series and a new look to Birkenhead’s lake, for the 10 DF65s today.  Warm and overcast with light winds was the order of the day, with some very close racing, which was reflected in the final scores.
The battle at the pointy end of the fleet was one between John, Neil, Alan and Richard.
John and Neil tied on 16 points with John breaking the tie with 5 firsts to Neil’s 3.  The third and fourth places were even closer with both Alan and Richard tied with one first each and requiring the number of seconds to split the tie in Alan’s favour.  Dave Williams, after using his discards with servo damage, then put some solid races together to finish 5th.  These One Design boats are certainly providing close racing!
With ALL the trees now removed from around the lake, the club starts a new season with enhanced sailing conditions.

  1. John Brierley              16pts     5 x 1sts
  2. Neil Westbrook          16pts     3 x 1sts
  3. Alan Watkinson         29pts     1 x 1st, 3 x 2nds
  4. Richard Robinson     29pts     1 x 1st, 1 x 2nds
  5. Dave Williams            36pts
  6. Mike St Paer                41pts
  7. John Carling                45pts
  8. Dave Pickup                 49pts
  9. Richard Walker          54pts
  10. Chris Weston               69pts

10 races sailed.
Once again big thanks to Ernie for keeping us all in check.

Next Saturday is the third of the IOM winter series, start time 12:00. Wind looks to be from the Gautby Road End, so do come and see how the conditions have improved with the trees no longer there.

RG65 & DF65 Winter Series #2 Report & Results

A nice 6 to 8 knots straight down the lake from the clubhouse greeted the 10 sailors today for the second of the RG65 & DF65 Winter Series.  There were four visitors (only 3 sailing) from Gresford who helped swell the DF65 fleet to 5 and five club Pocket Rocket’s competing in the RG65 section.  Racing got underway very shortly after 12:00 with a Windward/Leeward course and separate windward marks for each fleet, well set-out by John Brierley.

In the DF65 fleet, Richard Robinson had the best day winning eight of the eleven races, with visitor David Bradley pushing him hard later in the day for two wins and the final win taken by Andrew Peter, before he had to leave early.  As the light faded Richard was a clear winner on 10 points, David second on 19 and Bob Andrews (Gresford) in third, only three points ahead of Russel Owens (Gresford), who improved markedly during the day to be one of the top three at the end.

The RG65 fleet ended up being a two way fight for the top spot between Peter Baldwin and John Brierley, although both Neil Westbrook and Alan Watkinson also had spells at the front of the fleet during many of the races.  At the end, Peter scraped the overall win with six firsts to John’s five, having overtaken John in the last race just30 metres to the line.  A day of very close racing much of the time, with no clear indication of the “right way” up the beat and lots of guessing going on which sometimes paid off.  A day that ended with only a light 3 knot breeze when a light keel seemed to pay off.

Thanks once again to Bernie for running the racing today – the last racing at Birkenhead in 2019.  See you in 2020 on January 8th (DF65) or 11th (IOM)

DF65 Fleet

  1. Richard Robinson           01      10pts
  2. David Bradley                    98     19pts
  3. Rob Andrews                     835    30pts
  4. Russel Owens                    903    33pts
  5. Andrew Peter                     919    38pts

RG65 Fleet

  1. Peter Baldwin                    63      12pts
  2. John Brierley                     84       13pts
  3. Alan Watkinson                23       26pts
  4. Neil Westbrook                  03      33pts
  5. David Williams                  33       41pts

DragonForce Autumn Series #12 18/12/19

With a gusty 10 knot breeze, the rig of choice today was an “A” and even then there were some dicey moments in the gusts on the downwind leg.  Nobody was immune to the effect of those gusts, although some managed the conditions better than others.  The air temperature was 3 degrees, but with the wind chill factor it felt sub zero and everyone was feeling the cold after 10 races had been completed and glad to get a warm drink inside them.

Ernie set a good long course which gave a number of overtaking opportunities if the right shits were taken. John Brierley took the lions share (7) of the wins today, with Peter two and Dave Williams taking the final race after a few equipment problems earlier in the day.  That left John in first, Peter second and consistent newcomer to the fleet John Carling in third.  Thanks once again to Ernie for braving the cold and sitting (and standing) in the wind for over an hour to run the racing.

  1. John Brierley                    84      9pts
  2. Peter Baldwin                   63     16pts
  3. John Carling                      11      35pts
  4. Richard Robinson           01     38pts
  5. Sally Collings                 829     41pts
  6. Neil Westbrook               03      52pts
  7. Mike St Paer                      35      58pts
  8. Dave Williams                 233     60pts   1x1st
  9. Richard Walker                 39     60pts   0x1st
  10. Alan Watkinson              373     65pts
  11. Don McKinnon                933     72pt

That completes the Autumn DF65 series for 2019 and overall results are on the Current Standings page.  Racing for the DF65 on a Wednesday morning will begin again on the 8th January at 11:00 with the first race of the Winter Series of 2020.