# IOM round 6 Race Report Sunday 21st December 2025, By Paul Kelly

In a bold display of optimism, helms managed a ten-race series on the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year. Fortunately, IOM racing moves at a blistering pace. 

A few regular faces were notably absent – whether they were caught up in last-minute Christmas shopping or had opted to celebrate the solstice at Stonehenge instead remains a mystery. However, a strong fleet of 14 helms turned out, all bidding for victory.

Despite the unpromising conditions during the journey to the club, with rain lashing windscreens and spirits dampening en route, the weather gods smiled upon Lincoln once racing commenced. The rain held off throughout the day, allowing all ten races to be completed in dry conditions – a welcome reprieve that was no doubt appreciated by skippers. The wind was light, rarely exceeding 5 kts, so A rig was the order of the day.

Special thanks go to Darin Ballington and Pete Walters for their efforts in setting up the course & equipment before racing, ensuring everything was ready for a prompt 10 am start.

Pete Walters (Venti sail #65) dominated the day’s racing, claiming victory with an impressive 12.0 points from the ten races (with two discards). His consistency was remarkable, highlighted by him taking 5 race wins and when utilising his discards not counting any race outside the top three across the day. This masterclass in consistency saw him take the top spot with a comfortable margin.

Tim Hand (Britpop sail #134) secured second place overall with 19.0 points. Tim showed strong form with two victory’s and demonstrated excellent consistency throughout the fleet. Hand has qualified for the World Championships at Datchet next year, demonstrating the high calibre of competition at Lincoln.

Roger Crates completed the podium in third position, also sailing a Venti (sail #30), finishing on 20.0 points. Crates opened strongly with a commanding win in race 1 and maintained solid positions throughout, proving the Venti hull’s competitiveness in the conditions.

Darin Ballington (Pikanto sail #98) finished fourth with 27.0 points. Like Hand, Ballington has also secured his place at the Datchet World Championships, underlining the quality of racing at Lincoln where world-class sailors regularly compete.

Mick Chamberlain rounded out the top five with 29.0 points in his Venti (sail #46). Chamberlain showed flashes of brilliance with a race win in race 7.

Chris Elliott (Britpop sail #74) finished sixth on 47.0 points after a challenging day that included some higher-placed finishes. The battle intensified further down the fleet, with Martyn Aspinall, Mick Cooper, Paul Kelly, and Adrian Cripps all finishing within twenty points of each other.

The conditions clearly suited a variety of hull designs, with Venti, Britpop, and Pikanto hulls all featured prominently in the results, showcasing the competitive nature of IOM racing. The slightly older designs on show today were very much in the mix and not far off the leaders with the Vision and Robot of Peter and Ron both getting some excellent mid fleet results at times.

Grateful thanks go to everyone who helped pack away at the end of the day – many hands made light work, ensuring the club was left shipshape for the festive season.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Paul Kelly OOD

Another fine December morning, no rain forecast and not particularly cold, a decent breeze from the South, touch of West in it. The two Micks were there quite early to get things set up , including a repair on the outboard, well done Cooperman.

Racing was going to be on the east bank , and Micky Boy got in the dingy and retrieved some buoys from the South bank to get a course sorted as skippers arrived. It was looking like a good turnout, and our three newest members were there keen and early, Ron, Mike, and Malcolm, as well as others more seasoned racers like Rob and Martyn. Course set and briefing done it was time to go, Micky Boys morning started badly “Trust Me Badly ” forgot his mitt then put the boat on the water to see it sail to the far side of the lake into the gorse bushes , yes he forgot to turn it on, probably an age thing, so first race went off without him, It was won by Rob W 97 With Young Colin H 301 doing himself proud with a second spot. Race two and a bullet for Sam P 59 who improves with every week, and a very impressive third spot for Cooperman 39. The racing was two long beats , and then runs followed by a shorter beat to the finish, It was gusty at times and everybody stated out on the B rig, Malcom P 31 had a rush of blood to the head and changed to an A rig , not sure if he lasted the race but nice try, Great to see Alan Newman after a bit of a lay off, Mike H 22 was showing some nice touches , as was Richard J 699 who also managed the bullet in race 6 , he too has had a long lay off and we are sure to see more of him in future results.

Couple of impressive results stood out for me that Young Colin H will be well happy he has turned the corner and getting a third on the day, and the not so young Mick Cooper 39 who definitely was not a dingy sailor or the other one !!!! and he I am sure will smile when he see’s he finished mid fleet with a couple of top results at the end. Ron and Malcolm , don’t panic , it will come , it takes a bit of time.

Finally a little word when beating back up the lake on Port , and you guys who are running down to the gate on Starboard , think well ahead, I heard some nasty sounding cracks, make your intentions known early. A great morning racing with a great spirit , very well done to Rob for the win ,,, and how Micky boy regrets not turning his boat on in race one , but that’s it,, the less mistakes you make,,, tra la la la lee

Very nice turnout for the 5th in this well supported series. Weather man said rain would arrive around noon, but we were greeted with pretty good racing conditions, breeze probably lighter than forecast from the South East, but it did increase to give us some great racing , and so a course was set on the South bank, initially 1 and a half longish laps, but as the breeze increased we did an extra lap on a great beat and run course, Pete W and Colin H got there early as OOD’s and got things set up on what was to be a busy morning. 15 skippers came to the line and racing got under way at 10 am sharp. Pete W 65 obviously got a good nights sleep and started well, he took the first three bullets with consummate ease, and one was wondering how long he could keep this up. The racing at Lincoln is competitive to say the least, and battles were going on all through the fleet.

We had six different designs on show, the Venti was most prominent with 6 Boat’s next up the Brit Pop with 5 Boat’s we had a Sedici which was the fore runner of the Venti, we also had a 3D printed Alioth which goes very well and I hear that 2/3 are being made at the club, we also had what is probably the latest design , which incidentally won the Worlds down in Australia a couple years ago , but probably the oldest design racing was a Pikanto , ( Not sure how old ) which was sailed extremely well by Darin B into 4th place, Darin is one of the club members that has qualified for next years I.O.M Worlds that will be held in the UK in the early part of 2026, the boat he will be racing in that event is the very well tried and tested Brit Pop. But hey getting back to the racing , Keeping his powder dry was young Tim Hand, and Ex dingy racer of some note , as many in the club are ,, and in the first three races he was third each time , his worst results all morning, Tim is another Lincoln skipper who has qualified for the Worlds and was certainly on top form , and was taking no prisoners in the extremely competitive fleet, I could go on to mention a lot of good performances from skippers over the morning, and the racing was was held in a great manner , and I am sure everybody went home happy , even if a little wet as the rain came down with a hour to go. This has become an exciting series to be a part of, so well done Tim for taking the top step and being very consistent, something that is needed at the top level in most sports .

DF95 Winter Series 30 Nov 2025

Your OOD arrived down at Scotland Farm to find the sun shining and the temperature a balmy minus something with the wind direction indicating we would be sailing along the south bank, a course was set to include two beats with a dog leg in it. With 14 eager competitors including three new members (welcome all) racing began on the dot at 10am after a quick safety brief as the launch/landing platforms were somewhat slippy, many thanks to Mick C for putting down some salt. The races were quite short due to the wind being on the light side in the morning with a beat a run and a beat to the finish, however at fifteen minutes long we managed to get in five races before a tea break was called. Alas, Mick Cooper was forced to miss four of these due to a failed rudder servo, however having a spare was able to rejoin us after the break. In the morning all five races were won by either Martin A or Mick C showing the rest of us how its done. During the break the wind had come up slightly, so the decision was made to extend the length of the course with the addition of two extra marks (many thanks Martin A for his fine work in the rescue boat). We then managed another five races, with Martin A and Mick C again taking the bulk of the wins, only interrupted by Kevin E who took race number eight (well done Kevin). What was good to see was that the new members all showed great promise with improving results throughout the day, but it was Martin A and Mick C who showed the rest of us how it is done and well done to them both. Finally, many thanks from me, for all of the help given at the end of the day packing all of the equipment away.

Sam Parker (OOD)