DF65 race report for 26th April 2026

Our eight DF65 sailors were greeted with a light SSE breeze and a bright sunny day that gradually warmed up. Mike W was the first there and had begun the setup when the duty crew, Jen and Martyn arrived. Ron soon arrived, and he and Martyn sorted out the course buoys whilst Jen sorted out the gear with some assistance. Several boats were very quickly on the water practicing as the others arrived.

A long beat was set down the South bank with a spreader mark and a downwind gate. The finish line area was frequently subject to very challenging winds.

Mike H took the first race from Sam after some great battling involving several competitors and this set the scene for most of the races to play out. The wind was very shifty and variable in strength and the approach to the finish line was an intense experience with some positional changes and frequent rapid finishing of the first few boats.

Ten races were completed with the first five boats of the day all taking wins and mainly sharing the first five positions in each race. There were also only five points between the first five boats, with countback needing to be applied twice. Yes, it was close! However, it was Martyn who took first spot with four race wins, followed by Kevin then Mike H with two race wins each, and Sam then Jen, each with one race win. Mike W, Ron and our visitor Pete Grimes completed our happy team who all had a great day and enjoyed some great racing.

Thank you to everyone for the great spirit in which the racing was conducted and for a great group effort in tidying away our equipment.

Martyn Aspinall

26 April 2026