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Nine skippers took to the water for the opening round of the Winter Scratch Series, greeted by a shifty 10-knot NW breeze that left sailors debating their rig choice. Most began the day in A rigs, but after four races, the majority switched to B as conditions evolved. The racing was tight, with plenty of overtaking opportunities for those willing to take risks. A special shout-out to Jammy Jones, who sailed impressively with his A rig all day despite a broken B rig—securing some fantastic results shoreside. Top Finishers🥇 Lisa – 16 points (4 wins in the first 5 races sealed a dominant, consistent day) 🥈 Jammy Jones – 20 points (A stellar performance with his A rig) 🥉 Ray – 26 points (A strong showing, always in the mix at the front) Silver Fleet Results🥇 Jammy Jones – 10 points 🥈 Ian Hey – 15 points 🥉 Rod Marshall – 23 points Thanks today to Andrew Wardrop, who came along to PRO the day for us. Upcoming Events
– Kyle 
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There was a steady 5 or 6 knots of Northerly blowing straight down the dam this morning making perfect conditions for today’s IOM handicap racing. It was perhaps a knot lighter in the afternoon but it stayed around until we had completed the day’s racing. Ricky Price was today’s volunteer PRO and did the job excellently. Thanks Ricky. If you have not had opportunity to act as PRO this year and would be happy to volunteer then please let me know. There did not seem to be much shifting it the wind today but generally those who went wide to the west side seemed to get more pressure and most times came off the better. We have not seen Peter Webberley at Wednesday sailing for quite a while (due to work commitments) but it was good to see him today. Peter has bought Gerald Stephens V9 and sails it regularly at Forcett Lakes. And he sails it well too – Peter was today’s overall winner putting on a real clinic in the afternoon session with a hat-trick of race wins back-to-back. Second today was Rob Cooney. Rob was always in the top five for most of the day’s racing. And Phil Jackman took the third podium spot doing particularly well in a couple of races on the last little leg from the gate to the finish. Congratulations Peter, Rob and Phil. Coming up: No sailing Sunday due to being Easter Sunday. Next Wednesday Risdon Brook Park will be closed for some maintenance and we are not able to sail. Our friends at Forcett Lakes have offered an invitation to anyone with the itch to sail to join with their IOM group next Thursday (That’s Thursday 24th April and button press is at 10:00.) Thanks so much for this Ricky and Peter. Our next Wednesday sail is on 30th April and will be a long-distance event. We hope to have two or three of these over the course of the year and each event will contribute towards the Long-Distance trophy. It may be that we will be sailing a little later on that day but we would hope to finish up by say 3:30. The club will be putting on a BBQ lunch on the day so all up it should be an enjoyable day. The A Class State Championships is on the horizon - just a few weeks away and there are just two entries in at the moment. In fairness to the northern organising team, we really need to get entries in as they need to organise catering and trophies etc for the event (no use having a trophy with a date on it if it gets deferred/cancelled), so they really need entries in and at least 6 on the list before next Friday 25th April otherwise the event risks being cancelled. Wishing all skippers a joyful Easter. Shorty  Five skippers competed in today’s racing, which began in A rig for the first four races before switching to B rig for the next four. The final two races were sailed in C rigs as squalls picked up.The early races were incredibly close, with four different winners in the first four races. The fifth skipper, though without a win, secured two seconds and a third in those four races - highlighting the tight competition. Shifty winds kept everyone on their toes, with all skippers experiencing both strong moments and the frustration of unfavorable shifts. Results
Racing wrapped up at 1 PM, and the team efficiently packed up just before the rain arrived. A big thanks to everyone who helped with the rescue boat and equipment. However, we should ensure more hands assist in returning gear to the shed—today, Ray was left to handle this alone in the rain, which isn’t ideal. Let’s all chip in to the end next time! Given the small number of regular participants (just five skippers today out of 40+ members), the Scratch Series will be a 2025 series instead of separate Summer and Winter events due to the continued lack of numbers to support these scratch days. The next scheduled round is on 28th September. This adjustment accounts for the busy schedule of Ranking Events and the challenge of dedicating a full sail day to such a small fleet. Hopefully, participation will grow in the future! Upcoming Events
In preparation for the A-Class State Championships (3rd–4th May), I’d like to organize an afternoon tuning and racing session at Montrose Bay, starting at 1 PM. If at least four other sailors are interested, we’ll go ahead—please let me know if you’d like to join! Kyle  A gorgeous Autumn day today – sunny and with a North westerly of about 10 knots. Absolutely perfect conditions for racing IOM yachts at Risdon Brook Dam. So, putting the great conditions with the fact that today’s sailing was a handicap shield round it was not surprising that nineteen skippers turned up for racing. It was unfortunate that John Hall and Rod Jackman could not make the start line due to boat issues as it would have been a record fleet for recent times. A big thanks though to the forementioned gentlemen who stayed on to officiate the racing today. The wind was kind to us by holding its strength throughout the whole day allowing us to complete the complement of ten races. What was rather surprising given the moderate conditions was the high attrition rate today. 17 competed in the first race but only 11 in the final race. Close racing, podium positions from all skippers that completed the race complement, winners from across the handicap spectrum and a tight scoreboard are all indicators that the handicap system is working well and these were all evident in today’s racing. There was only a single point separating the top three today with Buzzy Behrens and Ricky Price tying for second and third. Buzzy got the nod for second with back-to-back wins in the final two races of the day. Just one point ahead, John Cole-Cook was today’s winner. John played the shifts well on the up-wind legs often working the centre of the course and finding clear air away from other competitors. Congratulations John, Wayne and Ricky. COMING UP: Something to mark on your calendar! We have decided to bring back long-distance racing – but on a Wednesday, at Risdon Brook dam, and for IOM boats only. Wednesday 30th April will be the first of two or three that we will be sailing during this year. They will be handicap races and each day’s racing will contribute points towards a season winner who will be awarded the Long-distance Champions trophy. The club will put on a BBQ lunch for the first of these days to make it extra special. More details will be given as we get closer to the event. Sunday: Marblehead scratch racing at Risdon Brook Dam. (10:00 button-press). Note the venue: This event will be at the dam NOT Montrose as the calendar previously stated. Next Wednesday: IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button-press) Shorty  We had eight sailors along today for the 2025 installment of the Southern Tasmanian Championship. Unfortunately the field was reduced fue to some illnesses, but the small field was keen to make the most of the conditions today. An initial briefing by Kyle, who took on PRO duties today laid out the standards required for the day. Particular emphasis on sportsmanship and sailing amongst others in a way that you would like others to sail against you. The grey area between sailing in a certain way "because you can" and sailing in a sportsmanlike manner clearly explained as well as the expectations for the day. On that note, the conduct of the skippers on the courses was very good, with the PRO not having to make calls for buoy contacts etc and sailors doing their penalties as expected without being called for it - the example to set for the sport. Unfortunately, the conditions had other ideas for us today and gave us a pretty dire time. Squalls ranging up to around 30 knots, driving rain at times and some pretty unfavourable directions also, but we did manage to get 5 races in prior to an early lunch break, which was called after a wind direction change and onset of some large chunks of weed. By this stage, Lisa had broken out to a substantial lead, but there were four others in the hunt for the two other podium positions. To add to the unfortunate conditions today, we lost both John Short and Marcus Inches at lunch with some rigging and electrical issues, and Rod decided to not sail after lunch with the weed about. We got the first race in after lunch (race 6) and the weed worsened on us, so a call of skippers wishes to continue at that point was given, and a unanimous call was made to abandon th esailing for the day at race 6. Lisa came out a convincing winner of the Southern Tasmanian Championship on just 7 points. Ray took out second place today on 16 points and Stuart rounded out the top three on 18 points. Not the best of conditions by any stretch with the rain, wind and weed today, but hopefully our return to Montrose in October will yield much better conditions with the bridge construction then finished and return to normal flows (hopefully) in the Derwent. Coming up:
 A rotating PRO was used today in the absence of our usual DF95 PRO Andrew Wardrop who is having cataract surgery. We wish you well Andrew and hope for a speedy recovery. When a rotating PRO is used the PRO is awarded their ‘average points before discards’ for the race that they missed. It was great to see Kim Potter again after quite a break from racing. Unfortunately however, Kim had some boat troubles today and could not complete a race. We do hope that you will be able to make it regularly Kim. The computer algorithm that we have been using to generate handicaps has recently issued some unrepresentative DF95 handicaps. The system, on the whole, is very fair and our weekly IOM handicaps remains fair and representative. There are two reasons which can explain why this has happened to the DF95 handicaps. One is that the fleet is not consistent. From month to month we get different skippers turning up. In recent events we have had a couple of ‘handicap spill-overs’ where a scratch boat (70 handicap) dominated the podium. When this happens that skipper’s handicap penalty cannot increase beyond 70, and so every skipper who sailed that day has their handicap reduced. But only those who were there that day – so depending on which days you attended or missed your handicap might benefit or not. The other thing that happened is that Stuart Dawes sailed a few Wednesdays recently, and in DF95’s, Stuart is something special. His recent form was so good that most of the fleet had their penalty reduced to close to zero. So we had good ‘mid-fleet’ skippers assigned handicaps of 10 and 15 seconds which is totally unfair to our front-markers. So, as a result, I decided to enlist the assistance of a couple of senior members and reassign the handicaps manually so that they more accurately represent the fleet. I do not intend to override the computer regularly, and this is the first time that I have done it in three years of managing Wednesday handicaps. The racing was close today which I think shows that we were close to getting it right. If, however, you think that you have been assigned an unfair handicap then please feel free to talk to me about it. As said, there was some close racing today and the PRO frequently needed to be quick with the pen as there were many photo-finishes. Wayne Behrens took out third place. There is no-one better than Wayne at reading the dam when the wind is shifting around. (On day’s like today when I am in doubt I like to check out what Buzzy is doing because it will often turn out right.) Second place went to Chris Wood. We haven’t seen much of Chris lately and he has recently sold his IOM, but great to see you today Chris and in excellent form too. Today’s winner was Alan Short - a clear 8 points ahead of the rest. This win follows a win in last week’s IOM handicap. It is fair to say that he has found some form! Coming Up: Saturday: Our friends from Forcett have organised an IOM Woodies invitation. 10:30 button-press. Sunday: IOM Southern Tasmania Championships at Montrose. 10:15 briefing for a 10:30 button. Enter on-line. Next Wednesday: IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam. 11:00 button-press Shorty  Not a great deal to say with today's sailing. We had nine skippers today, with Murray Willis coming down from Launceston to sail with us. John Hall kept things moving for us as PRO today and the wind remained fairly steady, but light throughout. Eleven races completed today, with Lisa winning the day on 16 points, John Cole-Cook taking second on 29 and Ray Joyce rounding out the top 3 with 32 points. A bit light on in Silver fleet today, with John Short and Murray Willis the silver sailors. John taking the Silver Fleet out for today on 9 points. Coming up This coming Wednesday will be Mid Week DF95 Handicap at the dam, button press at 11am. Next Sunday will be IOM Southern Tasmanian Regatta, button press at 1030. Only 5 entries to date, so please get them in as well as payment via electronic transfer to our bank with your name in the comments. Bunnings Sausage Sizzle We had the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle yesterday and were rewarded well for our efforts. Close to $2k earned for the club. Massive thanks to Ian Hey for organising it, as well as all of our volunteers that helped make the day happen. We had Jammy and Lynne Jones, John Short, Lisa Blackwood, Peter Sylvester, John Hall, Phil Turnbull, Peter Turner and Rod Marshall all helping out through the day. Rod and Bodge were there the entire day (making a great reason for their rest and recovery day today at home rather than sailing) Kyle  Another glorious sailing day brought 17 IOM skippers to Risdon Brook Dam for today’s handicap racing. About 5 knots of North-Westerly persisted throughout the day though there were some sizeable wind shifts and some calm holes as well. John Hall again took up the PRO role. Thanks, John for your excellent work today. We do hope that you get your own boat back together and racing again soon. Unfortunately a couple of skippers were forced to finish their day early due to gear failure. Rob Cooney (rigging issues) and Bodge (rudder servo) both only completed a couple of races but they did stay on to watch the good racing on show today. Predicting the shifts was the name of the game. Many skippers went well west today waiting for a shift to bring them back – and sometimes it worked – but not always. Ray Joyce seemed to choose staying close to the Eastern bank when working upwind and was the best performer of the back-markers today. Overall Rod Marshal finished in third place. He was using the Blitz today. This result follows a second overall last week. Second place went to John Penman. John has leased the club boat and it was his first day racing an IOM. And with two second places and two race wins in the mix it’s not a bad way to start. But Alan Short trumped everyone - just one point ahead of John and two ahead of Rod and two race wins in his mix as well. Al has been racing for just six months now and this was his first event win. Congratulations Rod, John and Alan. Coming up: Sunday: IOM Scratch racing at Montrose (1:00 button press.) Next Wednesday: DF95 handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam (11:00 button press.) Shorty  Eight sailors gathered at Montrose Bay for the Herb Tyson Regatta, competing in the A Class category. The day was characterized by very light wind conditions, but fortunately, there was just enough breeze to complete most of the races. Notably, weed - which has been a persistent issue in recent events—was absent today, allowing for smoother sailing. A total of eight races were completed before the wind died off, prompting a skippers' meeting to discuss an early finish. The sailors unanimously agreed to conclude the day and begin packing up. Ironically, a slight sea breeze arrived just as the packing was completed, a common occurrence in sailing events. Kyle and Lisa, both fresh from strong performances at the Nationals, dominated the field, securing the top two spots. Each won four races, making the competition fierce. In the end, Kyle edged out Lisa by a single point, winning the Herb Memorial with a total of 8 points. Lisa second with 9 points. Phil Turnbull also had an impressive day, consistently placing in the top four and securing third place overall with 21 points. The middle of the fleet was tightly contested, with only 6 points separating 3rd to 6th place. The racing was incredibly close, with many positions uncertain until the final leg of each race. Thanks to Stuart Dawes for his excellent work as PRO today. Tahnks also to Ted Stevens for traveling from Launceston to observe the races and also to Ray Joyce for capturing stunning photographs of the event. Coming up:
 Another ripper of a day for sailing IOM yachts! Twenty eight degrees, blue skies and a fairly consistent 5 knots of North Westerly throughout the day made for perfect handicap racing at the dam. A few old faces returned today. It was great to see, Peter Turner, Martin Svensen, Phil Jackman and Rob Cooney all back on the water after some time away. This gave us a fleet of 18 boats today, - the biggest for the season so far. Rob unfortunately had a nasty slip on the loose gravel of the launching ramp while he was racing. A Super-Hero award goes to Rod Jackman who came immediately to Rob’s aid, having left his own boat even though he was in the leading group and only a short distance from the finish line. Lisa Blackwood who attended to Rob’s boat, and Ray Joyce who missed the start of the next race while making sure that Rob was OK also deserve a salute. It was really great to see such selfless behaviour and club spirit. We all hope that you have fully recovered Rob. (Rod and Ray scored average points for the races affected by the incident.) With that said, it also serves as a reminder to everyone that the barrier installed at the end of the fence to the boat trailer was installed following a safety audit of the area and is there to deter sailors from accessing the jetty from that slippery area. We all need to ensure we go around this barrier (and not under it) in order to access the water from the much more stable grassed area around the other side of the boat trailer. Ian Hey launched his new V12 today. A deep yellow colour, it looked very distinctive on the water and showed good speed particularly early in the day with podium finishes for Bodge in the first two races. We all know the potential of these boats so it will be one to watch out for! I managed third place overall today without any really outstanding races – but some consistency at least. Second place went to Commodore Rod Marshall who seemed to always be at the head of the pack. Rod seemed to work the long down-wind leg well, keeping closer to the shore than most and often catching the leaders by coming with a gust from behind. Today’s winner, for the second week in succession, was Marcus Inches after starting the day with back-to-back race wins. Congratulations on another great sail Marcus but watch out for the handicapper’s sword! Coming up: Sunday: The Herb Tyson Memorial for A Class yachts at Montrose. (10:00 button) Enter on-line. Next Wednesday: More IOM handicap racing at Risdon Brook Dam. (11:00 button).  |