2018/19 Clasic Trophy for Dragon Force 65
12 events held on the first Wednesday of each month thoughout the year
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
