It was a very cool 11 degrees max at the dam today and a Northerly katabatic added chill factor to it too! But it was a great wind for sailing IOM yachts. The breeze was about 12 knots at the start of the day but tapered as the day went on so that for our last race we had perhaps 4 or 5 knots.
 
John Banks was on hand today to do the PRO’s job and set us good long courses for the ample breeze. Thanks for your work John.
 
It was great to have Stuart Dawes back for a Wednesday sail. Stuart has a couple of weeks off work at the moment so he might be back for more Wednesday sailing.
 
Honorable mention today goes to Rob Cooney who peeled off 3 race wins in the first 4 races (and there-by dashed his handicap for the remainder of the day!)
 
Third place today went to Paul Matthews after a count-back with John Hall. I think that Buzzy helped Paul with some tuning advice at lunch-time which might have made a difference as Paul finished the day strongly with a win and a second place.
 
Lisa Blackwood showed her class by finishing second on a day where it was fairly difficult for the back-markers to make an impression of the rest of the fleet.
 
And today’s winner was Peter Turner who was always at the head of the fleet and had plenty of trips to the podium today. Congratulations Pete, Lisa and Paul.
 
All the best to our team who have travelled to Newcastle for the Marblehead National titles. We wish you good sailing and an enjoyable time.
 
COMING UP:
 
Sunday: IOM scratch racing at Risdon Brook Dam. 10:00 button-press.
Next Wednesday: DF95 handicap racing at Risdon Brook dam. 11:00 button-press.
 
Shorty

​Very cold today at the dam, with rain threatening all day. A few squalls came though on us, but not quite enough to dampen the spirits of those sailing.

With the Easterly influence, we had some interesting times, with wind shifts galore, making sure it was those who coped well with the conditions coming out in front.

Of the six sailors who came alng today, we had one real standout who obviously didn't care that the two drops for the day was intended for bad races - instead dropping a 3rd and 4th place for his net score.

Winner today, by a long way, was Stuart Dawes. Four race wins frm his 8 races showing the dminance over the field. A well deserved winner on just 8 points.

Second place went to Richard Fisher, on 14 points. Two race wins and a lot of laughter from Richard today.

Third place, four adrift of Richard, was Lisa Blackwood on 18 points.

Coming Up

IOM Handicap Racing on Wedesday at the Dam, button press at 11am

IOM Scratch Racing next Sunday at the dam, button press at 10am

Just for information, we also have four sailors representing the Club at the RM National Championships at Grahamstown Dam, Newcastle,  staring on Monday 5th July. Best of luck to all competing, and safe travels.


Kyle

It was good just to get back to Wednesday sailing after a couple of handicap events cancelled. With the temperature forecast for 17 and a good breeze promised 14 skippers turned up for today’s event at the dam. The wind was straight Northerly and about 20 to 25 knots and so B-rigs were the obvious choice. In a couple of the races before lunch we were well overpowered and knockdowns and nose-dives were common. Fortunately the wind did moderate for the afternoon’s session and the day was completed without major incidents.
 
It was the sort of day where it was difficult to decide whether it was best to work the shore-line where working the shifts earned you ground or to stay out where there were less wind holes. An ounce of luck was a good thing.
 
Thanks to Lisa for taking on PRO duties in the afternoon session. It was the sort of day when an on-duty PRO was really needed.
 
Today’s racing was, in fact, a handicap shield event as it had been held over twice consecutively due to the cancellations.
 
It was the mid-fleeters who featured in the results . Ricky Price continues to excel with his new boat and took third spot with two wins a second place in his total. I managed second today with some good sailing in the afternoon. It was Phil Jackman’s day though with consistent good sailing well earning him the win. Congratulations Trout!
 
All three of us unfortunately fall victim to the handicap snare: Too many trips to the podium earns you handicap penalty!
 
Coming up:
 
Sunday: DF95 scratch racing at Risdon Brook Dam. (10:00 button press)
Next Wednesday: IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam. (11:00 button press)
 
Shorty

A cool day today, but with a nice - but gentle breeze from the north giving an ideal wind direction at least for Long Distance Racing.

Eight skippers turned up today, two IOM's and 6 Marbleheads - a last prep before we have 3-4 of them heading to NSW for the 2024 National Championship.

With the format today, we decided to handicap the IOM's two minutes from the RM's and see how it went from there. Initially, the IOM's had a distinct advantage given the head start, but that was a very hard thing to get right given the changing nature of the strength of wind. All said, the 2 minutes was kept for much of the day, and all sailors were quite happy with how that turned out.

Ricky got a great start, having to drop a second place by race 4. His V12 is going beautifully and is a rocket downwind. It was not all his way though, with some RM's taking some wins later on and Andrew also getting in front of him on a few occasions.

In the RM fleet, Kyle, Lisa and Ray fought it out a fair bit until Ray retired for the remainder of the day. Rod Marshall came in with a fantastic lift on one of the races and almost took the fleet win on that race. John Hall also had some magnificent turns of speed in some of the races as well. In the end, the consistency of Kyle and Lisa's racing proved the difference, heading the fleet at the end of the day.

Overall results - Ricky Prices streak of high performance has continued and he is a very worthy winner of the day, with 11 points from the seven races.
Second place by countback - six points in arrears, was Lisa Blackwood on 17 points, with Kyle taking out third place.

IOM fleet was dominated by Ricky, winning with 7 points. It wasn't all his way though, with Andrew Wardrop winning a few races, finishing on 10 points.

RM Fleet was close, with Kyle taking the day out on 10 points, with Lisa one behind on 11 and John Hall rounding out the top three on 18 points.

The results of the IOM and RM Fleet is calculated with the other fleet completely disregarded in that race. ie in race 7, Kyle finished 6th overall and Lisa 1st, a difference of 5 points, but in the fleet race, Lisa was 1st and Kyle 4th, a difference of 3. This is why there are occasions where a skipper may finish higher overall and another skipper may finish above them in the fleet race - such as it was between Lisa and Kyle today.

Coming up

Wednesday is Mid Week IOM Handicap at the Dam, button press at 11am

Next Sunday is scheduled DF95 Scratch, at the dam, button press at 10am. For those of us that are MBYC members as well, a reminder that the MBYC AGM is on next Sunday as well (3pm)

Kyle

A cold day this morning. The car told me it was a sprightly 3C on the way to the dam. The ice on the side of the road told me it was colder, but a nice Katabatic had formed on the Derwent, so was hoping the same for the dam.

Not quite as good as the river, but the dam did provide some consistent wind, albeit very light - but at least it wasn't patchy and random.

We got under way with a very slight delay while we fixed up a competitors broken sidestay - how fiddly that is when the fingers are numb from the cold.

The 11 competitors got away, and we enjoyed a consistent light breeze up until the lunch break, having completed 6 races. A quick tally of the results had Lisa ahead, with Ray, Stu and Kyle tied for 2nd place. Peter Sylvester was leading the Silver fleet, with Rod in second and Ricky and Andrew tied for third. All very close together.

The lunch break brought in a rest in the wind and we thought that the day would be done, but it did come back and we sailed a further six races after lunch. The final two in millpond conditions, but just enough wind to keep moving - just.

It turned out today that the first beat was critical to the final positions on most of the races, with the first few getting around the buoys often remaining in those front couple of positons. Unfortunately no real passing lanes today.

At the end of the twelve races, things were very tight thoughout, both overall and in Silver Division.

With a win in the last race, Ray Joyce came out the winner of the Mid Winter Regatta on just 24 points by way of his three race wins.

Second, on countback was Kyle Stewart - no wins today, but very consistent with throwing out two 5th places.

Third today was Lisa Blackwood, just two points behind on 26 points.

In Silver Fleet, Andrew Wardrop took the win for the day on 19 points. A fine performance today.

Second place, on countback, was Peter Sylvester - also on 19 points.

Third place went to Ricky Price, just two adrift on 21 points.

A great days sailing, albeit in very light conditions. It was wonderful to see that although we were a few short on normal numbers for the event, the Silver Fleet sailors were out in force today enjoying the sailing - with multiple sailors taking podium places within the full fleet, which is fantastically encouraging. Ricky Price adding to his first main fleet race win a few weeks ago with his first win in a Ranking Event.

Personally, I feel that the Silver Fleet idea has been a great success, with us seeing a few sailors returning to Sunday sailing, and enjoying the challenges that it brings, as well as having good opportunity to come away with some success on the day. This concept came about from one of our members - who wasn't on the committee - and shows that members input to the committe is heard and will be acted on if it has advantage to the members. Please bring in more ideas and opinions to the committee if you have an idea that could help us become a better and more inclusive club. It's what makes us stronger.

Big thanks - as always - to Les today, for being the PRO for us, allowing the rest of us to enjoy the sailing. Thanks also to Stu Dawes for helping out with the last few races and Phil Jackman for coming along and also supporting Les towards the end of the day.

Coming up

Wednesday is  Mid Week IOM Handicap at the Dam, button press at 11am

Next Sunday is scheduled RM Scratch, but this may change with three of our RM sailors heading to Melbourne next weekend for the Victorian State Championships. More details to confirm and follow regarding next Sunday. Good luck to those competing next weekend.

Kyle

It was a very chilly start to the day and although is was sunny, the sun does not really make its appearance at the dam until it emerges from the shadows of the pine trees about 11:00 and so, in brief, it was cold! A nice wind though – about 8-10 knots of katabatic Northerly drawing straight down the dam. As usual with this winter wind it did moderate during the day but even in the last race there was 4 of 5 knots and so, in all, excellent conditions for sailing DF95’s
 
Andrew Wardrop officiated superbly as usual and set a good course for suiting the DF95. Thanks Andrew.
 
We welcomed my brother Alan Short to the fleet today. Al had some initial set up problems with a broken forestay, and losing his rudder. Eventually he was able to enjoy some good racing after the lunch break. Welcome to Risdon Brook Al.
 
Close finishes are becoming quite the usual with our handicap events which shows that the system is working well.
 
Third place today was taken by Phil Jackman with 6 podium finishes but without a race win. Second went to Lisa Blackwood who sailed much of the day starting well behind everyone else. Today’s winner was Ian Bailey with four race wins. Ian and his mate Colin are regular starters when we have a DF95 Wednesday. We appreciate your input guys and you have put us on notice with the improvement that you are making. Congratulations to today’s place-getters!
 
Lisa’s performance today causes a ‘shakedown’ of handicaps. Her performance today would normally raise her handicap by 10 seconds. But because she started the day with a handicap of 65 such an increase would take her to 75 which is beyond the 70 second limit for maximum handicap. So instead she goes to 70 for the next event and all others are reduced by 5.
 
Coming Up:
Sunday: The IOM mid-winter regatta at Risdon Brook dam. Late entries can still be made on-line. Briefing at 10:15 for a 10:30 start.
Next Wednesday: IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook dam. 11:00 button-press.
 
Shorty