2018/19 Clasic Trophy for Dragon Force 65
12 events held on the first Wednesday of each month thoughout the year
Round 11 Classic Trophy for DF65's 3rd Sept 2019
There was a definite "Back to school" feel in the air, showing that autumn is just about upon us. More than anything it was the stiff north westerly breeze that kept the temperature down on what it has of late, still, no rain and the heavy clouds soon blew away to leave us with a bright but breezy morning.
Despite a few of the regulars taking a late holiday we had a solid turnout of ten skippers, however there was a certain amount of attrition throughout the morning, thus in the later races we were a couple down.
We started a little late this morning , whilst Dorian got his boat going, after bypassing an apparently dead switch but still easily managed to complete eight races, even with a break whilst Geoff and Peter launched the rescue boat , just managing to catch Allen Pearce's boat, which was drifting perilously close to the eastern island, after suffering terminal electrical issues, well at least not ones to be tackled at the lakeside.
Due to the stiff wind a nice simple course of two triangles was set, starting between white 7 and the jetty, just off the spit. The windward leg out to white 5 proved difficult on all laps of all races and certainly split the fleet. It was all too easy to under stand and miss, since the wind was greatly influenced by the wind shadow of the western island, the next leg was a simple close reach back inshore to red 6 followed by a scary run into the channel, passing through the gate Red 8/9. Places were easily lost in this section of the course, either by broaching and nose diving on the run or being unable to tack either at or after the gate.
For the first time in ages it was a split decision as to which end to use, often the outer gate was favourite but occasionally the strong wind made this a dangerous choice and it was quicker to tack up the bank rather than risk stalling, which was more than possible all the way up to the line, so nobody was safe until safely across the line.
Geoff managed to pick up the only piece of debris in the lake, necessitating a pit stop to remove a huge tree trunk, Ok it was only a small leafy twig, but quite sufficient to bring a small boat to a near standstill. fortunately it happened at convenient spot, enabling him to carry on racing.
The rig of choice today was the A rig but towards the end of the session, the B suit would have been handy. Overall, the two that chose the smaller rigs, Paul and Bernard, didn't really reap the benefits of better control versus smaller area but as always good sail setting and avoiding trouble were the best ways to success. Avoiding trouble however was much easier said than done, since steerage was sometimes severely hampered as rudders waggled in the air or booms dragged in the water.
Dropping only three races, Dorian had clear lead over Alan Smedley with Geoff trailing just a little to finish third.
Yet another busy week ahead at Two Islands, with round 11 of the Commodore's cup for DF95's on Friday, round £ of the TIRYC Tot for the Wee Nips on Saturday and finally round 13 of the Conway trophy for the IOM fleet, so good luck to you all who have a pass out for all four days!
Geoff
There was a definite "Back to school" feel in the air, showing that autumn is just about upon us. More than anything it was the stiff north westerly breeze that kept the temperature down on what it has of late, still, no rain and the heavy clouds soon blew away to leave us with a bright but breezy morning.
Despite a few of the regulars taking a late holiday we had a solid turnout of ten skippers, however there was a certain amount of attrition throughout the morning, thus in the later races we were a couple down.
We started a little late this morning , whilst Dorian got his boat going, after bypassing an apparently dead switch but still easily managed to complete eight races, even with a break whilst Geoff and Peter launched the rescue boat , just managing to catch Allen Pearce's boat, which was drifting perilously close to the eastern island, after suffering terminal electrical issues, well at least not ones to be tackled at the lakeside.
Due to the stiff wind a nice simple course of two triangles was set, starting between white 7 and the jetty, just off the spit. The windward leg out to white 5 proved difficult on all laps of all races and certainly split the fleet. It was all too easy to under stand and miss, since the wind was greatly influenced by the wind shadow of the western island, the next leg was a simple close reach back inshore to red 6 followed by a scary run into the channel, passing through the gate Red 8/9. Places were easily lost in this section of the course, either by broaching and nose diving on the run or being unable to tack either at or after the gate.
For the first time in ages it was a split decision as to which end to use, often the outer gate was favourite but occasionally the strong wind made this a dangerous choice and it was quicker to tack up the bank rather than risk stalling, which was more than possible all the way up to the line, so nobody was safe until safely across the line.
Geoff managed to pick up the only piece of debris in the lake, necessitating a pit stop to remove a huge tree trunk, Ok it was only a small leafy twig, but quite sufficient to bring a small boat to a near standstill. fortunately it happened at convenient spot, enabling him to carry on racing.
The rig of choice today was the A rig but towards the end of the session, the B suit would have been handy. Overall, the two that chose the smaller rigs, Paul and Bernard, didn't really reap the benefits of better control versus smaller area but as always good sail setting and avoiding trouble were the best ways to success. Avoiding trouble however was much easier said than done, since steerage was sometimes severely hampered as rudders waggled in the air or booms dragged in the water.
Dropping only three races, Dorian had clear lead over Alan Smedley with Geoff trailing just a little to finish third.
Yet another busy week ahead at Two Islands, with round 11 of the Commodore's cup for DF95's on Friday, round £ of the TIRYC Tot for the Wee Nips on Saturday and finally round 13 of the Conway trophy for the IOM fleet, so good luck to you all who have a pass out for all four days!
Geoff
Round 10 Classic Trophy 7th Aug 2019
A good turnout of twelve skippers came out to play today on a very pleasant morning with wind a plenty, well at least enough to more than fill the A+ rigs that almost everyone had chosen. The Westerly wind was actually much stronger in the car park than at the lake, so we all coped very well on the big rig, at least for the first few races but from mid morning onwards it started to increase to the point where boats started to broach and nosedive although in the main it was manageable.
a short walk down to the spit gave us the best chance of setting a decent course, without the issues of getting snarled up in the turbulent air from the western island.
Initially we started between red 7 and 8, using white 5 as the windward mark and running into the channel via a spreader red 6. although the leeward marks were taken as a gate, most chose the near buoy.
After the first race it was clear that we could make the windward buoy almost without tacking so the whole upwind course was shifted towards the shore, using red 6, with a spreader red7 in the bay. This course gave some good beats, which should have separated the fleet but the finishes were close as well as fast and furious, so much so that we had to scrap race 2 and adopt a rotating race officer, who was awarded average points, which seemed sensible with a large fleet and a stiff breeze.
Not only were the finishes close on the water but the scores were very close, with John Howell just beating Dorian by a single point, with Keith just a few points adrift. I wonder if the results would have been different had we not scrapped the second race !
A good turnout of twelve skippers came out to play today on a very pleasant morning with wind a plenty, well at least enough to more than fill the A+ rigs that almost everyone had chosen. The Westerly wind was actually much stronger in the car park than at the lake, so we all coped very well on the big rig, at least for the first few races but from mid morning onwards it started to increase to the point where boats started to broach and nosedive although in the main it was manageable.
a short walk down to the spit gave us the best chance of setting a decent course, without the issues of getting snarled up in the turbulent air from the western island.
Initially we started between red 7 and 8, using white 5 as the windward mark and running into the channel via a spreader red 6. although the leeward marks were taken as a gate, most chose the near buoy.
After the first race it was clear that we could make the windward buoy almost without tacking so the whole upwind course was shifted towards the shore, using red 6, with a spreader red7 in the bay. This course gave some good beats, which should have separated the fleet but the finishes were close as well as fast and furious, so much so that we had to scrap race 2 and adopt a rotating race officer, who was awarded average points, which seemed sensible with a large fleet and a stiff breeze.
Not only were the finishes close on the water but the scores were very close, with John Howell just beating Dorian by a single point, with Keith just a few points adrift. I wonder if the results would have been different had we not scrapped the second race !
Wednesday DF65 Classic Round 9 - 3rd July 2019
Only five keen racers out today – we had treat today to see Mike Ewart sailing his ‘A’ class Gothica it made the DF 65’s look very small indeed – a very good looking craft and fast.
The club starter has suffered a detached wire internally – we tried with the same starter Keith uses but for some reason we couldn't get that to work properly very temperamental.
As there was only five of us we each took a turn in calling the start this worked well and Ten very competitive races where completed.
We started between white 4 a the safety bag on the corner of the western jetty then out to white 5 to port then out to red 3 to port back to white 4 to port then back to white 5 then to the gate and finish across the start line white 4 and the bag.
The wind predominantly from the north with an eastern twist thrown in for good measure caused a few anxious moments particularly at white 5 – this was definitely the stress point apart from the ‘no wind’ moments. All in All a very pleasant mornings sailing.
Colin and Bernard had a win each with Dorian and Rob fighting for the others.
RobT.
Only five keen racers out today – we had treat today to see Mike Ewart sailing his ‘A’ class Gothica it made the DF 65’s look very small indeed – a very good looking craft and fast.
The club starter has suffered a detached wire internally – we tried with the same starter Keith uses but for some reason we couldn't get that to work properly very temperamental.
As there was only five of us we each took a turn in calling the start this worked well and Ten very competitive races where completed.
We started between white 4 a the safety bag on the corner of the western jetty then out to white 5 to port then out to red 3 to port back to white 4 to port then back to white 5 then to the gate and finish across the start line white 4 and the bag.
The wind predominantly from the north with an eastern twist thrown in for good measure caused a few anxious moments particularly at white 5 – this was definitely the stress point apart from the ‘no wind’ moments. All in All a very pleasant mornings sailing.
Colin and Bernard had a win each with Dorian and Rob fighting for the others.
RobT.
Classic Trophy Results Round 8
Good evening All
A good fleet of 11 boats arrived for today’s DF65 Classic Trophy event, Round 8. We started a little later than usual as it took a little time to decide on the best rig with some changing up or changing down. In the end all but one chose A+ rig with Allen Pearce only having his A rig (the A+ was in his garage!)
We started from the far right start marks into doom bay, it was very doom - y today, out to white 5 mid lake with a spreader to red 3 on the perimeter, a beat to one of the white start marks to keep us out of doom bay and repeat without the spreader
After racing we decided we really should have sailed off of the spit, a lesson for the future. The wind was WSW and was badly effected by the western island (we really should give a name, any ideas?) Vulture Island, Bloody Island??
Anyway we persevered and KC was first with 10 points thankfully getting rid of two high point discards. Dorian was just behind with 13 points after being able to get rid of a 12 (a coming together with Geoff who was also a 12 pointer). Third with a very consistent set of results was Richard on 15 points. We only managed 8 races a) due to the late start and b) because Brian had a battery failure in the last race leading to the inflatable rescue boat being needed. Geoff brought the electric rescue boat but forgot the transmitter (easily done says KC!)
However after a safe rescue and advice to Brian on batteries and chargers 9 of us adjourned to the clubhouse for our usual convivial chat. Maybe the surprise of the conversation was 'One Screwdriver Keith' saying he enjoyed the TV programme ’The Repair Shop’ He was intrigued by all the machinery and tools that they had to hand!!!
It was great to see Allen back at the lake not having sailed since November
All for now
Keith
Good evening All
A good fleet of 11 boats arrived for today’s DF65 Classic Trophy event, Round 8. We started a little later than usual as it took a little time to decide on the best rig with some changing up or changing down. In the end all but one chose A+ rig with Allen Pearce only having his A rig (the A+ was in his garage!)
We started from the far right start marks into doom bay, it was very doom - y today, out to white 5 mid lake with a spreader to red 3 on the perimeter, a beat to one of the white start marks to keep us out of doom bay and repeat without the spreader
After racing we decided we really should have sailed off of the spit, a lesson for the future. The wind was WSW and was badly effected by the western island (we really should give a name, any ideas?) Vulture Island, Bloody Island??
Anyway we persevered and KC was first with 10 points thankfully getting rid of two high point discards. Dorian was just behind with 13 points after being able to get rid of a 12 (a coming together with Geoff who was also a 12 pointer). Third with a very consistent set of results was Richard on 15 points. We only managed 8 races a) due to the late start and b) because Brian had a battery failure in the last race leading to the inflatable rescue boat being needed. Geoff brought the electric rescue boat but forgot the transmitter (easily done says KC!)
However after a safe rescue and advice to Brian on batteries and chargers 9 of us adjourned to the clubhouse for our usual convivial chat. Maybe the surprise of the conversation was 'One Screwdriver Keith' saying he enjoyed the TV programme ’The Repair Shop’ He was intrigued by all the machinery and tools that they had to hand!!!
It was great to see Allen back at the lake not having sailed since November
All for now
Keith
DF65 Classic Trophy Round 7
Good afternoon All
10 boats arrived for Round 7 of the Classic Trophy for DF65’s. We sailed from the spit for the first time for ages with a NW wind. A start from Red 8 just off the eastern island and the jetty was selected out to Red 4 across to a spreader (dirty white) then to a leeward mark (dirty white?) back to the windward mark back to Red 9 in the right-hand bay and finish
All went well for the first two races albeit with little wind and with Bernard a late entrant for race 3. After finishing race 2 Alex took off his glasses to wipe his eyes, he put them back on to find his boat on the island!!
Dave A had his electric rescue boat with a trailing line. in positioning the boat he ran over the trailing line and the prop was caught up. So…..the inflatable was required. KC who had to leave early anyway thought this will take some time so headed home with just two races completed. Normal business continued from Race 3 and the results are below. Rob emailed the sheet with a note saying “not many highlights today”
Colin came in first with 13 points narrowly beating Rob with 14 points and Alan Smedley with 17 points in third place. Dorian was just pipped on 18 points!
All for now
Keith
Good afternoon All
10 boats arrived for Round 7 of the Classic Trophy for DF65’s. We sailed from the spit for the first time for ages with a NW wind. A start from Red 8 just off the eastern island and the jetty was selected out to Red 4 across to a spreader (dirty white) then to a leeward mark (dirty white?) back to the windward mark back to Red 9 in the right-hand bay and finish
All went well for the first two races albeit with little wind and with Bernard a late entrant for race 3. After finishing race 2 Alex took off his glasses to wipe his eyes, he put them back on to find his boat on the island!!
Dave A had his electric rescue boat with a trailing line. in positioning the boat he ran over the trailing line and the prop was caught up. So…..the inflatable was required. KC who had to leave early anyway thought this will take some time so headed home with just two races completed. Normal business continued from Race 3 and the results are below. Rob emailed the sheet with a note saying “not many highlights today”
Colin came in first with 13 points narrowly beating Rob with 14 points and Alan Smedley with 17 points in third place. Dorian was just pipped on 18 points!
All for now
Keith
Round 6 Classic Trophy for DF65 3rd April 2019
This morning's North, north easterly breeze carried a chill with it although the strength varied from almost nil to a light top suite breeze, which made for difficult sailing conditions and to compound the difficulties it shifted through ninety degrees at one time.
The start was set between the orange 7 and new red 7, sailing out into the lake to round red 2 to starboard, followed by red 3 again taken to starboard, running back to red 6,back to red 2, with a final run into the bay to round red 8to port, followed by a short upwind finish. Halfway through the morning, the wind died, necessitating a change to a 1 lap race.
It would be fair to say that most of us fell foul, at one time or another to the shift that never materialised or just running into a patch of still air.
Rob Tottey still had his fair share of mediocre finishes but to compensate for that he did have four first places, which was good enough for a well deserved win just ahead of Keith, who also had his fair share of mid fleet finishes but again had enough good results to offset the lower places. All this could have changed had Dorian sailed the first three races, which he had to sit out as his transmitter was with his new boat, so he kindly performed race officer duties, not that the boats crossed the line at anything other than a snail's pace.
The final podium place went to Alan Smedley, who again managed to stay most of the morning at the front end of the fleet.
This morning's North, north easterly breeze carried a chill with it although the strength varied from almost nil to a light top suite breeze, which made for difficult sailing conditions and to compound the difficulties it shifted through ninety degrees at one time.
The start was set between the orange 7 and new red 7, sailing out into the lake to round red 2 to starboard, followed by red 3 again taken to starboard, running back to red 6,back to red 2, with a final run into the bay to round red 8to port, followed by a short upwind finish. Halfway through the morning, the wind died, necessitating a change to a 1 lap race.
It would be fair to say that most of us fell foul, at one time or another to the shift that never materialised or just running into a patch of still air.
Rob Tottey still had his fair share of mediocre finishes but to compensate for that he did have four first places, which was good enough for a well deserved win just ahead of Keith, who also had his fair share of mid fleet finishes but again had enough good results to offset the lower places. All this could have changed had Dorian sailed the first three races, which he had to sit out as his transmitter was with his new boat, so he kindly performed race officer duties, not that the boats crossed the line at anything other than a snail's pace.
The final podium place went to Alan Smedley, who again managed to stay most of the morning at the front end of the fleet.
Round 5 Wednesday 6th March
Good afternoon All
Gusts forecast at 33mph drove six skippers to correctly start sailing with B Rig (very rarely used at Two Islands) three skippers stayed on A rig either because they didn’t have a B Rig or in Alex’s case he left it at home under the sofa???
Brian Haith had two boats in the car but neither one would power up so he called it a day and went home.
The course was start mid lake into the Bay of Doom to Red 1 out to new Red 6 out to old Orange 4 with a beat to White 3 then to Orange 4 and beat to the finish. After a couple of races as the wind shifted to more southerly we moved the leeward marks further out to Orange 4 and new Red 3.
The start was tricky with a very port tack bias on the line so not all boats tried the port tack end of the line which was the way to go. KC managed very good starts and although the A Rig for a race or two was OK the B Rig kept pace quite well. The trick with the beat was to stay on the port tack after rounding the leeward mark almost to the island. Those that chose to tack early lost out on most occasions.
As the morning wore on the wind increased and the A Rig guys started to really suffer from broaches losing places. At Race 11 we were almost at the need for C Rig which most skippers don’t have. However we were at 12 noon and it was time to call a holt and all 9 of us made it to the Old Beams. Lesley was her usual mischievous self providing much fun and laughter (and embarrassment for KC!)
Anyway KC had a cracking day with all first places after discards ending on 9 points. Next was Alan Smedley who managed his A Rig very well with some skilful sailing. He scored 22 points. In third place was Rob Tottey (the master of heavy weather) on 24 points.
Well done to all who managed the exciting conditions well. Today really did show what a brilliant little boat the DF65 is giving so much enjoyment all for £179 base price. Nothing broke!
Cheers
Keith
Good afternoon All
Gusts forecast at 33mph drove six skippers to correctly start sailing with B Rig (very rarely used at Two Islands) three skippers stayed on A rig either because they didn’t have a B Rig or in Alex’s case he left it at home under the sofa???
Brian Haith had two boats in the car but neither one would power up so he called it a day and went home.
The course was start mid lake into the Bay of Doom to Red 1 out to new Red 6 out to old Orange 4 with a beat to White 3 then to Orange 4 and beat to the finish. After a couple of races as the wind shifted to more southerly we moved the leeward marks further out to Orange 4 and new Red 3.
The start was tricky with a very port tack bias on the line so not all boats tried the port tack end of the line which was the way to go. KC managed very good starts and although the A Rig for a race or two was OK the B Rig kept pace quite well. The trick with the beat was to stay on the port tack after rounding the leeward mark almost to the island. Those that chose to tack early lost out on most occasions.
As the morning wore on the wind increased and the A Rig guys started to really suffer from broaches losing places. At Race 11 we were almost at the need for C Rig which most skippers don’t have. However we were at 12 noon and it was time to call a holt and all 9 of us made it to the Old Beams. Lesley was her usual mischievous self providing much fun and laughter (and embarrassment for KC!)
Anyway KC had a cracking day with all first places after discards ending on 9 points. Next was Alan Smedley who managed his A Rig very well with some skilful sailing. He scored 22 points. In third place was Rob Tottey (the master of heavy weather) on 24 points.
Well done to all who managed the exciting conditions well. Today really did show what a brilliant little boat the DF65 is giving so much enjoyment all for £179 base price. Nothing broke!
Cheers
Keith
Wednesday 6th Feb Round 4 Classic Trophy DF65
Geoff reports
By way of a change from recent days, the weather this morning was very pleasant for the time of year, with a light breeze coming from the SSW, which of course meant that was little bit shredded by the houses, trees and island, before it reached the water. Had it been summer time we would undoubtably sailed off the spit but after the night's rainfall, the grass would have been too dangerous, so it left us with little option than to make the best of it, with a short beat from the two inner white start marks up to red 1 in Doom Bay.
In truth, the wind blew reasonably steadily through the channel, meaning that whilst not easy by any means, the rounding didn't cause as many problems as might be imagined, although with eleven boats on the water there was the inevitable incident when a few late port tackers chanced their luck trying to squeeze their way round the buoy.
For the first race we ran down to red 7 the reached across to red 4, back into Doom Bay, followed by a run to red 4 then straight back across the line but for subsequent races we omitted the second trip into the bay by substituting the inner white mark and moving the leeward marks over by one position to the left.
This gave us a relatively compact course, with all buoys within good visual range, however a little confusion set in with the leading pack following Alan Smedly, taking in an unnecessary buoy, luckily it didn't make too much difference to the finishing positions.
Race one saw Geoff sail on across the lake after the last downwind mark and just as at first it looked like a drive around the lake would be the order of the day, the boat started to head for the island before miraculously regaining control allowing it to be recovered from the jetty. a new set of batteries saw her sailing without further problems, to be fair an earlier glitch should have been heeded. Not so fortunate was Alan smelly, who was forced into an early bath, missing the last four races due to winch failure but on a positive note this took the pressure of the leaders since Alan manned the score sheet, which this week remained firmly attached to the clip board.
Despite the leaders in some of the latter races coming up to lap the tail enders, the racing was surprisingly close, with nobody completely left behind and even gaps between yachts, although there were a few photo finishes and more than the odd place lost in the last few boat lengths of the line.
Fresh back from his cruise, Keith Coxon was very quickly back to top form to be today's winner, trying his best to keep him honest and giving him a good run for his money this morning was Geoff Raygada. Both skippers adopting the same starting strategy of being on the pin end of the line, perhaps a fraction late but usually within the first few boats rounding the weather mark, which was a great advantage.
Slightly less consistent than normal but still best of the rest and still keeping in the front half of the fleet for most of the morning was Rob Tottey who took third place.
Two sets of ties on 32 points and 35 points had to be separated on count backs with Brian Haith just pipping Dorian for fourth place and Richard beating Bernard by virtue of a second place to Bernard"s third place, both having one first place apiece.
Geoff
Geoff reports
By way of a change from recent days, the weather this morning was very pleasant for the time of year, with a light breeze coming from the SSW, which of course meant that was little bit shredded by the houses, trees and island, before it reached the water. Had it been summer time we would undoubtably sailed off the spit but after the night's rainfall, the grass would have been too dangerous, so it left us with little option than to make the best of it, with a short beat from the two inner white start marks up to red 1 in Doom Bay.
In truth, the wind blew reasonably steadily through the channel, meaning that whilst not easy by any means, the rounding didn't cause as many problems as might be imagined, although with eleven boats on the water there was the inevitable incident when a few late port tackers chanced their luck trying to squeeze their way round the buoy.
For the first race we ran down to red 7 the reached across to red 4, back into Doom Bay, followed by a run to red 4 then straight back across the line but for subsequent races we omitted the second trip into the bay by substituting the inner white mark and moving the leeward marks over by one position to the left.
This gave us a relatively compact course, with all buoys within good visual range, however a little confusion set in with the leading pack following Alan Smedly, taking in an unnecessary buoy, luckily it didn't make too much difference to the finishing positions.
Race one saw Geoff sail on across the lake after the last downwind mark and just as at first it looked like a drive around the lake would be the order of the day, the boat started to head for the island before miraculously regaining control allowing it to be recovered from the jetty. a new set of batteries saw her sailing without further problems, to be fair an earlier glitch should have been heeded. Not so fortunate was Alan smelly, who was forced into an early bath, missing the last four races due to winch failure but on a positive note this took the pressure of the leaders since Alan manned the score sheet, which this week remained firmly attached to the clip board.
Despite the leaders in some of the latter races coming up to lap the tail enders, the racing was surprisingly close, with nobody completely left behind and even gaps between yachts, although there were a few photo finishes and more than the odd place lost in the last few boat lengths of the line.
Fresh back from his cruise, Keith Coxon was very quickly back to top form to be today's winner, trying his best to keep him honest and giving him a good run for his money this morning was Geoff Raygada. Both skippers adopting the same starting strategy of being on the pin end of the line, perhaps a fraction late but usually within the first few boats rounding the weather mark, which was a great advantage.
Slightly less consistent than normal but still best of the rest and still keeping in the front half of the fleet for most of the morning was Rob Tottey who took third place.
Two sets of ties on 32 points and 35 points had to be separated on count backs with Brian Haith just pipping Dorian for fourth place and Richard beating Bernard by virtue of a second place to Bernard"s third place, both having one first place apiece.
Geoff
Round 2 Classic Trophy for DF65 Wednesday 2nd Jan 2019
The fist sailing day for 2019 saw twelve skippers turn up on a chilly but pleasant morning, so racing began shortly after we held a minute's silence to reflect on the passing of John Clifton who was a well loved and respected member.
For a change the wind had swung to a North Westerly direction, blowing almost directly across the lake, before moving more to to a Northerly wind as the morning progressed, necessitating a couple of course changes to provide a fairer beat to the windward mark.
Starting between the jetty edge and the white buoy just beyond the western island, running back to white 3 just off the jetty then into the eastern bay to round red 8, repeating the windward leg, then back to red 8, followed by a short reach over the line. As the wind shifted the course was moved to the right since the windward mark was easily fetched from the pin end of the line.
The wind may have been from a more favourable direction than of late but it was somewhat fickle in nature, with lots of very calm spots, sometimes there was sufficient breeze, sometimes less than sufficient, which made for some interesting and frustrating moments, with no skipper totally dominating, with five skippers having at least one first place but also some indifferent placings, whilst others simply had some indifferent results all morning, with Geoff Raygada having particularly trying morning with battery failure and a tangle before the start effectively ended three races and with more circles than Milton Keynes roundabouts, did nothin for the rest of the races.
Although by no means having it all his own way, Keith Coxon managed to just ease ahead of Rob Tottey, who was clearly on form today, Dorian Crease continued to sail a consistent series of races this week, to finish a very well deserved third place just ahead of Paul Risdale, freed from the shackles of having to earn a living and sailing his brand new boat for the first time, scoring an early victory in the first race .
Mike Ewart did a splendid job of R.O. since he was not racing, having brought his A class yacht down to the lake to sail along side Geoff's sister A class Gothica. before and after the morning's racing.
Geoff
The fist sailing day for 2019 saw twelve skippers turn up on a chilly but pleasant morning, so racing began shortly after we held a minute's silence to reflect on the passing of John Clifton who was a well loved and respected member.
For a change the wind had swung to a North Westerly direction, blowing almost directly across the lake, before moving more to to a Northerly wind as the morning progressed, necessitating a couple of course changes to provide a fairer beat to the windward mark.
Starting between the jetty edge and the white buoy just beyond the western island, running back to white 3 just off the jetty then into the eastern bay to round red 8, repeating the windward leg, then back to red 8, followed by a short reach over the line. As the wind shifted the course was moved to the right since the windward mark was easily fetched from the pin end of the line.
The wind may have been from a more favourable direction than of late but it was somewhat fickle in nature, with lots of very calm spots, sometimes there was sufficient breeze, sometimes less than sufficient, which made for some interesting and frustrating moments, with no skipper totally dominating, with five skippers having at least one first place but also some indifferent placings, whilst others simply had some indifferent results all morning, with Geoff Raygada having particularly trying morning with battery failure and a tangle before the start effectively ended three races and with more circles than Milton Keynes roundabouts, did nothin for the rest of the races.
Although by no means having it all his own way, Keith Coxon managed to just ease ahead of Rob Tottey, who was clearly on form today, Dorian Crease continued to sail a consistent series of races this week, to finish a very well deserved third place just ahead of Paul Risdale, freed from the shackles of having to earn a living and sailing his brand new boat for the first time, scoring an early victory in the first race .
Mike Ewart did a splendid job of R.O. since he was not racing, having brought his A class yacht down to the lake to sail along side Geoff's sister A class Gothica. before and after the morning's racing.
Geoff
Round 2 Classic Cup for DF65's - Wednesday December 5th
From Geoff
Again it looked as if sailing today would be washed out, judging by the weather forecast at the weekend but once again it turned out nowhere near as wet as predicted, in fact we only had a few minutes drizzle, mid morning.
Unfortunately the lack of rain was accompanied by an almost total lack of wind and what little there was came from the south west which made course setting tricky. Not only was there little point walking over to the spit, since there was no wind there either but the grass was very wet and slippery.
The usual wisdom would be to start from white 1&3 and sail into the western bay to round red 1, however as this area was totally becalmed, we opted for a down wind start to red 4, followed by a reach right out to red 3 ( in front of the hotel) followed by the windward leg back to white 1 ( outer start mark ). we repeated for a second lap, finishing over the same start finish line.
By 11:15 we had only completed four races and it looked as if we would be lucky to get eight races in until the wind filled in slightly, allowing us to finish the usual quota. Slightly down on numbers today, still a healthy turnout of eight skippers and again some close racing with a handful of points covering the leading pack.
Today several skippers were having trouble either judging the windward mark and indeed distance judging in general, such was the dull, flat light and mist. Unusually Geoff and Rob had boat issues causing missed races and in Geoff's case a trip out with the electric rescue boat, due to a loose battery connection.
In total there were five race winning skippers today, but today's winner, nearly always in the top three was Richard Dolman, closely followed by Alan Smedley, with Geoff Raygada occupying the third podium place.
Dorian Crease, a new member put in a particularly impressive performance, only a few points behind to finish a solid fourth place.
Our cosy lunch break at the Old Beams was particularly welcome today.
From Geoff
Again it looked as if sailing today would be washed out, judging by the weather forecast at the weekend but once again it turned out nowhere near as wet as predicted, in fact we only had a few minutes drizzle, mid morning.
Unfortunately the lack of rain was accompanied by an almost total lack of wind and what little there was came from the south west which made course setting tricky. Not only was there little point walking over to the spit, since there was no wind there either but the grass was very wet and slippery.
The usual wisdom would be to start from white 1&3 and sail into the western bay to round red 1, however as this area was totally becalmed, we opted for a down wind start to red 4, followed by a reach right out to red 3 ( in front of the hotel) followed by the windward leg back to white 1 ( outer start mark ). we repeated for a second lap, finishing over the same start finish line.
By 11:15 we had only completed four races and it looked as if we would be lucky to get eight races in until the wind filled in slightly, allowing us to finish the usual quota. Slightly down on numbers today, still a healthy turnout of eight skippers and again some close racing with a handful of points covering the leading pack.
Today several skippers were having trouble either judging the windward mark and indeed distance judging in general, such was the dull, flat light and mist. Unusually Geoff and Rob had boat issues causing missed races and in Geoff's case a trip out with the electric rescue boat, due to a loose battery connection.
In total there were five race winning skippers today, but today's winner, nearly always in the top three was Richard Dolman, closely followed by Alan Smedley, with Geoff Raygada occupying the third podium place.
Dorian Crease, a new member put in a particularly impressive performance, only a few points behind to finish a solid fourth place.
Our cosy lunch break at the Old Beams was particularly welcome today.
Wednesday 7th November - Round 1
Geoff Reports
A little bit of a late start, this morning due to a one hour , forty minute journey, through the traffic.
By the time everyone had donned the foul weather gear and we had got our act together, the time had ticked on to 10:20 am, still with a stiff breeze, what could possibly go wrong?
A very overcast morning with a warm gusty wind on our backs left us scratching our heads over which rig to use, A or B.
As usual with an off shore breeze, the lake was very much a game of two halves, with strong gusty winds out into the lake but a massive area of light winds inshore, which were very much stirred by all the houses and trees.
Starting between the outer white buoys, we sailed into the bay, rounding red 1 , reaching to red 4 then running out to red 3, which gave a very decent beat back to red 1 , in the bay, followed by another run out to 3, beating back to finish.
Most of us who had them, erred on the side of caution, opting for the more controllabel small rig. It soon became obvious that the disadvantage of the calm spots outweighed the advantages further out, so a change of rigs was called for by those that had brought them, so most of the fleet were now on the medium rig, apart from Richard, who only came with the B rig.
At this time Dorian's yacht developed an electrical fault and lost control. sailing very nicely in circles in the middle of the pond. The electric rescue was launched but a failure to charge the batteries thwarted efforts to rescue, which was eventually completed by towing a line out with a DF65, which worked by virtue of a following wind. Eventually the boats became entangled allowing them to be hauled back to shore. In general the attrition rate was high , with several boats scoring a DNF at one time or another, including Colin, who retired early due to a winch tangle.
Finding the correct sail trim was very difficult today for most, apart from the leading pair of Rob Tottey and Alan Smedley, who shared all the first places, except one and sailed very well under these difficult conditions. The key to success today was to get a good start, which Rob and Alan did more often than not.
Richard had a decent day, apart from the race when he hooked a buoy and remained there whilst the fleet sailed round him, to finish third, a couple of points ahead of Geoff who had too many finishes at the wrong end of the fleet.
In the main, we managed to dodge the worst of the showers, although at time it was touch and go as to whether we would need navigation lights as it grew darker and darker, making difficult visibility worse.
Geoff
In the following schedule the event is wrongly described
Geoff Reports
A little bit of a late start, this morning due to a one hour , forty minute journey, through the traffic.
By the time everyone had donned the foul weather gear and we had got our act together, the time had ticked on to 10:20 am, still with a stiff breeze, what could possibly go wrong?
A very overcast morning with a warm gusty wind on our backs left us scratching our heads over which rig to use, A or B.
As usual with an off shore breeze, the lake was very much a game of two halves, with strong gusty winds out into the lake but a massive area of light winds inshore, which were very much stirred by all the houses and trees.
Starting between the outer white buoys, we sailed into the bay, rounding red 1 , reaching to red 4 then running out to red 3, which gave a very decent beat back to red 1 , in the bay, followed by another run out to 3, beating back to finish.
Most of us who had them, erred on the side of caution, opting for the more controllabel small rig. It soon became obvious that the disadvantage of the calm spots outweighed the advantages further out, so a change of rigs was called for by those that had brought them, so most of the fleet were now on the medium rig, apart from Richard, who only came with the B rig.
At this time Dorian's yacht developed an electrical fault and lost control. sailing very nicely in circles in the middle of the pond. The electric rescue was launched but a failure to charge the batteries thwarted efforts to rescue, which was eventually completed by towing a line out with a DF65, which worked by virtue of a following wind. Eventually the boats became entangled allowing them to be hauled back to shore. In general the attrition rate was high , with several boats scoring a DNF at one time or another, including Colin, who retired early due to a winch tangle.
Finding the correct sail trim was very difficult today for most, apart from the leading pair of Rob Tottey and Alan Smedley, who shared all the first places, except one and sailed very well under these difficult conditions. The key to success today was to get a good start, which Rob and Alan did more often than not.
Richard had a decent day, apart from the race when he hooked a buoy and remained there whilst the fleet sailed round him, to finish third, a couple of points ahead of Geoff who had too many finishes at the wrong end of the fleet.
In the main, we managed to dodge the worst of the showers, although at time it was touch and go as to whether we would need navigation lights as it grew darker and darker, making difficult visibility worse.
Geoff
In the following schedule the event is wrongly described
