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DF95 Winter 2024 #2 – 21/12/24

This last day of sailing in 2024 at the club, proved to be one to blow the cobwebs away.  As we arrived, the tail end of a squall gave heavy rain and strong gusts such that a C rig looked to be on the cards, but soon after the wind abated and we started on B rigs after Peter had tweaked the marks a little to align with the Westerly breeze.  It was nearly straight down the lake but had some strong gusts from over the houses.  Big shifts and the potential for stalling the boat was very likely at any point during the afternoon and so the key task was to keep it moving at all times.

In the first session of six races before the break we had five different winners, in the form of Peter Baldwin, Paul Plested, John Brierley, Martin Roberts and visitor Paul Middleton, with only John racking up two wins.  The wind abated at one point such that we really needed A rigs as we bobbed up and down waiting for the next gust.  However, this was very short lived and by the start of the next race B rig was the right one to be using once more.

After the break, conditions were very similar for around three races, until the gusts started to increase in strength.  The forecasts were suggesting at least double in the gusts and that looked to be the case with plenty of nose-diving and occasional loss of control.  That is until the last race when the average picked up a notch during the race and we were into survival mode for the remainder, leading to some lost places for those who couldn’t tack away from the far bank.  This session belonged to John as he notched up 4 wins, with Martin and Peter taking the other two.  This gave John an easy win on 14 points with Martin second on 21 and Peter third on 25.

Thanks go to Neil for running the afternoon and to Dave for helping him out and scoring the day after some electrical problems during the afternoon led to few race finishes for him.  Photos from Dave Williams and Paul Plested.

  1. John Brierley              84  14pts
  2. Martin Roberts         184  21pts
  3. Peter Baldwin           172  25pts
  4. Paul Middleton          06  34pts
  5. Paul Plested               154  48pts
  6. John Carlin                  50  55pts
  7. Alan Watkinson        23   58pts
(c) Paul Plested

 

DF65 Social Racing 2024 – 18/12/24

A really interesting day for the 65s with very varied conditions and some close racing. Those getting on the water early with C rigs decided fairly quickly that B rigs would be a better compromise, so before the start everyone went to B, but as usual no one had told the weather.

Dave went wading to sort out the course, with a beat the full length of the lake. The wind was North West approximately but perhaps a bit biased to the top left hand corner giving a slightly port tack biased beat. The starts were very competitive right from the first race with one or two OCS calls during the morning, but fairly soon the wind – forecast to moderate slightly – increased to the point where it was tricky to sail with B rig. Those who weren’t enjoying the conditions then changed to C rig, but others stayed with B. Clive stayed with the C for the rest of the racing to get some time on the water with the C rig, but the boat proved underpowered as the wind eased.

As soon as everyone rejoined the wind (of course) did slowly start to moderate, although still with some hefty gusts, but also with a number of flat spots which were difficult to see and left everyone somewhat underpowered.

Excellent racing with John B unquestionably the class of the field ending with seven wins, and discarding just a second and third. Other race winners were Mike with a couple of wins, and Frans with a win and some other good results particularly while the breeze was really up.

Final results as shown below, with thanks to Dave as always for sorting the course and the results. Thanks also to Sally who very kindly stayed to start a few races although she had to leave a bit early, and Alan who then took over as starter.

IOM Xmas Open 2024 – 14/12/24

It was good (and unusual!) to arrive at the club with a WNW breeze already blowing straight down the lake even at 8:00, with a forecast that it would remain that way and potentially increase during the day.  Race Officer Dave Williams (assisted by Clive Warren, Neil Westbrook, Judith Baldwin and yong Scarlett) set out a course and got the briefing underway promptly at 10:00 for the 19 sailors who attended.

Racing then started on time at 10:15 and a sequence of 4 races, break 4 races, break, which continued all day to achieve a total of 16 races, before the 15:00 final cutoff time.  We even had two sailors who travelled the furthest all the way from Glasgow; great to see such dedication.

The wind was pretty well to forecast with some meaty gusts after lunch causing occasional loss of control downwind, but it was all very short lived and everyone stayed in A rig for the whole day.

Over the day, we had six different race winners; Brad Gibson had the lions share of 8 wins, with Graham Elliott, Martin Roberts and Darin Ballington all getting two wins each, then Peter Baldwin and Simon Fairman each gaining a single win.  Next we had second and third podium places from none race winners John Brierley, Derek Priestley and Pete Walters.  Best placed without a podium place and most consistent over the whole day was Rob Macintosh.  There were some good performances at some point during the day for a good part of the fleet, but unfortunately most were often unable to capitalise on their initial position to gain a podium spot.

Overall, a great and very competitive days sailing with very little rain and a bit of sun earlier in the day.  The overall win easily went to Brad Gibson on 18 points, 21 ahead of Graham Elliott in second with Martin Roberts just 3 points adrift in third.

At the prizegiving, Brad thanked Dave and his race team helpers for running the event and achieving 16 races in a short day and for the ladies in the galley keeping us all going with hot drinks, cakes and biscuits.  Photos courtesy of Dave Williams and Clive Warren.  These photos and a few more are available on our Flikr account here.

IOM Racing continues at the club with the second Winter Series event on Saturday 11th January – See the Upcoming Events links and visitors are always welcome for this open series.

DF65 Social Racing 2024 – 4/12/24

Southerly breeze today – more or less as forecasted – from the clubhouse corner, which slowly filled in after looking very unpromising as DF65 racers were arriving. Although forecast to build significantly during the morning, this never quite happened and the breeze varied up and down quite a bit with some fairly significant shifts as well.

Mike dsp was quick out of the blocks to win the first three races but then slightly lost his way after a race RO duty when normal business was resumed with John B winning the next three before he had to leave to catch up with work. The next three races had three different winners with JohnC, Clive and Mike taking the last three.

Racing, and particularly the starts, was all very close, with a few OCS calls during the morning and once again, although the start looked somewhat starboard end biased, skippers were able to take different sides of the beat during the morning to get to the top mark in the leading group. The last beat up from the leeward gate also proved interesting with different gate marks paying off at different times for the beat back to the line.

Following JohnB’s departure Mike dsp was able to hold on to win, with very close racing reflected in the points across the fleet with 3rd, 4th and 5th covered by 5 points (and some less than one point differences when averages for RO were used), and then 7th to 10th by less than 5.

Overall results as shown below with the usual thanks to Dave for getting everything going and Malcolm for working out the results (with a bit of help from AFleet!).

  1. Mike de St Paer           10.3 pts  4 wins
  2. John Carlin                    16 pts     1 win
  3. Clive Warren                22 pts    1 win
  4. John Brierley               27 pts  3 wins
  5. Richard Robinson     27 pts
  6. Simon Bates                37.7 pts
  7. Paul Little        .            44.6  pts
  8. Sally Collings              44.6 pts
  9. Richard Walker          46.9 pts
  10. Dave Williams            48.7 pts
  11. Charles Legg               53.9 pts
  12. Malcolm Harvey        64.9 pts
  13. Frans King                    82   pts

DF95 Winter Series 2024 #1 – 30/11/24

Nine skippers were on the start line for the  opening race of the 2024 winter season.  A lightish breeze, under an  overcast sky meant A rigs were the choice  for  the day. The wind was from the SSW which is always a tricky direction bringing the houses into play and providing plenty of shifts and holes to keep the skippers on their toes. Dave Williams donned the waders and tweaked the start. A standard course set utilising the full length of the lake, with a windward mark set at the clubhouse end, spreader mark, a leeward gate and back to the finish line which was set halfway down the lake for the first 3 races, and was subsequently moved to the clubhouse end of the lake to provide a slightly longer course and provide more overtaking opportunities. Racing got underway on time at 12,00.
John Brierley, started the day as he meant to go on taking the top spot but was pushed all the way by John Carlin and Clive Warren, until Clive hit the gate mark pushing him back after doing turns.  Further down the fleet Dave Williams was struggling with a rudder imbalance and had to retire, and would miss the next race. Races 2 and 3 saw Clive making up for his first race error taking line honours with John B and John C picking up a second place each, and Ian Davies also in the mix collecting a third place. The start of  Race 4 saw Martin Whittingham-Jones hooked on the start buoy, where he sat until David donned the waders to recover the boat after the race ended. David  himself had further rudder problems and had to retire from the race. Meanwhile up at the front and it was Ian’s turn to cross the line first ahead of the very consistent Clive and equally consistent John B.
The wind was starting to drop so an early lunch break  was taken.  Even withe the break unfortunately the wind remained lighter than earlier.
Race 5 was another  close encounter with John B crossing the line first, Clive second and Alan Watkinson third after tweaking his rig set-up during the break. Races 6 and 7 and Alan’s tweaking paid off, taking line honours with John B second and Clive third.  Further down the fleet  Daves rudder nightmare continued and he finally had to call it a day after race 6 when his servo  packed in, also joining him on the casualty list was Martin W-J. when his battery failed him. Race 8 and the final race of the day and the overall standings were very interesting with Alan, Clive, and John B all on 2 wins each.  John B finally crossing the line with John C second and Ian third.
Summary 
A very close and competitive days racing in the all to normal Gautby Road shifty wind conditions.  With plenty of personal battles all through the fleet.
Thanks to Dave Williams for sorting everything and Malcolm Harvey for compiling the results below.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2024 – 27/11/24

DF65

A bright day greeted the 10 sailors who turned up, but with wind sadly lacking for the first couple of races.  David Williams opted to run the racing today and after setting an additional start mark racing got underway shortly after 11 with a short course used for the first two races to minimise the race duration.

James Douglas showed his light wind potential by winning Race 1, followed by Clive Warren who took Race 2.  The RO then extended the course to use the length of the lake as we now had breeze straight down the lake for most of the time, although there were a number of holes and localised gusts that could catch anyone out.  Peter Baldwin took Race 3 and then Alan Watkinson achieved the win in Race 4.  Although we had seen four different winners, it could be anyone’s race and Mike De St Paer, Paul Plested, Sally Collings and John Carlin were all in the mix with top 3 places.

In races 5 to 7, James seemed to have the engine on as he scored three straight wins, leaving the others in his wake, with his run finally spoilt by Peter taking the win in Race 8.

Helped by the four wins, James took the morning, with Peters two wins aiding his second place overall and a consistent set of results placed John Carlin third.

  1. James Douglas         73  13pts (4 wins)
  2. Peter Baldwin          63  15pts (2 wins)
  3. John Carlin                11  18pts
  4. Paul Plested           154  21pts
  5. Clive Warren           53  22pts (1 win)
  6. Sally Collings        829  27pts
  7. Alan Watkinson   373  34pts (1 win)
  8. Mike De St Paer      35  38pts
  9. Frans King                95  45 pts
  10. Malcolm Harvey 1019  53pts

DF95

5 skippers were on the start line for the DF95  afternoon sailing, the conditions were very similar to the morning but with a bit more breeze. This still made sailing tricky with directional shifts which could be a gamechanger, in either direction, read it right and you could be at the front, get it wrong and you would be left head to wind,  stranded!!
With only 5 skippers, the normal self monitored start and the finish was recorded by the first over the line. 6 races were completed, with a standard course set, utilising the full length of the lake we were ready to go.
Race 1 – was saw close racing with all 5 boats all the way around the course, with Paul finally taking line honours
Race 2 – and Clive tried to get a cheeky port start which failed miserably and then got headed on a shift dumping him out of the back of the fleet. The other 4 had a good tussle until Peter and Paul pulled away Finally Alan got a wind shift as he rounded the last mark which left him in irons which saw first Malcolm pass him on the outside and then Clive on the inside. Peter taking the top spot with Paul a close second
Race 3 – saw another good battle with Peter taking his second win of the series, with Clive second
Race 4 –  was a battle between Alan, Clive and Paul with Clive crossing the line first, Peter showing how tricky the wind was finishing a safe 4th. Unfortunately Paul had to retire after this race with  toothache
Race 5 and 6 and normality returned with  Peter taking the wins with Alan and Clive picking up a second place each. The sun had by now dipped behind the houses and as the temperature dropped drastically it was agreed to call a end to an enjoyable afternoon.
In summary , good afternoons sailing, close racing, good light breeze with difficult shifts to read keeping the skippers on their toes.
1.  –  Peter Baldwin         6pts,   4 wins
2.  –  Clive Warren         13pts,  1 win
3.  –  Alan Watkinson   14pts
4.  –  Paul Plested           15pts, 1 win
5.  –  Malcolm Harvey  19pts