A fine day greeted the 26 competitors for the 2016 Clive Hand Memorial Trophy , not to much breeze maybe 5to 10 knots by the sky was clear and although a hint of a shower, we all stayed dry. Bacon Butties were the order of the day from 8am, along with Normans tea and coffee stand doing brisk business. Phil Harpham was Race Officer and did a superb job when you consider it was his first time, he was assisted by son Joe and two young ladies Jackie and Jill did the finishing line and scoring, so a massive thanks to all of them ,,  so on to the racing, there was always enough breeze to keep the boats moving and the beat was very tricky with some quite big shifts that lay in wait for the inexperienced and experienced alike, It wasn’t the only thing that caught skippers out,, but we will not go into that as it seemed to even itself out throughout the fleet, frustrating as it was . The two seeding races were won by Don Charlesworth and Nigel Brown ( Britpop and V9 ) Last years winner John Tushingham unfortunately had a multitude of problems in the first three/four  races with Radio and green stuff and so was always playing catchup, It was interesting that the top three only had one win each. also interesting was that the Lincoln club had 6 members in the top ten. At the end of the day Dave Thomas 41 sailing his new secondhand V9 for the first time was the most consistent to take the Trophy from Graham Allen and John Tushingham full results below , and pictures will be updated on this post as they come in. We also believe a large amount was raised for the R.N.L.I from competitors and visitors so thank you all so much. We also hope you had a pleasant days racing and look forward to seeing you all again soon. Congratulations to Dave Thomas .

Winner Dave Thomas with Jen Hand

  Sue Brown very kindly did the pictures for us many thanks Sue it is much appreciated

https://www.flickr.com/gp/catsails/429S30

Graham Allen 2nd place

John Tushingham 3rd place

mick

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Get your entries in early if you want to race in this prestigious event , entry is via the M.Y.A site .

Tea and coffee will be available during the morning , with the now famous bacon butties available for those who arrive early, cooking will stop at 0930 . Briefing 0945 , Racing starts at 10 am .

ROB WALSH NATIONAL CHAMPION on the right .

Lincoln Model Yacht Club recently held the I.O.M Nationals at Scotland Farm , below is a brief report , Pictures will follow in due course

Congratulations to Rob Walsh on beating a fleet of 79 other skippers to be crowned 2015 MYA IOM National Champion. Following on from his 2nd place at the recent RA Nationals he managed to squeeze out Zvonko Jelacic and Brad Gibson by the smallest of margins.

Well Done Rob.

Yet again these 3 skippers were the pick of the fleet mastering the tricky conditions over the 3 days of competition.

Graham Elliott came in 4th (and winner of the Novice (?) Cup) with Lincoln MYC Club member Darin Ballington in 5th being the highest placed local skipper, although the winners always get the mention at prize giving time there was plenty of tight racing throughout the fleet with skippers fighting to get out of their initial heat or stay in the heat that they were in. This was all within easy viewing of all competitors whether sat near their cars or in the food marquee erected for the event, something which no doubt gave the event is friendly relaxed feel.

Day 3 saw the now “traditional” final day downpour with non stop rain from dawn until close of racing, with just a short interlude for the prize giving! However the breeze was higher than Day 2 allowing racing to continue all day with only minor delays. The general skipper behavior was excellent and although Protest Chairman Robert Owens was kept busy there was only one protest delaying racing for the shortest of times and most penalties being taken on the water.

It is testament to the quality of the UK Nationals that not too long ago there was a distinct band of skippers who filled the A heat, with the rest striving to catch them, but over this weekend this group of skippers now covers A, B and some of C heat, with those lower down pushing to join them. This can only be good for skippers and our sport as they return to their clubs with new found confidence and a few tricks and tips learnt from the very best in Radio Sailing. (Dont forget to ask those returning to your club what they learnt!)

The host club Lincoln MYC lead by Mick Chamberlain put in a massive effort to transform their “lake in a field” into a venue suitable to host a national championship and all the skippers roundly applauded the club and helpers at the prize giving thanking them for their time to allow others to going sailing, without these volunteers and clubs the sport would be lost.

Finally the event style is set by the race team and organisation, Chris Elliott should be congratulated for the way in which he ran the event as PRO, discussing all decisions with his race team and communicating any issues or difficulties they were having with the competitors, even the tough and unpopular decisions were communicated in a reasoned manner which the skippers accepted and acknowledged.

Thanks To Chris, Mick, Jenny, Phil and all at Lincoln MYC for their efforts.

Full HMS results will be posted later in the week along with any photos or links we get, but the final positions can be viewed below.

2015-MYA-IOM-Nationals-Results

Pictures from Sue Brown, enjoy

https://flic.kr/s/aHskg7mc8J

Registration, weigh in, and Practice, will start at 1pm on Friday , please ensure you get weighed before taking to the water . If we believe the Met office, the weather looks pretty good,

Tea/Coffee will be available through the afternoon till 5pm.

Looking forward to a great weekends sailing .