Well well well , Wind direction North Westerly, wind speed 0 to 2knots , not a pleasant morning drifting around combined with a weed problem that we have not seen to this degree all this year, Sorry but I am sure you will all agree this mornings racing was a lottery, To be 20 yards in front and suddenly find yourself trapped by floaty weed and finally finish in 7th or 8th position, or to be last and find yourself winning!!!! I cannot do a write up on such an event because skill did not play any part. A few nice pictures from Mike W who did the scoring for us. and the results as you can see below, A day like this thankfully is rare, Last race was shortened . Well done Chris Elliott .

Wow , another fantastic day racing at Lincoln, after all the not so nice weather we have a chilly but sunny day with a great 10 knot breeze from the North West, this enable Greg and the race team to set a course along the South bank, helpers there were plenty, and a long beat and run was set the length of the lake probably 200 yards. Briefing and 11 skippers came gathered round to be told Covid info followed by the course   and instructions.

Got to  say and this is in the small print ” that whenever we get a breeze from the North West we can get some salad with the  tomatoes” and this was the case, It did appear however that most skippers encountered a race or two of frustration, For Mick C 46 it was the first two races, for Keith H 39 it was 6 and 10,  enough said, the racing despite this was fantastic, hugely competitive and everything that a series of races should be, Pete W 678 was out of the blocks in race one and two with a bullet and a 2nd with Keith H 39 doing the same but swopping positions, Race three Had Mick C 46 taking the win and the vastly improved Jen H 69 taking 2nd spot.

Race four had Keith taking his second win, With Mick Cooper 53 climbing and getting better race by race getting the 4th place he deserved. he had in fact crept in a 3rd in race two, Wind was pretty constant with a few 12-knot gust coming down, but A suit was always rig of the day. Race 6 and Alan N 438 got the win with a fantastic sail, but Greg C 64 was pushing hard and getting up to 4th place.

11 races completed in very good conditions, and it was tight at the top and the result could have been so different, what we need to try and strive for is a little more consistency in our races, easier said than done I hear you say, but practice practice practice, and again it was good to see skippers arriving early and doing just that.

Well done Mick C 46 for the narrowest of wins, and a very well done to all skippers for making this a great morning, both on and off the water.

Well done everybody

What a fantastic mornings racing, on a day when we should have been hosting the anual Clive Hand Memorial trophy, the weather gods shone on us, Fine weather a nice Easterly breeze around 10 knots, and some excellent course setting by Tim Hand. 14 skippers showed up keen to get started, I even noticed some practicing before racing started proper ” Nice” .

Racing was going to be on the South bank with three long beats and two runs, The weather marks being laid at the furthest they could be, and they did become an eyesight test for some one or to skippers, Shift’s there were plenty to catch even the best skippers and no two beats were the same, Rob Wilson sailing his trusted Brit Pop was into his stride at the get go and won the first race, with big Tim on the V10 not two yards behind, Race two saw Mick C swop his Boat with Mike W and both learned from the experience, one it takes time to learn a new boats handling traits , and two its very difficult getting a boat to perform when it is taking on at least a cup of water each beat. Boats swopped back and retrimmed the Sedici simply flew for the next two races, and with Jen Hand and the pink lady finding her feet, she had indeed took two seconds in races 2 and 3, bit of a story “hear”,

Mick C along with Tim H were called over at the start of race 5 Tim went back but Mick continued for half the beat before realising that he too had been over, Deaf as a post Mick then changed his hearing aid batteries before the next race. It was great to see that the whole fleet is getting better and better and some good peformancies were seen from Roger Bowtle with his Lintel and Greg Codling with the TNT ( new to sailing this year by the way ) , we all know how frustrating it is when your learning but keep up the good work, Mick Cooper was showng flashes of brilliance off the line but he just needs to calm himself on the downwind (Just relax) get that trim right and it will all come together, just remember you dont need to win every race, this is a series, concentrate on one race at a time. Peter Walters with the Slimtell showed also flashes of speed and brilliance getting a couple of seconds in race 4 and 5, Keith H with his new Sedici must have been pleased as he got better as the morning wore on, justa shame he was sailing the wrong boat in the last race and only found the error of his ways when he realized his boat would not turn at the gate,

Many thanks to Mike W who took over the scoring after race 4, and Tim H who set our course , it was all a bit frantic at times but all in all a fantastic mornings racing in superb conditions, one or two lessons to be learned here, My greatest thanks to Roger Bowtle who left home at 0630 hrs to repair our mower before racing started, I have to say the club has got some fantastic members and I am grateful for that and all they do for the club. Very well done to Rob Wilson BP 97 who took the overall win, and all who helped to some degree in making it all work.

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Write up from Alan Newman , many thanks Alan

Nine Skippers turned out for this ‘social racing’ event on a pleasant, if crisp sunny morning but what a ‘blow’ (windwise that is !) coming almost straight down the lake from the NNE road-end of the lake. Most skippers starting the event with C Rig and the Dragons performed brilliantly, Skips permitting !!

Volunteer OOD Jenny set a ziz-zag course from the club-house end of the lake, which gave good scope, separation for different approaches to the weather mark and a VERY lively run back towards the club-house end finish !

Although winds stayed strong throughout the morning they eased sufficiently midway allowing a change to B rigs and these great little boats continued to provide highly competitive racing for the remainder of the morning. Keith Holmes won, his domination of the event amply demonstrated by his 2 discards being a 3rd and 4th !!!. Oh to dream of having such racing skills as him or Pete W and OOD Jen H who both sailed consistently for well deserved 2nd and 3rd spots respectively. Further down the tables, racing was close but fun with the lake ‘behaving well’ and few skippers experiencing ‘dreaded weed’ although deploying the safety boat to retrieve a casualty from a distant buoy stirred things up slightly for a short time. Had you been close enough you would have heard the ‘editor’ of these notes cursing quietly when, approaching a tight close finish, his boat hit weed refusing to turn before travelling the wrong side of the line and thus losing a place!

Anyway, all in all a pleasant morning, thanks to Jenny as OOD, for the good sailing spirit and here’s to the next one !

(N.B The only minor issue of the day,( for which please excuse this gentle reminder) is the current need to maintain ‘covid social distancing’ during racing for which bank-side poles are placed. Please observe a 2-way traffic system round them staying waterside on first beat, and return on outside of bank poles. Thanks to all for the good humour when occasional reminders were needed. See you for the next Dragon event !!!

All Pictures many thanks Sue Brown , Currently in Loch Ness ,, beware the Monster