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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

DF65 Social Racing 2024 – 20/11/24

With a cold NE/NNE breeze today it seemed a few sailors may have opted to stay in the warm and not venture out, leaving us with just 11 sailors.  At least the sun was out and there was a reasonable (could not call it decent) breeze which did blow down the lake at times and the sun was out.  We started on time after Peter had moved the gate into the corner and shifted the start line.

Paul Plested started the day well with a win in Race 1, Peter then took Race 2 and John Brierley Race 3.  These three then won the next three races (but not in the same order), with the front of the fleet very close and picking when to tack onto port was the key to getting a good result.  False shifts could often see you going back the way you came if you timed it wrong or worse still ending up in irons!

There was a new winner in Race 7 with Dave Williams’ boat taking the win with guest skipper Robbie Mac on the helm.  Peter took Race 8 before Paul had his third win in the final Race 9.

A morning of close racing but not (as one skipper mentioned) really champagne sailing even though the sun was out.  Paul took the morning with a very consistent set of results and a decent number of wins.  John was second, four points adrift and Peter third after a rather inconsistent morning.  There was some very close racing though with John Carlin, Mike De St Paer, Clive Warren and James Douglas also vying for the podium in some races, very often leading to close finishes.

Thanks to Dave W for running more than his fair share of the racing and working out the final scores along with Paul P and Dave for the photos.

  1. Paul Plested      154  10pts
  2. John Brierley      84  14pts
  3. Peter Baldwin     63  16pts
  4. John Carlin           11   27pts
  5. Clive Warren        53  37pts
  6. Dave Williams     33  41pts
  7. Mike De St Paer  35  42pts
  8. James DSouglas  73  44pts
  9. Richard Walker   39  44pts
  10. Frans King             95  46pts
  11. Charles Legg         21  58pts

IOM Winter 2024 #1 – 16/11/24

Well, when we arrived it looked like it may be 2nd suit, gusts looked menacing for sure but in the end all 12 skippers opted for top suit.
Probably the best wind we have had all year and the IOM fleet in the club has definitely gone up a notch or two this year with Paul P, Alan, Guy and the return of big Robbie Mc and of course due to it being the Winter series we get Graham B back with his trusted Widget, how fast is that boat, he managed 2 third places today.
With this shifting top end of A rig wind, the best tactic was to get into clear air as soon as possible, even if it meant starting a few seconds late as was proven by Brad’s, Martin’s and Grahams starts, nearly always all 3 of them were the first to tack over onto port after the start.
12 races completed and all under the watchful eye of our starter, finisher and scorer, Sharon. Many thanks go to her efforts and tenacity, not afraid to call the premature starters and to have time to take these great photos as well.
Race winners today were Brad with 7, Graham with 3 and Martin on 2. Mention must also be made of Alan W sailing his homebuilt Corbie, Graham Birkett with a brace of 3rds and Robbie Mc with his overall position of 6th.
  1. Brad Gibson                 42  Post Punk      13pts
  2. Graham Elliott            09  Britpop!         25pts
  3. Martin Roberts          127  Britpop!         33pts
  4. Alan Bennett                78  Britpop!         35pts
  5. Robbie Mcintosh       66  V9                     49pts
  6. Graham Birkett          133  Widget           57pts
  7. Paul Plested                  35  Britpop!         63pts
  8. Bill Culshaw                 78  Britpop!          74pts
  9. Alan Watkinson          23  Corbie 5          74pts
  10. John Berry                   180  Britpop!         78pts
  11. Ian Davies                     33   Britpop!         92pts
  12. Guy Cowper                  16  Lintel MMX  115pts

DF65 Social Racing – 13/11/24

Another excellent turnout of thirteen df65s for today’s racing, with a distinctly autumnal feel to the day. The wind was forecast as more or less west, but by the time it had reached Gautby road the weather gods had smiled and a reasonable little N. Westerly breeze was blowing fairly straight down the lake from the far end – a relief after some of the recent “dead slow and stop” conditions we have seen.

Paul adjusted the course and racing got away promptly with a first race win for James. The next three races had different winners, but then John won race 5 to make it two in a row.

Lucky thirteenth for some, but unlucky for others. Clive had a rudder servo fail early on and missed the first three races while he changed it, Andrew’s boat came to a halt soon after the start in race 4 having hit an underwater object (which turned out to be a submerged doggy poo bag. Always something new at Gautby Road) and Mike had to call it a day after Race 4 also with rudder servo failure.

RO duties had initially been shared, but Charles very kindly took over the second half of the day.

Although the breeze seemed quite steady initially there were some big shifts and holes as well. Paul, John and Clive sailed very well to win 2 races each, with John and Paul ending up tied on points after eight races, and Paul winning on countback. James and Alan were third and fourth respectively, with Clive making an excellent climb back to fifth after his technical issues.

Results are shown in full below, thanks to Dave and Malcolm for the results, Paul and Dave for the photos, Paul for going wading to adjust the course and Charles for picking up the ROing.

  1. Paul Plested.                 11.3 pts  2 wins ahead on countback
  2. John Carlin                    11.3 pts  2 wins
  3. James Douglas             16.9 pts  1 win
  4. Alan Watkinson          20.3 pts
  5. Clive Warren                29   pts    2 wins
  6. Richard Robinson      30   pts.   ahead on countback
  7. Richard Walker.          30   pts
  8. Andrew Potter             33   pts
  9. Mike de St Paer           37.1 pts    1 win
  10. Dave Williams             41   pts
  11. David White                 52   pts
  12. Malcolm Harvey        56  pts     ahead on countback
  13. Frans King                   56   pts