Wow what a day, good strong breeze from just North of West made for fantastic racing along the South Bank at Scotland farm.

19 competitors showed up but only 18 raced , we had a couple of welcome visitors racing and a few more on the banks watching the excitement , It was mixed feelings for skippers on which rig to use , A or B, Chris E 74 very quickly changed to the B rig as racing started and so missed the first race which was won by Darin 98 using his A rig , Peter C 110 got 2nd spot with a B rig and Pete with his new Venti on A rig got third .

Race two and it was quite clear the Chris E 74 had made the right decision to go with B as he won with ease the next three races, I say with ease, probably an overstatement but he was in clear control, out of eight races, Chris 74 and Darin 98 cleaned up on all the first positions, Leaving Tim 44 and Pete 95 to pick up the crumbs. Dave R 57 had his moments but it was not enough on the day. Breakages,,, yes there were a few ( but too few to mention) and by race four everybody had swopped to B rig, there were some coming’s together on the runs that I saw out of the corner of my eye, and I was sadly involved in one of them Mick 195 and that sadly told me it was time to call it a day, the culprit was Graveyard Gravesy and he blamed me, ( can you believe it ) ah well all’s fair in love and war. ( was my fault really I was blinded by how bright his boat looked !!!)

It was a fantastic mornings racing at the farm and thanks must go to Rob W 97 our OOD on the day and everybody who helped including Greg who did the scoring, Congratulations to Chris for his 1 point win over Darin, their by keeping the visitors at bay, but we do hope he comes again, A very well done to all competitors, for the spirit in which we raced, most of us can now go home and lick our wounds and get the boat sorted for the next round in two weeks time 21st November , the day after our AGM See you there .

More pics to follow middle of the week when we find out how to reduce them

Rain , what rain, Far too much for most skipper’s who just pulled the duvet up a little higher and enjoyed an extra hour or morning in bed.

For those that did turn up, 7 very hardy boys and girls , I am not sure if they were rewarded, scolded or just drenched to within an inch of their lives, and still they smiled, its not the first time I have seen standing water on the banks, and I am thinking it may add a couple of inches to the lake come next week .

Anyway on to the sailing, Both OOD’s turned up for their duties making 9 off us in total ,, well done Roger and Peter our OOD’s and a quick course was set on the South bank with two long beats and a run, B suits were selected for the first three races, and it was about right, except for a large very fluky 25 yard patch near the weather mark that caused lots of problems for all skippers, I did hear someone say the sun was due to come out very soon, personally I did not wait and was loading my DF 65 into the car ready for a swift retreat home, I was not the first Adrian had already departed, so after three races where we had both had a win, we left the scene of the crime.

I believe , although no evidence, that the fleet changed up to A rig after race three and have to say the rain came harder but the wind abated, it was really a battle between Jen , Pete and Dave, Jen winning the battle of first places with three wins, but could not quite match the consistency of Pete who won the day by one point, from Jen with Dave 2 points adrift, and also well done to Pete Webster and Alan Edgar for sticking it out. It was an awful day so don’t let anybody tell you different,,,, just have a look at the 6 metre Nationals in Norwich report , if you need confirmation.

Well done the race team who for the first time scored the finishing from the protection of the club house to keep scoresheet dry, and every body who got the show on the road , congrats to Pete for winning round one and I am sure he will face tough competition in future rounds of this exciting class.

Nice day and despite the absence of club skippers for one reason or another a good turnout ensued with a fine display of visitors.

Lincoln welcomed five visitors to a blustery but fine morning for Round Two of the IOM Winter Series.

Chris Graves got straight into his stride taking a win in round one, Pete Walters with his new Venti taking the following two races, with Chris Elliott and Dave Rigby sharing the rest of the first spots. Racing was very competitive throughout the fleet.

Adrian Cripps, our race officer for the morning was helped by Peter Walters and Keith Holmes, and we were set a typical Pete Walters’ course which had to be shown on a course board, but gave us two good beats, a broad reach and a run. There were several calls during the racing “where are we going next?”.

Before morning coffee, A rigs were getting an airing, but Geoff Farrar having lost a shroud broke his mast. During the break about a third of skippers changed down to B suit and didn’t really miss out against those still on A. The wind proofed very tricky with many shifts.

Thanks must also go to our scorers and helpers who helped with the equipment.

J H

Don’t forget round three 0f this great series , which is on the 7th November

Finally the weathermen and women got the prediction right, it was a miserable day,with drizzle all morning, but the racing was yet again second to none. Everybody mucked in to get the course sorted and bouys moved so we could race on the favored East Bank and with the South westerly around 8 knots it was perfect.Mick Ch 46 having changed just about everything at the recent Nationals, except the winch, had a winch problem and missed the first two races changing it.

Dave D 32 got off to a flyer in the first race and it was clear he was going to give Keith H 39 a run for his money, Keith got the second place, and in the following race the fortunes were reversed, Mick C 53 showed well in race one with a third, both hands on the tranny in this one, Mike W 76 got the third in race two.

It really was a battle up front but but Jen H 69 was pushing the boys hard and kept in touch with a couple of thirds, also showing well was Peter C 110 who had some great results over the middle part of the session, Mick C 46 thought the tide had turned in race 5 when he got the win, and another in race 8 but on the day he was just not consistant enough to feature in the final standing , unlike Keith and Dave who continued to put down great results apart from race 6 and 7 when Dave D also appeard to have problems.

Billy Mac 452 on a rare visit ( he moved to Cambridge ) showed well , but we all need just a bit more consistancy to get anywhere near the top three, it could have been closer, but at the end of the day Keith took the honours, and with the win last week in the IOM’s he is the boy to beat at Lincoln

Congratulations to Keith , for the win and all the skippers for keeping going to the end, the drizzle never for once dampened our spirit, and we all vowed to do better next time , Thanks also to all the helpers getting board out and dingy in and out, and also to ED who turned out wityh the dog to help with the scoring .