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Beautiful weather (at last), beautiful wind and some beautiful sailing for our IOM long distance handicap event at Risdon Brook Dam. After such a long period of challenging Westerlies and cancelled events I think we all enjoyed the friendlier conditions on offer today. A katabatic Northerly of 3-5 knots kept us guessing the shifts in the morning, then a sea breeze made a timely entrance while we were having lunch giving us some fast sailing on smooth water in the afternoon. Perhaps it was a little too fast, as at times we needed to jog to keep pace with our boats. That was our first sea breeze for the season and definitely comes with the promise of good sailing ahead. Some skippers were unfortunate to discover that the weed banks extend further out at the upper end of the dam which proved costly especially with less races and only one drop. Tacking duels were a common experience today and fun too with many ‘photo finishes’ involved. I am hoping that next year we might be able to add some match racing to our Wednesday calendar. Peter Sylvester was today’s winner finishing the day with a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd in the sea breeze after lunch. Peter Turner also did well in the afternoon session finishing the day with back to back wins to take second overall. And John Penman took the third podium spot with a second place and a race win in his mix. Congratulations to the ‘Peters’ and John. It was pretty tight in the middle of the scoreboard with 3 pairs of skippers on tied points and placings 5 to 10 being separated by only 3 points. There is definitely an extra strategic element involved in long distance sailing which adds interest and fun. All up a great day out today! Coming up: Saturday: IOM Woodies day at Forcett Lakes, button press at 1030 Sunday: IOM Scratch racing at Montrose (1:00 button press) Next Wednesday: DF95 Handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button press) Shorty 
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After a successful Show Day Showdown, it was going to be interesting to see if it was a good decision to ahve DF95 Scratch racing straight after. Were sailors a bit tired of the DF95 sailing or reinvigorated? Well, the votes came in and it certainly looks like things were reinvigorated, as wel had a great turnout of 16 sailors today. While I sorted out the results, I looked into the DF sailing this year and possibly found one reason why as well. With Risdon Brook hosting the nationals as well as a big run of severe weather events this year, we have sailed only 4 of a scheduled 7 rounds to date, with just one more summer round to complete the season. The DF class certainly looks to have been under-served this year due to events outside our control (this has happened to the RM and A Class series as well - RM's only 2 of 3 sailed and A Class also just 2 of 4 sailed. Back to the days sailing, we did not have a PRO initially, so set up a rotating PRO system and thanks to all competitors, there was not the need for observers with sailing being respectful and easy to manage. That said, Lisa came after the first race and PRO'd much of the rest of the day for us (thanks Lisa) with Kyle doing the duties for the last 3. Conditions were variable to say the least. The South Easterly influence making things very difficult with large wind shifts the feature of the day. Those not used to it suffering substantially and those who were quick enough in decision making with the shifts rising to the top. It was fantastic to see visitor Mat Bugg along again after really enjoying Thursdays sail day. We hope you enjoyed it today Mat and continue to come along and sign up as a member when you feel ready to do so. At the end of the day, Stu dawes reiterated why he is one of the premier sailors of the DF class in the country, a dominant disply today, registering four wins and two other podiums - having to cound just a 4 outside of his podium finishes for the day. A dominant winner on 16 points. Second place today was Ray, also very well sailed and consistent rhough much of the day, finishing on 34.4 points. Third place today was our travelling sailor, Jammy Jones, who has recently returned form his annual oddesy to Qld. Taking third place by countback from Scott Brian with 39 points. In Silver fleet, we were all tied up for the win, and it counted back to the number of 5th places before the deadlock was sorted out. John Short took the day out on 19 points from Ian Hey. So close between those two. Third place went to Richard Wylie on 22 points. Well done all for a great sail day and perserverence in very shifty conditions. Coming Up:
 Following the success of last years innaugural DF Invitational Show Day Showdown, we repeated last years event with the same invitational format today. Building on the success of the DF65 fleets around the state, we were expecting a well supported event. Well, it was so well supported, we had to send out the SOS for more sausages for the BBQ!! A fantastic field of 27 sailors came today. Unfortunately, two did not have results entered with a few issues, but still enjoyed the day. The format of the day was a handicap styled one, given the large range of skipper experience in attendance, from newbies through to those who have just returned from a fantastic nationals campaign. First place was awarded a 15 second penalty, with second place given ten seconds, and third place five seconds. Everyone was to sail in A Rigs to keep things equal amongst all skippers - some of our visitors only sail A Rigs at their local club, so it was best to keep it simple and have the A's as the rig for the day. Such a large field all on one start line, and there was hardly any issue at all, with all skippers giving respectful room early int he race with such close quarter sailing. Fantastic to see. We got in a fairly long first beat, which helped separate skippers by the time we got to the windward mark, further helping seamanlike roundings for us all. Five skippers shared in wins over the seven races, which showed the competitiveness at the front of the field. By the end of the 7th race, Stuart dawes had shown no come down from his nationals campaign, sailing extermely well, taking three wins in a row and a second, to come away as winner of the DF65 Invitational with 18 points. Phil Turnbull had a great turn of speed with his DF65 as well, keeping Stuart on edge. Taking out second place, just 5 behind on 23 points. Rounding out our top 3 was another returning Nationals competitor, Richard Fisher on 30 points. Fantatsic effort to all sailors. Such a large field, and great sailing intelligence on display. After the seven races, we took a break and BBQ lunch, while the DF95's got set up. A further 19 DF95's made it for the second half of the day, and with a little extra wind about, we got in 8 races to finish the day off. This format was a scratch format, so we had pretty full start lines again. With that, there was just the one general recall, and I only remember maybe three yachts called over, so evreyone was putting in a great effort on the start line. The racing was a little more frantic than the DF65's, but still very high quality and a lot of fun. By the end of the day, we had a few reliability issues and a couple of boats didn't quite make 8 finishes, but having 15 finish the last race was awesome to see. Again, Stu Dawes had a great day with the DF95, podiums in 5 of the 8 races giving him a double win for the day, taking out the DF95 segment with 16 points. Second place today was John Penman, six points behind Stu on 22. Just one point further back, on 23 points, was Phil Turnbull on 23 points in third - also Phil's second podium for the day. Thank you to all who came along today. It was great to see such big fleets on the water and has us seriously considering another invitational in the new year at some stage, as well as a certainty on re-schedulling the Show Day Showdown next October as well. The day could not have happened without a great team of volunteers. Our Pro's today in Rod Marshall and Ricky Price - on behalf of all the skippers, we thank you for your work today. Such a big attendance made the calling of finishes and confirming starts etc quite difficult and you both handled it perfectly. I noticed a few people assisting them on the finish line - thank you for your assistance as well. We also had Andrew Wardrop preparing the BBQ as well. I will have missed other volunteers that gave up their time - I apologise, but it was genuinely hard to try to sail and keep track of the many people about, both watching and helping out. Photos attached taken by Ray Joyce and myself. Kyle   RBRYC Results - Mid Week IOM Handicap I think that a lot of the skippers were hanging out for a good sail today after a few cancellations. Given that the forecast was for more wind and the fact that the dam was closed over the weekend I reckon that most were pretty pleased to be sailing at all. It was a challenging day out as the wind regularly gusted from flat calm to 25 knots and back and shifts were similarly sudden and unpredictable. At one stage a small willy-wind drew water off the surface. I was definitely glad that I was not near that one! While we did think about using A-rigs as the flat patches were very calm the B was the obvious one to go for, it was universally chosen, and at times even with this rig the boats were a handful. Rod Jackman who is still getting over a serious bout of pneumonia offered to be the PRO for the day and kept the racing happening as well as entertaining us with his usual wit and repartee. Thanks Rod. Both Jammy Jones and John Penman finished the day early and both with the same issue - a broken jib gooseneck cord. It was Jammy's first sail with the brand new V12 and he definitely showed that it is tuned and ready to go. John's early finish was a bit unfortunate as he has struggled in recent weeks to get the V11 sailing fast but started the day well today and had two race wins on the board before the gear failure occurred. All skippers got to the podium at some stage during the day and there wasn't a great many points separating most of the fleet. I managed third overall after having a much better afternoon than morning. Ray Joyce took out second spot. He often stormed through the fleet with eased sheets and plenty of boat speed. It was Bodge who took out the day though with great consistency showing on his scorecard. Today's win came after a strong and clear overall win yesterday at Puddleduck with the DF65. Congratulations and well sailed Bodge. Coming Up: Sunday: A Class scratch racing at Montrose. (1:00 button press), preceded by MBYC's Come Try Sailing Day, which starts at 10am. Wednesday: IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button press) Thursday: The Show Day Showdown for DF65's and DF95's at Risdon Brook Dam (Details below) THE SHOW DAY SHOWDOWN Yes Show Day is next week and we have decided to run the DF Invitation Showdown again. The structure of the day will be: DF65 racing starting at 10:00. This will be a handicap event with everyone starting the first race on scratch but handicap penalties of 5, 10 and 15 seconds progressively applied for the podium getters in each race. For the benefit of those from other clubs it will be sailed with 'A-rigs only'. At the conclusion of the DF65 racing a BBQ lunch will be happening. Please bring a $2 donation for lunch! We will the have a DF95 scratch race series in the afternoon starting at approximately 1:00. Risdon Brook members are encouraged to lend their yacht to a visitor just for a race or two. Last year this event attracted a big crowd from other clubs some of who have now become members of our club. Lets hope for some good weather and that this years event will be a great day. Shorty  A rather difficult day on the water today. About the only wind directin we didn't have was an Easterly influence, but the rest of the compass was covered. Sailing at Montrose today, there was a lot of water outflow from the dams, creating a significant current against a light and fickle early breeze. Our Pro for the day, Stu Dawes got us under way efficiently, and we had 5 races in the bag by a slightly early call for lunch due to a build up of wind and skippers needing to change rigs at that same time. By this stage, Rod Jackman, Gary and Kyle had built a gap to the rest of the sailors with one point separating the top three. Similarly, in Silver fleet, Rod Marshall had also jumped to a 4 point lead. With lunch done and everyone now on B Rig - except for the late arriving Andrew Wardrop, who came with his A (only late with some boat issues that needed fixing in the morning) - we got under way again. The breeze had died off, much to Andrews delight, stringing four wins in a row before skippers decided to change to A rig as well. Unfortunately, the weather closed in on us and Roddy thought better of it given his recent illness and retired to the car for some warmth and dry conditions. We also lost Gary and Bodge for the last few races, but we continued on till just before 3.30, when the threatening rain started on us. Twelve races completed by the end of the day. Overall, quite fickle wind, which caused a lot of lead changes during the races with some being a little more fortunate than others at various times with little spurts of wind carrying some boats quite nicely, and others being left behind. I'd love to say that skill won the day, but in all honestly, there was quite an element of being in the right place at the right time when bits of wind came about - and a lot of that was with a bit of good fortune and not so much skill. That said, I was fortunate enough to come away with the win with the new (second hand) Venti today, winning on 26 points. Second today was Ray, 9 points behind, on 35, with Gary in third on 36. Winner of Silver Fleet today was Rod Marshall, on 37 points. A bit of a challenge today, but well done to all the skippers for persisting in the inclement weather. At least we weren't blown off the water like we would have been if we sailed in the week prior. Big thanks to Stu for taking the time today to be Pro for us. Upcoming Events
Kyle  There was a nice Northerly of about 8-10 knots when we arrived at Risdon Brook Dam for today’s DF95 handicap racing. With some of the fleet away at the National DF titles there were just ten skippers fronting today. While the morning was quite sunny, PRO Andrew Wardrop was aware that rain was forecast for the afternoon and got racing underway a few minutes early and we had completed 7 races before lunch time. The wind did calm a little over lunch (perhaps heralding the approaching rain), and the three races of the afternoon session were sailed in less than 5 knots of wind and a much flatter dam. Today we welcomed Richard Wylie to the fleet. Richard lives in Orford and has been sailing both DF65s and DF95s with the group at Orford and also at Puddleduck. ‘Tiles’ said that he really enjoyed sailing today and when you look at his scorecard you can understand why. With a race win, a 2nd and two 3rds for an overall position of 4th, I reckon that that is a pretty good start to racing with the club. Great sailing Richard! The first race featured a comedy of errors. The leading skipper sailed the wrong course and dragged the next two boats with him. John Hall and Ian Hey ensnared each other after a collision and needed to employ the dinghy for a rescue. A couple of others found a big clump of weed. I could hardly believe my luck - without sailing particularly well I found myself leading as we headed to the finish. A classic ‘Bradbury! Easy game this Radio Sailing! In fact most skippers reported mixed fortunes today, but no-one turned the day around more than Alan Short. Al just could not get his boat going in the morning session but John Penman kindly had a look at it over the lunch break and retuned the rig. Al went out and won every race of the afternoon - three races - back to back! It was a very impressive effort. It does also show how sensitive these boats are to correct tuning. With the DF95 a small difference can make a big difference. The positive side of mixed fortunes is that every skipper got to the podium at some stage and there were race wins right down the table. As far as the overall positions were concerned; I managed to get third with two race wins in my total. Ian Bailey claimed second and was consistantly well placed through the morning session. Well sailed Ian! But it was Phil Jackman who claimed overall victory just a single point ahead of Ian. Back sailing again after a bit of a break for surgery Trout has lost none of his trademark consistency. Congratulations Trout! Coming Up: Sunday: IOM Scratch racing at Montrose. Note that we will be using the ‘Summer-time’ button-press of 1:00 Next Wednesday: IOM handicap racing (Trophy Round) at Risdon Brook Dam. (11:00 button press) Shorty Stop Press........ As many are aware, we have got quite a team in South Australia for the DF95/DF65 Nationals. I'd hazard a guess that we would havehad the highest representation per state membership (but could also be very wrong there). The DF95 championship concluded today. Very challenging conditions overall on lovely long courses. A Rig for Day 1 to just after the extended lunch break, before thw wind really came in for an afternoon of B Rig sailing and C Rig for the last heat. Days 2 and 3 were all in B Rig, and amongst the best fleet of sailors at a National DF Championship that I have experienced. It was so difficult to move up a fleet, with so many very good sailors vying for those coveted first 4 places for promotion. In a fleet of 47 skippers, the Tasmanian results were Peter Ross 29th Ted Stevens 24th Kyle Stewart 21st Richard Fisher 11th Nick Connor 9th Stuart Dawes 5th Lisa Blackwood 2nd (and Masters Champion) Congrats to Team Tasmania for a great campaign and thoroughly fantastic experience. I really encourage any skippers thinking of trying a championship such as this to commit to it and enter. It would be a great experience to sail in one and fantastic to put faces to names we often only see on-line with interstate news and results. For more infor on the Championships - as we are about to start the DF65 Nationals on Friday, have alook at https://www.dfsailing.com.au/ Kyle  |
