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A great turnout today, with 13 sailors at the dam for round 6 of the Winter Scratch. A welcome return for Michael Hickman, recently back home from his overseas trip. Chris Wood also came along today after a bit of a winter break. Also great to see Murray Willis down from Launceston to have a sail as well. We got under way pretty quickly, and it certainly looked like Michael had ben studying while away. Three wins and a second from the first four races. A lot of very close races today, with a lot of sailors finishing within a few boatlengths of each other. The closeness certainly showed with 2nd to 4th separated by only one point! Todays winner was Michael Hickman. 6 of 9 races on the podium showing he has lost nothing while away. A truly deserved winner on 16 points. Second place today - on countback - was Joh Cole Cok on 20 points, just edging out Lisa Blackwood with two wins to Lisa's one. Silver fleet today was won by the ever-improving Ricky Price, on just 7 points. Second place was taken by Andrew Wardrop, with 19 points. Third place went to Phil Turnbull on countback, on 23 points. A good days sailing with a great turnout of skippers. Big thanks to Les for taking the PRO duties today. We lose Les for the next 6 weeks while he spends some well deserved rest in Queensland. If there is anyone who would like to help with the Pro duties in Les' absence, please get in touch with myself or Ray. Coming up Wednesday will see DF95 Mid Week Handicap at the dam from 11am, with next Sundays racing returning to Summer Scratch with the RM's at Montrose Bay from 1pm. Montrose Bay Yacht Club is having their Opening Day next Sunday as well, with BBQ at 12. It would be great to get as many members along for the opening to help support our MBYC friends. A reminder to those with Classic IOM's that the next IOM Classic sail day is also on next Saturday at Forcett Lakes from 1030. Kyle 
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Handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam started with an “I-know-boats” moment when Bodge and I took out the dinghy to reset a buoy but forgot to put the bungs in! Silly boys! The indecisive mostly 3-5 knot Westerly was not ideal for racing today and it is always difficult to set a good course for this type of wind. But I think that most skippers were pleased just to get a sail in today considering the general pattern of wind that we have had lately which has lead to several cancelations. In race #5 some skippers were convinced that Andrew Wardrop did not correctly round a mark and implored him to return. In fact they had wrongly accused him and it was in fact a different yellow boat that had made the error. While it is not our common practice to award average points to compensate for such events in a Wednesday sail – this one was clearly unfair and Andrew gets average points for the race. Again the scoreboard was tight with podium finishes being well shared around the fleet and again countback was used to separate ties right down the scoreboard. Ties were recorded for 3rd and 4th, 6th and 7th, 8th and 9th and 10th and 11th. I guess that this demonstrates how important it is to keep racing hard even if you are doing poorly as even one extra point can make a difference in the day’s results. Third place today went to John Hall in a countback with Lisa. Ricky Price continues his excellent Wednesday performances with a second today. And today’s winner was Ray Joyce who just seemed to be able to put his boat in the right places to catch the significant windshifts that we had. Coming up: CHECK YOUR CALENDAR - as there has been a recent change! Sunday: Will now be IOM scratch racing at Risdon Brook Dam. (10:00 button-press) Next Wednesday will be DF95 handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button-press)  With the cancellation of the State RM Championships this weekend, we schedulled in a round of Winter RM Scratch instead. Lying in bed this morning, I was wondering when the Severe Weather Warning was going to come in to cancel the days sailing, but it didn't until later in the day for tomorrow. Headed to the dam with not much expecation of sailing, but was surprised that the wind was not quite like it was at home, but still blowing a regular 18 or so knots, with a few gusts exceeding 40 through the day. The five skippers who came along decided to sail in the very windy conditions, and got to work with setup and soon after, racing was under way. All in C2 rigs early, with the exception of John Hall, who had a choice of C1 or C3. He initially chose his C1, and soon took on the C3 instead. After about 4 races, we all followed and suited up to C3 with the increase in wind from earlier. Ray and Rod changing to a B2 soon after. Given the heavy weather, it was great to see no break downs, although a few sheets did loosen and I noticed some hooks on the forestay starting to get longer with the very high loads experienced - easily fixed at home. Seven races were completed in the alloted time, with four sailors taking a win and Rod getting a second and third place during the day. Some very close racing, shown with two races to go and second, third and fourth all tied up. At the completion of the days racing, Kyle came out as the winner of the day, on 12 points, coming home very strong in the last two races. Second place today went to Ray, just one behind on 13 points. Sailed very well, but a bit underpowered in the lulls in the last two races. Third place today was John Hall on 17 Points. Had he not lucked out with a jib sheet getting stuck while well in front on race 6, we could have very likely had a three way tie for the round win this week. An excellent days sailing, with awesome behavior on the water, especially given the heavy conditions. Penalties done without being prompted, generous space allowed between the boats to avoid potential heavy weather uncontrolled contacts. Coming up Wednesday is IOM Mid Week Handicap, button press at 11am. Next Sunday is IOM Scratch, button press at 10am. Kyle  There was a bit of drizzle about this morning which may have kept a few skippers away from today’s DF95 handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam. Those who came found it fairly calm on arrival but by start time a light North-Wester of about 4 or 5 knots had established itself. PRO Andrew Wardrop kept the sailing happening at a good pace and we efficiently completed 6 races in the morning session. Over lunch the breeze twisted to the South and became lighter and shiftier. The change heralded the return of drizzle and eventually the wind died altogether. I don’t think that anyone was disappointed when Andrew decided to draw stumps after race 8. Good evidence that the handicap system is working well was shown by the fact that all skippers reached the podium in at least one race and most made the podium a couple of times. And the tally table was tight too. Just two points separated five skippers in the middle of the standings and count-back was used to separate a three-way tie. It was John Cole-Cook who came out on top today after taking out the last two races back-to-back. John Hall is a bit of a specialist in the DF95 class and took second today sporting a brand new set of Mat Gray sails. Lisa Blackwood completed the honors list with a well-deserved third, sailing the day from the back-marker’s spot. Congratulations to all. The day served as a good warm-up for those who are travelling to Port Sorrell this weekend for the State Titles. The best of luck to those competing! Late entries can still be made on-line. Coming Up: Saturday and Sunday: Tasmanian DF95 State Championships Thiristane Next Wednesday: IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button press) Shorty  hNice windy day today. With the state still teetering on the edge of severe weather warnings, we were able to sail still, with the dam open. Seven skippers turned up today for a good rehersal for next weeks State Championship in the NW of the state. Eleven races completed in heavy weather. Everyone in C Rigs, except for John, who used B for the day. At times, it looked like the D Rig was going to be an option. Some very good racing in the heavy conditions, with plenty of reward for those who chose the correct lanes to sail (and more reward for those who sailed the correct course - oops....). Some very good close quarters racing throughout. Showing his class with the DF95's again was Stuart Dawes. winning 7 out of the 11 races. No surprise coming away as round winner on just 11 points. Taking second place today, was Lisa Blackwood on 23 points. Third place, by just one point was Ray Joyce, on 24 points. Just the two Silver Fleet skippers today, but close results between them. Phil Turnbull won the day on 12 points, just one clear of Peter Sylvester on 13. Thanks today to our Pro's, Rod Marshall and Les Hanson. Good work today also. I know we have been a little slack in the past with the rescue boat being on-site but not in the water. It was out, ready to go today, and was needed. Great to see that the new electric motor worked so well in the heavy conditions as well. Coming Up DF95 Handicap Racing on Wedesday at the Dam, button press at 11am No official scheduled club racing next weekend, as the DF95 State Championship is being run on the NW Coast. If your entry is not yet in, please submit it as soon as possible. Kyle  A blustery Northerly of around 15 knots was on offer for those skippers who went to today’s IOM handicap event. After a couple of recent cancelations and the chance of the park being closed today I think that most skippers were pleased just to be able to get a sail despite the challenging conditions. John Hall was having winch troubles and did not make the water today but thoughtfully decided to stay and take on the PRO’s role. Thank you for your work today John. By the time that we started racing B-rigs were the universal choice but after three races in moderating wind it seemed like a rig change was in order. Instead of rushing into this we decided to take an early lunch break so that the wind could ‘make up its mind’. It was a fair call too as the wind did strengthen over lunch and the B-rig was ideal for the rest of the day. Close racing produced a tight scoreboard and count-back was used to decide 4th and 5th positions, and also a three-way tie for 6th 7th and 8th . Also interesting was that 7 of the 10 skippers gained enough podium finishes to ensure that no handicap adjustment for next week was necessary. This shows that the system is producing appropriate handicaps. On a day when no-one really dominate the podium it was important to make sure that you didn’t have too many really bad races. This was best done by Wayne Behrens, Ray Joyce and Lisa Blackwood who took out 3rd, 2nd and 1st places respectively. Lisa finished the day particularly strongly with wins in two of the last three races. Congratulations to Wayne, Ray and Lisa. Coming up: A DF95 fest! Sunday: DF95 scratch racing at Risdon Brook Dam. Button-press at 10:00 Next Wednesday: DF95 handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam. Button-press at 11:00 Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th Sept: DF95 State titles at Thirlstane (near Port Sorell) Entry for this must be made on-line. Shorty  |