​Unfortunately, not too much to say today as I wasn't there for long.

The sailors all started off in their swing rigs, with about 6 knots on the water, however, about half way through the day, the sea breeze turned up and everyone went from their A's straight to the C rigs.

Eleven races were completed, with the usual suspects fighting out at the top of the order.

Stu Dawes taking out the round, with 16 points. Ray Joyce came in second, four behind on 22, with Lisa Blackwood taking out third, a further two back on 22 points.

Handicap today was quite close. Stu Dawes and Rod Marshall took out top spot (Stu seeded 3, and finishing 1st for a net of 2, and Rod finishing 4th with a ranking of 6th, also for a net 2 pts). In third spot, was Ray, Lisa, John and Andrew, all with -1 net pts

A highlight of the day was seeing John Hall launch his new F-6. The yacht looks fantastic, and with a few weeks under his belt, I'm sure John will be right in the mix. Photo attached.

That rounds out the scratch sailing for the RM's for 2021. I have updated the series scores now, and there have been some really tight scores for the summer, winter and overall series. All will be revealed at the breakup lunch at MBYC on Sunday 19th.

This coming Wednesday is DF95 Handicap, at the dam - normal starting time. Next weekend, we have the RM State Championship, which has been relocated to the dam due to unsuitable tides. Saturday will start slightly late to allow for the regular dam runners/walkers to finishe their day. I'll emial details later, but in short, we will be movng the times out by half an hour throughout Saturday to allow turnup/registration from 10am instead of 0930. Any volunteers for the two day event would be greatly appreciated. We wont need rescue crew as such, but a few observers over the two days would be really appreciated. Contact either myself or John Hall if you think you can help out.

Kyle

​It was good to get back to sailing at ‘the dam’ today after a bit of a break. It was also good to see a few skippers who have been missed over recent weeks.

Before sailing today we needed to reset the marks as the water level of the dam was extremely high which caused about half of our marks to relocate themselves.

The wind today was a light South-Westerly and while it was never much above 5 knots it did persist throughout the day and never left us drifting. Although it is difficult to set courses for this wind direction a course involving a windward beat from buoys 7 to 9 proved to work well.

The day saw race winners from right across the handicap range. John Hall took out first place with a score sheet which included three race wins and one 2nd place. Ray Joyce took second place and Mat Grey third. Congratulations to all.

A rotating PRO was used today and it seemed to work well. Each skipper who did PRO duties gets their average race points (before drops) for the race that they officiated in. PRO’s were appointed in order of sail number.  

Next time we use a rotating pro we will start from where we left off. (Ray you are up next!)

John S

A sunny start to the day today. Ideal maybe, except for the initial lack of wind. Very light conditions out on the point.

We did get a gradual increase in wind as the day wore on, up to about 10-12 knots in all, but those skilled in lighter weather sailing certainly took full advantage of the conditions.

We had a few sailors who have been away from the Sunday sailing for a while. It was great to see John Short back on the water. Andrew Price sailed today with the club IOM, which will be in his possession until he gets his own yacht. Andrew sailed very well, being very competitive in many races, however, lucked out as many of us do with the combination of little errors over the course in comparison to the top 5 or so skippers. Time is your friend, and over time, those mistakes will reduce markedly and you will really be pushing those in front of you. Martin Svenson also returned today. It was great also to have you sailing again on Sunday scratch. Hopefully, with a bit more advice on tuning etc, we will have you challenging further up the field. 

Thanks also to those sailors who helped others out with some tuning tips and advice. It's what we really ant to encourage for new and not quite so new skippers alike.

At the end of our 9 races today, Michael Hickman proved too hard to beat, with a very consisten days sailing, coming first overall with 16 points.

Just behind, in second, was Stuart Dawes - really sailing his Plan B well - on 18 points.

Third today, was Mat Grey, just one point further behind, on 19.

​On handicap, John Hall was our winner today, with 4 rank differential points (seeded 11th, finishing 7th), with a three way tie for second, with Michael Hickman (seeded 4th, finishing 1st), Stuart Dawes (seeded 5th, finishing 2nd) and Rod Marshall (seeded 12th, finishing 9th) all sharing 3 rank differential points.

With an excellent field of 14 yachts, there were a lot of little battles thoughout the day, which added to the enjoyment of the whole day.

Thanks also to Les, for again taking on the Pro duties.

This Wednesday, we have IOM Handicap, and believe it will be returning to Risdon Brook Dam as it was open yesterday. We will advise if the dam is closed, but otherwise, we will be sailing there on Wednesday.

Next Sunday is RM Scratch, from 1pm.

Some more updates for everyone. The RM State Championships will be changing location to Risdon Brook Dam due to unsuitable tides at MBYC on that weekend (4th-5th December). We are getting this change cleared with ARYA, but see no impedement to us needing to do so.

Christmas is coming as well, and on the 19th December, DF95 Scratch will be starting at the Winter starting time of 10am, so when we finish sailing on the day, we can break for a lunch together at the club, and have our annual presentations during the lunch. Please let Andrew Wardrop or someone on the committee know if you will be attending, so we get our catering sorted for the day

Kyle

A north-westerly wind of about 8 – 12 knots and very smooth water provided excellent A–rig conditions at Montrose today. There were just enough wind shifts to make things interesting and many of the races featured close finishes.

A good feature of todays racing was that all skippers managed to reach the podium at least once today and most finished the day without gear failure.

The day was won by Phil Jackman who also cleaned up with the DF95 at Puddleduck vinyard yesterday. Congratulations Phil.

Andrew Wardrop took second place showing some really great boat-speed.

Ray Joyce took the third podium spot with three wins amongst his race results.
​
John S

​A mixed day today for our RM sailors. A good C rig breeze for the start of the day, with an amount of nasty squalls coming through regularly, culminating with an extreme one of torrential rain and about 40 knots as we were bringing the yachts in after the completion of the last race.

Eight sailors started the day, but unfortunately we had an amount of reliability issues and a few sailors have some work to do in order to be ready for the state championship in a months time. Good news for them at least, that they all know what they need to do in order to be ready for the championship.

We got 12 races in today, and they were all sailed in real good spirit, and mostly very closely competed. We did have a few races with some spectacular breakouts by the first few yachts as well.

At the end of the day, Stu Dawes was just too consistent, with four wins on the day, taking out first place with 22 points.

Following Stu in second place, was Ray Joyce, on 27 points. Wonderful consistncy with five 2nd places and a first.

Third today was Kyle Stewart, on 29 points.

On handicap today, Stu Dawes took out the daily double with 5 rank differential points (ranked 6, finishing 1st). John Hall took out second on 3 differential points (ranked 7th, finishing 4th) with ANdrew Wardrop in third with 2 differential points (ranked 8th, finishing 6th).

Wednesday will have the IOM Handicap returning to Montrose, followed by IOM Scratch next Sunday.

Kyle

A bit of a cooler start today, but weather was fine regardless. A small and rare Easterly of about 3 knots to greet us, and a slight issue with the trees that were relocated from the course yesterday making another appearance. However, by the time racing started, one of them had moved off the course, so we were able to start unhindered.

13 races were completed today, and there was a bit of a shakeup to the standings from yesterday. 

Rod Jackman was a big mover, with 5 wins from the 13 races today, however, he had a bit too much to make up to get to the top three, who continued to sail well today.

Showing the level of competitiveness in the field, seven skippers took a win overthe 24 race championship, and amazingly, just 9 points covered 4th place to 8th place.

In the end, a supreme effort by Mathew Gray, overtaking Lisa on the leaderboard to win the State Championship for 2021, on 58 points.

Lisa Blackwood had a few issues later on in the day, but still managed to take out second place, with 73 points.

Ray Joyce also had a very impressive second day, thoroughly deserving his third place, on 84 points.

Although we had some issues with weed and light winds at times throughout the weekend, the championship seemed to be enjoyed by all competitors, officials and observers. There were a lot of positive comments from the general public during the weekend.

Weekends like this don't just happen, and all competitors thank our volunteers ver the weekend. Without you, the championship would not have been anywhere near as effective and enjoyable.

Les Hanson and Rod Marshall assisted with the PRO duties. We had David Jones, Andrew Wardrop, Peter Sylvester, John Murrell, John Short and Phil Turnbull helping out, whether that was as observers, rescue boat operators, start/finish line observers. It was all truly appreciated.

Back to normal sailing again now, with Wednesday being IOM Handicap, followed up with RM Scratch next Sunday.

Kyle

​A lovely warm day greeted up today, for the first day of the 2021 Tasmanian IOM State Championship.

Unfortunately, the wind hadn't arrived, and we had about an hour and a half delay, before breaking for an early lunch. In the lay time, we had to also head down to the marks closest to the DEC to help a massive tree branch on its way. The wet we had the last few weeks certainly washed out the Derwent, and today showed the results of it, with not just that one large branch, but another one floated past int he afternoon as well, which also needed "persuation" from our rescue dinghy to get off the course.

After lunch, a nice northerly filled in, and before long, we were changing to B rigs. We ended up getting in 11 races for the day,which were very close amongst the skippers. Lisa Blackwood and Mathew Gray were standouts in their consistency today though, and have taken a good lead at the end of the day, with Lisa on 19 points, and Mat on 22. 3rd place was closely fought as well with John Cole-Cook currently in 3rd, on 31 points, with Ray Joyce breathing down his neck, just one point behind.

The day was expertly Pro'd by Les Hanson. Laying down the rules early and keeping everyone in line with both on water behaviour and quick weed checks etc as well. Without doing so, we would certainly have sailed fewer races today. It was a bit awkward later on in the day, with retreival of yachts only possible from the steps and not fromt he sea wall with the outgoing tide being quite low today.

A big thanks also has to go to the volunteers today. David Jones as the consistent eagle eyed observer.. Other volunteers today, on boat rescue, start/finishing calling, as well as extra observers where they were able to included Rod Marshall, Andrew Wardrop, Peter Sylvester, John Murrell and John Short. It is really apprecaited that you all took time out on the weekend to make the day so enjoyable. If I missed any volunteers, I sincerely apologise.

Tomorrow will see the conclusion of the championship, which should be a fantastic day. Looking forward to seeing the competitors back tomorrow, as well as a healthy number of volunteers and watchers.

Kyle

​Not much to say today as I wasn't able to be at MBYC for long at all. The breeze was mid to heavy B rig for much of the day by the looks of it, although I think only one sailor used a B in the first race.

Great to see some faces returning though, with peter Darcey, Chris Wood and Jeff Byerley sailing today.

Chris must have been practicing a bit, having turned out a very good performance, winning the day on 22 points.

Coming in Second was Mathew Gray, on 25 points.

Rounding out the top three was ever-consistent Ray Joyce, on 31 points.

On handicap, it was a daily double for Chris Wood, on a great net 5 points (seeded 6, finished 1st)/ Ray Joyce (seeded 5th, finishing 3rd), John Cole Cook (seeded 7th, finishing 5th), and Jeff Byerley (seeded 11th, finishing 9th) all came in on second place, each with 2 net points.

This coming Wednesday is DF95 Mid Week Handicap, and we have the IOM State Championships next weekend.

On the State Champs, we are still a few volunteers short for the event. Someone with a boat licence and happy to help with rescue duties would be greatly appreciated. I believe we have one boat handler for Saturday, but none yet for Sunday, otherwise we will be enacting Plan B with sailing suspended if we need to use the rescue boat, while competitors perform the rescue task.

For those intending on competing, entries close today, so please get them in. Late entries can also be accepted, however, there will be a late entry fee in that as well.

Competitors next week also need to note that we will be following ARYA's "Race Management Manual" which recommends the following for pre-competitoon checks, so be ready for the checks to be undertaken (Mike will be there from 0900 in order to get through the checks and allow himself time also to get ready).

• Registration Cerificate sighted and hull nember on boat
• All sails signed and dated
• Weighing of boat with each rig in dry state
• Keel weight

Kyle

Today was a beautiful sunny day at Montrose. The first race was held in a North Easterly of around 8 knots but this breeze gradually died throughout the day. The wind was a bare zephyr for the final races of the day. PRO John Banks worked us late into the afternoon in order for us to get through ten races.

An interesting feature of today’s results is that Chris Wood won the event without a race win. Similarly Mat Gray took second place without a win but the third place getter Ricky Price had four race wins. These results demonstrate well how important it is to maintain consistency in this type of event.

Congratulations to all podium winners today.

Special mention should also be made of Peter Turner’s racing today. While Peter had radio trouble that kept him from sailing in the afternoon his morning’s efforts – two firsts and two seconds - were particularly impressive.

The last couple of weeks we have deviated from a strict formal handicap system in order to experiment with a few ideas. I feel that this has been to the detriment of Wednesday’s racing. Next week we will be sailing DF 95’s under the old handicap system and after that reinstate formality and rigour to the IOM handicap.

There has been no news on the reopening of Risdon Brook Dam but we will keep skippers informed when this happens.

John S

​A bit of a difficult day today, with fresh and gusty winds, from all oints of the compass at times..

We only got six races completed inthe end, but of those sailed, the results were quite close and it was great to see some different names challenging at the top of the field. It was also great seeing some of the more experienced sailors helping others out with some tuning advice. This is how we get more competitive as a collective unit. Well done to all.

Anyway, today we had Mathew Gray clean up in first place, with 9 points. Ray Joyce edged out Stu Dawes with the battle for 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. Ray on 11 and Stu on 12.

On handicap, Mat Gray and Phil Turnbull shared first place wit 4 net points. Mat seeded 5th, finishing 1st and Phil seeded 9th and finishing 5th, with John Hall coming in third with 3 net points (seeded 7th, finishing 4th).

Coming up, we have our IOM Handicap sailing on Wednesday, currently at MBYC unless we hear that Risdon Brook Dam has reopened in enough time beforehand.

Next Sunday is IOM Scratch, starting at 1pm at MBYC. Good preparation for the IOM Championship that will be held the following weekend. On that note, entries close for the IOM Championship in one week's time, so if you are intending on sailing, please get your entry in as son as possible. We are also always on the lookout for volunteers to help out over the two days. If you are able to help, please let Joh Hall or mayself know and we will add you to the list. Rescue boat operator (current boat licence required) and observers are all needed across the two days.

One last note for competitors while I have your attention. Of late, we have had few people available at the end of the day to bring in the Rib. Recently, despite the best efforts of the people there, we sustained some damage to the prop on it with the people on-site having difficulty getting it stowed on the trailer properly. If at all possible, it would be really appreciated if people could hang around long enough after sailing so we can get some more hands on the retrival process in order to make it easy for everyone. It only takes a few minutes and is not difficult with enough help. Low tides especially need a few more hands to get the dinghy on the trailer effectively.

Thanks all

Kyle