It was my pleasure to be PRO for the Wednesday Handicap Series. Although overcast with mainly high level cloud and some mid level, conditions were quite good for racing with a fairly consistent NNW'er, 2 to 8 knots, averaging 4-5 knots coming down the dam with the usual left and right shifts. The fleet was effectively 14 boats after 1 DNF'ed in Race 1 and retired from racing, but still a decent size fleet I'm sure you would agree. With the thumbs up from Stu Harris, the format was going to take some elements of the 18 Footers 3 Buoy Handicap where there are multiple windward marks to round depending on your handicap, but all boats start off scratch and the handicaps unwind as the race progresses. For the IOM's, Race 1 would start between marks 1 and 2, up to 5 then 6 for the front markers, up to the top 0 mark then 6 for the backmarkers, run back down to the first white mark south of 1 and 2 for the front guys and the "Gate" mark 0 for the backmarkers, then a short windward  to finish between 1 and 2 on the second lap. A tough ask for the back markers! To make it a little more tougher, I gave everyone a time handicap as well: 0, 20, 40 and 60 seconds. The zero and 20 second group sail the shorter courses and the 40 and 60 second group would sail the longer course.

Race 1 and an impressive win for Rob Cooney starting off 40 seconds and sailing the long course, from second place Kim Potter also with the same handicap and Don McLeod starting off scratch and sailing the shorter course finishing third. Podium getters were relegated to the next handicap group.

Race 2 and I thought it a little too tough for the backmarkers, so I bought them back to marks 5 then 6 as well, but still the 2 leeward marks. Race 2 went to 20 second handicapper Peter Germein sailing the shorter course, with front marker Craig McCauley in second and fellow front marker Don McLeod finishing in third place.

Race 3 and after missing the first two races, Wayne Turner took advantage of his scratch start and short course to comfortably win from 20 seconder Denis Lees also sailing the shorter course and a well sailed third for the seasoned Peter Sylvester sailing the longer course off 40 seconds.

Race 4 and the 20 second handicap didn't bother Wayne as he notched up another win followed in second by an impressive sail from Ray Joyce starting last and on the long course, with another well sailed race from Peter Sylvester in third place, also sailing in the same group as Ray.

Although it didn't appear to be that close racing on the water, there were individual races within each group and the score sheet shows the same story. First and second place overall went to a countback of 6th place, 2 points separating first to fourth, 6 points first to sixth and three skippers battling it out for 7th position.

Well done to Peter Sylvester who won the day and bouteille de vin with 11 points, on countback from Don McLeod and Ray Joyce finishing in third place with 12 points.

Sunday sailing resumes 3rd April with the Southern IOM Championship.

Wet Sails,

Stuart Dawes.

Round 6 and the final round of the Marblehead Summer Series today in a very patchy and light breeze , generally from the south with the normal left and right swings to maybe 3 knots in strength, sometimes. Not a bad fleet tuning up though, with seven boats hitting the water on time for the first of 11 races for the afternoon. Wind had settled in a little more for the first race but still very light, the course just one lap from the middle line of bouys up to 2 and 1, back to 4 and 3 then beat back up to finish between 1 and 2. Some of the swings were favouring the pin end of the line, so starting on starboard for the short beat to the "weed", call for water on the left shift up the shore was an option used by a few skippers. In all the starts were well executed by all skippers despite more issues with starting equipment.

Peter Sylvester got the ball rolling with a good win in Race 1, closely fought with Andrew Wardrop second and yours truly third. Wayne Behrens connected all the dots to win Race 2 from myself and John Hall rounding out the podium. Race 3 and the F3 got the bullet, John Hall second and the Red Dragon third. A different winner in Race 4 with Ray Joyce taking line honours from myself and Andrew in hot albeit slow pursuit. The breeze at this point had strengthened 1-2 knots but still very patchy. After the first drop, I led the leader board with 5 points, John Hall in second place with 7 points, Ray Joyce third with 9 points, Wayne Behrens and Andrew Wardrop on 10 points, Peter Sylvester on 13 points and Les Hanson on 18 points.

Race 5 and Wayne Behrens took another line honours with a comfortable win from Ray Joyce in second and myself not far behind. Win number two for #48 in Race 6 with Peter Sylvester starting to improve back to his Race 1 form in second place and Ray Joyce sailing consistently and on the podium again. With the breeze even more consistent, the course was lengthened down to marks 6 then 5 giving a longer run and good long second windward beat to the finish at the top as in previous races. Ray out sailed the fleet in Race 7 after hitching on to the only puff at the top mark and accelerated off down the track while the rest of us were waiting for enough breeze to get to the top mark. I managed to keep the rest of the fleet at hand finishing second and Andrew Wardrop finishing third. A third win for the F3 in Race 8, hotly pursued by Ray and Andrew. After the second drop, I was still on top with 9 points, Ray Joyce second with 13 points and John Hall in third place with 17 points.

Race 9 and Peter Sylvester got back to his form in Race 1 with a good win from yours truly and Andrew filling the minor spots. A fourth line honours for the F3 in Race 10 with Ray's Paradox slipping through the water nicely into second place and the Red Dragon breathing down our transoms in third place. Race 11 and the final race for the afternoon saw Ray continue to sail consistent taking another win for the day with Peter Sylvester sailing well into second spot and Andrew Wardrop sailing consistent as well in third spot.

Final results and a comfortable win for yours truly on 15 points, second place went to Ray Joyce on 20 points and Peter Sylvester in a comfortable third place overall on 29 points. 

No sailing next Sunday as it is Easter, however Wednesday sailing is still on. Sunday April 3rd is the IOM Southern Tasmanian Championships so get your entry in when you finish reading. Its easy and its at the top of the home page.

Wets sails,

Stuart Dawes

The final round of the IOM Summer Series and conditions were far from ideal for racing. The mornings scratch racing was faced with very light 0 to 2 knots winds, sultry conditions and plenty of cloud cover. As the day progressed, winds managed to strengthen a little as the sun broke through and the cloud cover dispersed, with the feint effects of a light sea breeze giving the afternoons handicap racing slightly better pressure than in the morning, but still a lotto draw with regard to puffs and shifts. David Murfet was PRO for the day for the nine skippers that fronted.

The course for the scratch racing was from the start between 4 and 5, up to 2 to 1, run back down around 3 and 4 and finish between 1 and 2. One and a bit laps, but with the light airs, still a ten minute race. Rod Jackman took line honours in Race 1 with Andrew Wardrop second and Ray Joyce third. Race 2 and yours truly took the win from Andrew again in second and Michael Hickman in third place. Michael improved his score by one winning Race 3 with Les Hanson sailing well to take second and Chris Wood the minor spot. Race 4 and Rod scored his second win for the day, myself on the podium again, in second spot, as too Michael with a third. After the first drop, I led the scoreboard on countback from Michael on 7 points, Andrew third with 8 points, Rod 2 points adrift in forth, Chris Wood on 12 points, Les Hanson 13 points, Peter Darcy 14 points and Ray and Stu Harris rounding out the field with 19 points a piece. Race 5 and another win for Wasabi with Ray sailing better to take second and the Silver Fox on the podium for the first time. Ray came good for the final Race 6, taking the win from Michael and Darcy, both again on the podium.

Final results for the scratch racing and a comfortable win for Wasabi on 12 points, 4 points clear of Michael Hickman on 16 points and Andrew Wardrop in third place with 19 points.

Handicap racing was blessed with a little more wind from the general southerly direction to maybe 4-5 knots in very rare puffs, the average speed around 2-3 knots, but still very unpredictable. The course was the same marks but lengthened with another lap. With the handicap starter gone, starts were with the greatest handicaps going on the gun and the rest at their allotted times during the countdown. As usual, the handicaps stated below are what would have been "normal". Dave Murfet declared the first race as the handicap seeding race with the usual 30, 20 10 second penalty for the first 3 placegetters. Given that, Andrew Wardrop became backmarker for Race 2 with a win in Race 1, Michael Hickman grabbed second spot and Rod Jackman to start the next race with a 10 second deficit. Les Hanson showed a clean transom in Race 2, with Wasabi gaining 20 seconds and Michael another 10 seconds. The 10 second penalty for Rod was no problem in Race 3 as he took a comfortable win from Chris Wood and Michael extending his handicap to 40 seconds. Race 4 and the Silver Fox took the honours from Ray Joyce and Rod stepping out to 50 seconds. Ray overcame his 20 second handicap in the fifth as did Darcy off 30 seconds, and Michael off 40 seconds taking the third spot. The final race for the day, Race 6 and Peter Darcy clawed back his 50 seconds to take victory from Michael now off 1 minute and Chris Wood gaining another podium from 20 seconds back.

Final results for the handicap races and the Silver Fox was too cunning for the fleet, comfortably winning the session with 12 points, 4 points clear of Michael in second place and another 4 points clear of third place Ray Joyce.

Next Sunday is the final round of the Summer Series for Marbleheads with racing from 1:30 PM.

Till then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes

 Another very pleasant "Indian Summer's" day on the Brooke today for IOM Handicap racing. BOM forecast for the day was light variable winds becoming south to south easterly 10 to 15 knots by late morning, and they were bang on! At the Brooke, the light variable winds were 1 to 3 knots from the west over the dam wall and the "sea breeze" 3 to 8 knots I would suggest, funnelling over the dam and over the car park to meet on the sailing course, you get the picture. Plenty of snakes and ladders picking the shifts and staying in breeze. With these conditions it was disappointing to see only six skippers turn up, but we had a very enjoyable sailing session anyway.

The skippers and handicaps were: The Commodore David Murfet and Les Hanson off scratch, Peter Darcy, Ray Joyce, Stuart Harris and yours truly off 60 seconds. With the handicap starting box gone, the scratch starter was used, the back marker/s starting on the gun and the mid and front markers at their respective adjusted times of the countdown. For this report I will use the standard handicap start times.

Race 1 saw Les Hanson take line honours, with Dave Murfet finishing second and myself third. Race 2 and backmarker Ray Joyce fleeted the field to take the gun with the Commodore off 20 seconds, again on the podium with a double second place and Peter Darcy taking the third spot. Race 3 and Les Hanson notched up his second win off 30 seconds, with yours truly off 1:10 grabbing second place and the Silver Fox also off 1:10 and also bagging a double third place.

After 3 races, Les Hanson led the field on countback from Dave Murfet, both on 8 points, with myself on countback from Darc in third place, both on 10 points, Ray on 11 points and Stu on 16 points.

Race 4, the first drop. Stu Harris got his act together to take a win from 60 seconds back, followed by myself off 1:30 and a hat trick third place for Darcy off 1:20. With the first drop in play, Wasabi led the field with 7 points, 1 point ahead of Les on countback from Dave, Darcy in fourth place with 9 points, Ray fifth with 11 points on countback from Stu with 11 points as well.

Race 5 and Les Hanson starting off 1 minute, overcame a 20 second head start by the Commodore, and kept clear ahead of the rest of us to take his third win for the day. Dave Murfet was still able to take out second place with the Silver Fox hot on his transom off 1:30 to take his forth third spot placing in a row. Les' win took him to the top of the leader board on 9 points, Dave Murfet second with 10 points, myself third on countback from Darcy on 12 points, Ray fifth with 15 points and Stu DFL :) with 17 points.

Race 6 and the Silver Fox out foxed the fleet from his 1:40 start time, Stuart Harris off 1:30 with his first podium in second place, and a tie (Darcy called it!) for third between Dave and myself. Darcy's win shot him to the top of the leader board with 13 points, half a point (from the tie) ahead of Dave Murfet in second, half a point clear of Les in third, myself fourth with 15.5 points, Stu propelling himself from the bottom of the stack to fifth place with 19 points and Ray now DFL with 20 points.

Race 7 and Ray had something to say about being DFL and took advantage of his start from 1:30 to win from a charging Darcy off the far back marker of 2:10 in second and Stu Harris on the podium again with an improving third place off 1:50. With one race to go, Darcy still held the top rung with 15 points, Dave Murfet second with 17.5 points, Les third with 18 points, myself forth with 20.5 points, just in front of Ray with 21 points, and Stu now DFL but by only 1 point.

Race 8 and I bagged my only win for the day starting off 2 minutes, with Les taking second place off 1:30 and Dave off 1:10 filling the minor podium places.

Overall placing's for the day and congratulations to Les Hanson who won the day with 3 wins and 14 points. Second place went to Peter Darcy just 1 point adrift with 15 points. Third place and ironically, the tie in Race 6 for third, repeated itself in the overall results with myself and Dave Murfet tied, my last win giving me the countback for third place with 16.5 points.

Despite the small fleet, the days racing was very enjoyable with the breeze fairly consistent in strength and fairly predictable in shift direction. Next Sunday is the final round for the IOM Summer Series with scratch racing from 11:00 AM and handicap racing from 1:30 PM. Dave Murfet is rostered for PRO.

Till then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes.

A fine and hot early Autumn day for the Mid Week Handicap Series with the usual prevailing NNW breeze to around 8-10 knots, with the obligatory 90 degree swings in wind direction and a few holes to boot. A solid fleet of 14 boats was officiated over by last week's winner Chris Wood. With the handicap starter box destroyed last week, the scratch starting box was used using the pre gun countdown with backmarkers going on the gun. Handicaps stated in this report are normal handicap start times.

Race 1 line honours went to Peter Germein off 30 seconds and with recent performances, maybe deserves relegation to the 50 second bracket. Second place went to the ever competitive backmarker "Sir" Rodney with Kim Potter off 30 seconds filling the minor spot. Race 2 saw John Smith off scratch take the win with Wayne Turner off scratch taking second and John Banks off 30 seconds third. Race 3 saw the Commodore take the gun off 30 seconds, John Banks off 30 seconds finishing second and Kim Potter off 40 seconds finishing third. Race 4 was Long Distance using 2 starting lines, the windward most for the scratch and 30 second starters, the rest off the leeward line and saw the Commodore take a double off 30 seconds with Peter Germein second off 1 minute and Denis Lees third off 30 seconds as well. Race 5 was back to normal course and Denis Lees got the judges' nod from Rob Cooney off 50 seconds and Kim Potter off 50 seconds as well finishing third. The final Race 6 went to Wayne Turner off 10 seconds with Alan McKenzie off scratch second and Peter Germein off 1:20 third. Provisional results were "provisional" with a calculation error changing third place.

Winner of the Plonk Trophy Kim Potter with 20 points, 3 points clear of second place Peter Germein, 2 points ahead of third place Wayne Turner on 25 points.

Sunday is IOM Handicap with racing from 11:00 AM.

Till then, wet sails.

Stuart Dawes.