c

DF/RG65 Summer Series 2024 #8 – 28/9/24

Our 1.00pm start was delayed due to a heavy downpour. Only five sailors were taking part due to the IOM ranking race at Chelmsford. The light wind from the top end of the lake varied from straight down to over the houses, sudden gusts and zero wind_ Typical Birkenhead.

Alan Bennett sailing his Ivy took all but one of the races with son George taking the other. Although Alan appeared to win easily he did have some very close competition from Alan W and Charles. George, sailing a new to him Uno, mastered the conditions with ease and put in some very good starts taking six second places. The rest of the fleet were having close racing with some of the finishes inches between the three boats, Alan losing places by stalling just before the finish allowing Charles and Dave to sneak in a couple of times.

Twelve one lap races were held.

Alan Bennett           Ivy     10pts 11wins
George Bennett      Uno   26pts 1win
Alan Watkinson     Uno   29pts
Dave Williams        Uno   34pts
Charles Legg           Uno   49pts

 

DF65 Social racing 2024 – 25/9/24

DF65

On the water, the usual windward/leeward course was used with a spreader at the windward mark and a gate at the leeward mark. 12 races were completed in surprisingly un-Gautby Rd like conditions with a pretty consistent wind in both direction and strength

The racing at the front was dominated by Paul P, Andrew and Clive with a few short-lived cameos by others. Don got a second in race 3 and then won race 4 and then drifted back to mid fleet, although these results were good enough to get him 4th overall on countback. Richard, Dave, Paul L and Sally all had fleeting appearances near the front in various races but apart from a couple of thirds by Paul L, nobody was able to stay in the podium positions by the finish of any race. Paul P won overall, helped by some aggressive starting tactics by Clive on Andrew in race 10 which luckily didn’t deny Andrew second place overall with Clive in third.

  1. Paul Plested          16pts (5 wins)
  2. Andrew Potter     18pts (4 wins)
  3. Clive Warren        20pts (2 wins)
  4. Don McKinnon   46pts (1 win)
  5. Richard Walker  46pts
  6. Sally Collings      47pts
  7. Paul Little            49pts
  8. Dave Williams    54pts
  9. Frans King           58pts
  10. John Beech           68pts
  11. John Lee                77pts
  12. David White        78pts

John Carlin … retired with his boat to see a Relate councillor

DF95

7 Skippers got ready for the afternoon sailing, the weather was supposed to deteriorate with rain in the forecast from 2pm, fortunately this didn’t materialise and a reasonably steady mainly easterly breeze made for a good afternoons sailing. It wasn’t without its Gautby road shifts and twists especially around the windward mark area.
A rig was the preferred choice for all 7 skippers, with self monitored starts, and first over the finishing line recording the results. With the rain forecast it was decided to get as many races in as possible so single lap races were agreed and 9 Races were sailed in total.
The first race set the tone for the afternoon when all the boats were rounding the gate marks, one of the skippers noticed a lone 95 at the windward end of the lake, wallowing, when the question “who’s boat is that at the other end of the lake” was asked; to which Frans replied “must be mine, I thought I was doing rather well”, having sailed the wrong boat for the whole of the downwind without realising!!! In the meantime at the front Paul was showing good boat speed to take the honours, Clive was second with Richard 3rd.
The same 3 filled the podium spots until in race 5 Frans had a 15m lead coming through the gate only to get the wrong side of a couple of shifts and then stuck in irons for 30 secs as he watched the whole fleet sail pass, you just know when its not your day. The race finally being won by Martin.
The top 2 positions on the remaining races were shared between Paul and Clive with John Beech picking up a second and third.
In summary –  A good afternoon enjoyment, (even Frans enjoyed it) conditions were challenging at times with wind shifts all over the lake providing with close racing at the front of the pack and also at the back
  1. Paul Plested                            154            9pts                 5 wins
  2. Clive Warren                            93           11pts                 3 wins
  3. Martin Wittingham-Jones 77          28pts                1 win
  4. John Beech                               288         28pts                1 second
  5. Richard Walker                         52         28pts
  6. Frans King                                  59         32pts
  7. Paul Little                                    14         38pts

Recent Club Successes at RG65 Nationals and Full report for Saturday

RG65 Nationals

I am pleased to report that Graham Elliott gained another MYA RG65 Nationals title last weekend sailing a Brad Gibson designed Electronica. The event had strong competition including a number of French entries, although unfortunately winds were light all weekend coming from the cafe (one of the more difficult directions for Eastbourne).  Bill Culshaw was our other club entry who finished 8th in a field of 20 boats.  Full final results are available via the RG65 website here

Updated post for Saturdays IOM Racing

The post for Saturdays IOM racing has now been updated to include a report.  Click here to view it again, although it should be visible below this post!

IOM Summer 2024 #7 – 21/9/24

Round 7 of the IOM Summer series presented thirteen skippers with a tough race track in light variable mainly Easterly winds.

Visiting us for the day were Shaun Priestley (Fleetwood) and Rob Wilson (Lincoln) looking to fine tune their setups for the upcoming World Championships in Australia, as well as Darin Ballington (Lincoln) and Simon Pope (Market Bosworth).

PRO Dave Williams ably asisted by Clive Warren got racing underway at 1pm with Brad setting the tone with 3 straight wins in the fickle winds. Alan Bennett, John Brierley, Rob Wilson and Martin Roberts were finding form with consistent top placings with John taking races 4 and 5 before a break for tea was called in the fading conditions.

After the break Alan and Martin continued good form with a string of top 3 placings including a win for each in races 8 and 9 respectively. Shaun steadily built through the day, as did Simon with strong placings, while both Darin and Andrea Roberts had rare days where good starts faded to scores that deserved better.

In all it was a challenging days sailing that favoured those that minimised their worst scores and held on to better ones.

After 11 races and 2 discards, Brad took the win from Martin who enjoyed a welcome return to form and John Brierley rounded the podium.

Again a big thank you to Dave and Clive for keeping the day rolling on our behalf.

Our next IOM club race is on the 12th of October and the Strebor Open on the 2nd of November. All are invited to enter on the website and join us for some of the countries toughest racing.

  1. Brad Gibson                42         Birkenhead              Post PUNK   11pts
  2. Martin Roberts          46         Birkenhead              Viper             31pts
  3. John Brierley              84         Birkenhead               Venti            33pts
  4. Alan Bennett             180         Etherow/Bhead      Britpop!      34pts
  5. Robert Wilson            97         Lincoln                       Britpop!      40pts
  6. Rob McIntosh             12         Birkenhead                K2                 53pts
  7. Shaun Priestley          87         Fleetwood                 Britpop!      59pts
  8. Peter Baldwin             63         Birkenhead               Britpop!      61pts
  9. Simon Pope                  19         Market Bosworth   Britpop!      65pts
  10. Andrea Roberts        127         Birkenhead               Britpop!       66pts
  11. Darin Ballington       98         Lincoln                       BritPOP!      68pts
  12. John Berry                    12         Etherow/Bhead       Viper            95pts
  13. George Bennett          17         Etherow/Bhead       TS2              103pts

Thanks go to Clive Warren for the photos.  There are a few more in the Event Flikr  Album here

 

 

DF65/95 Social Racing 2024 – 18/9/24

DF65

The day started inauspiciously, with mist, leaden skies and little sign of breeze. By the time we arrived at the club, the skies remained dreary, but the breeze had started to fill in from the Southeast, and we found ourselves with consistent wind along the lake, allowing us to set a course from the far end start marks to the clubhouse end, with a gate at the two furthest marks at the end of the downwind leg. Rather than persuading someone to don the waders we left a fairly short start line that created challenges for many of us as we tried to time our approaches to the line without contact with other boats or the start marks. As Neil kept pointing out, this shouldn’t have been a problem as we are all good sailors.

We tried one race with the buoys closest to the clubhouse as the windward mark and spreader but, after howls of anguish went up as boats hit dead air as we approached them, the decision was made to use the two start marks at the clubhouse as a port-hand windward mark and a spreader. This allowed for some close, competitive and enjoyable racing. Each sailor acted as race officer in turn, giving us nine races in which positions changed regularly and in which many results were settled on the finish line. Our congratulations to John Carlin for his superbly consistent sailing and our thanks to Dave Williams, who turned up to open the clubhouse before returning home.

At the end of the nine races, the results were:

  1. John Carlin                  8.1*                      5 wins
  2. Neil Westbrook        15.5                         1 win
  3. Alan Watkinson       15.9                         1 win
  4. Clive Warren             25.9                         1 win
  5. Charles Legg             31.1
  6. Paul Little                  33.8
  7. Richard Walker       34.9
  8. Frans King                 49.6
  9. David White               52.6

*The decimal points are there because of the use of average ponts for races in which sailors acted as race officer

DF95

The numbers for the afternoon 95 racing, like the morning session, is still being affected by the “senior holiday season” even so 6 skippers rigged their boats. Unfortunately before getting his on the water Paul L had a phone call from home signalling the end of his fun for the day. So 5 skippers took to the water in very similar conditions as the morning although the 95’s seem to handle them better or was there a bit more wind and a few less holes to fall into? A rigs were perfect.
The same course as the morning was used, and with the limited numbers the starts were self regulated with the first home recording the results. 7 races were sailed of 1 lap each, with the final race extended to 2 laps.
It didn’t take long for our second casualty as Neil fell foul of an intermittent electrical problem during the first race, but managed to return for race 5. Although only 4 boats remained for the initial races,  the races were very competitive with extremely close all the way to the finish with the final positions, more often than not changing hands on the beat to the finish.
Neil’s return in the 5 race only added to the competitiveness, and after 8 races  4 of the 5 helms had bagged at least one first place. Success was all about picking the right wind shift to tack on or to bear away, with much ground to be gained or lost and if you hesitated more often than not you’d end up head to wind and floundering.
Final results after 8 races (2 discards)
1.    Clive Warren             9pts        3 wins
2.    Frans King                 14pts      2 wins
3.    Alan   Watkinson     17pts
4.    Richard Walker        19pts       1 win
5.    Neil Westbrook        20pts      2 wins
In Summary,  a very enjoyable afternoon spent in the sunshine with a tricky wind with a bunch of like minded friends. Unlucky for Neil, without his electrical problem Im  sure his result would have been a lot better. Well done to Clive for winning and to Frans showing some good boat speed.

DF95 Summer Series #6 = 24/9/24

With a few quality sailors away on holiday the top positions were up for grabs for the 11 who turned up to race under mainly blue skies, but with a challenging SW breeze coming from over the houses. The start was set for the clubhouse end, but with the early races having a beat, reach and a run on the first leg, we could easily have started at the other end!
The breeze was lighter before the break, with lots of dead patches. There were 5 different winners in this session. Paul P picked up two, with Alan, Neil, Clive and Ian also taking the chequered flag once each. Ian showed quick speed off the starts early on, and on another day he would have been away, but not today in the fluky winds.
In the afternoon the breeze, whilst still as challenging, was stronger. This seemed to favour Paul P who won all 5 he sailed in. Alan had a good day with another win and a string of 2nds and thirds. Clive also went well, but just lucked out on a couple of finishes. Ian may well have finished higher on the day if he hadn’t sat out a few races to take on some refreshment. Frans went well and was up towards the front in several races, just being pipped towards the end of the race, but still scoring 3rds, 4ths and 5ths on the day. Paul L also went well in a number of races, again with some good results around 3rd to 5th. Dave managed a 2nd and was very consistent with 6 5th places. John was also had a number of good starts, being up at the front early on several times, but losing out when the fleet came up from behind. Martin and Malcolm also had their moments both scoring a 4th each.
Whilst sailing needed concentration, being RO had it’s challenges as well with a number of close finishes, as boats came from behind with the wind. You could have thrown a net over the fleet at the finish of race 3!
A tough day, and whilst good to be racing, all were all glad when the last race was done and dusted. Thanks to Dave and Clive for the photos of proceedings and Malcolm for the full results sheet.