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The Tasmanian DF95 State Championships was held this last weekend - with the Northern Tasmanian Radio Yacht Club hosting it this year - for the first time. The event named after George Fish, a stalwart of NTRYC, Radio Sailing in general, and in multiple classes of dingy's as well. It was fantastic to see George's wife coming out yesterday to watch the event, which was held in quite inclement weather conditions. Wet and windy was the theme of the weekend. We had a great field of 14 sailors for the event, with two making the trip from the big island to get a taste of the 42 degrees south wind. 32 races were held in all, with 17 completed on the first day and another 15 today. Lisa Blackwood was the clubhouse leader after the first day, on 36 points, from Stuart Dawes (39) in second, Ray Joyce (43) third and Richard Fisher (46) rounding out the top 4. The course at Lake Trevallyn was near perfect for the prevailing wind of the day, with a good long beat tot he windward mark and offset, before running down to the gate and back for two laps - around 12 minutes per race. B rigs for the start of day 1, with only one changing to a C rig after the goose of a sailor (might have been me) had his B Main shredded after the tie ont he head of the sail broke (hint - don't compromise the tie when you burn the end back when tying it off, it will break). Today started with everyone selecting C rigs initially, and the great racing continued, and we shifted back to B's a little before lunch, and continued with them for the rest of the day. The 37 knot gusts that were predicted didn't eventuate, but we did have some very heavy weather sailing during the day. By the time we completed the 32nd race Lisa Blackwood had extended her slimovernight lead to take out the championship on 67 points. A well deserved win with difficult, but fun sailing conditions. 4th place was her worst conted score - fantastic consistency. 11 points behind, in second, was Stuart Dawes. Also an excellent championship weekend for him, with 8 wins from the 32 races and a worst counted result of 5th showing the consistency throughout. Third place in the Championship was Richard Fisher, on 93 points, also a tremendous effort in the conditions. A few big thankyou's that make these events such a success. To the Northern and North West sailors who entered. Thankyou for sailing in the championship. We know the southern guys are sometimes a bit more serious at times, but the mix of us all in a state championship, along with the obvious fun, serious sailing, laughs and comradeship is what makes radio sailing so enjoyable. I for one hope we all meet together again soon for another really enjjoyable weekend in the DF65 State Championships in two months time. To our sailing friends fromt he big island, thank you so much for taking the time (and expense) to travel south and compete with all of us. We enjoyed your company and friendship - as well as the on water competition. We hope that you leave the state wanting to come back for more sailing and hope to also return the favour by travelling to sail with you in your home states as well. To the southern crew who travelled up to compete - thanks for the time and effort in coming up. It only makes radio sailing stronger in the state when we all come together and sail in events such as this - and it is really nice to see so many sail together in a championship in memory of George and his contribution to the sailing community. Lastly - our volunteers. A massive thankyou to Ted Stevens - our rescue boat operator, helper, BBQ manager (and spare sail supplier....), as well as Andy Hamilton, our PRO for the event. Without your effort behind the scenes and during the event, this would not have been possible. The Lake Trevallyn location was fantastic for the wind produced over the weekend, as well as the elevated sailing area. We hope that this weekend gives the confidence that the club can host stae events quite successfully. Thank you everyone for a great event, great sailing and great weekend in general.     
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A blustery Northerly wind of about 10 – 20 knots was causing choppy conditions for today’s DF95 handicap. All skippers made the choice of B-rig for the morning session and they were definitely needed as even with the smaller rig squally gusts caused havoc. Boat handling and correct tuning for the difficult conditions made the difference in the morning and so it was the more experienced skippers who did well during this session. In the afternoon the wind had settled enough for a rig change for the last three races. Again the choice of A-rig was universal which always results in fairer and closer sailing. Huge thanks to Andrew Wardrop who took on PRO duties today. We all thoroughly appreciated the way that he kept the racing moving quickly as there was a fair bite to the wind. It was great to see new member, Dave Woolley, on the course and sailing really well in the challenging conditions. Dave led the fleet on several occasions only to fall in a hole metres away from the race finish. And Commodore Rod Marshall added a brand new DF95 to our fleet and scored a couple of race wins too! Third overall today was Ray Joyce who was always at the front end and took an overall podium spot without scoring a race win today. Second place was taken by Stuart Dawes who sailed particularly well in the rough morning conditions. Today’s winner was Buzzy Behrens who had six podium finishes on his scorecard. Well done Wayne, Stuart and Ray. The conditions today gave an excellent work-out for the State championships on the weekend. We wish all our members who are making the trip to Launceston all the best. COMING UP No club racing this weekend due to the DF95 championships. Next Wednesday: Handicap racing for IOM’s at the dam. (11:00 button). (Note: Wednesday handicap sailing for IOM’s for the whole of August!) For the A Class sailors. We are looking at having a sail day on Saturday, 5th August so get the yachts ready. We'll post updates once everything is confirmed. John S  A cold day at the dam today, with a light NW breeze initially, turrning to around 15 knots in the gusts later on, with a mixed bag in between. Eleven sailors turned up today - a good healthy fleet and a good preparation for the State Championships next week. Pro, Lisa Blackwood got us under way promptly with some good long courses, and it soon became evident that the one to beat today was Stuart Dawes, who had an absolute cracker of a day. So much so, that he dropped a pair of 4th places as his worst results on the day - I'd have been happy to trade them for my counted results.... Stu easily won the day with just 15 points from our 10 races. Top effort Stu and we know who the one to keep an eye on next week is. Second today - on countback, was Ray Joyce on 27 points, narowly edging out Richard Fisher who took third spot. We also had a countback to decide 4th and 5th position today, showing the closeness of the competition overall. A great days sailing, with 8 of the 11 sailors gaining a podium place during the day. On handicap today, Ray Joyce came out on top, with 4 net points. Rod Marshall came second with 2 net points, with Richard Fisher and Kyle Stewart tying for third on 1 net point. Thanks to Lisa for taking on the Pro duties today. Wednesday will have a return of the DF95's for Mid Week Handicap - button press at 11. There is no scheduled sailing next Sunday at the dam, with many of us travelling to Launceston to compete in the Tasmanian DF95 Championships. Entries are still open, so if you'd like to compete, please get your entry in as soon as possible via our Ranking Events page. For those who are unaware of the sailing location at Lake Trevallyn, I have included a picture below of the location. We cannot park right where we sail, but instead are expected to park in the car park about 60m away from the control area. If there are any questions or issues, please let me know and I'll try to sort them out for you. Kyle     It was a cool morning at the dam with a nice North-Wester of about 8 knots for the pre-event scratch races. Unfortunately this breeze gradually died throughout the day and our last race finished with a shortened course and in not much more than drifting conditions. Still we sailed nine good races and as usual they were closely contested and the podium was well shared throughout the day. Andrew Wardrop took out third place overall. Andrew often staged good recovery in his races after completing penalties. Rob Cooney took second with two race wins in the afternoon session. And the hands down overall winner was Commodore Rod Marshall with three race wins and plenty of other podiums today. Congratulations Andrew, Rob and Rod. COMING UP: A bit of a DF95 Festival! CHECK YOUR CALENDAR. There is a change to the usual pattern. Next Wednesday ‘s handicap will be for DF95s. This is to give those heading to the State championships extra practice beforehand. On the Wednesday’s following the Championships we will be back to IOM’s for the whole month of August. Next Sunday: Scratch racing for DF95s at the dam 10:00 start. Also on Sunday, Montrose Bay Yacht Club is holding its AGM at 3pm for those MBYC members who wish to attend Next Wednesday: Handicap racing for DF95s at the dam 11:00 start. It looks like we will be sending a strong team North for the championships. Sat and Sun 29th and 30th July. There is still time to enter on-line through our site. John S  A good turnout of 8 Marbleheads today, in somewhat inclement conditions. The threatened heavy wind conditions did not turn out for us, and we got away in mostly B Rigs. After race 7, we elected to change to A's and raced the last three in this rig. Ten races were completed in all, wit Ray jumping out of the blocks early with a few bullets, before coming back to the field fort he next four and again finishing very strong. A deserved winner agan today, with 11 points from the 10 races. Kyle Stewart also had a really good day. The Indie sailing very well. Taking a couple of wins and 4 seconds to take second spot on 16 points. Lisa Blackwood brought the Skalpel along for a run today, and sailed it very well in to third place, with just one counted race outside of the podium results. Two behind second with 18 points. On handicap today, we had Rod Marshall and Kyle Stewart tied for first place on 2 rank differential points, with Andrew Wardrop taking third place with 1 rank diff point. Thanks, as always to Les, for doing the Pro duties today. Coming up We have IOM Mid Week Handicap on Wednesday at the dam - button press at 11am. Next Sunday is DF95 Scratch at the dam, button press at 10am. For those intending on sailing in teh DF95 State Championships the week after, please get your entries in as soon as poiisble so our Northern friends can do what they need to do as far as organisation for the event. Thanks Kyle   I was a bit surprised to find that 16 skippers would turn up today - mid-winter, dubious forecast, and after the fleet had copped a bit of a hiding last Sunday. But turn up they did and we were able to enjoy some close racing, albeit in challenging conditions. The Northerly of about 15 knots had surprise gusts and shifts both to the West and the East and so both skill and luck played a part today. A-rigs were the initial choice of preference but some stronger gusts after lunch meant that those skippers that stayed the distance finished the day with their B-rig. We used the rotating PRO system again which seems to work well. Graeme Cooksey took over the duties at the end of the day after he found that he was having some leakage issues. Thanks to all who took a turn. Kyle Stewart was able to squeeze a rare roster day off join the Wednesday group. He seemed to enjoy today’s conditions and finished 4th overall. I managed third overall finishing the day with a mixed bag of results. Second went to Mat Grey who is again threatening that invincible form that he showed earlier in the year. Ian Hey was today’s winner – and particularly well done too as he dashed his handicap early with places in the first three races. Congratulations Bodge! Coming up: Sundays scratch racing will be at the Dam for Marble Heads - 10:00 button Next Wednesday’s handicap at the Dam will be for IOM’s – 11:00 button John S  A truly difficult day at the dam today. From wondering whether the severe weather warning would extend to Hobart, effectively cancelling the day to seeing the conditions when we arrived. What a stark difference. Fully expecting to spend the day on C Rig, but there was confusion over an A or B rig to start with. A wise soul suggested we all suit up with B's and will all be the same, which was unanimously agreed with. Les Hanson - having just returned from sunning himself in Qld - ran the day for us today, giving us 9 races in all. We also had a visit again from Tes, Steven from up north. Unfortunately a difficult day for him in the confusing conditions. A lot of confusion during races. the wind was everywhere and nowhere. Sailors on the beat alongside others on a run. Big C rig gusts flying down the dam - only to disappear just before it hit us, followed by absolutely still conditions. At the end of the day, Michael Hickman came out a clear winner - the pairing with his new V11 certainly agreeing with him. First place with 16 points. Taking second today, was Lisa Blackwood on 12 points, with Ray Joyce only two further behind in third, on 24 points. On handicap, Kyle continued his great run with the Britpop!, winning handicap with 4 net points (handicap penalties catching up now though). Andrew Wardrop enjoyed a good return to Sunday sailing at the dam with a second on handicap (as well as a race win) with 2 net points, which Michael Hickmana nd Ray Joyce shared third spot with 1 net point. This coming Wednesday is the return or IOM Mid Week Handicap, with button press at 11am. Next Sunday is RM Scratch at the dam, button press at 10am. Kyle   It was a very cool brisk Northerly of about 12 – 15 knots which greeted skippers for today’s DF95 handicap sail at the dam. Twelve boats is a good fleet for DF95’s at this time of the year. Andrew Wardrop was assisted as PRO today by Phil Jackman who is still recovering from hip surgery. The pair kept the racing moving well which was appreciated in the cold conditions. Trout generously lent his boat to John Cole-Cook who arrived with the wrong boat for the day. We welcomed a couple of new skippers to our course today. Dave Woolley (Sheep) is a regular DF sailor at Puddleduck Vineyard but has been assisting with official duties at regattas with our club too. And Bruce Palmer who had a few races sailing Dave’s boat and a couple with Ian Hey’s is also a regular at Puddleduck in the DF65’s. I think that Bruce might be considering buying a DF95 now! Both skippers showed that they know their way around a yacht racing course. A very warm welcome to you both! All skippers chose A-rigs for the first race but when the breeze strengthened a little before race 4 most went to the rig box to unfurl their B-rig. As so often happens, it was no sooner than we had changed, that the breeze promptly died a few knots and A-rigs were the right choice again. After lunch the wind had died further and so at least the choice of rig was an obvious and universal choice which gives a level playing field for the fleet. Today we tried a suggested variation with the handicap system. A 10 second handicap bonus was given to the skipper finishing in last place each race – with the pro-visa that you could only benefit from this provision once during the day. Did it work? May-be – the jury is still out on this. We might give it another trial next week but if anyone has any further comments on this please let me know. Third place overall today was taken by Ian Hey who had a mediocre morning but turned his day around after lunch break. Second went to John Cole-Cook and very well sailed too, in a borrowed boat and unfamiliar class. And today’s winner was Lisa Blackwood. Consistent sailing as always. In fact Lisa’s results should be even better as her finish in Race 2 was not recorded – administrative error. Under such circumstances we would normally award her average points for that race but she wins anyway. Congratulations Lisa, John and Bodge. Coming up: Sunday: IOM scratch racing at Risdon Brook Dam (10:00 button) Next Wednesday: Handicap Shield racing for IOM’s at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button) And don’t forget the DF95 George Fish Memorial State Championship at the end of this month in Launceston. Enter online through the rankings page on our website John S  Don't know how long it's been, but we got some wind today. Started with brisk B rig weather, however, just before the start of the day, a mixture of C and C2 rigs were on the water. We had 8 sailors for the Tasmanian Marblehead State Regatta, and in all, 17 races completed for the day. Througout the day, the wind persisted, and in fact increased till about 2pm. Some sailors pulled out from not having a C2 or lower to use, but we even got a B2 rig on the water for one race, showing the level of wind we were experiencing. By the end of the day, we mostly had our B's on, so most sailors used at least 3 rigs as the day progressed. The day was expertly run by Pro Jeff Byerley along with our two volunteers, Ian Hey and Dave Woolley. By the lunch break, it was evident that Ray had a tight hold on the day, with five race wins, a second and a DNF. The masterclass continued after lunch, with the Grunge sailing the fastest I have seen an RM sail. Cracking those sheets a little bit and letting it fly certainly made for some fast heavy weather sailing. A true credit to him and a thoroughly deserved win on the day, with just 22 points. Second to fourth place was separated by just 3 points Some very close racing. Stuart Dawes pevailed amongst that group, to take out second place on 45 points, with John Cole-Cook just two behind in third, on 47 points. We again ran a handicap segment within the regatta, and John Cole-Cook took home first place on handicap, with 2 net points (based on his event seeding compared to his finishing position). Second place on handicap went to Stuart Dawes, with 1 net point for the event. Third place on handicap went to Phil Turnbull, Rod Marshall, John Hall and Ray Joyce, who all finished on 0 net points. Congratulations to all competitors today. An excellent regatta, sailed in great spirits and heavy winds. Thanks for Pro'ing the day Jeff Byerley, and also to our observers Ian Hey and Dave Woolley. On an aside, some of our members had a working bee at Montrose Bay Yacht Club yesterday, pulling in the buoys for maintenance. Big thanks to Rod Marshall, Ray joyce, Andrew Wardrop, John Hall and Peter Sylvester. Also, our annual subs are now due. We have had about half our membership pay so far, and at the end of this week, I'll be sendng out invoices to those who have yet to pay as a reminder to get them in as soon as possible. We are about to spend a significant amount of funds for our part in a successful grant application to replace the Aluminium dinghy at Montrose, so every dollar that comes in is certainly appreciated. Coming Up Wednesday is DF95 Mid Week Handicap, at the dam with button press at 11am Next Sunday is IOM Scratch at the dam, button press at 10am. Kyle   |
