IOM Mid Week Handicap

​The dam provided a very blustery North-Westerly today. Gusts of up to 25 knots and lulls of total calm made the sailing frustrating for most. While some skippers chose their A rig for the warm-up scratch races, all settled for B rigs by the time the handicap event began. It was a wise choice as some of the wind squalls were quite severe.

It was great to warmly welcome back Kim Potter to the fleet today after a rest over the winter period. We hope to see more of you Kim. 

The course was one that is becoming a bit of a standard for IOM’s in a North Wester: From the start to buoy 8, then a figure eight around the top four buoys, then down to the leeward gate and back to the finish. I am still surprised by the great effect that the last little leg from the gate to the finish can have. Today’s racing was no exception to this.

It was a really tight points table today. Wayne Behrens and John Cole Cook tied on 21 points to enforce a count-back. Both of the skippers had one 1st place, two 2nd places and one 3rd place. So it was their 5th best race that decided that John was today’s winner with Wayne taking second. Congratulations to both.

Matt Grey who dominated the morning’s sailing came in third just a single point ahead of John Hall.

Next Wednesday’s handicap will be IOM’s at the dam, while Sunday’s racing will a scratch event forDF95’s  at Montrose.

John S