IOM Summer Scratch Series Round 6 and End of Season Presentations

​Well, the last “official” hit out has been a resounding success, with 15 sailors fronting up to sail the last Scratch Series round for the year. It was fantastic to see some not-so-regular faces coming along for the day, and also a warm welcome to two new Sunday sailors, Paul and Justin Rogers.
This week, because of the inclement weather, we decided to set the course up in front of the clubhouse, rather than get rained on horribly (as was threatening) at the point. A bit of a late start with the lack of wind, but we finally got under way. With the exception of two races, we only sailed one-lappers in order to keep race times to around 10 minutes. We attempted a two lap race and a modified one and a half lap race, but wind proved too unreliable to get the course length in the allotted time.
 
This week, by the end of our eight races, Wayne Behrens came out well in front, taking three wins. Certainly has the Trojan going well. Ray Joyce came in second, 6 points adrift, with Mike Hickman a further four behind, on 24 points.
 
Given the amount of yachts on the water, there were very few penalties for contact and early starts, which was great. I’d also like to thank Anne Cole-Cook and Phil Turnbull for their assistance of the Pro throughout the day. It certainly would have been much harder without you there helping.
 
Following the sailing, we went indoors for our end of year BBQ and presentations. It was fantastic seeing 25 people there to help celebrate the year we had.
 
Before going to our winners and champions, I’d like to thank everyone who brought along a dish to help cater the meal, as well as the many helpers doing the BBQ, preparing the salads and deserts. After a lovely, relaxed meal, Mike Hickman and John Hall ran through the presentations. All the details are listed below for those who could not make it today. Congratulations to all winners.
 
Afterwards, John Cole-Cook, who recently returned as top ranking “Legend” class at the recent IOM Worlds in Brazil, gave a speech on his experience at the World Championships, and some of his many learnings from the experience. Some very interesting and relevant points brought up about mark rounding and communication amongst skippers. A massive importance to not only the top ranked skippers, but most of the sailors that John watched, in avoiding contact at pretty much any cost – as contact, and the likelihood of losing a lot of places was so important to avoid. Simple things such as call outs like “John has this mark” well before rounding a mark, to try to ensued everybody gives respectful distance prior to rounding, and then resuming tight, close racing as soon as they have rounded the mark. Something that resonated with me personally, as I myself have fallen foul of being too close at mark roundings, fouling not only myself, but also other innocent sailors. Something personally to work really hard on next year. John has kindly offered to talk about his experiences to anyone who would like to hear about them.
 
To todays scoresheet, as mentioned, Wayne was way too good today, with Ray and Mike rounding out the podium.

​I have also attached our final series results, summarised below. Congratulations to all winners;

​With the “Official” part of the year over, it is interesting listening to many people about the club, where it has been and where it may be heading. John touched on it while talking about his World’s experience, that our club over the past few years has really seen improvement, not only in its competitiveness, but with some new faces coming on, and with functions such as the end of season one, such a good atmosphere amongst many friends. The partnership with MBYC has really helped the club, with the availability of their fantastic facilities, where we can have a nice warm and welcoming bar to chat after a sail day, or for our functions. In multiple ways, this is also a benefit starting to come through from Rob Gavin’s work a year and a half ago with his workshops on our strategic plan for the next 5 or so years.
 
Personally, I’m a believer that a club doesn’t have to change a lot, it just needs to constantly evolve to be a better one moving in to the next year than it was when it entered the current year.  On that point, I believe the club has achieved that this year. We have not been without issue obviously, but I hope that its members can see that we are working hard to become a better club tomorrow than we were yesterday. That is not a bad thing about yesterday, but a sign of a healthy club in that it constantly looks to evolve and become better for not only its members, but the general community it is a part of.
 
Upcoming Sailing
Although the year is “officially” finished for the club, we still have two more sail days planned.
This coming Wednesday, 18th December, will still be the regular IOM Handicap at Risdon Brook Dam, starting at 10am for an hour of scratch racing, followed by the handicap races at 11.
Next Sunday, 22nd December, some of our Marblehead sailors are heading to MBYC for a 1pm start for practice. Whether you have an RM or not, if you would like to come and have a sail, please feel free to do so.
 
To close out (sorry, this one is a bit long), if we don’t see you beforehand, have a great Christmas and new year. Relax and enjoy – and be safe. We look forward to seeing you on the water again in the new year. Our calendar is updated on the RBRYC Website, with the first Summer Series event being on Sunday, 5th January (IOM Summer Series Round 1). I’m not sure if Mid Week sailing commences on January 1, but we will let you know. I’ll be in bed early the day before so will be good to go, but it depends on expected turnout.
 
Thanks for a great year, and look forward to a better one again next year.