2018/19 IOM Furzton Trophy
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12 Events throughout the year held on the Friday before the last Sunday of the month ( check calendar for clarification )
Round 1 Furzyon Trophy for IOM's Results and Report
Today might have been Black Friday, but to my eyes it was simply a very murky grey Friday being one of those days where you open the curtains and contemplate diving straight back under the duvet.
Fortunately nine IOM skippers dragged their bodies down to the lakeside, for what turned out to be a chilly, damp, drizzly morning.
I know I'm not selling it to you all but considering the weather we actually had one of the best IOM turnouts for quite some time, so please can we see the sunshine and a decent breeze next month?
The wind direction was better than of late, coming more from the east than the southerly winds we have been subjected to recently, however there wasn't much of it, granted there were some very, very calm periods but on the whole there was sufficient for us to complete eight races on a decent sized course.
The wind allowed us a good first beat most of the length of the lake, from a start between white and orange buoys front of the main jetty, which was a little too starboard biased, beating down to white buoy just off the eastern island then back to white outer start buoy via a spreader, repeated for a second lap, omitting the spreader, with tricky short upwind finish. Sorry I can't remember the buoy numbers since I had enough trouble seeing the buoys themselves, let alone the numbers on them!
Sometimes going out into the middle of the lake allowed you to pick up a decent breeze but you had to be aware of those who chose to hug the bank and approach the mark on starboard tack whilst on other occasions the inside path brought you into the doldrums.
Runs were nerve-racking too with the trailing pack catching a breeze and sailing up to or past the leading pack,
Orientation, and depth perception were very difficult today in the flat grey light, with sails all but disappearing into the gloom.
Out of the nine boats on the water, there were no fewer than half a dozen different designs of varying age and as can be seen from the results, there was nothing to choose between any of them, with some amazingly close racing.
Getting a good start, keeping out of trouble, in clean air and not stalling of finding the dead spots was as ever key to success today. one man seemed to master the conditions, turning it into a bit of a one horse race, with a perfect score after discards, going to Keith Coxon ( without a Britpop ).
Only Alan Smedley could spoil his perfect day by winning the last race. Some distance behind ( with a Britpop ) was a very quick Rob Tottey, with Alan Smedley close on his heels, to claim the final podium position.
Uncharacteristically Mike Kemp was not showing us the way round today, only managing a fourth place after a couple of unfortunate tangles, although only a couple of points separated all the following positions.
All in all, despite the dismal weather, the inaugural Friday IOM session proved to be a great success and hopefully the numbers will grow as the season progresses, if you have an IOM and can make it on a Friday morning bring it out to play, If you haven't yet got one, what are you waiting for?
I think today the warm comfort of our clubhouse at The Old Beams was more welcome than ever.
Keith
Today might have been Black Friday, but to my eyes it was simply a very murky grey Friday being one of those days where you open the curtains and contemplate diving straight back under the duvet.
Fortunately nine IOM skippers dragged their bodies down to the lakeside, for what turned out to be a chilly, damp, drizzly morning.
I know I'm not selling it to you all but considering the weather we actually had one of the best IOM turnouts for quite some time, so please can we see the sunshine and a decent breeze next month?
The wind direction was better than of late, coming more from the east than the southerly winds we have been subjected to recently, however there wasn't much of it, granted there were some very, very calm periods but on the whole there was sufficient for us to complete eight races on a decent sized course.
The wind allowed us a good first beat most of the length of the lake, from a start between white and orange buoys front of the main jetty, which was a little too starboard biased, beating down to white buoy just off the eastern island then back to white outer start buoy via a spreader, repeated for a second lap, omitting the spreader, with tricky short upwind finish. Sorry I can't remember the buoy numbers since I had enough trouble seeing the buoys themselves, let alone the numbers on them!
Sometimes going out into the middle of the lake allowed you to pick up a decent breeze but you had to be aware of those who chose to hug the bank and approach the mark on starboard tack whilst on other occasions the inside path brought you into the doldrums.
Runs were nerve-racking too with the trailing pack catching a breeze and sailing up to or past the leading pack,
Orientation, and depth perception were very difficult today in the flat grey light, with sails all but disappearing into the gloom.
Out of the nine boats on the water, there were no fewer than half a dozen different designs of varying age and as can be seen from the results, there was nothing to choose between any of them, with some amazingly close racing.
Getting a good start, keeping out of trouble, in clean air and not stalling of finding the dead spots was as ever key to success today. one man seemed to master the conditions, turning it into a bit of a one horse race, with a perfect score after discards, going to Keith Coxon ( without a Britpop ).
Only Alan Smedley could spoil his perfect day by winning the last race. Some distance behind ( with a Britpop ) was a very quick Rob Tottey, with Alan Smedley close on his heels, to claim the final podium position.
Uncharacteristically Mike Kemp was not showing us the way round today, only managing a fourth place after a couple of unfortunate tangles, although only a couple of points separated all the following positions.
All in all, despite the dismal weather, the inaugural Friday IOM session proved to be a great success and hopefully the numbers will grow as the season progresses, if you have an IOM and can make it on a Friday morning bring it out to play, If you haven't yet got one, what are you waiting for?
I think today the warm comfort of our clubhouse at The Old Beams was more welcome than ever.
Keith
