DF95 Winter Series 30 Nov 2025

Your OOD arrived down at Scotland Farm to find the sun shining and the temperature a balmy minus something with the wind direction indicating we would be sailing along the south bank, a course was set to include two beats with a dog leg in it. With 14 eager competitors including three new members (welcome all) racing began on the dot at 10am after a quick safety brief as the launch/landing platforms were somewhat slippy, many thanks to Mick C for putting down some salt. The races were quite short due to the wind being on the light side in the morning with a beat a run and a beat to the finish, however at fifteen minutes long we managed to get in five races before a tea break was called. Alas, Mick Cooper was forced to miss four of these due to a failed rudder servo, however having a spare was able to rejoin us after the break. In the morning all five races were won by either Martin A or Mick C showing the rest of us how its done. During the break the wind had come up slightly, so the decision was made to extend the length of the course with the addition of two extra marks (many thanks Martin A for his fine work in the rescue boat). We then managed another five races, with Martin A and Mick C again taking the bulk of the wins, only interrupted by Kevin E who took race number eight (well done Kevin). What was good to see was that the new members all showed great promise with improving results throughout the day, but it was Martin A and Mick C who showed the rest of us how it is done and well done to them both. Finally, many thanks from me, for all of the help given at the end of the day packing all of the equipment away.

Sam Parker (OOD)

Report by Mick C for Adrian C .

Hey up I thought when I got kicked out of bed this morning , it was raining so hard and I thought do I really need this , so after a couple cups of tea , recharge the batteries, it did not look so bad,,,, so I packed the car ( still raining) but a bit lighter , put on the long johns loaded the car and off I set.

Race officers on site early and got everything sorted , time around 0915 , and the heavens opened for another load of the wet stuff , To be fair it did not last long and by 0930 it had stopped and trust me , out of the corner of my eye I saw some blue sky and a few rays poking through.. Skippers were arriving thick and fast, and getting their DF’s ready , I saw new faces ( to this fleet ) Kevin, Paul , Ron was there , even Pete who had thrown the shovel down for the day, ( he is building an extension at home ) suddenly we have nine skippers on the bank , must be a record, and great to see, cos to be honest this little boat is a fantastic little boat to sail. It was to start A + rig for most and a great beat and run course was set , slight dog leg , but brilliant , Micky Boy was out of the blocks fast but was shadowed closely by Martin and Sam, A good win for sure but Martin was determined , I could see it in his one eye ( the other suffering an infection and was just about closed ) Martyn took the next three races with Pete coming on strong and Mick sadly fading , Paul and Kevin were getting used to their new charges, and Ron almost his first time out was enjoying himself, Adrian the OOD appeared to have a problem before coffee break , but miraculously was up and running post break. Jen Hand was her normal self standing in the way of Mick who tried his best to trample her, She was consistent with both her racing , and of course standing in the same place on the bank !!!!!! Pete seemed to struggle and was a bit up and down, But still ended the morning in third spot, Paul just nabbed Sam on countback, and he just nabbed Kevin on countback, Sam could have done better today and he knows it , but sometimes you are just not at the races, and today may have been one of those days. The end result was a fine win for one eye Martyn who had 6 wins on the day, Probably by race 8 the fleet made some sail changes , and Martyn went straight to B rig as did Mick and a couple other in the strengthening breeze and this was definitely the wisest choice, 11 races completed , in great conditions with no rain , so the end result I was pleased to have been kicked out of bed , to compete in a sport or hobby that I just love .

Many thanks to all for an enjoyable morning.

Good turnout for the second of the pop up series hosted by Lincoln, Great breeze from the North East had the fleet in A rig all day, no rain forecast no rain came. Briefing sorted with wise words from OOD Darin, and we were into the first race, 23 skippers but the start line was plenty long enough with room a plenty Tim H 134 got away with a clean start with young Hayden W 154 ,( Poss 12 years old and the future for sure) in hot pursuit along with Rob W 97, To say it was a shifty tricky beat would be understating it, and the top half of the beat was difficult m none the less Tim managed it well and took the win from Hayden and Rob, Race two and the Venti Of Roger C 30 just seemed to power away from the fleet and took the win easily from Tim H 134, Dorian C 130 another likely lad with his Brit Pop taking the third spot, Racing was tight all thru the fleet and you needed to be on you toes to A get a good start and B keep your clean air and take advantage of any shift , and trust me there were a few. After the first two races a slight change to the beat was made, so now the beat was almost the full length of the lake, not that it made things any easier. Rob W 97 and Chris E 74 took the next two races but Tim H was very consistent not really being out of the top three till race 10 where he got 18 points , and probably with the day won took his foot of the pedal a little.

A great mixture of designs on show 9 in fact and that is always good news for the class, this was in fact the second POP up event for this Winter series and certainly had great support, Austin G 68 deserves a little mention as this was his first time out with his Venti and the traveling was made well with while with his second place in what was a very strong fleet, Both Austin and Tim had three wins apiece Darin B 98 took a win with his Dated Pikanto , and Simon F 71 also took a win with his Alioth. It was a tough day that’s for sure, and many will be studying the scorecard to see what they could have done better, many will still be scratching their heads, but at the end of the day consistency is key and the three on the podium showed what it is all about, Many congratulations to the deserved winner Tim Hand and also many thanks to Darin B for his tireless work in making it all happen. A final thanks to all who participated and if you fancy another crack at it , Keep your eyes firmly fixed for the next dates .

Thirteen skippers arrived on a bright November morning for round 2 of the DF95 winter series. The light south-easterly breeze gave the race team, Kevin E and Ron A, plenty to think about but after some fine-tuning a dog-leg course was set off the east bank, beating towards the clubhouse.

It was great to welcome two new members- Ron A(884) and Malcolm Parker (31)- along with visitor Chris Kelly (no number).

Before the first race, Tim Hand was presented with the two trophies he had missed collecting at the AGM- congratulations Tim!

Racing started shortly after 10 am and Tim H (44) came out flying, taking all three wins before the tea break. Martin A (877) scored two seconds and Paul K (19) also took a second place.

After race 3, the fleet took a tea break, and at 11am everyone observed the Remembrance Sunday two-minute silence, remembering those who have lost their lives in conflict.

After the break, the competition stayed close. Mick C (46) found his rhythm with two wins and a second in the final race. Kevin E (02) improved throughout the session, taking two first and two seconds. Colin H (301) sailed strongly to claim a race win, while Martin A and Paul K each added further second places. Sam P (59) secured four third places and Jen H (69) added two thirds to her scoreline.

It was great to see Alan N (438) back on the water and Malcolm P (31) had a promising debut in this first day of DF95 racing.

Congratulations to Tim H, a clear overall winner on the day with 13 points and five firsts out of ten races, Mick C was second on 24 points, closely followed by Martin A on 25 points.

All in all, it was a great days racing- close competition and good sportsmanship. The race team is grateful to everyone who helped packing away the equipment, and a special mention to Tim for his assistance in setting the course.