​A few of us turned up early today (and one a bit later than the first two....) to adjust the buoy markers and check the race course for weed as it has persisted the last few weeks.

Unfortunately, it was still about - quite likely after the extreme downpour we had early this morning - flushing out the rivulets.

A quick chat with the sailors on site and we agreed to alight to Risdon Brook Dam to sail - with the hope that the conditions there would be better. One of the massive advantages we have a as club with two venues to sail at.

After a quick adjustment, we got away fairly quickly, and without much time lost (only about 30mins).

Terrific B rig conditions prevailed throughout, with a lot of shifty breezes to keep everyone on their toes.

We got 11 races completed in the end, and apart from a few wet squalls coming through, I thnk everyone enjoyed the day.

At the completion of the eleven races, Ray Joyce was the sailor who came out on top, with 18 points. A masterclass in consistent sailing with four wins and worst counted score being a 4th place. Well done on such a great day Ray.

Second today was Kyle Stewart, on 24 points. Jumping out of the blocks early with 4 wins in the first five races, but losing touch with the wind shifts int he second half of the day.

Third place was taken out by John Cole-Cook, on 28 points.

On handicap today, Kyle Stewart came away with first place, on 1 net point, with Ray Joyce, Stuart Dawes, Rod Marshall, Andrew Wardrop and John Hall all tied in second on 0 net points. With so many on net 0, it shows the maths in behind the seeding is pretty robust (if I don't mind saying so myself).

Although the points scores look like there was a fair gap with the sailing results, the racing was actually very close, and apart fro a few where the lead boat got a jump into a different wind shift, everyone was within a minute of each other - mostly just a few boat lengths.

Big thanks today goes to Les Hanson. Always turning up to Pro for us and today was quite unpleasant with the squalls coming through, dampening things for us.

Coming up

We have DF95 Mid Week Handicap on Wednesday at the dam - button press at 11am.

Thursday will see a replay of A Class sailing - MBYC opening up at 4. Last week had four sailors there enjoying ideal sailing conditions. Feel free to come as well if you'd like a tuning session.

Next Sunday is IOM Scratch - adjusted to a 10am start to allow for the low tide later in the afternoon.

Kyle

The forecast was for Easterly conditions which usually spells trouble for those racing on the dam. While the wind was shifty and came from all compass points at some stage during the day it did maintain a good strength and the glorious blue sky and warm conditions made for a great day out.
 
Peter Sylvester offered to be the PRO for today and did an excellent job keeping the racing happening quickly and setting challenging courses. The last race of the day featured upwind sailing for every leg! Pete commented on how close the racing was. In most races there was less than one minute separating the first and last boat.
 
It is always great when Peter Darcy joins the fleet. Darcy had a good day today too – completing nine races with a well sailed win in race 6.
 
Rod Jackman showed us how eager he is to get his new boat by pealing off two wins and a third in the last three races after borrowing Kim Potter’s boat.
 
Third place overall today was taken by Wayne Behrens again sailing the orange hulled Joker. Wayne’s handicap had slipped down a fair bit in recent weeks but is now reinstated after successive weeks at the pointy end.
 
Second was Ian Hey. A great sail from Bodge today and a result sheet showing good ‘handicap management’ with three third places amongst five podium finishes.
 
And today’s winner was Ricky Price just 1 point ahead of Bodge. The new Ellipses is now beautifully tuned and is showing good boat speed. It is a real credit to Ricky to win the day in a boat that was totally self-built.
 
Congratulations to all.
 
Coming up:
Thursday (tomorrow) - A Class sailing with MBYC opening at 4pm for anyone interested

Sunday’s scratch racing will be for Marbleheads at Montrose. (1:00 button)

​Next week’s Wednesday handicap at the dam will be for DF95’s. (11:00 button) 

​Champagne sailing conditions today at the dam, with a solid N-NW around 15 knots for much of the day - keeping the 27C conditions a bit cooler..

Nine sailors came along to compete today, and a testement to the incresing reliability among our fleet, we had only three races that were not the full compliment, with the fisrst race having one skipper not quite ready, and two other races just one yacht down.

With the wonderful wind conditions, it was interesting to see multiple tactics in play. Some yachts heading out to the middle of the dam to extract some more wind, and some others close in to the waters edge attempting to get some advantage with the lifts available. I'm pretty sure we all shared in both "hero" and "zero" moments as the day went on.

The races were expertly controlled by Les Hanson and Rod Marshall, with some great courses set and good, long beats to windward for us all.

After the ten races were completed, it was Mat Gray who came out on top, winning the day on 22 points. His four race wins a testament to his super consistent sailing today. Well deserved.

Second place was won by countback, with Stuart Dawes taking the second spot with 25 points, winning the counback by fact that he got a race win in heat 2.

Taking third today was Kyle Stewart, also on 25 points.

Such was the closeness of racing today, that 4th and 5th were only 1 and 2 points off 3rd today.

On handicap today, Kyle Stewart came away with first place, on 5 rank diff points. Stuart Dawes claimed 2nd place with 3 rank diff points, with Mathew Gray in third with 2 rank diff points. 

This Wednesday, we ahve IOM Mid Week Handicap at the dam, button press at 11am.

On Thursday, we are going to make another attempt at A Class twilight sailing, with MBYC opening up at 4pm and sailing as soon as everyone is ready to go.

Next Sunday is Marblehead Scratch at MBYC, button press at 1pm. Given the weed the last few Sundays at MBYC, we will assess prior and will send a message out if it is decided to relocate to Risdon Brook. With any amount of luck though, it will be nice clear sailing for us all at MBYC.

Kyle

​Bit of a variable day at the dam with 12 skippers battling light & shifty breezes from north to north east.

John S was off camping on the east coast but Rod M stepped in as PRO after his Blitz had an electrical glitch.

Buzzy was sailing his orange 87 today very well & Ricky was also sailing his new Equinox well.

We started with short courses from the start to 6/5 to 1 - 2 gate & finish then as the breeze built the course was extended to 8 - 6-5 -8 gate finish. Challenging but good sailing.

PS. no foreign observation balloons were seen over the dam today.

The winner today - no stranger to the top of the dias - was Wayne Behrens on 16 points>

Second place went to Ricky Price, just two behind on 18 points.

Third place went to Mat Gray, on 24 points

Some very close results with 7th place only 3 points behind 3rd.
 
Just a bit on the AWBF last weekend.

A number of IOM woody sailors decided to again mount a display (13 boats ) to promote our class . We were in the City Hall entrance with the classic dinghy classes plus kayaks (40 + ) in the hall.

The event went off very well with Saturday being peak visitors through the hall of about 2,000. A lot of interest from the public  in our display & endless questions.

Of particular interest was Rex Calvert's Dragon, Dennis Lees vintage Marblehead, Rickys RG65 & Jeff Byerley's part built IOM “Fatboy”.

A particular thanks those that manned the display - Ricky, Rod M, Ian H & Phil T also a thanks to Kyle for supplying our boat display cards.

To run the 4 day event It takes over 300 volunteers, a large number of whom are in their 60’s with many in their 70’s plus a small hard core of younger professionals .

The organisation skills needed to erect the displays & move up to 400 boats in & out of the venue is quite remarkable.     

On Sunday, we have DF95 Scratch at the dam, button press at 1pm

Andrew W

An interesting day today. A variace n wind from becing almost becalmed through to about 20 knots at times with some of the gusts. Made for some really interesting sailing and a great tue up for those who are getting their yachts race-ready for a bit later on.

Ted Stevens came down again - making quite a habit of it. His Britpop! going quite well, and getting the teething problems identified and sorted as we all do with lovely new yachts.

An eclectic mix of IOM's, A Class and Marbleheads. Personally, I think it was great to see the many different types of yacht all sailing together

Just the six races were completed today. Some time spent early re-setting marks, and then a wait on the wind.

That said, we all really enjoyed the day, with some fun lighthearted moments mixed in amongst it on a regular basis.

Stuart Dawes was practically unassailable today, taking four bullets and a second for his five counted races - a thoroughly deserved winner today - a great score of just 6 points.

Second place went to our northern invader, Ted Stevens, on 13 points. Enjoying his Britpop! for sure today.

Rounding out third place - for the first time - was Andrew Price, just one point behind Ted, on 14 points. Great sailing today, and as your experience picks up, so will your consistency.

Thanks - as always - to Les Hanson, for his work as Pro today. ItThe effort you put in is always very appreciated by all of us.

Coming up on Wednesday, is our regular IOM MId Week Handicap, button press 11am at the dam.

Next Sunday is DF95 Scratch at the dam, button press at 1pm.

Kyle

A light but steady Southerly which strengthened throughout the day provided excellent A-rig conditions for the IOM’s today. This was Risdon Brook Dam at its best and 16 skippers enjoyed close racing all day. 

Rod Jackman was the official PRO today but frequently delegated responsibilities to accept invitations to sail other skipper’s boats. Thanks to all who took a turn as PRO today.
​
Good camaraderie and support for each other were the order of the day and I am pretty sure that most skippers really enjoyed the day.

Today’s winner was Chris Wood who seemed to finish his races off well – often leaving it until the last leg to claim a good position.  A nice welcome back to you Chris after a couple of weeks off.

Second was Ray Joyce who left it until the last race to bring home the bacon.

And Jammy Jones took out third place today. Jammy has been consistently amongst the leaders this year and now joins the scratch markers for next week.

Coming up: 
Sunday 12 h Feb: Long distance racing at Risdon Brook Dam - All Classes. (11:00 button)
Monday 13th Feb: A Class scratch racing at Montrose (11:00 button)
Wednesday 15th Feb: IOM handicap at Risdon Brook Dam. (11:00 button)


John S

An excellent day presented today, with a nice 10-14 knot NW to N breeze through most of the day.

An early start to usual given the very low tide this afternoon, and in hindsight we were very fortunate as the wind died off not long after we finished for the day.

Eleven sailors in all sailing, two from our sister clubs with Ricky Price (MBYC) now a regular sailing with us and Ted Stevens (NWRYC) coming down to give his new Britpop! a good stretch.

Ten races were completed, under the watchful eye of our Pro for the day, John Hall, whose job of setting courses became harder as the day wore on and the wind continued to drift further towards the North.

Some excellent sailing throughout, with some fantastically close tustles between yachts in many stages of racing. Excellent friendly racing throughout, showcasing the behaviour we should all be aspiring to whichever club we are from. Great to see.

Three new yachts were out there today, testing the B rigs for the first time, and all showed a lot of promise. Ted's Britpop!  getting a good stretch of the rigging, and will be all good for next time he comes down. He had some real good pace with the yacht today, much better than the results show.
Ricky Price's new Equinox also sailed extremely well and will be a very competitive yacht. His build quality on the Woodie is absolutely fantastic.

In the end, Michael Hickman was too good today, running away winner on the day with just 15 points.

Lisa Blackwood was hot on his heels in second, just one point behind on 16.

Ray Joyce rounded out the top three, on 23 points.

On handicap, Rod Marshall came out winner today, with 2 net points, with a tie for second wiith Stuart Dawes, Kyle Stewart and John Short all with 1 net point.

Coming up on Wednesday, is our regular IOM MId Week Handicap, button press 11am at the dam.

This Thursday hopefully will see the A Classes make an appearance at MBYC - club opening up at 4pm. Please let me know if you intend on coming, so we know whether to hold it or not.

Next Sunday is Long Distance Handicap at the dam.

Finally, next Monday is schedulled A Class Scratch at MBYC.

Kyle