Today was Round 4 of the IOM Summer Series and conditions were bearable to a little soggy. The morning session of scratch racing was relatively dry with light and shifty south-south easterlies while the afternoon's handicap racing was the same variable light winds, with puffs to maybe 8 knots and a tad damper with a fine drizzle setting in for the last two races. PRO for the day was Peter Sylvester who did a fine job, aided by Anthony Castray after Race 3 from memory. Ten skippers fronted for the mornings scratch racing of 7 races. Michael Hickman read the conditions best with 9 points, 4 wins and 6 podiums, followed by yours truly with 12 points, two wins, 6 podiums, and David Jones in third place on 17 points and 5 podium finishes.

After the lunch break, the afternoon's handicap racing commence with the absence of David Jones and Lisa Blackwood. David Murfet, Peter Germein and Les Hanson were off scratch, Andrew Wardrop off 40 seconds and the rest off 1 minute. Peter Germein sailed the one lap course well to top the leader board with 18 points and 3 wins, on countback from Les Hanson with a win, and Rod Jackman also with a win, one point adrift in third place overall. Six of the eight skippers notched up a win and the points spread from first to last was 8 points.

Next week is Round 3 of the Marblehead Summer Series with racing from 1:30 PM.

Til then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes.

Well the forecast today said SE breeze which the fleet certainly had at times, also NW W, N, SW, - from all the way around the compass with big holes caused by the low dam levels. At least we didnt have to change out of A rig. Sixteen boats fronted today with 14 entering the handicap series run over 6 races by Stu Harris who turned up at the last moment after bying a new car this morning. It was a series of changing fortunes with the wine going to our newest member Rex Calvert with his TS2. Second was Chris Wood who despite being heavily handicaped sailed very well &  missed out on first place by 2 points. Third was a consistant Rob Cooney. The dam is not going down anymore but it will be nice when the level comes up a bit. Sunday is IOM AM scratch & PM Handicap kicking off at 11.00 am   

The forecast from the BOM was south to south easterlies to 10 knots but on arrival at the Brook it was 10 to 15 knots from the northwest, as it was on the river driving over the Bowen Bridge. Eleven skippers fronted for today's handicap racing and most opting fro the A Rig and a couple choosing the B. With the usual shifting and soft patches the A rig turned out to be the right choice, but there were times when the B rig had its moments. Dave Murfet, Les Hanson and Robert Gavin were off scratch, Kyle Stewart off 30 and the rest off 1 minute. Race 1 was a one lap event starting between 1 and 2 to  6 then yellow, run down to O then back to the finish between 1 and 2. Dave Murfet made good use of his scratch start to take line honours from the Sly Fox Peter Darcy and Dave Jones taking out third place. Race 2 was extended with a small box after the first two windward marks which saw backmarkers Ray Joyce, Rod Jackman and myself on the podium. With the wind easing a tad, A rig was the go. I took the gun in Race 3 followed by Andrew Wardrop in second and Rod Jackman third spot. Race 4 was the last race before lunch and Kyle Stewart made good use of his handicap adjustment to scratch to get the judges nod from Dave Jones showing good boat speed and Andrew Wardrop taking the minor position. After lunch a couple of Long Distance races were sailed and with the low water levels, a slack buoy line on the bay mark caught a few un-expecting skippers out. Darcy made the best of the challenging breeze to get home first with Dave Jones likewise and Kyle taking third place in Race 5. Kyle improved his score by 1 in Race 6, Ray Joyce second and Robert Gavin starting to find his groove in third place. Back to the normal course for Race 7 and Peter Sylvester notched up a win with Les Hanson second and sailing consistently into third place was "Jammie" Jones. Race 8 was the last race and although starting in fair breeze, dropped out to virtually nothing at the top mark on the last beat just after Robert  Gavin rounded in first place and took the breeze with him to notch up a win, yours truly second and Peter Sylvester third.

Eight races, eight different winners and every skipper having a first or second spot on the podium which resulted in the final points spread between first and sixth being only 3 points. Ray Joyce won the day on 22 points, 1 point ahead of Kyle Stewart in second place on countback from David Jones in third place on 23 points.

Next Sunday is Round 4 of the IOM Summer Series with scratch racing from 11:00 AM and handicap racing from 1:30 PM.

Til then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes.

Another fine day for sailing at the Brook with 15 skippers fronting the starting line under the watchful eye of PRO Stuart Harris. A warm welcome to Rex Calvert who has joined our ranks, and as a member of the Lauderdale Canal Club as well will, I'm sure, foster improving relations between the two clubs. Stuart Harris was fill in PRO and administered handicaps with no surprises. Winds were light and shifting sou-east to sou-west to around 5-6 knots and fairly consistent, but a few lighter patches to keep skippers on their toes. Stuart experimented with the course and set two starting lines, both end to end with each other and a slightly longer course for the back markers.

Race 1 was a race for the scratch boats with John Deegan taking line honours from John Smith and Rex Calvert. Race 2 saw the same place getters on the podium again with John Smith taking the win from Rex second and John Deegan third. Nearly the same result in Race 3 with John Deegan racking up another win with Wayne Turner second and John Smith third. Race 4 saw Denis Lees take the gun from Wayne Turner in second place and Rex filling the minor spots. Race 5 saw the wind die at the start giving the back markers opportunity to make their mark. Bruce Rose got the judges nod from Chris Wood and yours truly. The final race for the day went to Rex Calvert followed by Rob Cooney and John Deegan on the podium again.

Final results saw John Deegan take out the series with 15 points on countback from Rex Calvert and Wayne Turner 3 points adrift on 18 points. Next Sunday is IOM Handicap racing and again I encourage all skippers to participate. Racing is scheduled to start at 11:00 AM.

Til then, wet sails,

Stuart Dawes.

A classic Hobart summers day for Round 3 of the Marblehead Summer Series. Around 27 degrees and smoke haze from numerous fires around the State, brought in on the light nor-norwesterly winds throughout the morning with a sou-east sea breeze by mid-afternoon. It was good to see the return of Wayne Behrens, and with a small fleet of 6 boats, racing commenced around 1:30 PM. The first few races were sailed with A rigs in light winds from the west to nor-west with the usual funky stuff and more than one way to get around the course, which was changed several times to suit the changing conditions. With the dam several meters below normal, there were also a few surprises with some boats slowing all of a sudden, then finally "dragging free" from probably old buoy lines still attached to their anchors. There were a few tangles on marks and between boats themselves but nothing too serious. Racing was close for the first 4 races, yours truly winning the first, Ray Joyce the second and Andrew Wardrop winning Races 3 and 4. After the first drop, Andrew led on 6 points, on countback from myself on 6 points, on countback from John Hall, also on 6 points, Ray Joyce on 7 points, Wayne Behrens on 12 points and Les Hanson on 17 points. Race 5 saw the sea breeze finally kick in and a change to B Rig, and for me that was just what the Fremantle Doctor ordered. Racing was still close but the F3 scored a hat trick in Races 5, 6 and 7, with Ray taking three of those podiums, Andrew two and Wayne one placing respectively. Wayne took the win in Race 8 with Ray and John Hall filling the minors. Race 9 was the final "course" race and the F3 couldn't be matched although John Hall and Andrew Wardrop gave it their best. The final race for the day was I think a first for RBRYC; a long distance race with only Marbleheads. The sea breeze was steady and after a windward start, it was a brisk walk/jogging run down to the bay mark, a few Chinese broaches and softer patches on the way, and a decent windward beat with plenty of options all the way back to the finish line. Apart from Les who sailed too close to the remaining weed banks on the point, the rest of had quite a race.

Final results saw the F3 win comfortably with 11 points, Ray Joyce second with 20 points and Andrew Wardrop 1 point adrift in third place. Next Sunday is IOM Handicap racing with racing from 11:00 AM.

Til then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes.

Forecast was for a hot day with strengthening nor-westerlies and although the B Rig winds didn't fill in til well after racing the forecasters got it pretty right. Winds for the six races were light with a few moderate puffs, a few shifts and lots of holes. Andrew Wardrop took care of PRO duties and administered the handicaps with no real surprises. John Banks was the first to score in Race 1 with yours truly coming in second and Peter Sylvester third. John Deegan sailed his Britpop well from scratch to take out Race 2 with Wayne Turner also off scratch sailing into second place and Kim Potter also sailing well to take the minor position. In Race 3, I managed to overtake the fleet thanks to very light winds at the start negating any handicap advantage, second place went to Chris Wood and third place to Stuart Harris. Race 4 saw David Jones improve his score by 1 after winning the race from Peter Germein and the sly Rod Jackman. Race 5 saw Chris Wood on the podium again as too Stuart Harris, and a well sailed third place for Craig McCauley. Race 6 was long distance with handicap doubled to a max of 3 minutes. Half way to the bay mark the wind had a lot of northeast in it which suited those that hugged the shore and frustrated those that kept west. I hugged the shore and managed to catch the fleet at the top mark and held off the approaching fleet with breeze at the finish. Rod Jackman grabbed the second spot and Stuart Harris the third.

Winner for the day on 17 points was Rod Jackman using the handicap management strategy (there was one very dubious bout of irons near the finish line), with yours truly 9 points back in second place, 1 point ahead of Stuart Harris on 27 points.

Next Sunday is Marblehead racing from 11:00 AM.

Til then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes

The first Sunday racing for the new year and fine summers day with light sou-west to westerly winds before the sea breeze wafted in around 2:00 PM. Ten skippers turned up  and handicaps were: Dave Murfett, Peter Germein and Don McLeod off scratch and the rest off us off 60 seconds. A relatively short course of one lap, often alternating in which way to start, made for some good racing both for position on the water and on the leader board, handicap management proving to be the key.

Ray Joyce won the first race with yours truly second and Michael Hickman third, all off 60 seconds. Race 2 was taken out by Stuart Harris then David Jones, both of 60 and yours truly in third off 1:20. Andrew Wardrop took line honours in the Race 3 with Rod Jackman coming home in second place and Don McLeod filling the minor podium position. Race 4 saw Ray Joyce notch up another bullet followed by Don McLeod up to second  and Rod in third spot.

After the first drop, Ray Joyce lead the field with 8 points, followed by Don McLeod on 9 points. Third place was Rod and myself on 10 points and Michael Hickman rounding out the top 5. I notched up my first win off 1:30 in Race 5 with David Jones off 1:10 crossing the line in second and Peter Germein coming third off scratch. Another winner in Race 6 with Rod Jackman taking the gun off 1:10, Michael Hickman off 1:10 with a second podium placing and Andrew Wardrop pegging back from a 1:30 handicap to take third. Michael notched up his first win for the day in Race 7, also starting off 1:30 and rounding up scratch marker Dave Murfet and Peter Germein off 10 seconds. I managed to pick the right lanes in Race 8 as did Andrew Wardrop and Michael Hickman, all of us starting at 1 minute 30.

After the second drop, I lead the field on countback from Michael Hickman on 17 points, third was Rod Jackman on 22 points, fourth Don McLeod on 24 points and Andrew Wardrop in the top 5 with 25 points. Don McLeod showed his grasp for the conditions and overcame his 1:30 handicap to take line honours in Race 9, with Dave Murfet off 20 seconds taking second and Peter Germein with another podium, also starting off 1:30. The sea breeze finally kicked in and Peter Germein revelled in the conditions to score a win from 1:30 in Race 10 with the Commodore also liking the breeze coming home second and Michael Hickman gaining some valuable points in third off 2 minutes. Race 11 and Peter Germein takes a double from the consistent Don McLeod and Andrew Wardrop in third. The increasing handicaps took their toll in Race 12 with David Jammie Jones taking the first of a double, closely followed by Ray Joyce and Rod Jackman. Race 13 saw Dave's double with Rod making a point gain in second and the consistent Dark McLeod looming in third place. Race 14 and Michael Hickman scored his second win for the day with Andrew Wardrop on the podium again as too Don McLeod. The final race for the day was Race 15 with a dwindled fleet of 7. Ray Joyce showed his sailing stamina to take the final race from the always competitive Rod Jackman and Andrew Wardrop.

As I eluded to earlier, the key to winning today was not only picking the wind, but managing your handicap, which is exactly what Michael Hickman did, taking out the days racing with 42 points, 10 points clear of Rod Jackman in second on countback from Don McLeod, both on 52 points.

Before closing, a big congratulations to Lisa Blackwood for a fantastic effort in the 2.4M World Championships  that concluded today on the River Derwent. With a couple of wins during the regatta, Lisa finished a very respectable 7th place amongst some very experienced 2.4 sailors including Current Australian Champion and Rio Olympic Team member Matt Bug and reigning 2016 World Champion and previous World Champion Meagan Pascoe.

Next week is the return of the Marvellous Marbleheads with racing from 11:00 AM.

Til then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes.