Lincoln Radio Sailing Club

What a fantastic day for racing, apart from Cake at the lake for Gordon and Mick, this was a great day of racing, breeze started in the North West and gradually backed to the South West , A rigs used through out this incredibly sunny morning. Mick C and Tony J sorted what needed to be sorted ably helped by Pete W who set out the course on the South bank, a good long beat and run Tim H 44 got off to a great start taking the first two bullets, and clearly meant business with his V 11, Race three and Mickey boy 46 got the win but he was so inconsistent and getting into all sorts of trouble, poking his nose in where other fear to tread and paying the penalty. Scraps were going on all thru the fleet , and it was great to see Gordon B 130 out racing again after quite a long lay off.

Thirteen skippers enjoyed the morning and there were a number of absentee’s, which was surprising as the forecast was spot on. Everybody will look back on this set of races and know what they did right or wrong.some skippers seemed a little of colour, too much lemon drizzle at coffee break.

Congratulations to Tim H 44 for well deserved win , both Him and Mick C 46 shared the wins, and everybody went home happy I am sure ,

Thanks to everybody for helping get the kit away.

If you thought last week was light, well we had it all again , so not to much to report, Peter and Colin T sorted out the course on the South bank and away we went, Not exciting at all, Mick Cooper won the first, stayed for one more then went of to Cadwell to see his mates. We welcomed a new member Sam Parker to the club His first real race and he did rather well, so well done Sam may it continue, Racing finished a tad early , but 6 of the fleet stayed and had a friendly, and still finished before 1pm , but hey ho.

We also welcomed Kevin back from his India trip , and had a few snippets of his adventures.

Well done to Pete for the Win and thanks to everybody who helped with the gear .

Well there was a breeze and then there was not, Race team there early, and there was a little breeze, but not from a great direction , never mind lets make the best of it and with Chris E 74 helping out , we had something workable ,, a little dog leg ,Sorted. Chris who has been absent due to other commitments was right on it and took the first bullet Pete W 65 in hot pursuit, well perhaps not hot, and Rob W 97 took third. The top three took all the wins that were on offer, it was light and tricky, The OOD Mike Williams decided not to sail so he could concentrate on his duty, a Little hiccup was a protest the was held at coffee break with Chris being the enforcer and sorting out the bones of it invariably there are two sides to each story , skippers see it differently and so on. I am not sure what the upshot was, but at least it could have been a learning curve. Only seven races completed due to the light wind, Dave R57 got a call from home and needed to vacate the site , Mick C had batterie problems and missed the last three races. the good news was we may have found a new member Simon Parker 34 with his Robot, great to meet you mate, hope to see more of you .

Thanks to the OOD and everybody who helped get the gear away , very well done Chris E 74 for his win

After recent weeks of cold and ice it was fantastic to see the 21 skippers entered for this event turn up at Scotland farm, welcomed by the smell of Chef Micks Bacon Butties, and the sound of Tim Hand (PRO) in the boat setting a course parallel to the control area. Although the breeze was welcome it did bring a chill with it, but matched to a rising sun and clear skies no one was going to complain. The first Midland District IOM event of the year is always a chance to catch up with friends and meet the new members to the fleet, 2023 looked to be no different, new skippers chatting to old hands and our very welcome visitors from other districts all swapping stories and advice waiting for Tim to call everyone to order.

Filled with breakfast, Tim outlined the aims of the day and the importance of everyone enjoying themselves, fun and fairness being the words of the day.

The single fleet got underway on time sporting their largest A Rigs and with shifts and gusts in the wind making the early racing on the simple windward – leeward course difficult to predict. (It is a superb sight to see 20+ boats sailing together, and still makes me wonder why more skippers don’t attend these race days.)

The large fleet was enjoyable for most, but a challenge for those who were new to so many boats on the start line, however everyone soon learned of the need for a clean start, the course setting meant that the position on the start line was less important than clean air and the ability to tack when wanted and escape the bad wind of the boats around you. All day the choice of route up the beat and buoy to round on the leeward gate gave alternating chances throughout the fleet and plenty of opportunity to gain or lose. There was a minimum amount of “discussion” during the day, good clean racing being the quickest way around the course.

As the morning passed, the breeze built and swung enough for many to consider dropping down a rig, this swing kept Tim busy as he nudged the course round to follow the breeze with eyesight being tested by lunchtime. Lunch was taken during which the breeze continued to build and its direction changed enough for the course to be reset 90 degrees and the South Bank to be used.

A quick change by almost all of the fleet whilst the course was changed didn’t delay things and the afternoons racing started promptly with the breeze and shifts continuing to make the racing fun and challenging. A quick coffee break mid-afternoon coincided with a lull in the wind, many chose to change rigs, but some decided to stay with their B rigs. Those who changed up were rewarded as the breeze dropped to mid A rig conditions and the smaller rigged boats were left behind on the downwind legs.

Tim kept the racing going at a pleasant pace, and in doing so made the event an enjoyable day for all the competitors. There were a few who didn’t make the end due to boat breakages but the prize giving was attended by a large part of the fleet and all agreed it had been a good day, most looking forward to renewing their battles at the next round at Bournville on the 12th Feb. (Entry open on the MYA online calendar)

Results are below but , although the reason for attending is to race so we had better acknowledge some of the successes.

Race wins:

Darin (98) – 4 wins

Nigel (54) – 2 wins

Rob W (97) – 1 win

Mick C (46) – 2 wins

Peter W (65) – 1 win (Although he found every way in which to avoid more wins)

Dave R (57) – 1 win

John S (43) – 1 win

John B (35) – 1 win

Studying the scores will show that everyone barring new comer Denis Walker had at least one top 10 finish, and even Denis, competing in his 1st race day had great fun, so I think we can call the Midland District Winter Series opener for 2023 a success.

Thanks as always to all those at the host club who gave up their day to help out, or their sailing for the day to allow us to enjoy ourselves, especially, Tim Hand, Jen Hand, Peter Hellen, Colin Helliwell, and many others.

See you at the next event Bourneville on the 12th February