An excellent mornings racing today at the dam, with 13 skippers starting in top of A rig. NW conditions with most skippers going to B rigs as the racing progressed.
Course was from 3/4 to 8/7,5/6,8/7 to gate & 3/4 finish, giving some long beats & runs thus creating some passing lanes. Particularly for those who played the shifts upwind.
Wine for the 1st three places today, Dennis lees, Andrew Wardrop and Rob Cooney. Peter with 183 was also quick but the handicapper was a bit tough on him - we shall see.
Special thanks to Jammy & Buzzy for the getting & return of the dinghy & to Peter for his rescue efforts of wayward boats & also to those who undertook PRO duties The series was run in a friendly & competitive manner so thanks to all those who competed. ​

A modest fleet of 9 boats fronted for an hour of racing prior to the start of the handicap series. The wind was predominantly but not always out of the west, making it difficult to get a decent windward beat, so most races had a reaching & running bias. 
54 made a reappearance today - only its second sail in the past 12 months but it had fairly good boat speed all day. 
Jammy had intermittent radio problems which kept him a bit quiet & Chris Wood with 40 as usual sailed well. The handicap series achieved 8 races with 99 having a hat trick of wins with Richard also sailing 14 consistently.
A good mornings racing despite the variable conditions.

​The 2019 John Emms Memorial has been run and won. Not very surprisingly, Ray Joyce came out on top for the day, but hardly had it his own way, having to work hard with most of the other sailors keeping him honest.
 
The day started out with a rather confused wind. It didn’t know what direction to blow from, and what speed, with anything from A rig to C rig being contemplated early on. This was the wind to contend with for much of the day, with the exception of the last few races when it slowed right down – but still shifted randomly. The sailors settled on the B rig, which proved the rig of choice for the day – even though an A did come out for a few races, but subsequently put back in the car. Early on, it seemed the newcomer Indies were going to be right up there, with a 2nd and 3rd in the first race, but before long, teething issues brought them further into the field.
 
Interestingly, of the eight competitors today, five had individual wins, owing to the competiveness of the field within the club.
 
In the end, as mentioned before, Ray came out a convincing winner, on 22 points, with John Cole Cook and Lisa Blackwood battling it out till the last race to determine 2nd and 3rd, with John holding out in 2nd on 36 points, with Lisa just two points further back on 38. John Hall had a very consistent day, coming in 4th on 50 points. Consistent enough to have a 5th as throw away points!
 
The twin Indie’s of Andrew Wardrop and yours truly were very fast when they had their moments, and are sure to become more consistent as the yachts get more sail days completed. Peter Sylvesters Dreadnought worked very hard, but it was its first outing since the 2018 Nationals, so now the cobwebs are out, you can expect more pressure from him in the coming race days as well.
 
Many thanks to Stuart Harris, for his excellent services as PRO again. he made sure everyone kept up to our standards while sailing, and was extremely efficient between races. Your work is very appreciated.

​We have waited four Wednesdays for a decent breeze at the dam, and today we had superb sailing conditions with a mid/upper A rig northerly breeze, with some shifts that kept everyone on their toes.
 
Thirteen boats were racing with the 14th a non-starter, due to a rudder servo failure. The skipper however, was seen later sailing 183, and putting up some very good results.
 
The scratch racing prior to the handicap series was the domain of Rod J and Jammy, with a few others getting a look in from time to time.
 
The handicap series was a start a t5/6 to 8/7 to 5/6 to 8/7 with 3/4 as a gate and then finishing at the start. The Sylvester/Behrens combination sailing 183 ( not at the same time ) may well prove that 2 heads are better than one. Ted Laing came in second, by countback, with David Murfet rounding out the podium in third, just four points behind.
 
Many thanks to John Banks again, for conducting a really good day. 
 
At lunch time, Chris Wood led a discussion on the Strategic Plan prepared by Rob Gavin. People seemed happy with it. The one suggestion that arose from Rod J who is about to disappear for his usual 6 months crocodile hunting expedition, was to trial one Wednesday a month as a scratch racing day with some of the better sailors being rostered out to provide coaching advice.
 
As there was general support we will flesh this suggestion out next Wednesday to see how it might all work. 

​Great conditions today at MBYC, with A and B rigs mostly used. Looked like a C may have come out at one stage as well. Unfortunately, Ray and Andrew had some electrical issues and were then happy to act as Pro and assistant – thanks guys.
Looks like it was a race split in to two, and very close between each group, with Lisa, in her new Skalpel fighting against John Cole Cook, in his Skalpel – just two points separating them, with John coming out the winner on the day.
Pleasingly, the other three on the water also had a real close tussle, with Joh Hall coming in third place, on 18 points, and Les Hanson and Rod Marshall tying up just three points behind. Great practice for the John Emms Memorial for the RM’s next weekend.
On the John Emms Memorial, a few skippers will be venturing out to MBYC in the next week for a bit of tuning and practice. At this stage, possibly Tuesday (fairly windy and just off high tide at 4pm), Thursday (ideal tide at 4pm) and/or Saturday (tide not great so wet launching likely). Contact Kyle if you are interested and would like to be included in communication on tuning days/times once organised. It will be based on amount of interested people, with three sailors a likely minimum.

​Another very light day at the dam with a long delay before the racing could start, today being about the 4th light air Wednesday in a row. The races held were extremely slow, and by lunch only two were completed.
The dam levels have fallen again, so the low level has made sailing even more difficult.
After struggling to five races, the fleet pulled the pin.  Bragging rights were with Stu Harris and his woody . The wine went to 4th & 7th – congrats David Murfet and Chris Wood.
 
Hopefully better conditions next Wednesday.

​A very calm day greeted our sailors today. So much so, that sailing did not start till after 2pm. Although calm, the breeze did steadily pick up right through to our close at 4pm, where all the yachts were experiencing problems and wishing they might have changed to B Rig by the second last race. Due to the starting delay, only seven races were completed. In the end, Mike Hickman again showed the way, winning the day on 16 points, one ahead of Lisa Blackwood, on 17, and Ray Joyce 3three further back on 20 points.
Welcome back to Ken Dobbie, wo returned to IOM sailing today, as well as a welcome to Paul Jewell, who introduced his freshly repainted Pikanto to the local fleet.
 
Coming up;
 

• This coming Thursday, a group of sailors have decided to head to MBYC for a procatice sail/tune. If you are also interested, we will be there from 4pm until we are sick of it. A great opportunity to get some tuning in on the RM ahead of the John Emms Memorial on 31st March.

 

• On 31st March, as mentioned above, we have our next ranking event, the John Emms Memorial. NoR is on the RBRYC website. Please get your entries in as soon as possible for this event.

 

• In early May, the club will be holding its Annual general Meeting. The Committee has made some good progress this year, building on that of the previous committees hard work as well. Some of the committee members are not re-nominating for positions for the next year, so please have a good think about if you feel you could positively add value to the next committee. If so, we certainly will welcome any and all nominations for the upcoming committee. The nomination forms can be requested from me in the first instance, and will be sent around with the official notification of AGM very soon.

 
Thanks
 
Kyle