Walters Takes the Final Round as New Boy Webb Gives Him a Scare!
The final round of the DF65 Summer Series was held today at Lincoln Model Yacht Club, with nine skippers taking to the water for ten races in the final showdown of the summer.
And what a finale it was!
A + rigs were the order of the day, except for Pete and Paul who both opted for A rigs. Pete quickly changed to A + during the break, with Paul sticking to A.
With the racing proving extremely competitive at the sharp end, Pete Walters eventually came out on top with a score of 20 points, but he certainly wasn’t allowed to have things all his own way.
Taking an excellent second place was new member Neil Webb, who clearly decided that the best way to introduce himself to the club was to immediately start beating most of the established fleet!
And there’s a little more to Neil’s performance than just turning up and sailing well. This was Neil’s first ever sail in his new DF65, having only just bought the boat. In fact, he had spent most of yesterday setting up his rigs and getting the boat ready for today’s event.
So, after a few hours of rig tweaking yesterday, Neil arrived at Lincoln today, launched a boat he’d never sailed before and promptly finished second overall!
Clearly there’s a lesson here somewhere — perhaps the rest of us have been spending far too much time practising.
Neil adapted to the Lincoln conditions extremely well, producing a remarkably consistent set of results and finishing just two points behind Pete. Not a bad way to announce yourself as a new member!
The Battle at the Front
Pete Walters produced an excellent performance, with three race wins helping him secure the overall victory. His score of 20 points was enough to keep Neil at bay, although Neil’s consistency kept the pressure on right to the end.
Rob Wilson wasn’t far behind either, finishing third on 23 points, meaning just three points separated the top three. With margins that tight, there was little room for a bad start, a missed wind shift — or blaming the boat!
Jen Hand put together another strong performance to finish fourth on 27 points, while Sam Parker, Martyn Aspinall and Mick Chamberlain were involved in their own battles throughout the fleet, with only four points separating fifth from seventh.
Meanwhile… at the Back!
Paul Kelly the OOD for the day, sailing No. 232, finished eighth overall on 41 points. It was a day of “nearlys” for Paul, with plenty of decent results mixed in with a few that were perhaps best left on the bank.
By race Race 8, the choice of sticking with the A rig was beginning to pay with the slightly fresher breeze, managing a second place, followed up with a third in Race 9.
Peter Cogill, visiting from Rotherham, completed the fleet in ninth, although his 69-point score doesn’t really tell the whole story of the racing, with some very close battles taking place throughout the day.
We also had a visitor named Trevor and he tried Paul’s boat during race 4, hopefully another convert to the joys of our sport.
A Great Finish to the Summer Series
The final event provided a fitting end to the DF65 Summer Series, with some excellent racing and plenty of close competition.
Congratulations to Pete Walters on taking the final event win, and a special mention to Neil Webb on an outstanding first event as a new member.
If Neil can do that with a boat he’s never sailed before, the rest of the fleet might want to start keeping a slightly closer eye on him!
Thanks to everyone who took part, and for helping making packing away nice and simple.
Well sailed, everyone!
