The 2016 IOM European Championship event in Vitoria, Spain was won by our very own Brad Gibson who beat Rob Walsh by a single point at the end of the week.
Graham Elliott finished in 12th place.
Congratulations to our club members.
Category: news
All In Day – 21st May
Our second “all in day” of the season will be on Saturday 21st May.
Some of our top skippers have promised to be there to organise the day and offer both race training and tuning advice. They will obviously have more time to spare than on a normal race day, so this is a great opportunity to take advantage of.
As usual, bring along any boat of any class (or more than one if you want!)
The day is open to anyone, and visiting members from other clubs are welcome.
Day 2 IOM National Veterans Championships
After a well earned rest for the tired skippers, the second day of this years IOM Veterans Championships started in the same conditions as day one finished….a light south-easterly. with plenty of shifts included to catch out the unwary!
The 34 sailors had a day of tough competition with increasing wind and temperatures to look forward to. Would defending champion Tony Edwards be able to make inroads into Phil Playles commanding lead? Would any of the home team be able to get onto the podium?
Racing progressed smoothly through the day managed by Graham Elliott, Brad Gibson and Martin Roberts with the same course proving satisfactory throughout the day though the swinging breeze needed constant adjustments to the start line. The wind increased after the lunch pause, as forecast, providing entertainment for both helms and spectators alike as the fleet struggled to hold onto their top suits.
The stronger conditions didn’t seem to suit the front runners as much as some others in the fleet….notable gains being made by David Alston’s V9 with home Commodore Bill Culshaw also revelling in the breeze. Less fortunate was Simon Robinson’s home built V8 which suffered electrical problems which saw him fall down the order after a promising first day.
The podium looked pretty secure but with the final start sequence underway the Championship was still undecided. At the final whistle it was Phil who managed to cross the line sufficiently far enough ahead of a hard-charging Tony Edwards to hold onto his first day lead and claim the title with a consistent Mark Dennis in a comfortable 3rd place. With the Chelmsford visitors claiming first and 3rd spots, the podium proved to be not quite big enough to accommodate a member of the home team who’s best performer was John Brierley in a very commendable 4th in only his first year of model yachting.
There was plenty of emotion as Phil’s victory was warmly acknowledged at the prizegiving as was the contribution of all those who had made the event happen, in particular those of Graham Elliott who had lead the team.
Sunshine, testing winds from just sailable to top of A rig, close but friendly competition, excellent organisation and great cakes (thanks Andrea)……model yachting at it’s best!
Calendar Change
Please note that the IOM and 10r races planned for 18th and 25th June have been swapped. This is to prevent a clash with the IOM European Championships and give our skippers one last practice before they leave for them.
The IOM Andrews Memorial Races will now be on 18th June and the 10r races on 25th June.
Full details in the club calendar
Vintage Sailing Day
The weather for our first Vintage Sailing Day on 24th April was a cold brisk NE wind with rain squalls, not ideal sailing weather. We nevertheless had a very enjoyable day with 3 of the larger yachts braving the waves.
My ‘A’ Class ‘Hebe’ from 1960 was severely over-canvassed, Don’s 30″ Gaff Cutter dating from 1900 went well once the rig was reduced, and David Mathers vane Marblehead ‘Black Prince’, just loved the conditions, romping along on all point of sail, if a bit scary stopping and turning her !
There was a large collection of Star Yachts, as was to be expected for Birkenhead, some dating from 1930’s, many thanks to Chris. My ex Birkenhead 1957 vane Marblehead, a Stan Witty ‘Hornet’ was too fragile to brave the lake. The highlight was Bernard turning up with a very old 55″ Bar Keel Gaff Cutter, built in 1898, a very early 10 Rater.
Many thanks to all who attended and assisted especially Jack Turner, who doled out endless cups of tea and fascinating stories and advice from his free sailing days. ( The advice was free – the tea was 40p ! )
There are 2 more Vintage sailing days this year, ( see Calendar)
Everyone is welcome – bring along anything you have of interest to sail or display.
Andrew Peter – BRSC / VMYG
More photos in the gallery
Dragonforce Spring Series #8 (20/04/2016) Results
- John Brierley 7Pts
- Neil Westbrook 18
- Dave Williams 20
- Peter Baldwin 24
- Andrew Peter 30 (1 second)
- Alan Watkinson 30
- Colin Deakin 32
- Ernie Rice 36
- Sally Collings 52
- Dave Benjamin 59
