A week later and conditions were altogether more manageable despite the continuous rain, with winds blowing up the reservoir from the dam producing the usual confused area in the lee of the dam.  The OOD was able to set a course using the full length of the lake and keep things interesting with rounding marks to both port and starboard.

For the first race 17 starters made their way by various routes to arrive at the windward mark as a bunch.  This continued to the following marks, but with a different leader at each one.  So close was the racing that the first six boats to finish were only separated by 30 seconds.  Ffinlo Wright (Tera) sailed well to finish only four minutes behind the first finisher, giving him his first win on corrected time and the first win for a junior this winter.  Simon Pressley (Laser) came in second and Andrew and Owen Williams (Laser 2000) third.

For the second race it was the Fireball of Dan Roberts and Kristian Cowin which led the way, chased by Angus Jolly (Laser) and Rob Cowell/Phil Hardisty (RS 200). This group pulled away from the fleet, with Rob first to cross the finish line, followed by Angus and Dan.  Yet again it was Ffinlo who sailed well to finish third on corrected time, but Rob and Phil managed to get far enough ahead to claim first place with Angus second.

Many thanks to the OOD and safety boat crew.

Overall results for January:

1. Mike Pridham
2. Rob Cowell/Phil Hardisty
3. Brian Quayle

Full Racing Results 29/01/2012

Race 1

1. Ffinlo Wright
2. Simon Pressley
3. Andrew/Owen Williams
4. Mike Pridham
5. Brian Quayle
6. Joe/Eric Whitlegg
7. Ralph Kee
8. Rob Cowell/Phil Hardisty
9. Angus Jolly
10. Paul Melling/Jenny Lantry
11. Keith/Ted Holden
12. Michael Moore
13. Ben Batchelor
14. Dan Roberts/Kristian Cowin
15. Jason Hyett
16. Jim Whitelegg
17. Tim Cope

Race 2

1. Rob Cowell/Phil Hardisty
2. Angus Jolly
3. Ffinlo Wright
4. Simon Pressley
5. Mike Pridham
6. Joe/Eric Whitlegg
7. Ralph Kee
8. Brian Quayle
9. Keith/Ted Holden
10. Jim Whitelegg
11. Dan Roberts/Kristian Cowin
12. Michael Moore
13. Paul Melling/Jenny Lantry
14. Jason Hyett

Thanks to Ralph Kee for the report.

For the first time in this winter’s dinghy series at West Baldwin Reservoir, the sailors faced strong winds and cold weather.

The south-easterly wind blew up the lake from the dam at anywhere from 10 knots to 20-plus in the gusts, enabling the use of the whole lake with a good blast up it and a solid beat back down.

Out of 15 starters in race one it was Angus Jolly (Laser) who caught the ‘magic’ gust on the downwind leg to break clear of the following pack of Lasers and RS200s.

He managed to repeat this on the following two laps to finish well ahead on the water and on corrected time from Rob Cowell and Phil Hardisty (RS200), with Mike Pridham (Laser) in third.

Best junior was Ffinlo Wright (Tera) who sailed well in the conditions to make fourth on corrected time. Owen Williams found the conditions hard but managed to hold on for 13th place. It does get easier, but it doesn’t get any warmer!

From a reduced fleet of nine in the second race it was Ralph Kee (Laser) who managed to get through the shifty wind in the lee of the dam first, closely followed by Dan Roberts and Kristian Cowin (Fireball), Rob Cowell and Angus Jolly a further four seconds down and closing.

However on corrected time it was Kee in first place followed by Jolly in second and Cowell in third.

Many thanks to OOD Pete Hinds and MS&CC’s Commodore Gordon Dickens, ably assisted by Dawn in the safety boat.

Results

Race One: 1, Angus Jolly; 2, Rob Cowell/Phil Hardisty; 3, Mike Pridham; 4, Ffinlo Wright; 5, Andrew Dean/Jenny Lantry; 6, Ralph Kee; 7, Brian Quayle; 8, Chris Hill; 9, Ted Holden/Keith Holden; 10, Jerry Colman/James Penn; 11, Dan Roberts/Kristian Cowin; 12, Paul Melling; 13, Owen Williams.

Race Two: 1, Ralph Kee; 2, Angus Jolly; 3, Rob Cowell/Phil Hardisty; 4, Mike Pridham; 5, Andrew Dean/Jenny Lantry; 6, Brian Quayle; 7, Ted Holden/Keith Holden; 8, Dan Roberts/Kristian Cowin; 9, Paul Melling.

Thanks to Ralph Kee for the report.

Manx Sailing and Cruising Club’s first dinghy race of the new year took place at West Baldwin reservoir on Sunday, January 8.

A record fleet of 17 dinghies took to the water in light drizzle, which stopped within 10 minutes, allowing the sun to come out for the second race.

The wind, having a bit of west in it, was gentle and fluky by the dam, as opposed to nonexistent further up the reservoir which led to some very close racing both on the water and on corrected time.

In race one Rob Cowell and Phil Hardisty (RS200) built up a large lead by the end of the first lap, only to sail into a bald patch and watch as three others led by Mike Pridham (Laser) catch up and overtake. By the end of the race half the fleet finished within three minutes of each other and, after handicaps, Mike Pridham came in first, Simon Pressly (Laser) second and in third place Andrew and David Williams (aged six) sailing in his first race.

In the second race it was Pressley who managed to stay ahead on the first lap followed by Ali Hinds (Radial), taking time out from university team racing for Oxford. By lap two Pressley’s lead was even larger, but at the last mark on the final lap he came to a virtual halt only to be swallowed up by the rest of the fleet. Pridham made the line first, closely followed by Andrew Dean and Jenny Lantry (RS200) with Pressley in third.

On corrected time second, third and fourth were separated by only three seconds. Changing fortunes saw Owen Williams, aged 10 and racing at Baldwin for the first time, come in ahead of his dad!

Many thanks to Pete Hinds for OOD and Donald and Aifric for the safety boat. For full results, see the MS&CC website.

Thanks to Ralph Kee for the report and Jerry Colman for the image.

For the first time in several years the island’s sailors had the choice of Boxing Day ‘Sales’ or Boxing Day ‘Sails’, thanks to Manx Sailing & Cruising Club’s Boxing Day Frostbite Regatta at West Baldwin Reservoir.

Whilst the wind would have been off the scale for sailing on the sea, conditions were about as good as it gets in the sheltered Baldwin Valley with a moderate breeze, interspersed with the usual icy gusts and inexplicable calms.

A mixed fleet of twelve boats started the single race, of about and hour, for the S E Quayle Cup. After an excellent start this reporter (Laser) paused for a brief swim, meanwhile the leading pack of Andrew Dean (RS 200), Dave Batchelor (RS 200), Mike Pridham (Laser) and Simon Pressley (Laser) seemed to get clear and be sailing in their own wind, but during a long race many things can go right or wrong.

Dave Batchelor, sailing in a brilliant lift up the edge of the lake, started to slow: fearing imminent gear failure at the end of the upwind leg was about to retire when he realised that he had been transplanting the reed beds with his centreboard.

Simon Pressley also dropped out of the leading pack after a spill, allowing Ralph Kee and the fast improving Angus Jolly in a borrowed Laser to slip through. Even Mike Pridham gave in to a capsize, making it five out of five for the Lasers!

The only competitor not appearing to make any mistakes, Andrew Dean and daughter Charlotte, were the first on corrected time with Mike Pridham a minute behind and Angus coming in third. A special mention to the juniors who took part, the youngest being 10 year old Ben Batchelor competing in his first Frostbite.

Thanks to Ian Quayle for OOD, Jerry Colman, Sarah and Lucy Hendy for manning the safety boat and to the many spectators who turned out to watch.

Next racing will be on Sunday 8 January 2012, start time at 10am.

Full Results:

1. Andrew Dean/Charlotte Corlett (RS 200)
2. Mike Pridham (Laser)
3. Angus Jolly (Laser)
4. Dave and Emily Batchelor (RS 200)
5. Ralph Kee (Laser)
6. Simon Pressley (Laser)
7. Ben Batchelor (Tera)
8. Juan Hendy (Radial Laser)
9. Daniel Roberts/Kristian Cowin (Fireball)

Thanks to Ralph Kee for the report. Check the Manxsailracer Gallery for images from races 3 and 4 and the MS&CC website for full results.

With fair weather and a brisk westerly breeze, sailing resumed on West Baldwin reservoir on Sunday, December 11. Manx Sailing and Cruising Club have been given permission to run the popular and long running Winter Dinghy Series after a break of about five years. Conditions were sailable but due to the north/south orientation of the sheltered valley, with a flukey but light patchy breeze.

In race one a fleet of nine was lead home on corrected time by Mike Pridham (Laser) with Dave and Emily Batchelor (RS 200) just five seconds behind in second. Island Games competitor Simon Pressly (Laser) was a further 20 seconds behind in third. Race two was convincingly won by Pressly, with Pridham in second and the vastly experienced Keith and Ted Holden (GP 14) in third. At the other end of the experience scale, 10-year-old Ben Batchelor sailed steadily in his Tera but really needed more wind for his tiny sail.

The second round took place on December 18 in bright sunshine and a northwesterly wind, setting up a light but variable breeze running down the valley. A slightly larger fleet was lead home in race one by Russell Collister (Laser), with Pressly second and Ffinlo Wright sneaking into third place in his Tera Pro. Race two was led largely by Pridham, but in the last downwind leg he was ‘Injebrecked’, running out of wind as the rest of the fleet held the breeze to catch up, dropping Pridham to second behind Pressly with Brian Quayle (OK) in third. Another notable performance was Jim Whitelegg, sailing his tiny Gull dinghy to good mid-fleet places.

Many thanks to Pete Hinds for OOD and Donald Edwards and helpers on the safety boat. The series’ next round will be held on Sunday, January 8 starting at 10am. For further information please call Ralph Kee on 817010.

Don’t forget the annual Frostbite Regatta held on Boxing Day for the Quayle Tankard - mince pies and goodies will be provided. Start will be at 11am at West Baldwin, aiming for a midday finish. It’s an excellent way to blow away Christmas cobwebs.

Weather permitting, racing will take place each Sunday until the end of March allowing mixed fleet dinghy racing to continue all year round on the island. During the Christmas period the series will be supplanted by the traditional Boxing Day Regatta on Monday, December 26.

Use of the reservoir for sailing has recently been in doubt due to an ongoing consultation by the Isle of Man Water and Sewerage Authority regarding use of the island’s reservoirs and their surroundings for all recreational purposes. The Authority are understandably concerned about the risks of accidental contamination of one of the island’s main water sources by micro-organisms.

Manx Sailing and Cruising Club has obtained special permission to run a racing series at Injebreck while the consultation process continues. As part of the usage agreement with the Water Authority, boat hulls must be cleaned before entering the water or being stored on the lakeside. For the first event on Sunday a roadside ‘boat-wash’ will be arranged to clean any boats that arrive to compete before racing commences at 10am.

Entry for the entire series, including boat storage, costs £25 per boat or £20 for juniors, with a nominal fee to be arranged for occasional sailors.

Thanks to Mike Pridham and Peter Winstanley at the Water Authority for arranging permission to use the reservoir. For more information, contact Ralph Kee on 817010.

Useful Links

Sailing Instructions

Reservoir usage Terms and Conditions

Hannah Howitt (16), Isabel Sharpe (15) and James Kelly (14) sailed in the radial class at the UK Laser Inland Championship at Grafham Water, which attracted 120 entries in their class.

The event presented a huge challenge to the young manx sailors, who only recently progressed into the olympic class laser dinghy and were up against some of the most experienced sailors of all ages in the UK. The annual championship is also used by coaches of the GBR squad to scout for young talent, so competition is always fierce.

After racing was abandoned due to a complete lack of wind on Saturday, a light breeze allowed racing to commence on Sunday morning. With such a large number of boats, the radial class was split into four fleets which competed in a round robin style contest, with each fleet racing against every other at least once.

Also representing the island was laser sailor Mike Pridham, who used the event as a warm-up as he prepares to contest the 2012 Laser World Championship taking place in Brisbane in March.

The fierce competition for a space on the start line was a relatively new experience for the young sailors, who put up a good fight in the very light and shifty winds. The star performance came from Hannah Howitt, who secured a superb 14th place in the first race in her fleet of 60, and finished 67th in the overall standings, only two places behind veteran Mike Pridham. For a first event at this level, a mid-fleet finish is a fantastic achievement.

Isabel Sharpe showed consistency to finish 107th, with James Kelly 116th overall, with all the young sailors gaining valuable experience of racing in big fleets.

Impressed with the standard of the juniors, Pridham said, ‘They didn’t lose their nerve on a crowded start line, I thought they did really well. Sailing on inland water is so different from sailing on the sea. You only had to make one tiny mistake and you’d lose 15 places.’

Hannah Howitt (16), Isabel Sharpe (15) and James Kelly (14) will contest the UK Laser Inland Championship at Grafham Water, their first competition in the olympic class laser radial dinghy.

They will be among the youngest competitors racing against some of the world’s most experienced sailors in a fleet of over 150 boats, including olympic sailors using the event as a warm-up for the 2012 Games and younger sailors striving to get a foot on the ladder.

Hannah, Isabel and James, all recipients of Manx Sport Aid, progressed to the laser radial class earlier this year after outgrowing the RS tera dinghies in which they enjoyed huge success, including two world titles between them.

The move to an olympic class dinghy is a huge step up for them: at this standard of competition, any results in the top half of the fleet would be a triumph for the Manx sailors. Their objective is to be spotted by the selection coaches and invited to join the Royal Yachting Association GBR Transition Squad, which helps young sailors make the jump into olympic classes like the laser.

The team have spent the summer familiarising themselves with their new boats at every opportunity, including attending two RYA UK training events at Hayling Island and Grafham. They also enjoyed the benefit of an RYA laser coach travelling to the island for a three-day intensive training course.

Also competing at Grafham is veteran laser sailor Mike Pridham, who has been hugely supportive of the young racers.
The team are able to travel regularly to the UK thanks the Manx Sports Aid Foundation and sponsorship from the Manx Lottery Trust and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

If you’d like to get involved contact Jenni Quillin at 7th Wave, or Cathie Ashurst or Brian Partington at the Isle of Man Yacht Club.
Squad coach Jenni Quillin will be posting updates on the team’s progress during the weekend on the 7th Wave Blog, or follow them on Twitter here.

Thanks to Simon Kelly for the report.

Ffinlo Wright and Greg Kelly at the Isle of Man Dinghy Championship 2011

Six sailors from the Manx Youth Sailing Squad showed great form at the RS Tera Inland National Championship last weekend.

The eight-race regatta took place at Alton Water in Suffolk with over seventy competitors taking part.

Racing in the Sport fleet were local sailors Greg Kelly, Ffinlo Wright, Matthew Petts and Ben Batchelor, all finishing in the top twenty in a fleet of 42 boats.

After a tight fight at the top of the fleet Manx youth champion Greg Kelly finished fourth overall. Despite missing out on the podium Greg was the most consistent sailor in the fleet, finishing in the top five in every race. Ffinlo Wright also showed impressive consistency, finishing sixth overall with top ten results across the board.

Matthew Petts progressed to the top third of the fleet securing 14th overall, while Ben Batchelor, who competed for the first time at a national level at last year’s Inland Championship, took ninth place in two races and finished 18th overall.

In the Pro fleet Amie Shute struggled in the light and shifty conditions on Saturday but had consistently excellent starts. She secured sixth place in race 7 and claimed 13th in the final standings.

Tony Pitt, racing in his first national championship, had upgraded to the ‘pro’ sail only a week before the event. His best result was a superb 15th in race 2 but finished 26th overall after capsizes in races 4 and 7.

All six of the young sailors have been invited to represent Great Britain and will travel to the UK during the winter to train with the national squad.

Full results can be downloaded here (.xls file, direct download)

23 dinghies from around the Island contested the six race series, hosted by the Isle of Man Yacht Club in Port st Mary last weekend.

Two boats dominated the leaderboard on Saturday: Russell and June in their RS200 and Antony Ellis, Mike Wilson and Nigel Collins sailing National 18 ‘Crossfire’ took either first or second place in every race. Russell and June led by a single point after three races in light breezes and glorious sunshine.

The westerly breeze increased to 25 knots during Sunday’s racing, causing many capsizes and retirements in the fleet: only ten of the 18 boats that started Race 4 would complete all three of the day’s races.

The biggest casualty was ‘Crossfire’, suffering a broken rudder after capsizing in a squall during Race 5, ending their Championship campaign as Ellis and crew were forced to return to shore.

With consistently excellent starts and barely making a mistake all weekend, defending champions Russell and June proved themselves capable of winning in any weather. They battled on to win Races 4 and 5 and secure the 2011 Championship with a race to spare.

Their worst result was fourth after capsizing during Race 6, which they were able to discard after six races had been sailed. This left them with four wins and a second to count towards the overall result, putting them fourteen points ahead of their nearest rival in the final standings.

In a superb effort junior sailors Greg Kelly and Ffinlo Wright completed all six races of the series in their RS Tera Sport dinghies, taking Sunday’s punishing conditions in their stride. Greg took third in Races 4 and 5 and won Race 6 to secure second place in the Championship, relegating Andrew Dean and Katie Kneale in their RS200 to third place overall.

This is the tenth time Russell and June have won the Isle of Man Dinghy Championship and the MYA Cup, which has been out of their hands only once since 2002. Their latest win puts them only one Championship victory away from equalling Mick Kneale’s record of eleven wins.

Images from Sunday can be viewed here.