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Category: results

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2024 – 15/5/24

DF65’s

10 sailors for what was forecast to be a showery morning but ended up totally dry. The wind was nominally from the SE so straight down the lake from the clubhouse end and perfect for A+ rigs. The standard course was used with a windward mark to port, followed by a spreader, down the run to a gate and up to the finish.

Despite what initially appeared to be a reasonably steady and consistent breeze, proved to be anything but, once racing got underway ….. so typical Gautby Rd conditions. Puffs from a more easterly direction lifted those on port tack who had headed to the far bank while those that hit the near bank enjoyed better wind, but a worse direction. With no side proving consistently best it was a coin toss each race as to which way to go.

As the morning progressed, lulls in the wind added to the unpredictability

John had the boat speed to get himself out of trouble most of the time and won with 5 race wins, just narrowly beating Paul with 4 wins. Alan was the only other race winner, as the rest of us played snakes and ladders with the conditions

  1. John Carlin            10 pts 5 wins
  2. Paul Plested          11pts 4 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson   17pts 1 win
  4. Clive Warren         27pts
  5. Andrew Potter      30pts
  6. Richard Walker    38pts
  7. Sally Collings        39pts 1 second
  8. Frans King             39pts
  9. Dave Williams      41pts
  10. Dave Howard        47pts

DF95’s

Another glorious afternoon welcomed the 6 skippers for some social racing. A big welcome to Darren who is a new member and new to sailing and RC sailing, although he has practiced a bit.
The same course as the morning was used and 2 laps were generally set with a couple of exceptions. As is the norm with only a few skippers, self regulation of the starts and first across the finish line records the result. 7 races were sailed.
Darren actually sails a 65 with an A rig but, as this was social sailing, and we’re a social bunch we set a shortened course for him so he could mix it with the big boats and get some valuable experience. So instead of going the full length of the lake from the start he used the outer finishing buoy as his windward mark, before running back down the lake to the gate. This worked well and proved a good handicap
Racing got underway and saw Alan off to a flyer taking the first 2 races, pushed all the way by Clive and Paul. Race 3 and Dave suffered rigging failure before the start and retired from further sailing. The race saw Paul getting into his stride and took the win, Clive second and Darren third. Race 4 and Paul continued his winning ways chased hard by Alan and Frans. Unfortunately Alan had time constraints and had to leave, Paul continued his winning way with his 3rd win in as many races with the ever improving Darren second. The last 2 races were very similar to each other, with the reduced field trying to chase down Darren in the 65, but failing to catch him before the line, another 5 meters and Clive would have had him in race 6 and Paul in race 7. It gave another dimension having the 65 there and I’m sure Darren learnt a lot from the experience.
Results
  1. Paul Plested         10pts  3 wins
  2. Darren                    15pts  2 wins
  3. Clive Warren        15pts
  4. Alan Watkinson  22pts  2wins
  5. Frans King             25pts
  6. Dave Howard        Rtd.

DF95 Summer Series 2024 #2 – 11/5/24

An almost perfect sailing day for the second DF 95 Saturday Summer Series race. Unfortunately, only 8 sailors arrived due to a clash with a sail measuring course at West Kirby and of course the Global DF65 Championship with John Brierley competing, we wish him well.

John Carlin volunteered to set the start line upsetting the fishermen due to walking over their lines but nevertheless he put the start in an excellent position with a good beat down to the windward mark at the Clubhouse end, port to a spreader and then up to a gate past the start line but to one side to avoid the fishing lines then to the finish after two laps in the usual position.

Starting on time Clive took the first race with a comfortable margin followed by John C and Dave W. Race two saw Clive make a rare mistake allowing Dave W to take the win. Clive then got into stride and took the next four races. He did not have his own way with John C, Alan and Neil fighting to beat him.

After a refreshing coffee break for some, Clive faded giving an opening for John C to take the next two races and then the final race to Neil. All the boats were very evenly matched up to the windward mark on the first lap before the leaders started to pull away down wind and then maximise their positions. John B, Dave H and Malcolm were also having good close races with Dave H just picking up sixth due to his third position from John B. Dave W was unfortunate to burn out his steering servo after five races in the top four.

After ten races it was decided to call a halt due to tiredness setting in. Thanks to Malcolm for his score keeping.

  1. Clive Warren         9pts 5 wins
  2. John Carlin           11pts 3 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson  19pts
  4. Neil Westbrook   21pts 1 win
  5. Dave Williams     27pts 1 win
  6. Dave Howard       36pts 1 x 3rd
  7. John Beech            36 pts
  8. Malcolm Harvey 46pts

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2024 – 8/5/24

DF65’s

A very select band of just 5 sailors raced today.  This was in part due to a number of regulars being away on holiday but may also have been due to the lack of any sort of breeze up until the normal race start time.  The time was occupied going through some tips and adjustments to A+ rig settings before there was a light WNW to NW breeze by 11:15 and racing could begin.  The marks were used in the current positions and with the small fleet size a single windward and leeward mark was opted for with a finish about a third of the way up the lake.

Clive had a cracking start and took wins in the first two races, with Peter chasing hard, but never managing to break through with Frans and Alan taking the other podium spots.  Peter then took the next three race wins with Clive having to settle for second in a couple with Richard Frans and Alan all fighting for the podium spots.  Clive then had a win in race 6 before Peter had wins in the final two.

From what looked like an unpromising start we fitted in 8 races to finish soon after 12:30 with the boats moving at all times, even though there were some holes in the breeze to catch out the unwary.

  1. Peter Baldwin           63   7pts  5 wins
  2. Clive Warren             53  10pts  3 wins
  3. Richard Walker        39  16pts
  4. Alan Watkinson    373  19pts
  5. Frans King                95  25pts

95’s

A lovely afternoon greeted the 6 skippers for the afternoon of 95 sailing, the wind remained similar to the morning predominantly from the north west, but with the normal Gautby Rd shifts and holes to catch all the helms out at some stage. A rigs were the order of the day.
The course remained the same as the morning for the first 4 races, then the finish line was moved to the end of the lake to produce a longer beat to the finish. With the small field self marshalling at the start and first over the finishing line recorded the race result and 8 races were sailed with 2 discards.
The first race saw the only blip on Peters scorecard with Clive taking the honours. Race 2 saw Alan pushing Peter all the way to the line with Frans following his 3rd place in the first race with another. Peter continued to read the shifts better than everyone else and finished with a run of 1st places. The minor places were a closely fought battle with Alan, Frans, Martin and Clive all in the mix, with Clive taking 2nd overall with a consistent set of 2nd places and Frans just piping Alan by a point for 3rd overall.
In summary and enjoyable afternoons racing in the sunshine and light breeze with plenty of tuning tips from Peter along the way.
  1. Peter Baldwin     172   6 pts   7 wins
  2. Clive Warren         93  11 pts   1 win
  3. Frans King             59  19pts
  4. Alan Watkinson   23  20pts  (only 6 races)
  5. Martin W-Jones  77  26pts
  6. Dave Howard        00  28pts

Club sucesses at the IOM Nationals

Congratulations to Brad Gibson who was crowned the 2024 IOM National Champion at the end of the 3 day (and 13 races completed) MYA National Championships hosted by Poole Radio Yacht Club.

Of the other club members participating, Graham Elliott finished in 5th, Andrea Roberts in 18th and Martin in 21st.  Well done everyone – do join us for the next IOM Club racing on Saturday 18th May for some top quality racing along with helpful advice and guidance if required.

The full results are shown below.

RG65 Summer Series 2024 #2 – 4/5/24

A turnout of only four skippers, possibly due to the very light wind forecast and others being away at the IOM Nationals. The wind from the top end of the lake was extremely light and at times non existent. All four boats with maximum A swing rig were on the start line under the keen eye of our Race Officer Neil.

Each race was to be one lap with Bill showing the way for the first race and then Alan B taking the next three. Due to the wind conditions the finishes were very close between Bill and Alan B and could have gone either way. After a coffee break Dave managed a win by just being in the right place at the right time. The next four races saw Bill and Alan B taking it in turns to gain the victory. Alan W was always in contention but often losing out downwind. While Bill and Alan B were sailing for honours Dave and Alan W were having their own race.

Many thanks to Neil for offering to be Race Officer giving us eight races and strict on the start line.

  1. Alan Bennett         Ivy      7pts 5 wins
  2. Bill Culshaw          Ivy    10pts 2 wins
  3. Dave Williams      Uno  19pts 1 win
  4. Alan Watkinson   Uno   19pts

IOM Summer Series 2024 #1 – 27/4/24

The first IOM Summer Series had a great turnout which included a few vistors getting some pre-Nationals practice in.  A light ENE breeze with some good shifts (and holes) leading to numerous place changes in many of the races.

Neil donned the waders and set a course with a bit of help from Peter on-shore, involved moving most of the marks around, although working out well for most of the day.  This always provided some challenges as to where to start and which side of the course was favoured up the beat.

Darin started the day with a win in Race 1, before Graham showed great form by takng the next three races, with Brad, Alan Bennett, John Berry and Andrea all picking up top three places in these races.  As some of these races were rather long due to very light breezes at times we then had a break, before continuing to complete another 6 races.

After the break and a few boat tweaks, Brad had a good second session, with 3 wins in the six races (plus a couple of seconds).  The other three race wins went to Darin, Alan and Graham, with the podium places split between, Alan, Andrea, Brad, Graham, Peter and Simon.  Finishing positions were however very close throughout the fleet with Alan Watkinson, Simon and Graham Birkett always in with a chance of gaining a good result. Sometimes, it came down to the final positions being determined by who managed to get the best breeze on the final leg into the finish.  Occasionally the finish line tested the line judge with 4 or 5 boats all crossing within a few seconds.

A close tussle then between the top three boats for overall honours, with Brad coming out on top after the 10 races completed.  Thanks to our joint RO’s for the afternoon Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook who ran a tight ship all afternoon.  We also have Dave to thank for the photogtaphs below.

  1. Brad Gibson            42   Post Punk  13pts
  2. Graham Elliott       09  Britpop!      17pts
  3. Alan Bennett         180  Britpop!      24pts
  4. Darin Ballington    98  Britpop!     37pts (2 wins)
  5. Andrea Roberts       37  Britpop!     37pts
  6. Peter Baldwin          63  Britpop!     40pts
  7. Simon Fairman      471  Alioth        48pts
  8. Graham Birkett      133  Widget      55pts
  9. Bill Culshaw              21  Britpop!    61pts
  10. John Berry                 12  Viper          74pts (1x3rd)
  11. Alan Watkinson      23  Britpop!   74pts
  12. Ian Davies                  33  Britpop!   96pts
  13. Charles Legg             40  K2             105pts