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Category: rg65

DF/RG65 Winter 2022/3 #6 (18/2/23)

A great wind, straight down the middle from the top of the lake for today’s RG65 club race.
All 6 skippers started in there 3rd rig, reduced area and conventional but after just one race the vicious gusts had disappeared so we all dived back in the club to move up a rig, for most this was a full area rig.
Martin unfortunately had to retire his Pocket Rocket after race 5 due to intermittent radio problems but took the helm of Daves Uno for the remaining races. Alan and Charles both enjoyed good boat speed, coupled with good sailing, this gave them quite a few decent positions throughout the day.
The RG is a great class to sail in these conditions but just one small mistake in the tack or at the start can lose you 10 boat lengths.  In the end it was Graham sailing his Brad Gibson designed Electronica who took the day, winning all 11 races.
Thanks go to Bernie for starting and finishing us and Dave for the few photos.
  1. Graham Elliott         electronica                    9pts     11 wins
  2. Alan Watkinson       Uno                                26pts
  3. Martin Roberts        PocketRocket/Uno  29pts
  4. Charles Legg             Uno                                36pts
  5. Neil Westbrook        Uno                                39pts
  6. Dave Williams           Uno                               44pts

DF/RG65 Winter Series 2022/3 #5 (28/1/23)

Racing got underway soon after 12:00 after Peter had rearranged all of the marks following the recent ice which had moved everything around.  There was a decent Top suit breeze from the far end with occasional gusts causing some nose diving at times and plenty of shifts to gain (or lose) places on the course.

Peter took the win in Race 1 after splitting from Martin and John at the leeward gate before the finish, then catching a significant lift to jump from third to first.  John then took races 2, 3 and 5, with Peter  picking up race 4 and Martin race 6 and a short break.  After the break, Peter took 5 of the 6 races sailed, with Martin managing to pick up one win to spoil the run.

John retired after seven races as he was suffering with a bad leak and spent the time identifying the cause.  Charles and Martin also unfortunately lost a few races each after losing contact with their boats. There was, however, plenty of close racing throughout the fleet though, with nearly all of the fleet having some time at the front.

This left Peter as clear winner after 12 races and what had been a very close first session, with Martin second and John hanging onto third even counting three DNC’s. Thanks go to Bill Culshaw for running racing at a great pace and managing to fit 12 races in before 3:30.  Next week is back to racing for the IOM with race 5 of the Winter Series.

  1. Peter Baldwin              63  Uno                        13pts
  2. Martin Roberts           133  Pocket Rocket  21pts
  3. John Brierley                84  Uno                       37pts
  4. Neil Westbrook           03  Uno                        40pts
  5. Alan Watkinson          23   Uno                        43pts  (3x3rd)
  6. Dave Williams              33  Uno                        43pts  (2x3rd)
  7. Charles Legg                 26  Uno                       59pts

DF/RG65 Winter Series 2022/3 #4

We arrived to find a decent breeze from the West, but with a lake full to overflowing.  Neil and Alan set to and cleared the overflow, although even by the end of sailing at 15:30, the level had only decreased by an inch or so.

Peter moved a few marks around and replaced some that had floated to the leeward shore because of the lake level and racing got started soon after 12:00 with most boats sporting their C rigs (where available).  Although  8 sailors arrived, we only had a maximum of 5 boats on the water at any time and occasionally only 2!  The wind took its toll on most if not all boats with rig and servo failures and others having to bow out due to the lack of a C Rig or problems with the walkway being flooded.

Wins were shared out among the 4 RG’s with John taking four (and the win overall), Peter and Martin three each and Alan one.  Clive was the sole DF65 today as he was unable to get anyone else to join him for the afternoon. Racing was close at times, although equally someone could gain a good lead if they picked up a gust at the windward mark and leave everyone in their wake.

Thanks to Dave for running the most of the races having loaned his boat to Martin who gave it a good run later with a bigger rig especially when the wind abated slightly.

  1. John Brierley          Uno  84  14pts
  2. Peter Baldwin        Uno  63   17pts
  3. Martin Roberts     Uno  33   28pts
  4. Alan Watkinson    Uno  23   33pts

 

  1. Clive Warren          DF65  53  9pts

DF/RG65 Winter Series 2022/3 #3

Six RG65’s made it to the start line for the final club race of 2022.
The wind was quite unlike that was forecast with a steady light breeze from Gautby Road with a few dead patches and some nice shifts.
The race was sailed in a great atmosphere with 4 separate race winners on the day, Graham sailing his Argon and John sailing his Uno had a great battle in all 8 races but certainly not having it all there own way in races 5 and 8 that were won by Neil Westbrook sailing his Pocket Rocket and Alan Watkinson sailing his Uno. Five races sailed before break and then three after break with the wind and light fading fast it was decided to make the last 2 races just one lap races. Graham took the day by two points from John in second and Alan third.
  1. Graham Elliott         Argon             89   8pts  4 wins
  2. John Brierley             Uno                 84 10pts  2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson        Uno                23  15pts   1 win
  4. Dave Williams           Uno                33  24 pts
  5. Neil Westbrook  Pocket Rocket  03  26pts
  6. Charles Legg              Uno                26  31 pts

During the break a local landed his plane on the lake: see here

RG/DF65 Summer Series #10 (29/10/22)

As a follow on from last weeks RG65 TT, the final event in the Summer series for the RG65 and DF65 took place today on a course that was very similar to last Sunday.  Only 5 RG65’s and one Df65 turned out this week, with a few busy on other activities and Neil who very kindly acted as our RO for today.  The RG’s sailed a full sized course, with the lone DF65 sailing to the same windward marks at the clubhouse end and then using the outer start mark as a rounding mark instead of the gate used by the RG65’s

Race 1 started bang on time, with several different options and opinions on which rig to choose in the slightly gusty 6 to 10 knot breeze.  Was it a full size swing rig, low aspect swing or full size conventional?  Peter started well and took the win in the first three races in his full size conventional, with John undecided on low aspect swing or conventional before finally opting for the swing rig and winning race 4. Peter then took race 5 again before a short break.

After the break, John took the wins in Races 6, 7, 10 and 11 with Peter picking up races 8 and 9.  Racing however was very close most of the time throughout the fleet all afternoon.  It was often down to whether anyone was in just the right spot to get the lift or have wind when nobody else did.

Thanks go to Neil for running the racing and Bernie for making the brew at half time.  Next week is the start of the Winter Open series with IOM racing first and each week starting at 12:00.

  1. Peter Baldwin      63  Uno      13 pts (6 wins)
  2. John Brierley        84  Uno     13pts (5 wins)
  3. Alan Watkinson  23  Uno      25pts
  4. Bill Culshaw         23 Scurry  31pts
  5. Dave Williams     33 Uno        34pts

Our Lone DF65 was Clive Warren, who was well in the mix at the finish sailing on an A rig and a shorter course.

RG65 TT Rounds 8 & 9 (22nd & 23rd October 2022)

Round 8 of the TT series attracted 15 skippers from 8 different clubs, unfortunately the wind was not from a favoured direction for the lake but blew from a Southerly direction, wind strength was good though with a few nosedives by most at sometime during the day.
John Carlin volunteered for PRO duties and set a decent course that was tweaked on more than one occasion during the day. The racing was all about getting the start right which was easier said than done.
Racing concluded at 4pm with 15 races completed thus giving us 2 discards. John Tushingham was the winner on the day sailing his conventionally rigged Scurry, Graham Elliott sailing his Argon was second with Peter Baldwin sailing an Uno rounding out the podium.
Race winners on the day were, Graham Elliott (5), John Tushingham (4) and Peter Baldwin, Christopher Elliott, John Brierley, Dorian Crease, Bill Culshaw and Vernon Appleton all getting 1 race win each.
Round 9 and the series decider was on the Sunday, 13 skippers from 8 clubs, the good news was that the wind was a beautiful top suit from Gautby Road with plenty of shifts that could make anyone look great if they got in tune with them or send you to the back of the pack if you misread a couple of them.
John Brierley took the PRO job and set a great start line and gate that spread the fleet out nicely. On the day we completed 16 races by the 3.30 cut off time that gave us 3 discards. It was Dorian Crease sailing his Manta 21 who gained top honours on the day, Dorian sailed a great day and in a manner that was to be admired, 2nd place again went to Graham Elliott sailing his Argon with Peter Baldwin in 3rd sailing his Uno.
Race winners on the day were Bill Culshaw (4), Dorian Crease (3), Chris Elliott (3), Graham Elliott (2), Peter Baldwin (2) Derek Priestley and Vernon Appleton both with a single race win each.
A big thankyou must go to all volunteers, Judith Baldwin for finishing and scoring all weekend, Chris and Jocelyn for keeping the endless supply of tea, coffee and cake over the weekend and our two PRO’s John Brierley and John Carlin.
Next years TT calendar is now nearly completed and hopefully we can look forward to races at Eastbourne, Woodspring, Barton Point, Datchet, Bournville and Birkenhead, all to be confirmed for the 2023 season.

Results as follows:

Pictures from Sunday thanks to Judith, although light levels were unfortunately poor on the Sunday for using a mobile phone camera.

Updated overall TT positions are shown on the RG65 Class website https://rg65.org.uk/