Wow what a day and a great turnout, 15 skippers on the start line, over to you Martyn .

Welcome to the Tim and Mick show!

That doesn’t really do justice to the day’s events, but these guys took first and second place in 5 races out of the 8 sailed, and both ended up with single figure scores. Pretty amazing performances. They did have to work for their glory though.

Martyn was OOD for the day (ably assisted by Greg), and he arrived ‘early’ to find that Roger had unlocked, put the welcome sign out and generally ‘prepped’. Thank you Roger! The buoys needed a bit of moving around and swapping over to suit the South shore racing and to replace some grotty buoys with some cleaned ones. Thank you to the Wednesday workers for nice clean buoys and useable jetties, plus everything else that is generally taken for granted by many of us.

We enjoyed a pretty perfect light wind and a day where the early chill disappeared. The course was shortened after a long first race and the start line adjusted slightly, but other than that it was back to back racing with a short coffee break to keep everyone happy ….. and it was excellent sailing! The standard of the starts was equivalent to the TT racing competitions and everyone here should be considering entering the event at Lincoln in March. Those folk who got away at the start often maintained those positions, but there were wind shifts to read and decisions to make and therefore opportunities, as is usual. There was a friendly business like air to the day with people accepting penalties and taking their punishments without complaint. The upper mid-fleet was extremely competitive with 6 skippers of the 15 sailing ending the day with points in the 30’s, but with Peter C 101 heading the bunch and a few reflecting on what could have been with perhaps one better race result (Colin H! 301 ).

The day was wrapped up at 1pm on the dot and thanks go to many skippers for helping with the tidy up and for giving assistance throughout the day to Martyn 877 in his first OOD duty at the club. It’s also worth mentioning that every race was willingly line-judged by a different volunteering skipper which sums up the friendly nature of the day. Thank you all!

Martyn Aspinall

11th Feb. 2024

Absolutely first class racing and so if you are reading this , maybe an ex dingy racer and are thinking of a new challenge come take a look at radio racing, after a couple of goes’ you may not want to let the transmitter go. Great friendly but very competitive club on the outskirts of Lincoln .

Race report 4th February 2024 IOM Winter Series at Lincoln

Peter Cogill as OOD thanked Darin and Tim for setting the course buoys and then took charge on a breezy warmish Westerly day which showed lots of promise for some good racing ….. and lived up to it!

The day started with A rigs, but with some indicative gusts of what was to come. Darin showed the way round, taking the first win with Mick C behind him. Roger C was an early casualty with a rigging failure and was forced to use his B rig in race 2 which saw him at the front of the fleet in an increasing wind strength and only being edged out by Chris E and Darin B, with Chris taking the bullet.

There was a break after race 2 for a fleet-wide rig change, mainly to the B rig. Race 3 was pretty wild, demonstrated by 4 more rigging casualties and won by Darin, who went on to take wins for 5 of the 8 races that were completed. Chris got his second win on race 6 and Rob W took race 7. Many other sailors found themselves in good positions at various times, but the consistency of the top sailors and their ability to keep control of the boat downwind in some strong wind gusts counted a great deal on this spectacular day. There was much to be learned if we only had time to watch! The wind shifts also played an interesting part in the day’s proceedings.

So, at the end of the racing we had Darin well ahead in the top spot followed by Chris, Mick and Rob.

A great day with 12 tired, smiling sailors heading home. It’s surprising that there weren’t more here for the fun!

Martyn Aspinall

4th Feb. 2024

Just a couple of points re the score sheet Rob Wilson was sailing a Brit Pop not a Fraktal and Martyn Aspinall was sailing a Brit Pop not a shiraz , Tim had a few problems I believe rig wise and only did 4 out of the 8 races, The racing as Martyn said was fantastic and you needed to be there to get some adrenaline moving , this I am sure will be looked on as one of the great rounds of this Winter series.

Many thanks Martyn for the write Up . 

Race report 28th January 2024 DF65’s at Lincoln

Mike Williams as OD had the tricky job of setting the buoys and the course for a Southerly breeze blowing diagonally across the water. A zig-zag course was specified with 2 beats covering the full length of the South bank and a run from the upwind spreader mark back up to the top of the lake.

A+ sails were the order of the day with the 1½ lap course taking about 12 minutes in a good breeze that warmed during the day and occasionally gusted, causing some difficulties. The bank side was in a wind shadow which allowed judgement to be applied regarding how close to the bank one should sail and whether the available lifts were worthwhile.

Mick C showed his usual skill with the DF65, taking 4 of the 5 initial races before he had to leave for an engagement. He was hounded, mainly by Mike, Jen and Martyn en-route to his pole positions, but kept his cool and had to run the score sheet far more than he likes to! Mick’s absence from the last 3 races cost him the day as Martyn maintained a fairly consistent performance (apart from a weeded-up race) and got in front on final points count. Sorry Mick! Richard J found his form after a boat re-rig during the coffee break and took 3rd spot. It’s good to see Richard back after his Achilles tendon issues. Jen suffered a radio failure and took a long walk round the lake for her boat. There were no other serious issues.

It was a great sailing day, but only 7 skippers! Where are you folks? You are missing out on some really good competitive fun with these great little boats!

Many thanks to Mike for the setup and for guiding the day’s racing. Thanks to all for the group effort on the final tidy away. See you next week!

Martyn Aspinall

28th January 2024

Two reports for you all today

Lovely morning greeted 7 skippers only ( very small turnout ) Moderate breeze from the South East allowed A + rigs to be used on the South bank , Mike W kindly got the buoys out and a long beat and run course was set for the first two races before it was shortened to enable more races . The temperature was fine Sunny periods , and no rain. Unfortunately the assistant OOD did not turn up but we all mucked in, unfortunately the first fine of the 2024 season goes to Colin T .

The first 3 races were bullets for Mick C 46 with Martyn A 66 always in contention, in fact the third race, Mick C 46 nicked it with 12 inches to go to the finish, Race four Martyn got his just desserts by getting a good start and was never caught, around this time there were some comparison taken with skippers set ups , mainsail twist , where the booms should be , even jib twist was looked at, Jen H 69 then had a bit of a problem with the Radio , which after retrieving the boat from the far bank she sorted it during coffee break, Richard J 699 was not going too well , but a few adjustments and after coffee was going so much better and in fact took a couple of wins in the last three races, Peter C 110 got a very nice 2nd as did Jen H 69 , Mike W 76 had a couple of 2nds, A couple of skippers had to finish a little earlier than usual, and all in all it was a good mornings racing with a steady breeze, many thanks to all who helped out , and many congratulations to Martyn for the win which I am sure has him well in control of the series, Richard J 699 is recovering well from his Achilles, and is showing good form, A very nice day , just a bit short on skippers .

Mick C

A Grand Day Out.

Events in January are always at the mercy of the weather and coming into the 2nd Round of the Midland District IOM Winter Series it looked this may become a victim. The days preceding had seen below zero temperatures and biting Northerly breeze, to be followed by Storm Isha, offering 50mph gusts so it was with some relief when RO Darin Ballington was called on Saturday to say the lake was sailable, and then absolute delight when on arrival the competitors were met by a high single digital temperature and good top suit breeze straight down the lake. If it were not for dry January, you could call this champagne sailing at Lincoln Radio Sailing Club!

Although the fleet was smaller than usual; the weather and an unfortunate clash with other events probably robbing us of probably 10 skippers, those who turned up were treated to a fantastic day of tight competitive racing. The windward/leeward course was long enough to give everyone chance to shine, and with the odd tweak during the day the racing stayed fun and challenging for all, but it was obvious in the morning that Dorian had got his “game head” on and was going to be difficult to beat, although he probably didn’t think this as he was entangled with another boat on the start of race one.

Race one was won by Graham Whalley, coming out of the traps early and having his boat trimmed just right for the conditions he hit the sweet spot. A couple of competitors were hampered by their trust in the forecasters and the lack of A rigs in their cars. Lessons learned; I am sure.

The morning continued to be tough for those with their B rig on, however, by race 5 & 6 all competitors were equal as the breeze was now such that the gusts were flattening the large rigs too often and everyone had opted for their B Rig. Those who started on B, Tim Hand and Kevin Evison were now more competitive and earlier B rig adopter, Simon Richardson was showing the benefits of being in control, with a fine 3rd place. The front positions were tight all through the day with often 2,3,or 4 skippers crossing the line almost together. Dorian Crease was showing the consistency that would eventually pay dividends by recording three bullets and a 2nd in the first 6 races. Sailing his new boat, he was always fast and usually in the right place, mixing it well with the locals…

After lunch the wind (it was now wind, not breeze) had built to such an extent that C Rigs were put on by all the fleet, for some this was the first time these had been on, for others the cobwebs had to be brushed off, but it’s a testament to the quality of the fleet and preparation that we started and finished with the same number of skippers despite the strong gusts. After lunch the fight continued between Chris Elliott, Tim, Dorian, and Rob Wilson, with Rob showing more consistency to start to peg back Dorian, although from race 12 onwards Dorian pulled away again to take the day.

Tracey Ballington had one of her best days, with 4 third places to give her a well-deserved 5th place overall. The only competitor not yet mentioned is Mike Williams, who despite a few rig issues fought the wind and other skippers manfully, recording a fine 4th place in race 15.

With the light fading and the gusts strengthening the end of racing was called at 3.30pm and everyone was on their way home by 4.15pm.

At the prize giving everyone thanked the race team for a superb day’s racing, with Sam Parker, Colin Helliwell and Richard Jutsum doing sterling work to keep the racing competitive and fun.

Thanks guys.

Although the numbers don’t tell everything the race wins were:

Dorian – 9No

Rob – 4No

Tim – 2No

Graham – 1No

Sailing Images below and score sheet provided.