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The 2019 John Emms Memorial has been run and won. Not very surprisingly, Ray Joyce came out on top for the day, but hardly had it his own way, having to work hard with most of the other sailors keeping him honest. The day started out with a rather confused wind. It didn’t know what direction to blow from, and what speed, with anything from A rig to C rig being contemplated early on. This was the wind to contend with for much of the day, with the exception of the last few races when it slowed right down – but still shifted randomly. The sailors settled on the B rig, which proved the rig of choice for the day – even though an A did come out for a few races, but subsequently put back in the car. Early on, it seemed the newcomer Indies were going to be right up there, with a 2nd and 3rd in the first race, but before long, teething issues brought them further into the field. Interestingly, of the eight competitors today, five had individual wins, owing to the competiveness of the field within the club. In the end, as mentioned before, Ray came out a convincing winner, on 22 points, with John Cole Cook and Lisa Blackwood battling it out till the last race to determine 2nd and 3rd, with John holding out in 2nd on 36 points, with Lisa just two points further back on 38. John Hall had a very consistent day, coming in 4th on 50 points. Consistent enough to have a 5th as throw away points! The twin Indie’s of Andrew Wardrop and yours truly were very fast when they had their moments, and are sure to become more consistent as the yachts get more sail days completed. Peter Sylvesters Dreadnought worked very hard, but it was its first outing since the 2018 Nationals, so now the cobwebs are out, you can expect more pressure from him in the coming race days as well. Many thanks to Stuart Harris, for his excellent services as PRO again. he made sure everyone kept up to our standards while sailing, and was extremely efficient between races. Your work is very appreciated.  
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We have waited four Wednesdays for a decent breeze at the dam, and today we had superb sailing conditions with a mid/upper A rig northerly breeze, with some shifts that kept everyone on their toes. Thirteen boats were racing with the 14th a non-starter, due to a rudder servo failure. The skipper however, was seen later sailing 183, and putting up some very good results. The scratch racing prior to the handicap series was the domain of Rod J and Jammy, with a few others getting a look in from time to time. The handicap series was a start a t5/6 to 8/7 to 5/6 to 8/7 with 3/4 as a gate and then finishing at the start. The Sylvester/Behrens combination sailing 183 ( not at the same time ) may well prove that 2 heads are better than one. Ted Laing came in second, by countback, with David Murfet rounding out the podium in third, just four points behind. Many thanks to John Banks again, for conducting a really good day. At lunch time, Chris Wood led a discussion on the Strategic Plan prepared by Rob Gavin. People seemed happy with it. The one suggestion that arose from Rod J who is about to disappear for his usual 6 months crocodile hunting expedition, was to trial one Wednesday a month as a scratch racing day with some of the better sailors being rostered out to provide coaching advice. As there was general support we will flesh this suggestion out next Wednesday to see how it might all work.  Great conditions today at MBYC, with A and B rigs mostly used. Looked like a C may have come out at one stage as well. Unfortunately, Ray and Andrew had some electrical issues and were then happy to act as Pro and assistant – thanks guys. Looks like it was a race split in to two, and very close between each group, with Lisa, in her new Skalpel fighting against John Cole Cook, in his Skalpel – just two points separating them, with John coming out the winner on the day. Pleasingly, the other three on the water also had a real close tussle, with Joh Hall coming in third place, on 18 points, and Les Hanson and Rod Marshall tying up just three points behind. Great practice for the John Emms Memorial for the RM’s next weekend. On the John Emms Memorial, a few skippers will be venturing out to MBYC in the next week for a bit of tuning and practice. At this stage, possibly Tuesday (fairly windy and just off high tide at 4pm), Thursday (ideal tide at 4pm) and/or Saturday (tide not great so wet launching likely). Contact Kyle if you are interested and would like to be included in communication on tuning days/times once organised. It will be based on amount of interested people, with three sailors a likely minimum. 
Another very light day at the dam with a long delay before the racing could start, today being about the 4th light air Wednesday in a row. The races held were extremely slow, and by lunch only two were completed. The dam levels have fallen again, so the low level has made sailing even more difficult. After struggling to five races, the fleet pulled the pin. Bragging rights were with Stu Harris and his woody . The wine went to 4th & 7th – congrats David Murfet and Chris Wood. Hopefully better conditions next Wednesday.  A very calm day greeted our sailors today. So much so, that sailing did not start till after 2pm. Although calm, the breeze did steadily pick up right through to our close at 4pm, where all the yachts were experiencing problems and wishing they might have changed to B Rig by the second last race. Due to the starting delay, only seven races were completed. In the end, Mike Hickman again showed the way, winning the day on 16 points, one ahead of Lisa Blackwood, on 17, and Ray Joyce 3three further back on 20 points. Welcome back to Ken Dobbie, wo returned to IOM sailing today, as well as a welcome to Paul Jewell, who introduced his freshly repainted Pikanto to the local fleet. Coming up;
Thanks Kyle  Today’s sailing was a frustrating affair in light and variable conditions (again), which boxed the compass. The course had to be changed often by PRO, John Banks, who did a great job in trying to keep on top of the wind variations. Despite only 3 handicap races being completed before an early lunch, another 5 were completed after lunch. Rod J launched his new V10, which has been prepared in his usually meticulous manner and as expected, showed excellent boat speed. The mid week co-ordinators bottle of wine prize was awarded to the PRO for a sterling effort today. On another yacht related topic, an amount of RBRYC sailors have “second” yachts that are for sale, both IOM’s and Marbleheads. I personally know of at least four IOM’s and three RM’s ready to go to their next home’s. If you are interested, or know anyone that could be interested in a new 2nd hand yacht, let me know and I’ll put you/them on to the respective owners. With some yachts available locally, it is a fantastic opportunity to introduce some new sailors to the sport and to RBRYC hopefully. Kyle  Ten skippers fronted for today’s DF95 series. The forecast was poor, but for the first hours scratch racing in B rig conditions in a NW breeze, it was good sailing. At the end of the 3rd race of the handicap series, a very black front appeared from the west, and as the rain started it was decided to call it a day, as hail and Armageddon threatened. As usual, after we packed up the day brightened, up but the rain had killed the wind. So perhaps a good decision to call it a day. Richard Barwick won races 2 & 3 with Jammy second so I guess they will take out 1st & 2nd. We shall try again next week.  Very still conditions greeted the 11 initial starters at the dam. So light in fact, that there was an hour and a half delay before any sailing commenced. The sailors all broke out into an early lunch and members meeting while they waited. Topics such as the RBRYC Strategic Plan, upcoming AGM, DF95 sailing were discussed. If any members that could not make it today would like to know a bit more, email or call me and I'll fill you in on the details I know. Back to racing, and Led Hanson started in a blaze of glory, and after the first race, the newest member to the IOM club, an indie built by yours truly finally hit the water for the first time. A long, long night spent trying to get everything right. A successful first launch, with the yacht sitting in the water as designed a good first step. Now, just to get it tuned up a bit. But, back to racing - Les maintained his momentum, with at fantastically consistent day, with two wins and a drop of just 4 points from the five races sailed. A truly deserving winner on the day. Peter Darcey, similarly consistent took out second place, two points behind Les, on 9, and John Hall, the first of the RM's today, finished third, on 11 points. This coming Wednesday is the March installment of the DF95 Handicap racing, and we then have a break next weekend with the 8hr Day Long Weekend.   |