Wow , and Wow again, a fantastic clear crisp morning greeted the 9 brave skippers who took no notice of recent weather bombs and came to do battle. wind was a gusty 15 to 25 knots I would say over the duration of the morning ,,l The bouys were retrieved from the far corners of the lake ( Thanks Jorge ) by Mick Ch and Pete Wa and relaid to set a great course on the East bank,  Rob got all the starter gear sorted and a few skips were contemplating which rig to use , (A suit definitely being left in the box.) Racing started prompt at 10 am and Rob got off to a flying start winning the first two races, Mick Ch jib luff downhaul broke before the start and a hasty repair did not last a minute, Dave Rigby took a well deserved 2nd spot with Chris E having a major rig problem also in the first race. The wind  (Guess) must have been around 18 knots at this stage and B suit was coping very well even in the gusts. Race three saw the win by Mick Ch with the Sedici closely followed by Pete Wa with his Slimtel, and Dave R in third racing a Vision,  Race four saw winning ways return to Rob W with the Brit Pop,,,, where Mick Ch on the final beat with loads in hand for the win went into irons during a tack, and the rest was history,,, ( Funny how you look back on these defining moments ) Pete Wa got third,  Time for a well earned cup of coffee, especially for the golden oldies who found they had to jog along the bank to keep up with their boats on the very fast downhill run. After the coffee the recharged Chris E with the Brit Pop came out fighting and took the first two races, With Pete Wa keeping up a very good average to stay in contention. Last race was won again by Chris E. but it was not enough on the day, where Rob W took the honours from Mick Ch and Chris E, some very fast and furious racing in the last 2/3 races with the wind strength increased  to poss 20/24 knots,,,  and to keep the boat alive on the run was a real test of skill with several spectacular wipe outs , by far the best sailing we have had for some time, in tough conditions, ensuring your boat could stand up to the conditions and not break was a feat in itself . we started with 9 skippers and by the end only two had dropped out.

well done Rob for the win ,, and many thnks to all who helped put the kit away great sailing ,  but hey I would like to try out my top suit next time please , so not so much wind   The final round 12 is next up on the 22nd March .

a couple of pics from the nats at Fleetwood last year

Jen Hand

Mick Ch

Hi guys and girls two reports for this event from our round the world reporters Keith and Jen many thanks.

After an extremely windy day Saturday it was somewhat calmer for the start of the racing on Sunday morning.Unfortunately, Micky Ch had been on holiday all week, and we did not have our usual “Thursday NEWS”, resulting in two skippers turning up with the wrong boats! Oh how we miss him.  A long course was laid along the South bank, and two laps were completed on each race all morning. Starting on A+ rig, by coffee break we were changing down to A and almost immediately to B. Bill McPhee changed down to C and said what a pleasure it was to race whilst watching some of us with rudders pointing to the skies. No surprise, Pete  came out on top for the morning with 9 .points closely followed by Keith on…11………….For those of you who missed it – it wasn’t cold and we didn’t get wet. Our new jetty is now well clear of the water, but it was a welly job if you wanted to retrieve your boat on the south bank .

2nd report

Today was a day to practice rig changes. No rain and A+ rig to start. Peter W & dave Rigby  moved the marks & set the course along the south bank. Gordon arrived only to find he had brought the wrong boat, so did Roger B ,,,   Roger B borrowed Mick Ch boat for the first four races then gave it back to Mick ,,,,   so who said no news is good news  !!!!   First 3 races were sailed using A+ rig but it was noticed the wind was getting stronger and those on A rig were keeping up. Early break to change down to A rig. Before the end of coffee break because the wind was increasing  most people had realised B rig was the order of the day.  1st race after coffee proved changing down was right. By the end of the last race if we had carried on we would be changing down to C rig. Another good days sailing and thanks to Mick Ch  for running the event. Great win for Pete with Keith a close second well done to everybody .

many thanks to all the helpers to get stuff out and put away ,,  when are these strong winds going to stop it has been three weeks now, and there seems no end to it . News will resume this week hopefully.

please note the date on the scores below should read  23rd February 2020

Pete Walters doing well in his first few months of radio sailing .

A short report by Keith below  many thanks mate ,,,,    as I remember the forecast scared a lot of people to death.

Keith did the main OOD assisted by Mick Ch and a few , Mick was going on his Hols so did not sail .

Fantastic days sailing. Wind top of B suit & no rain, shame only 5 turned up. Half way through the morning we stopped for coffee& a piece of Micks & Gordons birthday cake. Keith did a good job of rescuing buoys that had been blown on to the bank the previous weekend& setting a good course along the east bank. Chris E did well in the challenging conditions & came out on top followed closely by Rob Wilson. For those not used to the conditions there was plenty of help & advice. A good days sailing.

10 Skippers for round 9 won by Chris E, with Rob W in second and Adrian C in third.  All the wins were recorded by the top three , A few skippers missing ,,

report by Chris E  many thanks