This morning we made the decision to run the handicap series at 10 am in view of the anticipated very hot temperatures from midday onwards, that didn’t quite eventuate.
Fifteen skippers fronted the start line in a steady NNW A rig breeze in fine and warm conditions. A course was set by our guest PRO John Banks from 4,5 to 8,7 & either 4,3 or the gate to the finish. The breeze was generally steady but picking the shifts was quite tricky on that last windward leg to the finish. 
Eight races were completed interspersed with some drink breaks. Our trout fisherman come farmer showed that he had the mastery of the shifts. Second was Stuart Harris, who sailed very well for the day and didn't grizzle once about the handicaps. 
A deserved 3rd went to Dennis Lees with his quick V10. A lack of willing scratch boats saw the cancellation of scratch sailing after lunch.
Congratulations to the place getters, who will be feeling pleased with themselves, and to those who didn't win but thought they should, or were entitled to win here is a little song in commiseration
https://youtu.be/NtkobPZ-pQw
Thanks to John Banks for PRO’ing for the day. It is really appreciated.
Andrew

​The endless summer rolls on with another excellent day of sailing at the dam with 16 IOM’s racing in ideal  conditions with a mid A rig southerly which morphed into a sea breeze.
An hour of scratch racing was keenly contested before the 8 race handicap series started at 11 am.
The silver fox was sailing his new Britpop with some pretty good results. Geoff Mathews was also sailing, and with a little adjustment to his rather harsh initial handicap had some good races. John Banks came along, and we hope to see him sailing soon. Thanks to those who acted as PRO’s & we hope to continue the excellent sailing conditions next Wednesday. 
Congratulations to Tony Brewer, taking out the day’s even, closely followed by Phil Turnbull and Ray Joyce.

Today was a good sailing day at the dam. We had 18 boats sailing, including 6 woodies - who had a special photo shoot by Rob Gavin and Ray Joyce for publicity shots to promote our woody fleet that will be displayed at the upcoming wooden boat festival. 
Don Ash bought along his very quick Alternative, Wayne B was sailing Peter Germeins Scar, Chris & Andrew their 2 Corby’s, Dennis Lees V8 & Stu Harris’s Corby derivative ( can’t remember the name). Whilst the photo shoot was on, the other yachts were sent off on a longer scratch course. Don’t know the results, but certainly Tony Brewer’s V9 was going very well - someone should buy that boat. It is quick.
At 11.00, the handicap started in a solid sea breeze from 5-6, to 4-3 to 7-8 & finishing at 4-3. Handicaps ranged from -40 secs to + 40 secs. As usual the wind shifts towards the finish line were quite tricky with many places gained or lost in last 100 metres of the race.
Kim Potter came out a clear winner, with Don Ash comfortably in second. Third place went to Rod Jackman and the other places within the top 10 were all very close to each other.

​The first event for the new year has been run, and what can you say – except that every dog has its day…..
 
A  confused Brook greeted us this morning, from very light A rig conditions, through to solid C rig conditions – all within one race. And if you think it was done there, the wind also swept around most points of the compass as well, making decisions prior to hitting the water hard, and only exceeded by the decisions required on the water. Chase the wind one minute, then try to avoid it the next. A few sailors experimented with B Rigs, which were quite competitive with the larger “A” setups, but I think the A was the better overall decision on the day – so long as you kept away from the little squalls that zipped across the dam.
 
Richard Barwick again showed great consistency, coming in third. He took the gutsy decision to drop down to B rig after lunch, which although competitive still, could have done more with the A rig. A few troubles with setup on the “B”, but watch out next month, he will have it tuned nicely.
 
Great to see Geoff Matthews doing well, coming in second - with a bullet in the first race and maintaining consistency throughout, with his handicap well and truly heading towards zero.
 
Yours truly got the bragging rights this month – and has drawn the fury of the handicapper – so next time will not be so easy. After a winch failure initially (from lack of sailing the 95), and then sailing the B rig, things were stepped up a notch when the A rig came out, and was the one to beat on the day. Judging tacks off waves and avoiding the bullets running down the dam proved decisive.
 
Other sailors on the day could have had much improved results, but gear failure and other rig issues blighted them this month. They’ll be much more competitive next month for sure.

Big thanks to Andrew, who sacrificed his sailing today to do the PRO duties for the entire day. We hope to share the duties from now on, with each competitor having a go at being the PRO for a race at a time.