What a great day for racing, mainly sunshine great breeze that increased during the morning, but remained a top suit kind of day.

Skipper were arriving early to get the set up and sort the trim for the conditions as best they could, the bank looked crowded, and so it was with 16 skippers, sailing a variety of designs, and all as keen as mustard to do well. We need to thank Malcolm who did our starting ( as his boat was not quite ready to hit the water this week, we also need to thank Darin and other’s for sorting out the race course and getting buoys moved with the trusted Dingy. We got started 10 minutes early , as all were present, and with 16 on the start line you needed your wits about you, mainly because no favours would be asked, and for sure none would be given , It was a good beat and run course with three great beats, Pete W 65 managed a great start although chased hard by Tim H 134 in the Brit Pop and Roger C 30 with his very quick Venti, who I am told went for the wrong finish after getting ahead by some margin.

Battles were going on all through the fleet, and with a good long course all was not lost if you messed up somewhere, the racing must have been a joy to watch, and the beats could become a little fluky but certainly not lacking in breeze. Race two had Darin 98 take the bullet, with Micky boy 46 getting a well deserved 2nd spot, Roger C was keeping his powder dry with another 3rd spot.

Rob W 97 was having winch problems and Paul K 44 obviously had an A rig problem which put him out for a couple of races, he eventually cam back with a B rig and was a little under powered but this would change as the breeze gradually increased during the morning and in race 7 managed to nab a second place. Young Tracy 49 was having a fine battle with Jen 69 just winning the battle of the ladies, and \I have to say sailing better than I have seen her sail in a while , but to be faire she does have a great Mentor ( her Husband ). Mike H 27 and Ron A 175 who are fairly new to the sport are improving steadily which is great to see, and Richard J 89 is just not getting the best out of his Viss , but don’t Panic Richard it will come good. Mick Cooper was also going well and gave a few people some a run for there money on more than one occasion with his Venti.

By race 5 Darin had got his act together with five straight wins, Tim H was going well , but probably not as well as he knows he can, but interestingly the, the top two Darin and Tim, are the Lincoln clubs skippers who have qualified for the forthcoming worlds that will be held in May way down south in Datchet water, and they were only split on countback ,, third spot went to Roger ,only one point adrift. I have got to say that this club racing at Lincoln is second to none and certainly the place to be for competitive I.O.M racing, everybody I am sure went home with a smile on their face, just one thing to add thanks to all for helping put the gear away, and we hope to see you all in two weeks time for our extended day Pop up event .

I.O.M MDWS Round 4 @ L.R.S.C Pop up Event. Incorporating Lincoln Winter series’ Round 10.

Rain I’ve never seen rain like it , Well I have actually, but it did not dampen the spirits of the 20 odd skippers who showed up for a great day of I.O.M racing, Tea ern on and boiling for a welcome cuppa on arrival , the race team on the go getting everything sorted, and ready to race at 10 am sharp. We were running two fleets under normal HMS with 4 up/down prom/demo etc. Racing started on the East banks with a great top suit breeze say 70% even if it was not quite the direction we would have liked. it was fine . The two seeding races got under way and were won by Peter Stollery and Josh King, interestingly, both of these skippers have been selected to represent the UK in the upcoming World I.O.M championships in May as have others in this very hot fleet of skippers, in fact 5 skippers in total.

There were a variety of designs 9 different in the 23 on show racing today ,9 Brit Pops and one Pop ,( a derivative I am told ) 6 Venti’s , among other’s and skipper’s from as far afield as Birkenhead ,9 The home of radio Racing I was told ) Fleetwood , Cambridge and Suffolk and somewhere else ,way down south. A short break to sort the fleets out and away we went with B fleet away first, The system that works out how we can score all the boats as one fleet is a little complicated but does the job really well on the laptop into the results you see below, Race two and three were won by local lad Tim Hand, 134 with Martin R 22 keeping close and taking the second spot after a slow start in the first race. It looked as though the Brit PoP’s in very capable hands were going to be asking all the questions on the day. The Breeze stayed steady and the bank became very slippery ( Non stop rain ) for the first few races, but gradually the breeze backed enough and we were all transferred to the South bank for the remainder of the day, the rain also got lighter and eventually stopped, it was in fact much dryer under foot, Racing was moving at a good pace and the fleet board crew were doing an excellent job keeping it moving. A short Lunch break was had with Micky Boy sharing out his cake, yes he was 80 , he is not sure how he got to that age but he did, also to be mentioned we had a young skipper who is just starting out young Hayden W 154 , he is 12 years old and definitely the future ,,sailing well above his young years.

It was a battle royal between the top half dozen skipper’s all fighting tooth and nail for every point , but at the end of the day it was Martin R 22 with his Brit Pop that took the win with a good margin from Tim H 134 and Peter Stollery 391 taking third position, so we had 2 past World Champions in the top three , some fantastic racing in a great spirit. Well done to all and thanks for coming to Lincoln, it would not have been possible without Jen Hand and all her willing helpers , and you all know who you are, Jen , Penelope, Ron , Mick , and of Course Tim H , OOD, and the guys and Gals who tore around in the dingy sorting the course Darin, Tracy , and separating boats where necessary. Brilliant day well done all.

And well done Lincoln for sorting this great series out, and all the clubs that supported it.

Just a very quick reminder for everybody, that this very exciting I.O.M racing is coming up on Sunday 15th February at Scotland Farm . I have just checked the entry and I could be mistaken, but we have 3/4 ex World champions entered , plus a good contingent that will be entered for the worlds down at Datchet in May ,,, not only that but it is Micky Boys big birthday , yep he is 80 , not sure how he got there but he made it . There will only be a small cake, so first come first served . We have a great entry so far, but room for one or two more, so if you fancy racing amongst the best in the country get you entry in asap Here so the organisers can sort the planning.. If the link don’t work its on the events page of the MYA. Hope to see you all there.

Cracking day at the lake, 11 skippers out including 1 visitor Chris , a bit dark and murky at 0830 wen both Mick’s arrived to get it all set up, breeze was kind of South East around 9 am and so the South bank was chosen, although as the morning wore on the breeze did veer, making it a little one sided , but as someone said it’s the same for all, so we stuck with it rather than move loads’ buoys to the East Bank ( Both OOD’s are hitting old age ) , The day seemed to brighten up as well so that was nice. Sam P 59 was looking serious before the start , and meant business, he took the first race in style, but Mike H 22 was snapping at his heels and took second spot, we had a few away today, playing with the big boys ( and Girls ) up in Southport, Paul K 19 took the second race and it was all very tight , the first beat was a little short but seemed to work well even though there really was only one place to start and good money swopped hands to get prime position, Kev E 02 was going well and secured 2nd spot , but Sam was keeping his powder dry , ( for now ) Micky Boy 46 then went on a charge securing three bullets on the trot, the wind had increased a couple of knots , but it was still A rig all the way, with a short beat and run followed by a long beat and long run, before a final long beat to the finish. It was nice to see Mike , Ron and Malcolm getting to grips with the boats , remember they have not been at this game for to long, and as we all know it takes time , and a fair bit of patient’s Colin H 301 was going ok but by hiis own admission silly mistake’s were not helping, The racing was very good and the top three places shared all the wins , 3 a piece apart from race 9 where a big grin spread across a face I know well, but at the end of the day Sam P took the top step by 1 point with Paul and Mick only being separated on count back. A great morning of racing, showing that the class is healthy at Lincoln.

Many thank to all for helping put the gear away, and we look forward to seeing you all next time out .