c

Category: results

IOM Summer 2025 #2 – 26/4/25

(c) Malcolm Harvey

A total of eleven skippers turned out for round 2 of the Summer Series with a surprise visit from Olly Murray of Fleetwood collecting a rig for the M Worlds next week.  After a good breeze straight down the lake in the morning for the DF95’s, it initially looked as if there was going to be little wind for this afternoon session.  However, as the fleet started the first race (and after a general recall) under the watchful eye of RO Neil Westbrook, the breeze restablished itself staright down the lake for the first few races.

(c) Malcolm Harvey

The first race was a close battle between Robbie, Martin and Peter, with Robbie gifting the win to Peter after taking the wrong gate mark with Brad coming through to third.  Brad then had a string of three firsts, with Martin, Olly, Graham and Robbie all taking podium positions.  During Race 4 the breeze started to switch to the South, with beats becoming a reach at times and for the final beat into the finish, the breeze all but disappeared (and turned into a run!), returning as a light Westerly sea breeze.

(c) Malcolm Harvey

The course was then switch around and the rest of the day was sailed with a Westerly that continued to create some close racing in  Race 5, with Peter gaining his second win of the day with Graham and Robbie following him home.  In the final race before a mid-session break, Martin was in top spot, followed by Brad and Robbie.

(c) John Beech

We resumed again after the break with the breeze holding up and a decent pace to the races kept up by Neil.  Unfortunately, there were some position “snakes” to catch out most sailors over the next 4 races with accumulated bags and other debris from the Easterly breeze now making its way back down the lake.  Getting in a groove behind another boat was a possible but tricky answer, along with a quick change to sail backwards if you slowed in the middle of the lake and try to shed the obstacle.

(c) John Beech

Brad took another two wins in the final four races, with Robbie Mac getting in the groove and taking the other two.  The minor places were spread through 6 of the eleven sailors including a second for Olly, with Noah keeping pace with this strong fleet and managing a great 4th in Race seven.  Alan also let the boat loose in this second half and had some good placings along with Phyl who is getting to grips with boat control and picked up a seventh in Race 9.

(c) John Beech

We called a halt at 4:30 and ten races, with the breeze dropping.  Probably a good job, because as we left the club a short while later, light rain had set in and the breeze had all but disappeared.

Brad took the afternoon quite comfortably, with Martin in second and Robbie Mac only just behind in third. Thanks to Neil and his several assistants for running the racing and also Malcolm, John Beech and Paul Plested for the photos.

The next event in the Summer Series is #3 on Saturday 10th May, followed by the Jack Turner Memorial Race on Saturday 31st May (a whole day open event).  Entry via the following links:

https://birkenheadrspc.co.uk/iom-summer-2025-3/

https://birkenheadrspc.co.uk/iom-open-summer-2025-4-2/

DF95 Summer 2025 #1 – 26/4/25

Stock photo – no photographer available today

Nine skippers made the effort to get down to the club early for the first of several double class days over the coming months, with the DF95s starting at 10:15 (followed at 13:30 by IOMs).  After some shifting of buoys the racing got going just after the designated time, with a standard 2 lap windward/leeward course with a beat up towards the clubhouse end in a 7/8 mph A rig breeze.

First to bag a bullet was John Carlin who sailed a perfect race despite the efforts of both Peter Baldwin and Paul Plested to overhaul him.  Then it was Peter’s turn to cross the line first, followed by Paul and then Alan Watkinson, who showed some good speed throughout the morning.   After 2 seconds, Paul P managed to post a 1st in race 3 closely followed by Peter and Alan.
For the next 3 races in was the Peter show, with 3 straight bullets, with Paul P, Alan and John C scoring 2nds and 3rds, although both Martin Whittingham-Jones and Paul Little had both been well placed throughout those races, both scoring 4ths just behind the leaders.
Paul P did manage to break Peter’s winning streak in race 7 with Alan coming in 2nd again.  Race 8 and Paul L showed the fleet a clean pair of heels from the off to cross the line first, followed by Paul P then Peter.
Race 9 was Peter’s from start to finish and it looked like Malcolm Harvey and Alan would be scrapping for 2nd as they rounded the final gate marks, but a coming together stopped both of them in their tracks, gifting Paul P another 2nd and Phyl Fanning, who is definitely getting quicker around the course, a 3rd.
Whether or not the collision in the previous race spurred him on, but Alan was away from the start and never looked back bagging a well deserved first place and a strong performance all morning.  Paul L also sailed well picking up his third 4th place of the day to go with his 1st.  Whilst not having it all his own way, Peter came out the clear winner on the day, followed by Paul P, then Alan.

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing 2025 – 23/4/25

DF65’s

St George’s Day welcomed a relatively small turnout of eight DF65 racers for what turned out to be a very pleasant morning on the water. The forecasted easterly winds actually had a bit of south in them meaning the 4-8kt breeze was straight down the lake from the clubhouse end. There was no discussion on rigs …. A+ were fitted and proved the right choice. No buoys needed to be moved and the standard course of windward and then spreader marks followed by a run through the gate and back up to the finishing line could be used for the 10 races sailed.

Once on the water, as is usually the case at Gautby Rd, it was not all plain sailing. 20 degree shifts, bends, gusts and holes with the wind all ensured there was always jeopardy or opportunity to make or break a decent race.

Andrew Potter dominated the results with 7 wins helped by good starts, good boatspeed and reading the shifts well. Neil Westbrook put down a strong challenge with 3 wins and 4 second places for second overall. Alan, Paul and Richard then had a close battle for 3rd with Alan just edging it and Richard being let down by some severe inconsistency!

Many thanks to Dave Williams who acted as Race Officer (and photographer)  for the whole morning after having transmitter problems.

  1. Andrew Potter           9pts (7 wins)
  2. Neil Westbrook.      14pts (3 wins)
  3. Alan Watkinson.     28pts
  4. Paul Little.                 30pts
  5. Richard Walker.       31pts
  6. Phyl Fanning.           48pts
  7. David White.             50pts
  8. Malcolm Harvey.    52pts

DF95’s

Seven skippers were at the clubhouse for todays DF95 racing session although they did not all race.

The wind was straight up the lake from the clubhouse end so the familiar course with the start at the far end of the lake going down to a spreader setting of marks at the clubhouse and a run back up the lake to a gate at the far end with a turn to the finish half way up the lake.

Neil Westbrook acted as RO for the first 2 races and Malcolm Harvey for the remaining 6.

The wind speed was falling all the way through the session but there was some very close racing through the small fleet with Alan Watkinson and Martin Wittingham-Jones showing in the first 4 races although Neil beat Martin on the line with a final tack catching the wind to carry him over the line in race 3

For the remaining 4 races Neil was the dominant skipper winning all the races with the rest of the fleet having some very close racing with Martin and Phyl Fanning who seem to have come to terms with sailing the DF95 keeping Neil on his toes.

As Neil had been RO for the first 2 races he was allocated an average score for these and as a result of his dominance of the remaining races this gave an average of 1 for those races although they were actually won by Martin and Alan.

Overall on the day Martin won 1 race, Alan won 2 races and Neil five.

DF65 Social Racing 2025 – 16/4/25

A very cold, wet and light wind day at Gautby Rd. Only six keen sailors arrived willing to take part. The start was delayed whilst many hands assisted Neil in rebuilding his boat after having to replace various components.

The usual start at the top of the lake down to the port rounding of the windward mark spreader to port and then a run to the gate and then a beat to the finish mark. As we were sailing with only six, the start line was self monitored with out problems.

Neil felt he had to show his gratitude for the help he received and promptly took the first two races! Those two races looked as though we had two separate fleets with Neil, Clive and Alan half a lake a way from David, Charles and Dave.

Then with the wind increasing and the shifts becoming more obvious the fleet closed up and brought David and Charles into the reckoning with a win and two wins respectively. Neil then unfortunately had battery problems and was out of the next three races and then Alan’s rudder failed on the last race. The racing was so close at times the finish line almost needed a camera to spot the first to cross. Due to his consistency the days honours went to Clive with his four seconds and two firsts.

  1. Clive Warren             10pts 2wins
  2. Neil Westbrook       15pts 3 wins
  3. Alan Watkinson      15pts
  4. Charles Legg            18pts 2wins
  5. David White             23pts  1win
  6. Dave Williams        26pts

IOM Summer 2025 #1 – 12/4/25

Saturday had 12 starters for Round 1 of this years Summer IOM series with a few missing on Europeam Championship duty. Well done Graham Elliott on your 6th place!

The wind was out of the South south east with a healthy number of shifts to keep all on their toes in a light and puffy A rig breeze. 

Brad hit the ground running with a number of firsts leading to tea break paused by wins each to John Brierly and Phyl Fanning. Phyl made the most from our slightly reduced course length designed to help and encourage new skippers as they build confidence in the fleet.

Paul Plested was showing his continued rise within the fleet with a solid set of scores, having a 4th as his worst. Martin, Andrea and visitor Simon Fairman each had moments in the at times difficult conditions.

With a pause for refreshments after race 6 allowing time for some re-tuning and gremlin sorting in the winch department for Martin and Robert we were back for another 5 races.

Wins were shared between Brad, Robert and Martin in a veering wind that at times had beats that went to a reach and back within a blink, keeping all on their toes. The final race of the day had the predicted Westerly breeze swing from the far end of the lake mid race with Noah McIntosh making the most of an excellent start to only lose his lead on the now run to the finish.

It was a good hit out for skippers heading to the Nationals at Lincoln over the Easter long weekend.

Brad took the win with Paul scoring a steady and well earned 2nd and the strong finishing Martin in 3rd.

Once again thanks to our fantastic race team of Dave Williams and Neil Westbrook who kept the racing ticking over at a welcome pace.

Our next round of the IOM Summer Series is on the 26th of April with a start time of 1.30pm. Enteries can be made at IOM Summer 2025 #2 – Birkenhead RS&PC

DF65 & DF95 Social Racing – 9/4/25

DF65’s

9 DF65 skippers were greeted to clear blue skies and a light SE breeze, which proved to have plenty of holes and big shifts in it for most of the day.  A standard windward/leeward course was set, with a beat towards the clubhouse end of the lake.
John Brierley got away in the first race only to become becalmed near the end of the downwind leg.  He was then swallowed up at the leeward gate by the fleet coming down in breeze and, to add insult to injury, he was taken out by another boat, which pushed him down the fleet.  Paul Plested seemed to have benefited the most from this, but he lost out to both Andrew Potter and Charles Legg who sailed around him just before the finish, with Phyl Fanning finishing with a creditable 4th.
Race two and John led the fleet home followed by Paul and then Andrew, with Clive just off the podium in 4th.  Race saw our 4th different skipper coming home first, with Dave Williams taking line honours, followed closely by Clive and then Andrew.
For the remaining 5 races the same two boats, which seemed to have more boat speed than the rest of the fleet, took the top two spots, with Paul just edging out Andrew into second in all 5 to take the day with a decent haul of first places, helped by Andrew in one race as he was OCS for one of the starts. Clive scored several thirds to put him 3rd overall and John was fourth, although John missed the last two races as he needed to get away early.
Dave W had a good day overall and his points tally was close to those above him, and Charles also finished well in several races, but not quite consistent enough to push him up the table.

Finally thanks must go the Neil Westbrook who acted as Race Officer for the day.

DF95’s

The afternoons sailing conditions were very similar to the morning with blue sky and a wind that was nominally easterly (from the industrial estate) but did whatever it wanted! Creating large shifts and holes for all the skippers to fall foul of.
A rigs all round for the 5 boats that were on the start line, being Easter, holidays, child minding took its toll, so with such a small fleet the starts were self managed and first to finish recorded the results. Sailing got underway on time at 1.30pm and 8 races were sailed
Considering the conditions and the spread of experience the sailing was very close, Steve Miller, very new to both sailing and RC sailing (about 6 weeks) shows consistent improvements and  managed a 3rd position which 15ft from the line looked a certain 2nd before he got headed by a wind shift and Clive took the opportunity to nip ahead. Paul ran out the clear winner with 7 wins, his only loss being race 5 when he had a loss of steering issue for about 10secs (or did he?) and Clive took line honours. Martin had a very consistent day and was pushing the front 2 in most of the races and finally got his reward with a 2nd place in race 7to go with his five 3rds.
With such tricky conditions, and they were tricky with beats turning into reaches and at some stages even runs, and holes in the wind when the boats sat going nowhere , the skippers all did very well and results in some races were extremely close. It all provided an enjoyable if challenging afternoons sailing.
Results  8 races (2 discards)
  1. Paul Plested                              6 pts      7 wins
  2. Clive Warren                           12 pts      1 win
  3. Martin Withington Jones  17 pts
  4. Phyl Fanning                          25 pts
  5. Steve Miller                             26 pts