Results from both IOM & DF65 fleets below. Congrats place getters.
What a fantastic early Autumn’s day with a forecast high of 30° being a little warmer than expected with the turn of the season. Nevertheless a high tide on a fresh outward turn, under clear blue sky and a gentle breeze over the harbour was a great way to greet all the skippers - and what a great turn out it was with a flurry of DF65 and IOM skippers rigging and inspecting their craft for all aspects of seaworthiness!
The turnout was indeed impressive with at least 14 IOM and 9 Dragon boats on the water, Peter brought the fleets together for the briefing and set the course to make the most of the ideal setting. Jeremy and Mike Lano accepted the challenge of scoring the fleets which freed my time to concentrate on video and still shots – Sorry, my first video post was not as ideal as I had anticipated and the footage may be disappointing!
With the string binding in the jib deck fitting, Eddie retired from the outset, so this curtailed any further aspirations of my achieving a The Academy Award for Best Cinematography and we made a hasty retreat from the day’s warming heat and hopefully other members will contribute their thoughts on the rest of the day here.
All three scorers, John, Mike and Jeremy must all be praised for their abilities in managing what would have been hectic finishes at times, both Jeremy and Mike on the line and John transcribing the results into the tablet. The days are certainly becoming more full and busier and I am sure the results will reflect the eagerness and enthusiasm experienced on the water.
Jeremy will have a more comprehensive analogy of the day and its events on both our Facebook page and website, which has some exciting new developments coming very soon.
Thanks to everyone for their participation and assistance, sailing is certainly becoming more fun and action packed with increasing success.
The next event is the 1650 Fun Day on Sunday 12th March – please don’t forget to register you intention to sail with Russell so IOM and DF65 teams can be matched early.
Bruce
A good turnout of 7 DF65 & 9 IOM Skippers took part in round 4 of the Summer Handicap Series.
7 IOM and 6 DF65 Skippers arrived for round 4 of the Scratch Series. results below
Uncomfortable morning humidity quickly gave way to a gentle breeze on an out going tide as the early morning sun broke through the grey cloud cover to expose a sunny day full of promise.
Both fleet sizes were down in numbers as DF65 (and duel IOM) skippers were away taking part in their Championship on the Gold Coast, leaving us with just three Dragon and nine IOM boats making up the days compliment. Nevertheless, Peter called the regatta to attention, set the course and John flicked the start-tape button to go and handicap racing got underway… “divertingly”, the first IOM race was not recorded as fleet confusion with a finish meant the line was not always crossed – a timely reminder to pay close attention to the fleet commander when setting the course… the scorer included! However, this early mishap would prove advantageous later in the day as the DF65 boats sailed their proper course and results were recorded.
Standing out early in the IOM fleet was Robb who made some remarkable headway on the fleet at times (see video), this was also reflected on the Handicap Board and regular fleet adjustments made up for some close racing and diverse finishes on the score chart. Jeremy, Rob, Andrew and Ian K all capturing two heat wins each to keep the board shuffling and the handicap times working. The DF65 was smaller but just as determined, their start time 10 seconds behind the last IOM away worked well, their shorter course made for successful racing and all three skippers sailed extremely well with an assortment of results shared between them all, including more than one heat win each and thank you all again for your support.
With five races completed (six for the DF boats) the break was called and mid-day results uploaded. By this time the forecast high of 30° was settling in and the summer heat was beginning to make its mark on Eddie who retired to the comfort of the shade after the break. With the slight IOM race one faux pas behind us, the dragon boats were now a race-ahead of the IOM fleet in scoring, this allowed me the opportunity to ask Noel if he would be kind enough to sit the next heat out to record the IOM boats which allowed me the opportunity to film a race, Noel graciously obliged and I am extremely grateful to Noel, Marcel and Greg – thank you.
With the video completed and the heat taking its toll on Eddie, we left for the remainder of the days racing.
Our Buoy-bot guru Andrew demonstrated exciting new advances with our buoy-bots today, as new software and highly advanced technical developments now include a remarkable feature with the capability of moving the entire course simultaneously – a ballet on water to watch! A really exciting feature for not only time and placement of our buoys, but also a remarkable safety feature with any encroaching larger vessels, enabling the entire course to be moved at once – well done Andrew, an absolutely magnificent and essential tool that this club is fortunate and privileged to be part of in its development.
Peter, John, Andrew and Noel are our captains of endeavour and as always, the full complement of members pulled together in their individual supporting rolls which keeps our club working well – thank you everyone.
Round four of the Summer Series is on Sunday 5th February at the Marina.
Bruce
WOW! What a great way to get sailing underway for the New Year… Thirteen IOM and eight DF65 skippers turned up, including several new faces and a couple of enthusiastic ‘young-guns’, which was great to see, welcome everyone. It really was a great day to be out sailing, not too hot for this time of the year, an incoming tide and gentle breezes.
Peter and Russell called all skippers to attention for a comprehensive briefing and both fleets entered the water for the start of Scratch racing – as always we are extremely grateful to Jeremy and other crew members who assist us with launches from the foreshore wall. After a summer refurbishment, Buoy-bots continue to meet all expectations and proved their value again this week as yachts departed the Marina, thank you Andrew.
Mike, Peter and Russell in the IOM fleet and Don, Steve and Greg in the DF65 boats continue to dominate the day with well-deserved podium placings, Jordan and Will also need to be recognized for their emerging talents and promising futures in the club. Notwithstanding the fact that all skipper skill levels are noticeably coming-to-the-fore and sailing throughout the year will be interesting to follow as advances will be made to challenge the ranks.
A fantastic day that had all the team work extremely well together to make all aspects of the event possible, thank you to everyone who go unmentioned for the individual tasks you all undertake without question to make for such a smooth running of our days. Sincerest thanks to Mike L for scoring heat eight to allow me to film the race (apologies for the wobbly bit!). Also, congratulations to Andrew who was presented with the overall Club Championship shield today – Well sailed Andy.
Round three of the Summer Handicap Series will be sailed on Sunday 29th January at the Manly Marina and we hope to see bigger fleets on the water.
Cheers, Bruce
