​It was a cold & blustery day that greeted 8 skippers who fronted the dam on Wednesday.
Only 6 decided to compete in winds that to put it mildly were difficult with at times violent gusts & then holes with no wind.
Rod's V8 & Rays BP were clearly superior in the conditions.
At lunch time the wind dropped out so we decided to call it a day. We shall try again next Wednesday 

A small, but keen contingent of sailors turned up today for round 5 of the RM Winter Series. They were greeted with mild and very calm conditions. With just enough wind to get around the course – sometimes a bit less. Four races were completed until a slightly early lunch was called due to the lack of pressure on the water. After lunch, the same continued, until finally, a good breeze settled in from the north, and the skippers very quickly changed from their A rigs to C/C2 rigs to complete the last two races with some fantastic conditions. Some weed was evident, and most of the skippers were fouled up at some stage, but overall it was a very enjoyable day. Final results had John Cole-Cook edge out Ray Joyce by just one point, with Andrew Wardrop just one point further back in 3rd.
Welcome back to the Dam John Cole-Cook, who has returned from a trip to the mainland, and a big thanks to David Murfet, who again came along to help out with the Pro duties.

​A good day at the dam today with 13 skippers fronting up to the starter to begin half hour of teams racing.
The fleet was divided into 4 with each of the 3 team skippers allocated a starting position. The first race was a little long so the next two races were shortened which made racing much quicker and as everyone got into the swing of the concept some close action was enjoyed.
The breeze was from the north, then boxed the compass and lightened off as the morning progressed. Not sure which team won as the recording of the finishes left a bit to be desired - it will improve next time.
 
At 11 am the handicap series with a few scratch races thrown in commenced . Seven races were completed in some trying conditions. In the second last race, Wayne Turner came around the gate with a commanding lead, and tacked inshore for the line & then came to a stop, whilst the rest of the fleet stayed in the middle and passed him. But if you think that’s frustrating Wayne, look at the faces of the golfers in the club who have a constant look of frustration and pain on their faces.
 
In the end, the day was taken out by a very consistent Richard Barwick (watch out for the handicappers pen next month) on 16 points, with Wayne Behrens in second (24), closely followed by Col Johnson on 27 points.
 
A quick, informal meeting was held at the end of the lunch break, advising all skippers that the DF95 sailing on the first Wednesday of each month has been such a success, that the committee has resolved to continue the same pattern for the summer months as well, so DF95’s are now established on the first Wednesday of each month. Summer time to be sailed at Montrose
 
Rob Gavin was taking photos, and no doubt will post them on the website in due course.

​A cold, but fine morning greeted the nine IOM sailors at the dam today. Light to very light wind made rig changes unnecessary for the day. Some very close racing by most of the sailors – as shown by just five points blanketing fourth to 8th place, but the standout for the day, and an example of absolute consistency was Mike Hickman, who dominated with 9 net points from the ten races, but also had discards of just two and three points. Congrats to Rod Jackman, coming second (23 points) closedly followed by Ray Joyce (26 points) for taking out the minor placings.
 
Most skippers had errors through the day, and it was great to see the penalties completed without fuss.
 
Thanks also to those who turned up that little bit earlier to set up the day for everyone, and those who also stayed behind to help pack up. Many hands make light work.
 
Just two rounds left of the Winter Series, and things are very tight on the leaderboard, with just two points separating first from fourth!
 
Next sail day is Wednesday 25th July with Mid-Week Handicap, followed by next Sunday 29th July with RM Scratch Winter Round 4.

​In contrast to the excellent sailing conditions at the dam on Sunday, today was a bit challenging, with winds gusting in from all directions.
The fleet of eight started in A rig but quickly moved to B rig, which was sometimes right and sometimes wrong Perhaps the two skippers who stuck with A rig may have been right.
Added complications today was a number of heavy trucks using the road to deliver gravel to damaged part of the road.
The big holes in the breeze made sailing difficult, but Ray seemed to handle the conditions with ease.
Directly after lunch, we were informed that the dam was closing due to a severe weather warning, which is why only five races were held.
 
A gentle reminder for Scratch IOM on Sunday, again at the dam.

​While the girly men hid in their beds this morning, the true sailors - all 7 of them - fronted the dam in 4 degrees with a top of A rig northerly to enjoy some robust IOM scratch racing.
A course of 6 to 5  to gate to finish was set and  13 races were completed.
There was a bit of weed around so some skippers suffered and there seemed to be an outbreak of tuning issues for some, but an excellent mornings sailing with the dam winter conditions at their best. 
Lisa Blackwood came through to win the day, winning five of the thirteen races, finishing on 20 points, followed by Andrew Wardrop and his Corby 5 (27 points), with Rod Jackman coming in third (34 points).

​Midweek sailing at the dam today was sailed in very pleasant, mid A rig. Northerly  conditions with eight boats fronting the starter. Usual handicap races interspersed with some scratch racing was closely contested .
Courses were two laps with a mixture of short & longer races.

​We are now at the mid-way stage of the Perpetual Trophy Series. Current standings are as below;

​A fleet of 15 DF95’s was greeted this morning by a blustery northerly wind that started at the top of A rig & then quickly moved on to B rig. Big wind shifts & holes were the order of the day which put a premium on rig set up & boat handling skills. The ability to tack was critical & also to keep the boats on their feet down wind.
 
As the morning progressed, a number of skippers changed to C rig as the winds became even stronger and headed towards cancellation of the day’s sailing.
 
Despite the threatening conditions, the DF95’s showed their pedigree by continuing to race in very marginal conditions. Not surprisingly a number of boats pulled out with various failures. Eight races were sailed, and in the end, the winner of the day had to be decided by countback. Cliff Eaves got the gong on 19 points, by countback to Phil Turnbull, with Ray Joyce continuing his stellar year, placing third on 26 points.
 
Great to see Geoff Martin from Launceston, making the trip south for the day (hope to see you back again soon Geoff), and also the terrible twins ( Richard & Cliff ) venturing north to enjoy some sunny weather. 
 
Next DF95 day should be Tuesday 17th July at Franklin, hosted by the STRYC. Keep an eye on their Facebook page and I’ll try to remind again prior as well.
 
Congratulations everyone, another great turnout for the DF95 fleet.

​A good day of top end A rig IOMs with a northerly running.  TasWater has shut the main track for storm repair works, so  we did a two lap course, up to O then down to where the gate is usually, however as one buoy was dropped over the side on replacement after the IOM Mid Winter Regatta, the block line was too short, and it is now underwater hence only one buoy was there today. To alleviate congestion on mark rounding we then changed the course. The outer buoy 9 was then added which kept the running boats clear of those rounding up and onto the windward leg.
The handicap system is getting a hard look at to see if it can be made more equitable, however today, with 7 races overall there were 6 different winners spread across the fleet.  David Murfet won two races however the RO was lenient on his first start because he did not compete in the previous Long Distance day. Four skippers required separating on count backs and generally the finish scores reflect that the system is going OK.
The stand out winner today was John Hall who is to be congratulated for scoring consistently well overall.
Thanks to Dennis Lees for taking over the RO duties, Peter Sylvester for delivering the BBQ trailer and Roddy for getting it back to the shed. Lisa arrived in time to oversee the BBQ before she ran off with a kebab, thanks Lisa, and Wayne for buying the new boat battery and getting in on site during the week.  Many hands make light work.
Thank you all.
Ray