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Category: results

DF/RG65 Winter 2024/5 #5 – 15/2/25

A great entry of 9 boats for race 5 of the club DF/RG65 Winter series, the wind started off as a mid A rig from Gautby Rd and all the RG’s sailed using swing rigs, Phil sailing his DF65 was allowed to use his A+ rig and rightly so.

We sailed 6 races before tea with Alan, sailing his rebuilt Ivy comfortably winning the first half. Alan’s boat was in an unfortunate accident (involving his car) a few weeks ago and should of been written off, but he managed to do some serious surgery to her and she was as good as new and performing extremely well.

Vernon was racing his new Ivy for only the third time and went home a very happy skipper, his best result coming 3rd in race 6, a few little tweaks on his rig and he will return for the RG TT race next month.

After race 7 the wind swung around and around and died off considerably, that much so that our PRO, Neil Westbrook decided we should shorten the course to one lap for the final 4 races.

Overall the fleet, made up of Ivy’s, Uno’s, one Electronica and one DF65, enjoyed a pleasant afternoons sailing with race wins going to Alan, Graham, Peter and Bill but there was only one winner, Alan sailed extremely well and gave us all a good hammering.

Thanks go to Neil Westbrook who started and finished us by himself for all 12 races.

  1. Alan Bennett      Ivy                  13pts
  2. Graham Elliott  Electronica  19pts
  3. Bill Culshaw       Ivy                   30pts
  4. Peter Baldwin    Uno                 31pts
  5. Vernon Appleton  Ivy               44pts
  6. Paul Plested        Uno                 55pts
  7. Dave Williams    Uno                 65pts
  8. Charles Legg       Uno                 72pts

Phyl Fanning      DF65               10pts

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 12/2/25

DF65’s

An almost non existent light wind from the North East greeted the skippers as they arrived in readiness  for the mornings sailing. It didn’t need our Commodore Dave Williams to utilise his many years of experience to volunteer for RO duty. That left 11 brave helms to hit the water and make the most of what there was, the only positive being it wasn’t raining.
By the time we were ready to start the wind had filled in a little, but was still very fickle and there were plenty of holes for everyone to fall into at some stage. A short course was set utilising half the length of the lake, 2 laps set so a shortening to one could be called if the wind died back again.
Dave got the first race away on time, as expected given the conditions a 20m lead could soon disappear and it was a bit pot luck who was in the right position at the right time as  the boats crossed the finish line after 2 laps in the first race seeing Clive followed by Alan, Paul P and John C.
For the rest of the day a longer course was set utilising virtually the whole of the lake, the pattern of one boat getting away and falling into a hole was basically the same all morning which did actually provide some very close racing all through the fleet and great frustration for others, amongst them Paul P who had gear failure in race 4. Race wins for John C, Paul P and Clive and some notable performances from Alan, Paul L and Charles who continued his greatly improved form of late with 2 x second places in the last two races.
After 6 races were completed, Dave called a halt to proceedings and I’m sure a heard a sigh of relief from all skippers!
  1. Clive Warren          9 pts      3 wins
  2. John Carlin            10 pts      2 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson   14 pts
  4. Charles Legg         20 pts
  5. Paul Little              29 pts on count back
  6. Frans King            29 pts
  7. Paul Plested         35 pts       1 win
  8. John Beech           36 pts
  9. Dave Worron       38pts (visitor from Gresford)
  10. David White         39pts
  11. Phyl Fanning       42pts
DF95 Social Sailing
The wind didnt improve for the afternoon, but a small group were joined by Mike dsP and Steve Miller but because there were only 5 boats the afternoon was devoted to “training” including rig set up and on the water tutorial. Paul led the rig set up over lunch assisted by Clive which was greatly appreciated by Phyl and Steve who are both new to DF sailing and Dave Worren who was keen to improve his speed and on the water performance.
After going through the rig settings, it was onto the water for more tutorial, including the importance of correct position on the start line, and timing of the start, mark rounding, and general boat handling. For Steve who is not only new to DF sailing but also sailing in any form, today was super challenging  given the wind direction.
6 very informal races were sailed (no race results recorded) but it was very evident that the coaching had greatly improved both boat speed and general boat handling  to such an extent these two beginners were competitive in the informal races.  Many thanks go to Paul for his time and patience and Clive for the encouragement and tips. Definitely a worthwhile exercise to be repeated at some point in the future.

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

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2025 – 5/2/25

DF95’s

There was very little  wind as the DF95 sailors arrived with the only ripples created by the geese and seagulls.  As the first boats went on the water and Peter donned the waders to set a course for the morning, there was a light WSW breeze coming fitfully down the lake.

There was a good turnout of 14 boats for this inaugural “first of the month” DF95 morning session which included one visitor from Gresford whose lake foreshore and clubhouse are currently surrounded by water.

Racing was close from the very start with a number of boats vying for line honours during the nine races sailed with one lap over the full length of the lake.  Paul Plested had a great start winning the first two races before Peter Baldwin picked up the  first of his two wins.  Mike de st Paer then took the next race followed by a win for Alan Watkinson in Race 5.  Getting the right shifts and pressure was key, although there was an element of luck in it as well at times, with pressure coming from unexpected locations and no visula indication on the water to give any of us a clue.

Clive Warren then got the bit bbetween his teeth and won the next three races he sailed in missing one due to an RO duty as these were shared out over the fleet with us picking up average points when on duty.

The overal lwin went to Peter with Paul a close second and Clive only a  little adrift in third.  There were some other notable results with Dave Wiliams and Paul Little both picking up a third, but both struggling witth consistency.  Thanks to Paul P and Dave W for the photos and Malcolm for processing the results.

DF65’s

8 skippers hit the water after the morning with the DF95s and they had the best of the day’s breeze, which was perfect for A+ rigs.  Some big shifts, but almost straight down the lake with very few holes to catch anyone out.  After the first few races it was clear that both Peter and Paul had the edge on boat speed, or were just a tad quicker spotting the shifts, as between them they took the top two spots in all bar one race, where Alan managed a 2nd.  After 6 races they’d each won 3, but then Peter, with the tactical edge, managed to take advantage of the port leeward rounding on two occasions to sail home for two final wins.
Clive, after a great sail with the 95s in the morning was a little off the pace, but still having some good races, with the exception of being caught head to wind course side of the start line with 10 seconds to go.  Alan missed 4 of the 8 races, which was unfortunate and he was going well, with 3 podiums in the 4 races he sailed.  Charles was also going well today, with a 3rd and four fourths, which might have been even better if Paul hadn’t failed miserably when trying to duck his transom, snagging a rigging line, which required a quick lakeside fix.   Malcolm had his moments as well, with a well deserved 4 as did Dave, visiting from Gresford.  Also great to see Phyl getting to grips with the 65.  It won’t be long before he’s moving up the fleet.
All in all a great afternoon of racing.

 

 

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.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2025 – 29/1/25

DF65’s

A crisp sunny day for the DF65s today with – at last – a nice A+ breeze blowing straight down the lake from the far end to welcome the excellent turnout of 15 skippers.

Commodore Dave got the racing away promptly using the usual windward / leeward course with top spreader and leeward gate, with RO duties then shared for the days racing.

Although somewhat short for the fleet size the start line seemed to work very well, with good starts possible from various positions along the line. There was the usual preference for the starboard end which looked as if it might be favoured, but positions up the first beat suggested otherwise.

John Brierley was very clearly class of the field with five wins over the mornings ten races. He did have to work hard on one or two occasions to climb up out of the pack but consistently good sailing and a slight speed edge proved decisive.

Behind John, racing was very keen, with some really excellent starts which looked like an open and with only the odd OCS. John Carlin was clearly the best of the rest with three wins and a string of consistently good results, and was followed by Mikedsp with no wins, some reasonable steady sailing, one OCS and a number of close encounters of the DF kind.

Clive and Alan were also race winners, Paul was unlucky to have a rig failure after a good string of results, Dave beat Charles on countback, and it was great to see Dave White and Phyl Fanning starting to get into the mix.

The standard of racing overall was very good, with almost everyone having at least one good result. The top end of the beat proved particularly tricky with some quick shifts and also some bends which were not consistent and tricky to spot resulting in some crowded top mark roundings and a fair bit of inadvertent minor contact.

All in all an excellent days racing with thanks as always to Dave Williams and Malcolm for the results which are shown below and thanks to Dave for the photos.

  1. John Brierley                  11 pts        5 wins
  2. John Carlin                     20 pts        3 wins
  3. Mike de St Paer            26.5 pts
  4. Clive Warren                 33 pts          1 win
  5. Alan Watkinson           39.6 pts
  6. Neil Westbrook            41.8 pts       1 win
  7. Paul Little                      44 pts
  8. Dave Williams              46.2 pts     (ahead on countback)
  9. Charles Legg                 46.2pts
  10. Frans King                     53 pts
  11. Sally Collings                60.5 pts
  12. Don McKinnon             64.9 pts
  13. Dave White                     80 pts
  14. Malcolm Harvey         101 pts
  15. Phyl Fanning               103 pts

DF95’s

The morning conditions continued for the afternoon session. With the wind coming from the North / North east there was plenty of holes to drop into and plenty of shifts to make gains. Five skippers took to the water after a slightly delayed start whilst John and Clive helped our new member Steve Miller set his new 95 up.
Steve decided just to get some sailing practice and didn’t join in with the racing, leaving just 4 to participate. The same course as the morning used the full length of the lake with a standard windward mark, spreader and through the gate to the finish. Being a small fleet we self monitored the start and the first to finish recorded the results.
Despite the small turn out the racing was very competitive at the front of the fleet, with the lead changing hands in every race and more often than not the first 3 boats would be covered by less than 10sec at the finish. Five races were completed before the sun started to dip behind the houses, the temperature dropped and the competitors called it a day.
  1. Alan Watkinson     9pts      2 wins
  2. John Carlin             10pts      2 wins
  3. Clive Warren          11pts       1 win
  4. Phyl Fanning
In summary
Good afternoons sailing with some extremely close racing, fun time.
DO NOTE:  To all DF65 and DF95 sailors, please remember that as next Wednesday is the first Wednesday in the month, it sees the first trial day of the 95’s starting in the morning @ 11:00 with the DF65’s starting at 13:30.  This will revert back to 65’s in the morning for the remainder of the month.  To be repeated each month for now as a trial.