A fantastic South Westerly greeted 17 skippers including two very welcome visitors Simon Fairman and Peter Guest , Darin was on site early as usual and had I believe got the course sorted , which was perfect up and down the East bank, the breeze just south of south west , variable in strength and gave great racing conditions , Tim H 134 one of the clubs hopefuls in the upcoming Worlds in Australia got of to a cracking start and nailed the first race with Rob W 97 our second club member in the Worlds taking 2nd place, a great start and of course where they would want to be, It has to be said that for the second time we tried out our very basic handicap system, and three skippers stuck their hands up and were given a thirty second start on the main fleet, it worked very well, Darin got into the groove and took the win in race two, and followed through with another bullet in race three , from a personal point of view, I was finding it very difficult to stay in contention with the front runner’s and I have to say I probably was not the only one , but we rarely get 17 on the start and getting a good start was paramount. The racing throughout the fleet was tight with close battles everywhere. Last race before coffee, and again I personally made a small adjustment to a set of spreaders I had fitted during the week, It and a small wind shift at the gate made a big difference and I Mick C 46 recorded my only win during the morning Darin close behind took second spot, with Roger C 30 picking up third. Coffee break took it seemed a lot longer than normal, and this needs to be addressed in the future to ensure as many races as possible. Races 5 and 6 Darin once again took the wins and in race 7 Sam P recorded probably his first win at the club, well done Sam. The fleet as you can imagine is very competitive, But I for one was pleased with the behaviour on the bank, and long may that continue. Darin took the last race and is obviously the bench mark for the upcoming winter series that starts early October with the Clive Hand Memorial trophy ,

So well done to Darin and we also would like to say good luck for out two members Rob and Tim who are off to the I.O M Worlds in Australia next month it is I am sure a great honour to be able to represent you club ,, Our club in this great event , Many thanks to all Skipper’s and we look forward to seeing you all back for the Winter series.

Picture from this years I.O.M Nationals at Poole earlier this year

Lack of interest from club Skippers meant that only 5 skippers showed up for some great racing, The stand in OOD’s Mick and Dave got everything sorted so that we had a great beat and run on the East bank. Two laps and a beat to the finish, and we all started on A suit with the breeze straight down the lake, No sign of any green stuff and the racing was close, race one had Dave R 180 taking the win and Micky Boy coming home second only to find his hatch cover was not stuck down and his boat full to the brim with water Hey ho it was still working , duly taped down, off we went again , and Dave got another win, Today was not going to be as straightforward as I thought, The racing was very close, with some skippers so relaxed they were one handed on the tranny, hey ho , Race three and Mick got the win with Richard taking second spot and Dave in third, keeping his average nice and low, not mentioned Jen or Sam yet but both were sailing very well, One more race before coffee and the wind strength was getting up, Dave took the win and Richard recorded his third second from 4 races , ( sailing one handed must work then !!!)

Coffee break over and plenty of banter and the odd swear word which I apologise for , we all changed down to B rigs , but it was to be Micky boys last race as his boat sailed of into the distance and reached the far bank in short order, Richard took race five with a win with Jen and Dave fighting for the pieces , Jen then went on the rampage with two wins on the trot and Dave trying his best to catch up, Richard went off the boil after trying to use both hands on his tranny , Sorry mate , and Sam came back fighting and got a couple of thirds, at the end of the day.

Dave took the win on the day and Jen second , well done to them ,,, have to say great racing and great respect on the bank and on the water, Mick cleared everything away as he had no boat to sail, even got the dingy back on the ramp, and we all got away sharpish at just after 1 pm

Wow what a fantastic mornings racing, 15 skippers on the start line, which started on the East bank but after one race we moved to the South bank , A few changes in boats sailed and you can see most , but Tim was racing his New Brit Pop that he will be racing in the Worlds in Australia in a couple of months alongside fellow skipper Rob Wilson, Tim H 134 was trying out his rigs as it was first time out but the boat showed a lot of promise, A welcome back to the fray for Chris E 74 after a bit of a layoff and proved he has not lost his touch. the First race was won by Pete W using his Brit Pop for a change and it certainly went well. Mick C 46 took the second race by a country mile, but his races were so inconsistent that he was neve going to be in the running. The racing was superb with two good long beat and runs and a final beat to the finish, race three and Rob W 97, took the win and then the next two races were won by Roger C 30 in fine style. The fleet was hot and battles were going on all though, with the breeze gradually picking up as the morning wore on, but you got to take your hat off to Chris, he was on fire and was very consistent, Rob w 97 will be happy with his mornings work, as will Roger C 30, It was certainly BP dominance today with 5 Brit Pops in the top ten, Not sure what happened to the Venti charge but it just did not happen. Very well done to Chris for the win , don’t stay away to long in the future, and of course to all who competed, it was a great mornings racing, and I am sure we all enjoyed it .

many thanks also to all who helped tidy stuff away , see you next time.

Apologies for for the delay in posting these results, we had a techo problem

Race Officer Dave R arrived early to find brilliant sunshine but no wind. Everything out and ready thanks to Roger B.

The wind eventually came and a course was set on the south bank for the ten competitors. The wind certainly kept everyone on their toes, the shifts were not small and totally random making racing very challenging with a lot of place changes.

The first session belonged to Pete W taking the first three races, Mick C had a close encounter with some floaty stuff in race 1 but recovered to take some good placings. There was close racing throughout the fleet with most having their moment of glory. Jen and Martyn seemed to be joined at the hip with both having weed issues at some point.

An early coffee break was called to allow the windward marks to be moved into what was hoped to be more consistent wind. On the restart Pete W had his turn to collect weed and this encounter would prove to be very costly as he had to leave early due to other commitments thus had to count this result.

Racing continued to be close even though the wind did not play ball with the beat becoming a run then the run staying as a run, everyone did really well dealing with the tricky conditions keeping the mood light and pleasurable.

Colin H and Richard J found some form in the afternoon session with Colin H having a stormer of a last race taking the win. Mick C made life difficult for himself forgetting about the finish in race 5 but made amends in the last three races.

We lost Mick Cooper at coffee due to a faulty winch. Mike W Roger B and Colin T all had their moments but all know that they can do better it just wasnt their day.

As race officer I would like to thank the fleet for being so well behaved it made my life so much easier. Racing was done in a competitive manner but in the right spirit making it enjoyable for all.

Thank you to all who helped but the kit away and congratulations to Mick C taking the win from Pete W, Jen edged out Martyn on countback to take third.

All in all it was a great mornings racing despite the challenging wind well done to all.

Results of the series so far with Martyn holding a narrow lead from Colin and Mike Williams not too close behind