Hey what a day , eleven skippers showed up and were very well rewarded with some excellent racing along the South Bank, you could say the weather forecast would have been better for Duck racing, but we donned our skins and got started. Rob Mike and Mick got the groundwork done and we were ready for the off, it was definitely top suit all the way, and with the bushes trimmed we could see the start line with ease, Graham Keighley, was on form winning the first race with his brit pop , and the summer series winner Dave Boy Rigby, was not too far behind, Darin B who had travelled probably the furthest on the day , took third, and that was to be his worst result of the morning, going on to win the next three with Pete W 65 struggling to find the speed required, to overhaul this past master of One metre racing.

The fleet were having battles that was great to watch as the breeze increased gradually throughout the morning, race four saw Mick C 46 take a good win after some private tutoring in the clubhouse, but hten went to pot in the next two races, one or two calls for starboard from Mick Cooper 39 were way off the mark, Kevin E 20 had patch problems in race one but very quickly sorted it all out. We kinda forgot about the rain as the breeze increased to dive stations in race 6 but abated enough for one last race, before we all helped put the gear away in bright sunshine.

Very well done to Darin for his emphatic win, but more important was the way the racing was conducted, in a friendly and good natured manner that makes it a pleasure to race at Lincoln, Just one more interesting point 3rd place was won on countback as you can see, which confirms how tight the racing is.

If you think your good enough and nice enough to come race at Lincoln, come and give it a try, visitors are always welcome .

Unfortunately, no report from this round, but it looked a good fleet of boats for this the first round of the series. Winner Pete Walters and great to see Keith Holmes back and racing hard, Kevin Everson rounded of the podium. Should be a good series by the looks of it .

Wow, what a day of radio racing.  

Quiet and still at 7.30am, Scotland Farm was looking its best. The freshly mown grass and Mediterranean blue water welcomed 34 skippers who had entered the 2022 Clive Hand Memorial Trophy. The only sound heard was Chef Mick and Jan and their bacon buttie’s sizzling away in the club house and the occasional camper stirring from their slumbers. 

By 8.00am the race team had started their preparations and the 1^st of the travelling competitors were parking up. There was still little breeze and the boat crew struggled to lay a course with the southerly breeze shifting 45 degrees as the wind fought to settle in strength and direction, eventually the crew decided to lay two courses, allowing racing to start just after the scheduled time. 

Chef Mick (Chamberlain) welcomed all the skippers to Lincoln Radio Sailing Club before handing them over to Peter Cogill who would run the day’s racing. 

The two seeding races were sailed from the South bank, with Rob Wilson and Nigel Brown being victorious in tight racing, race 2 was equally tight, something that would continue throughout the day, Rob took this race as well before a settling wind and slight change of direction allowed the race team to change the course and switch to the East bank. The course, starting with a slightly port biased line to a starboard rounded windward mark and spreader then led the fleet to a gate that was set further away from the bank to give a decent length and direction to the beat which was repeated before finishing between the windward and spreader marks. This course gave plenty of opportunities for “snakes and ladders” in the gusts and many changes of place were seen on both beats and runs throughout the day. 

This course would continue for the rest of the day despite a breeze with constant shifts during the races. Consistency was difficult for most skippers, although Darin Ballington managed to judge the breeze and manage the traffic best to take 5 wins over the day. Other race winners were John Tushingham, and David Hope, but as usual with the Clive Hand Memorial event it was not all about the winners. Within the entry list it was fantastic to see local and travelling skippers enjoying themselves, particularly pleasing was the number of new skippers tempted to sail, the reputation of the event and its friendly competitive racing must be spreading! 9 skippers from the host club were joined by sailors from North, East, South and West. The furthest travelled was tied between Tim Long (Abersoch) and Ken Binks (Eastbourne) with many from the midlands setting their alarms early for the day, amongst these were our three lady skippers, Jen, Tracey, and Penelope. 

After nine completed races, Peter called an end to racing and the skippers came together to congratulate the winners and thank the volunteers and helpers.  

Clive’s’ wife, and fellow skipper Jen presented the prizes, watched by his sons and family members. 

The top five skippers were: 

Darin Ballington- 11pts 

John Tushingham – 20pts 

Rob Wilson – 26pts 

Chris Elliott – 31pts 

Nigel Brown – 36pts 

Not everyone can be a winner, but everyone can have fun and enjoyment, something that LRSC offer in abundance and hopefully the Clive Hand Memorial Trophy is now a “must” for the skippers and we hope that they will return (with their friends) in 2023 for the next running of the event. 

A special thank you to all those helpers who have not been mentioned in this report, without you the skippers could not have gone racing and the event would not have happened.  

Note: 

The Club also raised £ 150.00 for the RNLI , £ 1,250 since the event started

Racing occurs every weekend at Scotland Farm, and visitors are welcome, please see our website for more information. www.lincolnradiosailing.com  

A variety of Pictures by Sue Brown is available through this link https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAay4o

Wow what a start to the Winter series, A perfect North Westerly around 8 knots with a few stronger gusts, and we have 10 happy skippers, Tim Hand and Colin Helliwell got the course sorted with the help of Stuart Jessup, who was unable to race, for one reason or another, and not forgetting Roger Bowtle who always gets the kit out early. The course being on the South bank, it was a perfect full length beat and run, Briefing bang on time and we were away. I have to say at this point we could have had a much bigger fleet but some clashes were evident that affected numbers, and quite easily we could have had 15 out , But hey ho.

Mick C 46 fast out of the blocks after his disastrous day at the ranking the day before, 18th I am told ,and he took the bullet with ease with Dave R 57 the Summer series champion coming home in second and Tim H 44 in third. Mick C 46 then went on to win the first 5 races on the bounce, and the boat seemed to have the perfect set up for the conditions. Chris E 74 back from a long lay off could not get the Brit Pop going like he usually does. Chris G 11 was sailing well still wearing shorts , and others were having some good races, but today it was the Venti that showed a clean pair of heels winning 7 of the 11 races, Tim H 44 took second position and Dave R 57 followed through in third, there was just a little bit of nonsense at the weather mark in race 10 when things got a little heated between two skippers, Luckily another skipper calmed things down and after hearing the evidence from both, and unable to sort due to time restrictions awarded a yellow card to one skipper. both shook hands and agreed to fight it out in two weeks time, for round two of this , whats looks to be , a great series to be a part of.

Tim thanked everybody for there help in the groups Whats App page in setting up and putting away, but as we stand at the moment Mick C with his Venti is at the top of the pile. and he intends to stay there as long as he can.

My thanks to everyone who came and made it a great mornings racing