A fine day with light winds greeted skippers for mid week racing at the Brook. A solid fleet of 12 IOM's and only 5 DF95's hit the water with the IOM's starting first on a handicap start and the DF's starting together off "scratch" at 2:30 after the IOM backmarkers. Stu Harris managed proceedings and gave the IOM skippers their handicaps with no major changes. With very light and shifting conditions, only five races were completed.

​Race 1 line honours went to backmarker Rod Jackman with Tony Brewer second and Don McLeod in third place. Race 2 saw David Jones, also starting off 1:30 take the gun from Bruce Rose in second place off 1:30 as well and Tony on the podium again in third place. Race 3 and Bruce took a good win from 1:50 from Andrew Wardrop off 1:30 in second place and Rod Jackman overcoming a 2 minute handicap to take third spot. Race 4 saw a win for IOM rookie Rod Marshall with Jammy scoring a second from 2 minutes and Tony sailing well again into third position. The final race went to Rob Cooney with Tony still at the pointy end in second place and Don McLeod having a good race and finishing in third place. Tony's 4 podiums out of 5 races gave him the win for the day with 10 points from second place Bruce Rose on 12 points and David Jones in third place with 14 points.

​Race 1 for the DF95's saw line honours go to Wayne Behrens with Peter Darcy second and myself third. A double for Wayne taking the gun in Race 2 with Anthony Castray in second place and yours truly in third place. Race 3 saw a win for Chris Wood with Anthony second and Darcy third. Race 4 saw a win for the Silver Fox with myself finishing second and Wayne on the podium again in third place. Race 5, the last, and I managed to notch up a win with Wayne sailing well in to second spot and Anthony filling the minor podium position.

​Wayne won the DF Series with 7 points from myself in second spot with 9 points and Peter Darcy 1 point behind in third place.

​Sunday is Round 1 of the IOM Summer Series with racing from 1:00 PM.

​Till then, wet sails.

​Stuart Dawes.

Not a huge turnout for IOM Handicap with only seven boats on the water for the days racing. With a forecast  10 to 20 knot variable west to NNW breeze, racing at the Brook was going to be the usual game of snakes and ladders with luck also playing its hand as weed was still a nuisance and race stopper if encountered. With the wind so variable, setting a course was headache but we ended up racing two courses depending on the oscillations. Course for the NNW'er was start between 1 and 2, windward beat up to 6 then on to the top 0 mark, run back down to 3, another lap of that with a running finish between 1 and 2, all marks to starboard. When the wind was in its westerly phase, the course was reaching port start between 1 and 2 to 3, windward leg out to 9 to 6 to 3, repeat and finish between 1 and 2 after rounding mark 6. B rig was the choice for the first few races until the breeze moderated in the afternoon and A rig was the only option.

​Race 1 and the scratch advantage was enough to see Les Hanson take line honours from 30 second starter Peter Sylvester with David Jones beating the rest of the fleet, all starting on 1 minute, to take out third place. The usual handicap adjustments were made after each race; 30 seconds for first, 20 for second and 10 seconds for third place. After returning from his big island winter walkabout, Rod Jackman notched up a win with Jammy on the podium again in second place as too Peter Sylvester with a third place finish. Race 3 and a win for Wasabi off 60 seconds with Les sailing well off 30 seconds to take second and Sir Rodney finding the right lanes from 1:30 to take out third spot. After 3 races, a three way countback had Les on top with 10 points from Rod second, Jammy third, myself and Pete in 4th and 5th with 12 points each as well. Race 4 and Jammy got the bullet off 1:30 with Pete notching up another second off 1 minute and Stu Harris finally getting on the podium with a third place after starting off 1 minute. Jammy took the lead with his win and 6 points, 1 point ahead of Peter in second with Les and Rod in 3rd and 4th, both on 8 points and Stu Harris rounding out the top 5 with 11 points.

​Race 5 was a race of attrition with only 4 boats managing to avoid weed and finish the course. Stu Harris overcame his 1:10 handicap to take the win from Les off 50 seconds and Peter in third place off 1:20. It was tight at the top of the leader board with a 3 way countback. Les led from Jammy and Peter, all on 10 points with Stu Harris 4th on 12 points and Sir Rodney in 5th place with 14 points. Race 6 saw Jammy starting last off 2 minutes and overtake the fleet ​to notch up another win from Rod in second off 1:40 and Andrew Wardrop making his first podium for the day off his starting handicap of 60 seconds. The podium placing must have inspired Andrew as he managed to out sail the fleet and take the gun in Race 7 with Les starting off 1:10 finishing in second place and Peter Sylvester taking out third place after starting off 1:30. With one race to sail, Jammy lead the fleet with 16 points, second was Les on countback from Peter, both on 18 points, Rod 4 points in arrears with 20 points and Stu Harris in fifth place with 21 points.

​The final race for the day saw line honours going to Rod Jackman with Stu Harris second and Les Hanson finishing in third place. With Jammy only finishing in fourth place after starting last, Rod's win  was enough to see him take victory for the day on countback from Les, both on 15 points, with Jammy relegated to third place and 16 points.

​Next Sunday is Round 1 of the IOM Summer Series. With Daylight Savings kicking in, racing is from 1:00 PM. Next Wednesday is IOM handicap and DF scratch racing.

Till then, wet sails.

​Stuart Dawes.

Calm to very light SSW zephyrs were on offer from Hughie today for the Wednesday Handicap Series. A very solid fleet of 15 IOM's fronted for racing under the direction of Denis Lees doing the PRO duties. Handicaps were allocated with no surprises and the course was set to: start between 1 and 2, beat up to the outer gate mark, inner gate mark, run down to 3 and out to 4 and finish between 1 and 2. With the very light conditions it was going to be a tough day for the front markers.

​Race 1 line honours went to back marker David Jones with fellow back markers Bruce Rose and myself in second and third place respectively. Race 2 saw rookie IOM skipper Rod Marshall notch up a win with fellow front marker Alan McKenzie in second spot and John Smith rounding out the podium. Race 3 and a double for Rod with Wayne Turner over the line in second place and Kim Potter sailing well into third place. Race 4 line honours went to Tony Brewer with Peter Sylvester sailing Denis' V9 finishing in second spot with Bruce Rose on the podium again with a third place finish. Race 5 saw mid fleet starter Rob Cooney notch up a win from Bruce on the podium again as too John Smith in third place. The final race for the series saw a win to Jammy Jones with fellow backmarker Wayne Behrens second and Kim Potter on the podium again in third place.

​Final results saw a very tight leader board with only 6 points separating the top 9 placings. Winner for the day was Rob Cooney with 24 points, second Tony Brewer with 25 points and third place to David Jones  with 26 points, on countback from Bruce Rose. 

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

Till then, wet sails.

​Stuart Dawes.

To say that the Brook was enigmatic today was a understatement. Forecast was for light south to south westerly winds backing east to south easterly 10 to 15 knots by late morning, which was a recipe for guess that shift and kept skippers scratching their heads as to which was the best way around the course. A healthy turnout of 17 skippers with 8 skippers contesting the IOM Handicap Series and a very healthy 9 skippers for scratch racing with their DF95's. PRO for the day was John Banks who set the best course possible for the conditions: start between 3 and 4, up to 2 and into 1, down to the 0 mark and back to the finish between 3 and 4. Handicaps for the IOM's were allocated with no surprises while the DF95's started after the IOM backmarkers off scratch at 2 minutes. Weed was still a bit of a nemesis and if you think weed slows an IOM down, it almost completely stops a DF95!

​Race 1 line honours for the IOM's went to backmarker Stuart Harris with Rob Cooney finishing second and Tony Brewer third over the line. In the DF's, I scored a bullet with David Jones second and Anthony Castray third. Race 2 saw Tony Brewer take the gun from Bruce Rose clawing back the maximum handicap to take second place with Rob Cooney  making up the rest of the podium in third place. The Silver Fox Peter Darcy got it right in the DF's taking the win from Jammy second and yours truly third. Race 3 saw new IOM skipper and Commodore of Montrose Bay YC, Rod Marshall take the win from John Smith second and Tony third. Another bullet for myself in the DF's with Wayne Behrens finishing second and Ray Joyce on the third step of the podium. Race 4 saw Tony take the gun in the IOM's with another well sailed podium finish for Rod in second spot and Wayne Turner also sailing well enough to take out third place. Ray notched up his maiden win for his DF95, taking the gun from Anthony in second spot and Darcy in third. Final race for the series, Race 5 was an around the bouys long distance type race which saw Rob sailing well to take line honours from Stu Harris with a second podium and Tony Brewer sailing consistently and on the podium again in third place. Darcy stole the show in the Dragon Flites with a solid win from Anthony second and Wayne third.

​Final results saw a comfortable 2 point win to Tony Brewer in the IOM's from second placed Rob Cooney with 10 points and Rod Marshall third with 13 points. In the DF's, the top of the score board was very tight with only 3 points separating the top 5, however the "Plonk Trophy" went to yours truly, on countback from Anthony, both with 11 points and third place going to Ray Joyce just 1 point behind on 12 points, Jammy on 13 points and Wayne on 14.

​Next Sunday is the final round of the Marblehead Winter Series with racing from 11:00 AM. Next Wednesday is IOM only racing. Don't forget that the sailing calendar has been revised for the rest of the year. The revised schedule was sent out by email on the 29th August, and the website calendar has also been updated.

Till the next button press, wet sails.

​Stuart Dawes.

Final round of the 2016 IOM Winter Scratch Series and conditions were a little funky to say the least. Bureaux predictions were for northwest to southwest winds at 5 to 15 knots and that was pretty much what the Brook threw at the solid fleet of 14 boats that eventually hit the water after a couple of late starters. With such variable winds, the first couple of races were "around the bouys" style of racing, and when the breeze was in the prevailing NNW and more conducive to windward/leeward racing, Course 1 was used. Pro duties were shared by the experienced skippers via the rotation method. It was also good to see newer members Peter Ameron and Rod Marshal on the water having a go, in a bit of a baptism of fire, with most of the club's "Sunday" IOM skippers in attendance with the exception of Sir Rodney, off galavanting around the sunnier and warmer parts of the big island, and Ray Joyce to whom the club extends our best wishes. 

​The wind for the first two races was favouring the WSW so the course was; start between 1 and 2, port reach to 3, close single beat or three out to the wing mark 9, shy reach down to and around both gate marks, 2 laps, finish between 1 and 2, all marks to port. Getting a good port hand start without infringing was critical, espescially in the tricky conditions. The next few races saw the wind settle from the NNW and Course 1 was used; start between 1 and 2, solid beat up to 6 and then into 5, short run down to 3 and out to 4, back up to 6 and 5, run down to the bottom gate and finish between 1 and 2. Dependent on who was PRO and what the wind was doing at the time, all the racing was on a mix of these two courses, with the addition of a second 3 to 9 "sausage" or the inclusion/omission of the final gate marks at the PRO's discretion.

Race 1 line honours went to David Jones with Chris Wood second and Michael Hickman finishing in third place. Race 2 saw a win for Wasbai with Chris Wood throwing down the gauntlet with another podium and second spot, and Michael reciprocating with another solid score and third place over the line. Michael consolidated with a solid win in Race 3, Wayne Behrens in the mix with a second place and yours truly with a second podium in third place. Race 4 saw yet another winner with Andrew Wardrop taking the gun with Stuart Harris also sailing well into second place and Michael ever present on the podium in third place. After 4 races and the first drop, Michael just led the fleet with 7 points, Wasabi second on countback from Chris Wood in third place, both on 7.3 points, Andrew Wardrop fourth on countback from Stuart Harris in fifth place, both with 10 points each.

​Race 5 line honours went to Wayne Behrens with Chris Wood liking the conditions and a second place, and John Hall sailing well with a third. John did even better in Race 6 with a good win over Wayne in the top three again and Lisa Blackwood now on the water after a late arrival, in third place. Race 7 saw a win for the other late arrival, Matt Gray with Lisa showing she hasn't lost the knack of "The Brook" in second place and yours truly battling hard for a third place. Race 8 and Wasabi notched up another bullet with Lisa making it three podiums in a row with a second and Chris Wood in third for his fourth podium for the day. After the second drop, Wasabi led the fleet with 15.3 points from Michael Hickman in second place with 18 points, third Wayne Behrens with 19 points, just ahead of Chris Wood with 19.9 points and John Hall rounding out the top five with 21.4 points.

​Race 9 saw another win for Chris Wood making it his second, from second place Matt Gray and Lisa Blackwood on the podium as well in third place. A double for Chris in Race 10 with Michael Hickman keeping him honest, second over the line and David Jones having a frustrating day after winning the first, in third place. The planets aligned for Chris in Race 11 with a hat trick of wins from Wayne Behrens in second spot and Matt up for his third podium in third place. Final race for the day, Race 12 and it was Michael Hickman who had the last hoorah with a solid win from Lisa Blackwood second and another solid performance from Chris Wood with a third place over the line.

​Final results and congratulations go to Chris Wood with a solid performance in the testing conditions, winning the day on 24.6 points from second place Michael Hickman with 29.5 points, third was Wayne Behrens with 36.3 points, fourth yours truly with 39.2 points and David Jones rounding out the top five with 42.9 points.

​Wednesday is IOM Handicap Series and DF95 Scratch Series, bring whichever you like. Next Sunday is the final round of the Marblehead Winter Scratch Series with racing from 11:00 AM.

​Til then, wet sails.

​Stuart Dawes.

Almost a carbon copy of last week as far as weather conditions with a fine and sunny spring day and a forecast variable breeze of around 10 knots from the NW to NE, swinging NE by noon to 10 to 20 knots, however at the Brook, this was a recipe for some very funky sailing conditions with plenty of passing lanes and parking spots. Another solid fleet of IOM's in attendance with 13 boats on the water under the authoritative gaze of Andrew Wardrop as PRO. Course for the first 3 races was start between 1 and 2, enigmatic windward leg up to 6, into 5 then run down to the bottom gate, with a short but at times decisive beat to finish between 1 and 2.

​Race 1 and new member Rod Marshal showed he is quickly getting use to radio sailing, starting off scratch and holding off the rest of the fleet to take line honours from fellow scratch marker John Smith in second place and Kim Potter rounding out the podium in third place. Race 2 saw a solid win from backmarker Chris Wood with Wayne Behrens also starting from the back mark in second and Kim with a second podium and another third place over the line. Race 3 saw a small course change with the top marks being reversed; to 5 first, then 6, with the same run to gate and finish. Line honours went to scratch starter Wayne Turner from second placed Denis Lees and Wayne sailing well again to take third spot starting from the back. Race 4 line honours went to Stuart Harris with much celebration and fist pumping, followed by John Smith on the podium again in second spot and a third podium for Wayne in third place.

​After the first and only drop for the series, Wayne Behrens held a 2 point lead over Chris Wood in second place with 10 points, third on countback was John Smith from fourth placed Denis Lees, both on 12 points and Rob Cooney rounding out the top 5 with 15 points. Race 5 was one those "it's not over till it's over" races as Wasabi rounded the inside gate mark mid fleet and snuck through with a timely right hander to get the gun from fellow back marker Stu Harris in second and Rod Marshall with a well sailed third place.

​The final race for the day saw a change of course to the round the bouys long distance track; start between 1 and 2, up to the top 0 mark, running/shy reach down to the wing mark 9, gybe onto another run/shy reach down to both marks of the gate and the usual finish. All marks to port, 2 laps. David Jones mastered the tricky conditions of the longer race to take line honours from Denis Lees in second and Wayne sailing consistently with another podium and third place.

​Provisional results were just that with the eventual winner not on the scorer's radar for some reason. The Plonk Trophy going to Wayne Behrens with 15 points, a very comfortable 5 points clear of Chris Wood in second place, on countback from Denis Lees in third place, both on 21 points.

​Next Sunday is the final round, Round 6 of the IOM Winter Scratch Series with racing from 11:00 AM. Next Wednesday is mixed with both IOM's and DF95's hitting the water, IOM's handicap, DF's scratch.

Till then, wet sails.

​Stuart Dawes.