Birkenhead RS&PC

DF65’s

A rather unpromising forecast for today didn’t deter the 65 fleet, although the conditions on arrival had everyone looking for some extra layers of warm clothing. The promised rain arrived before racing was due to start and really hammered down for a few minutes, but then cleared up enough to make the sailing if not pleasant, then certainly not bad for winter sailing.

The forecast had got the punchy S. Easterly breeze about right and there were some hefty gusts which were right at the top of A rig conditions. There was a bit of debate about whether to stop for a change to B rig, but after a couple of races everyone decided to stick with the A.

Existing mark positions allowed for a good line, and it seemed to pay to start at the pin and then get the bow down on Starboard and sail right across until the breeze started to get affected by the trees on the far side and then make a fairly long port tack board back until the last bit of the beat where the clubhouse shifts came into play. During the morning this changed a bit, and it started to pay to come across on port early and pick up a starboard tack lift along the clubhouse side.

A number of boats had really good boat speed so the racing was interesting, with six of the eight skippers recording a second or first during the morning. Mike was lucky to get his boat dialled in early and the slight speed advantage allowed wins in the first six races. By race seven Richard had closed the gap to win, and Guy finished on a high with a race eight win.

A cold but competitive day’s racing with thanks to Malcolm for the results, and to Commodore Dave for keeping everything moving and taking pictures (at the expense of a race).

DF95’s

A strange wind today carried over from the morning, nominally easterly but with some brutal swirling shifts especially around the approach to the windward mark. The same course as the morning was used and the starts were self monitored.

A good turnout of 8 skippers opted for a safe B rig set up, A rig would probably have been ok with hindsight with only the odd stronger gust posing a problem.

As seems to be the case recently, the racing was generally very competitive with 6 of the 8 helms recording at least 1 top three position. Paul was the pick of the bunch posting 7 wins out of the 9 races sailed. He only lost out to Clive in the first race and Alan in the 5th and sailed very consistently throughout the afternoon.

Clive and Alan had a close dual for the other podium spots, with Alan posting a 3^rd place against Clives 4^th separating their scores in the end.

The rest of the group had a battle royal to determine the final positions, unfortunately Dave had gear problems with the mainsheet jumping off the winch spool which cost him dearly and after a couple of repeat disappointments, called it a day and became RO and cameraman for the rest of the afternoon. Meanwhile Andy was winning the battle for 4^th and pushing his brother Stuart into 5^th securing the bragging rights for another week!! The final positions were also close with only 2 points separating Steve and Malcolm with the latter taking the 6^th spot.

Summary

A good afternoon in a healthy breeze with a few nasty shifts in wind direction to keep the helms on their toes. Good competition throughout the fleet and sailed in a social manner. What more can you ask for?

Thanks to Dave for photos and RO (part time) and Malcolm for the results.

DF65’s

Paul Plested set the pace in the first race, followed over the line by Mike De St Paer, with Clive 3rd. Guy Cowper, who is only just getting to grips with his recently acquired 65, finished 4th, which proved to be his joint lowest result of the day.

As the breeze came and went there was plenty of opportunity for places to change and, whilst it could pay on occasion to hit a corner on the beat, it was safer to try and keep the boat moving up the middle.  Despite doing this Paul in race two lost out to Guy, who seemed to have boat speed to spare, on the final beat.  Clive posted another 3rd place, just pipping Charles Legg on the line.

By race three there was enough breeze to use the full length of the lake and the usual windward mark with a spreader was introduced.  Clive got away cleanly and lead to the finish, followed by Paul and then Mike.

Races four and five had the same podium positions with Paul bagging two 1sts, Guy two 2nds and Clive two thirds.  Dave Williams took one of the 4ths and Charles took the other, both sailing well on the day just behind the front runners in several races.  Mike opted to call it a day at this point as he wasn’t enjoying the conditions…but then who was.

Clive took race six closely followed by Paul at the line, with Guy in third.  Richard Walker, who had a better second half in the morning’s racing, after some serious boat tweaks took 4th spot.  Guy, who had been consistently quick all day bagged his second win in race seven with Charles just pipping Paul on the line to take 2nd.

DF95’s

The afternoon brought a little more wind than the morning session for the 65s, still generally from the clubhouse end of the lake but there were directional swings along the length of the lake and picking these would prove critical to getting a good finishing result.

Eight skippers including a guest, Mathew Pritchard from Great Orme MYC, took to the water for a prompt start on time. The same standard course as the morning was set.

There were a number of personal battles within the fleet but you couldn’t concentrate too much on these as the racing was super tight and this was demonstrated by 6 of the 8 sailors taking a podium position in at least one race. Paul was by far the pick of the bunch posting 7 bullets and 2 second places but the truth is not reflected in the results as he was pushed all the way to the line in almost every race with a couple of boat lengths making the difference. Clive took the other 2 race wins and backed this up with consistent results in the top 4 places. Andy was consistent, posting 3 seconds and 3 thirds but slipped back in a couple of races but is showing great boat speed. The crunch battle of the afternoon was between Guy and his friend Mathew and the pressure seemed to get to Guy.  Mathew just managed to hold the bragging rights by 2 points in the end, with Stuart close behind. Malcolm and Steve also had a private battle with Steve prevailing, thanks to a third place in the last race. After 9 races, it was time to call a halt, and retire to the clubhouse to warm up.

A very enjoyable afternoon of DF95 sailing, with some good banter on the sidelines and some tricky sailing conditions picking the right shifts and being in the right area of the lake to pick the wind shifts. Congrats to Paul showing a master class in being at the right place at the right time (for most of the time)

Thanks also to Malcolm for the A fleet results and Clive for the photos.

The next round of the DF95 Winter Series takes place this Saturday the 17th January.  Visitors always welcome – make an entry via the Upcoming Events list.