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DF Winter series round one 13th October 2019

October 13, 2019 3:26 PM / Leave a comment

Wet !!!!! Wet !!!!! Wet !!!!! , that was the forecast and for once they got it right. It did not stop raining at all, but 9 skippers came out to play and in the very light 2/4 knots breeze we got some good racing in on the East bank.

The First race was one by Goeff S 80 A fantastic start and he led from start to finish, well done Geoff.

There was plenty of very tight racing throughout the fleet and all races were completed without a single retirement, Well done to Alan and Pete for doing the OOD duties, and of course many thanks to all skippers for making it a pleasant ( apart from the rain ) Morning and for helping put everything away at the finish. Not sure when the next DF 65 tuning session is check the calendar. But I will say just ask if you want your boat looked at before you start racing to ensure it has the best possible trim for the conditions.

If there was a skipper of the day it would have to be Geoff S 80 only been sailing a year and now firmly off the bottom of the results Well done .

Some great DF 65 racing near you , in this case Manor park 2018

I.O.M Winter series round one 6th October 2019

October 6, 2019 3:50 PM / Leave a comment

Seven hardened veteran’s turned up for what was supposed to be wet & breezy morning. The forecast was anything but wet and wind varying from south easterly to almost north westerly. Overall a lovely morning with clean and competitive racing and plenty of advice given to encourage those bringing up the rear of the fleet( we’ve all been there ) a joy to be apart of this friendly club. Enough said, down to the racing:-

Race 1.

Along east bank with south, south westerly breezed about 8-9 mph. A rig weather for all.

A close tight start could have put any boat in contention, but beating up to the windward mark sore those boats that tacked off early gain an advantage so Mick led off closely followed by Jen then myself, rounding the first mark saw the placing unchanged only Mick’s lead increasing each lap. the boats following having there own battles Gordon and Graham then Alan and Geoff the Finish as laid out as above.

Race 2

The same course and wind speed still no rain hurray…

After some close jostling another clean start again with Adrian coming into the start slightly behind the rest but tacking off early meant that he gained ground putting him in 1st place rounding the windward mark followed by close racing from Gordon and Mick then places being fought by Jen and Graham, the down wind leg started showing some variable wind speeds and direction and jostling of positions with first 3 places unchanged Jen managed to take 4th from Graham.

Race 3

The start saw Mick and Jen gifting positions on the start line as an entanglement and subsequent retirements with technical issues ( or did they need a rest ? ) let the rest of the field have a play, with Gordon, Graham & Adrian setting the pace to the windward mark, close racing ensued round the course with Adrian managing to take the win on the last leg followed by Gordon then Graham and Alan and Geoff gaining valuable placings.

Race 4

Wind speed increasing slightly and direction becoming more westerly meant additional mark’s were added to the course to allow for better beats to be achieved.

Out of the blocks this time came Adrian followed by Jen and Mick yet another clean start by all, positions remaining the same until lap 2 when Adrian made a tactical error allowing Jen to gain valuable ground and gaining 1st place which she held onto to the finish, experience putting the young pretender in his place ha ha…. Graham having a good battle with Gordon around the course managing to take 4th place.

Tea break and time to re think strategies (if there were any to start with) were thwarted by a total course change now along the south bank as the wind change had become more consistently from a north westerly direction. The wind strength had also increased slightly and it was intimated that a possible B set of sails could be called upon, but all sailors chose to defer at this point in time ( wise choice as it happens ).

Race 5

Mick now getting his mojo back hit the front flying with Jen & Graham on his heels this remained the case until the final upwind leg when Graham stalled while tacking allowing Adrian through to be in the hunt for a chase to the finish with Jen which he took in the final stages to cross the line in second behind Mick and only 1/2 boat length over Jen.

Race 6

This time saw Gordon off with a flying start followed by Adrian & Graham. Mick ,Jen, Alan and Geoff in hot pursuit which became follow my leader until the last beat when Graham became entangled with a back marker loosing valuable ground allowing Adrian to pass by. and with Adrian taking a narrower angle to the finish line also 1st place with Gordon a close second. Mick also taking advantage of Graham’s misfortune taking 3rd place.

Race 7

This race saw some variable wind speeds and slight wind direction causing the downwind leg a little tricky in as much as boom on port or starboard? This race proved to be yet another walk in the park for Mick this time followed by Gordon and Jen

Race 8

Again a good start with Mick leading the way round followed by Jen and Adrian with Gordon and Graham battling it out for fourth and fifth places Graham taking the spoils on this occasion.

A most enjoyable day was had by all made even better by a the fact the rain didn’t materialise. Nobody mentioned any weed I wonder why ?? another fantastic racing day missed by many and enjoyed by a few !!!!!

Thanks to race officers and those that helped in all area’s

results below . 1-0 to the Sedici’s

Race report very kindly donated by Adrian.

And also a big thanks to Geoff for rewiring the outboard for us .

DF 65 Summer series Round 7 & final Round

September 29, 2019 4:31 PM / Leave a comment

8 skippers , and a whole lot more looked at the weather forecast and said ” no thanks ”

They missed a great mornings racing the rain stopped at 0945 and the sun cam out it was warm and the breeze was stright down the lake, around 8/10 knots if that allowing A + rigs to be used. The racing was closer than it looked on the score sheet and some very good tussles up and down the fleet , We had a shower in race 6 nobody got wet , but we had to wait till race 8 before Mick Chamberlain got knocked off his perch and Jen had a fine win. The start as allways was paramount and if you got the start right, you were away, Results below .

Interesting we had two new members join the club today and I will introduce them fully to you in the news .

When racing stopped we had ten minutes and then the heavans opened and most of us got soaked but it was a great mornings sailing and true in every respect to what the websites weather forecast promised .

DF 65’s racing

DF 95 Summer series round seven , & final round 22nd Sepember 2019

September 22, 2019 2:45 PM / Leave a comment

Overcast day 1/2 knots of breeze from the North East,, rain on and off,, frustrating it was and plenty, Alan the OOD opted for sailing on the South bank, first time there for many months. Because the breeze was so light and at times none at all we only did one lap , two beats and a run , we managed to get in 8 races and Gordon got off to a flyer winning the first two races. A win for Mick Ch in the next before Keith got into his lightwind stride with four straight bullets, and then the final race had Gordon just pipping Keith for the win, I am thinking that many of you will be asking about weed , and well you may ( light wind sailing on the South bank ) I think I shall speak for all skippers when I say it was apart from two incidents weed free , one was Gordon and one was me. Remarkable yes, Gotta thank all the guys who picked up a rake before racing and cleared a load from the East bank that would in time have gone back out in the lake at a slight wind change. Nuff said on that, except to say when you help out with a rake it is much apreciated. So Keith was the master of the light stuff today so well done to him, Stand out skipper was Gordon Bennett, with Alan Newman doing better than I have seen him do for a while.

Winter series start in October and for those of you who thought it was I.O.M’s next week , sorry it is DF 65’s dont ask why cos I dunno .

Winner today was keith Holmes

Lincoln Radio Sailing Club