DF 95 Summer series Round one 14th April 2024
Report by Martyn
Martyn arrived to fill in for Mick as OOD (hope you are feeling better Mick), to find that early bird riser Richard had set most of the required equipment up requiring only the repositioning of the buoys to suit the moderate Westerly wind. We were blessed with a bright sunny day that warmed as the day progressed, but only 6 sailors! Definitely quality versus quantity though, as a highly competitive but friendly sailing session ensued.
Martyn got off to a great start with 3 wins before Mike and Colin H found winning form. Positions were changing all the time in the races though and every sailor enjoyed some glory time whilst heading the fleet. Alan sailed very well, but a win eluded him. Colin Toll was thrilled to deservedly win a race. Richard was experimenting with his rig settings. Some worked, some didn’t of course; he took one win but gained a reputation for pinching places on the finish line!
There were a number of rapid finishes with multiple boats vying to cross the line first and quite a few position changes on the final leg due to the changes in wind direction. Gusts of wind made the downwind leg entertaining in some races and guiding the boat to prevent submarining could add vital distance between competing boats before negotiating the gate and commencing the final long beating leg.
It was a great day, and came with a free sun tan. Everybody mucked in to help with the tidy up after 14 completed races and everybody notably took a turn on the start line. Martyn was the most consistent sailor taking the day with 19 points. Mike also sailed consistently, taking second spot with 29 points. Colin H was a little more erratic in his positions, but sailed very competitively and took third with 37 points. Then, Alan on 42 points, Richard on 43 and Colin Toll on 55. All the sailors went home with a smile on their faces having enjoyed a pretty-much perfect day sailed in the best of spirits (thanks for the wording, Colin!).
Martyn Aspinall
I.O.M Summer series Round one 7th April 2024
Storm Kathleen was not as bad in the East as it was in the West , but even so ten skippers showed up , and promptly, got their C rigs out of the car, it was reasonably warm, mainly sunny spells and if the rain stayed away ( which it did ) we were in for a treat , well nine of us anyway one skipper did not have a C rig , gave it a try with B and broke a shroud , game over. The racing as you can imagine was fast and it was a long beat and run course, but race officer Chris elected to do two races on the bounce and then have a ten minute break, ( looking at the age of some skippers this was definitely a good idea ) Mick C 46 got off to a great start winning the first , but then the V10 of Tim 44 got to grips with a superb showing and won the next five on the bounce, despite being troubled by a Knee problem. Chris E was doing well to keep up with Tim getting four second places before finally getting the bullet in race seven. Jen H 69 was having a decent day and towards the end bagged two bullets for herself, Colin H 20 was also going well and will be pleased with the progress he has made with the Pikanto, Dave R 57 was also doing Ok and only got pipped by one point by Martyn 9, Roger C 130 was sailing an unknown design, but despite his expertise the boat found it difficult in the wind and waves, Stuart who was also acting assistant OOD with Tim H , found it tough going with his Lintel. All in all it was a great day with ten races completed, and Tim H 44 in the V10 a clear winner, if you ask me personally tiredness set in after race one (Ha ha my excuse) but in truth it was a great days racing, competitive, yes perhaps a little to much at times .
Well done Tim, and all who helped out getting the stuff away .
DF 95 Winter Series 2023-24
Ok The Final round has been run and we do have a winner after a great Winter series , where at one time or another 22 skippers took part, I can see the upcoming Summer series will be hotly contested.
The final results as you can see are Micky boy on the top spot, very close in second spot was Martin, and in third was Tim, things could have been a little different if both Tim and Martyn had not missed two races, look at the scores of the top three , look how close they were, Colin and Jen in 4th and 5th also extremely close and Colin I am sure by doing every race gave himself the best chance. It could be a lot different for the upcoming Summer series that will be for sure, lets just hope that more of the 22 skippers who did take part , will come out to play.
DF 65 Winter series , round six and final round of the series.
Easter and do we need to learn from this , There was a time we did not race on the Easter weekend, I can now see why. Hey ho, 5 skippers showed on what looked like a foggy morning at the lake , but this all changed very quickly and by the time we started racing blue skies and sunshine came thru and with a breeze that continued to strengthen it was to be a great day for racing, we started on the East bank and did the first four races, all racing was with the A + rig and Alan who was our OOD struggled with maybe an intermittent radio fault which he struggle with until after the break and then called it a day. Mick C 46 sporting his 5 year old Icarex sails , looked as if he was going to be hard to beat and won the first two races, the third was won by Dave R 180 with Mick C in second and young Martyn getting another of his many thirds, in a close fought battle with Jen H 69. After the break we moved to the South Bank and the breeze had upped its game a little and from that moment Mick C 46 just appeared to have so much extra speed it was at time’ slightly embarrassing, and the only boat to beat Mick was 34 Kevin E , but wait a minute he was sailing a I.O.M , sorry forgot he brought the wrong boat , not I may say for the first time. But Kevin stayed and enjoyed trying different settings to try and get in trim for the first of the summer series next week, But in truth the old bugger Mick C was far too powerful on the day , There was a little secret if you believe in superstition, some do some don’t But whenever Micky boy goes racing he always wears the same Underpants ( blue and yellow in case your interested ) but last week the missu,s’ threw them out saying they were disgusting, so for todays racing he had a brand new pair not going to divulge the colour ( it may be bad luck ) but let me tell you they will soon get well worn . Another little snippet, Is that mick is digging a bit of a hole for a new Patio and it is hard work , so he asked all the racers today that he would give a roast lamb sandwich to any body who could come and help him plus copious amounts of red wine, but sadly no takers , Well done Mick C and well done to all who turned up to race on Easter Sunday .
Lincoln Radio Sailing Club 