Report by O O’Day

Racing resumed this Sunday 16th November after last weeks stormy weather, with a cold but steady NW wind. An excellent 10 crews turned out with James Walker joining us in his singlehanded Blaze.
Russell and June Collister won the first race with Mike Pridham 2nd and Ben Swindlehurst an excellent 3rd.  Only 30 seconds separated positions 2-6!

The second race saw the Collisters over the start line which gave the others more of a chance.  Ali Hinds took said chance with a narrow win from Pridham with Swindlehurst 3rd again.

The third race saw results return to normal with the Collisters winning from Angus Jolly/Connor Christian and Pridham 3rd. At this point the slumbering safety crew were called into action when Walker decided to test his buoyancy aid!

Others out enjoying a lovely morning were Andrew Dean and Danny Boyes who had a gentlemanly discussion as to why the spinnaker wouldn’t come down. Nick Parkes sailed to a good 5th in the 3rd race and Helen Cave experimented with a single handed Pico.

Results
Race 1. 1. Collister (RS200), 2. Pridham (Laser Standard), 3. Swindlehurst (Laser Radial), 4. Jolly (RS200), 5. Hinds (Laser Radial), 6. Dean (RS200), 7. Baker (Windsurfer), 8. Walker (Blaze), 9. Parkes (Laser 4.7), 10. Cave (Pico)
Race 2. 1. Hinds, 2. Pridham, 3. Swindlehurst, 4. Collister, 5. Jolly, 6.Walker, 7. Dean, 8. Baker, 9. Parkes, 10. Cave
Race 3. 1. Collister, 2. Jolly, 3. Pridham, 4. Hinds, 5. Parkes, 6. Swindlehurst, 7. Dean, 8. Baker, 9.Walker, 10. Cave
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Report thanks to Jenni Quillin

The annual Topper Challenge was held last Sunday (3rd November) hosted by 7th Wave and the Maughold Venture Centre at  Mooragh Park  The event is a team racing for junior sailors from the Island’s RYA Training Centres.  A total of five teams were entered representing the Manx Sailing and Cruising Club,  Isle of Man Yacht Club, King William’s College, the Venture Centre and 7th Wave, each team consisting of three sailors aged 16 and under.

A total of ten races were sailed to allow each team to race all the other teams during the afternoon.  The cumulative points for each team’s finishing places were added up at the end of each race and the team which scored the least points won that round.  After all ten races were sailed the team with the most wins would be deemed the overall winner of the event.

A short windward / leeward course was sailed, the wind being sufficiently strong enough for the first four races to be sailed around two laps of the course.  Mid-way through the afternoon the course was shortened to one lap in the decreasing breeze.

The first race was a battle between the northerners.  Amie Shute and Izzy Sharpe, both recently returned from competing with the Manx Youth Sailing Squad in the UK and now representing the Venture Centre, certainly showed the boys how it was done as they both got away with excellent starts.  The MS&CC lads who are newcomers to dinghy racing did not show quite the same finesse on the start line although they did keep Matt Read  (Venture Centre) at bay during the first lap until he managed to take four places at the leeward mark giving the Venture Centre 1, 2 and 3 in race 1.

Race two was contested between MS&CC and IOMYC.  The IOMYC team consisted of Manx Youth Sailing Champion Ali Hinds, this year’s Pico Challenge winner Jacques Lakeman and recently qualified instructor Laura Green.  The experience of the team really showed and they sailed comfortably into 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Next was the race between the Island’s two commercial training centres the Venture Centre and 7th Wave.  Once again Izzy Sharpe was off to a good start for the Venture Centre.  The fleet split up the first beat with James and Greg Kelly (7th Wave) and Amie Shute (Venture Centre) heading up the right of the beat while Alex Sharpe (7th Wave), Izzy and Matt Read (Venture Centre) going left as the wind went lighter.  A mixed result for the teams with 1, 2 and 4 for defending champions 7th Wave and 3, 5 and 6 for the Venture Centre.

Race three between KWC and  IOMYC was very close, it was the only race where everyone finished with 30 seconds of each other.  Once again the IOMYC’s experienced  sailors dominated scoring 1, 2 and 3 to KWCs 4, 5 and 6.

KWC stayed in the boats for their next heat against the Venture Centre.  KWC’s Hannah Howitt was OCS and had to restart..  Amie Shute had another good start for the Venture Centre.  KWC captain Tom Howitt led round the windward mark but was overtaken on the last leg giving the Venture Centre the win for this heat.

Race six was between 7th Wave and MS&CC.  7th Wave got off the start line in 1st 2nd and 3rd and held those places throughout the race.  Following some coaching between races the MS&CC lads, Theo Leach, Tim Hardisty and Josh Gaines showed considerable improvement for the remainder of their races.

Ali Hinds (IOMYC) was looking good for the start of race 7, but  got stuffed during the last few seconds.  Alex Sharpe (7th Wave) got off to a good clear start, but Ali fought back and was first by the time they rounded the windward mark.  This was the closest race of the day, IOMYC finished just getting the win with 10 points to 7th Wave’s 11 points.

MS& CC and KWC were back on the water for race 8.  Manx Youth Sailing Squad members Nick Parkes and Hannah Howitt (KWC) were both off to a good start and tacked to cover the MS&CC lads up the beat.  The tactic paid  KWC scored 1, 2 and 3 all crossing the line rafted together.

At the start of race 9  IOMYC, 7th Wave and the Venture Centre we all in contention for the overall win.   Ali Hinds (IOMYC) was over the line at the start along with Izzy Sharpe (Venture Centre).  Amie Shute (Ventre Centre) sailed well up the first beat and arrived at the windward mark first.  Izzy had done well to recover from the start and there was a close battle downwind.  Amie and Izzy finished in 1st and 2nd scoring the win for the Venture Centre with Laura Green (IOMYC) in 3rd.

And so it was all down to the final race to decide who would be the overall winner, 7th Wave needed to beat KWC in this race to finish ahead of the IOMYC.  7th Wave had another good start with Greg Kelly and Alex Sharpe leading the fleet round the course and finishing is 1st and 2nd to secure the win.

The Venture Centre, 7th Wave and IOMYC each had scored three wins during the series and so it was down to points  to decide the winner.  It was 7th Wave who had just scraped the overall win with the IOMYC  only one point behind.  The trophy was presented by Nigel Hendy to 7th Wave team Alex Sharpe, James Kelly and Greg Kelly.  Thanks to Simon Read at the Venture Centre for providing the boats.  Next year’s Topper Challenge will be held on Sunday 1st November.

Results
1st: 7th Wave 33 points – Alex Sharpe, James Kelly, Greg Kelly
2nd:IOMYC 34 points – Ali Hinds, Laura Green and Jacques Lakeman
3rd: Venture Centre 38 points – Amie Shute, Izzy Sharpe, Matthew Read
4th: KWC 45 points– Tom Howitt, Hannah Howitt, Nick Parkes
5th: MS&CC 60 points– Theo Leach, Tim Hardisty, Josh Gaines

Thanks to Jenni Quillin

The Manx Youth Sailing Squad travelled to Draycote Water last weekend to compete in the RS Tera Inland Championships.  This was the first time that the newly formed MYSS attended a championship in the UK and they put in a performance to be proud of.  There were a total of thirty boats entered for the series and the competition at the top of the fleet was tough, some sailors had come from the GBR Optimist Squad into the Tera Class and some sailors had World Championship experience.

A total of six races were scheduled for the weekend, but the two races planned for Saturday were cancelled due to strong winds.  Sunday provided superb racing conditions.  The first race was sailed in fairly light airs, then there was a break for lunch and three races were sailed in the afternoon in a steadily increasing wind.  By the close of the final race the wind was up to a good force four occasionally touching a five in the gusts.

Race 1 was won by the Manx Youth Sailing Squad’s youngest and smallest member Greg Kelly who sailed an absolutely faultless race.  He had an incredible start, a port tack flyer at the favoured pin end, and crossed the whole fleet on port tack.  From here Greg kept his cool and covered the fleet upwind rounding the windward mark first and then accelerating away from the fleet downwind and further increasing his lead.  He held it together and led the fleet around the second lap of the course and finishing the first race of the series with a win and much cheering from parents ashore!

Race 2 started in a little more breeze.  This time it was MYSS member Izzy Sharpe who had an impressive start and led the fleet from the pin end to the left side of the course.  Nick Parkes also had a good start and headed right up the beat.  The wind went lighter on the left of the course and the stronger breeze favoured the boats which went right up the first beat.  James Kelly had pushed this start a little too much, he was in the perfect spot but just a wee bit too early so he was forced to dip back behind the line before restarting.  He was able to take advantage of the stronger breeze on the right and had caught up with the top ten by the windward mark.  After lap one Nick was lying in seventh place and James in eighth.  Positions changed again on the upwind leg of the race and then a couple of close battles ensued downwind. Both the Kelly lads each had their own fight to the finish, both showed superior downwind speed and each gained one place on the last leg of the race. The MYSS team scored three top ten places in this race with Greg in 5th place, Nick in 9th and James in 10th.

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Report by By O O’Day

It may sound like a cocktail but in fact the catapult on the rocks was Pete Barlow’s blow up toy Catamaran which had suffered gear failure. He was pulled off by Dermot and Joanna Shimmin, our trusty safety boat drivers; not an easy task as the tide was falling.

As a result of all this activity, racing started a few minutes late. This, combined with the building wind, meant that only two short races were possible for the remaining 8 crews.

Both races were won by Mike Pridham in a Laser Radial, the first convincingly, the second by only 7 seconds after a collision with Russell & June Collister in their RS 200 which resulted in a capsize for Mike and penalty turns for the Collisters.

There were plenty of other capsizes with Ali Hinds the most spectacular as she approached the leeward mark in the second race. Simon Pressly and Ben Swindlehurst were also having moments in their Lasers, while John Dowling & Terry Holt did well to keep the Wayfarer upright. Roger & Helen Cave were glad of the keel on their Stratos and Richard Baker’s windsurfer went like a rocket but tacking proved near impossible in the cross swell resultant of the previous days gale.

Results. Race 1.  1. Pridham. 2. Collisters. 3. Hinds. 4. Dowling/Holt.5 Swindlehurst. 6.Caves. 7.Pressly. 8.Baker.

Race 2. 1Pridham. 2.Collisters. 3.Pressly. 4.Dowling/Holt. 5.Swindlehurst.  Rtd Hinds & Baker.

Report thanks to Angus Jolly

Ten boats lined up for the final two races of the IOMA FIM series on Sunday morning. Race officers Ian Moffett and Barbara Jolly, having been thwarted by an uncooperative start boat took to the end of the stone pier and set a starboard ‘windward / leeward (sausage) course for race 1.
An over enthusiastic pack, all crammed at the pin end forced a general recall as most were clearly over the line as the hooter went. The second attempt was equally messy with several boats being squeezed out and one or two early starters having to re-cross the line.
After much place swapping and the odd collision, Dave Batchelor (Laser Std) emerged as the clear winner both on the water, and on corrected time. Andrew and Katie Dean (RS200) took second with Ali Hinds (Laser Radial) closely behind. Series leader Angus Jolly, crewed by budding ‘junior’ Connor Christian tied for fourth with Ralph Kee.

Race two and the Laser fleet once again seemed really keyed up - was it the influence of the Olympics, or the presence of ‘Jim the Coach’ that was hyping them up? Anyway, everyone got away first time with much barging and shouting.
A ‘P’ course was in order and again, there was much place changing throughout the fleet. The racing so close that there was only 36 seconds between the first nine finishers.
This time it was Andrew and Katie who took the glory (and the series), with Ben Swindlehurst (Laser Rad) second and Simon Pressly (Laser Std) third. Ralph Kee maintained his form and was fourth, Mike Pridham fifth (both in Laser Stds).

Thanks to Peter Hoosen-Owen and Jim ‘The Coach’ for manning the rescue boats.

Race 1 Results:
1: Dave Batchelor, 2:Andrew & Katie Dean, 3: Ali Hinds, 4=: Angus Jolly & Ralph Kee, 6: Ben Swindlehurst, 7: Mike Pridham, 8: Simon Pressly, 9: Chris Hill, 10, Theo Leach & Josh Gaines.

Race 2 Results:
1: Andrew & Katie, 2: Ben Swindlehurst, 3: Simon Pressly, 4: Ralph Kee, 5: Mike Pridham, 6: Angus & Connor, 7: Dave Batchelor, 8: Ali Hinds, 9: Chris Hill, 10: Theo & Josh.

Final series standings:
1st Andrew & Katie, 2nd Angus & Connor, 3rd Theo Leach. (Full results available on Manxsailracer.com

The dinghy season has now ended at the MS&CC and to bring things to a close there will be a Sponsors Presentation evening on Friday 10th October, 7.30 – 9.00 to include the Bridson and Horrox, WI-Manx, IT Works and IOMA FIM series. All are welcome especially competitors, Race Officers, Rescue Boaters. So please do come along and make an evening of it.

Report thanks to Ollie O’Day

Sunshine, calm sea and a gusty offshore wind greeted the competitors at the start of the IOMYC Autumn series in Port St Mary.

Both races were won by the RS200 of Russell and June Collister with Angus Jolly and Christopher Hill close behind in the other RS200. Ben Swindlehurst sailed to a good third in the first race when Simon Pressly and Ali Hinds went swimming.

Pressly took third in the second race while John Dowling and Terry Holt retired after capsizing with spinnaker problems.

Roger and Helen Cave enjoyed playing with their new jib (once it was tied on properly) and Richard Baker was super to watch, flying across the bay on his windsurfer.

Results
Race 1
1st Collister, RS200; 2nd Jolly, RS200; 3rd Swindlehurst, Laser Radial; 4th Dowling, Wayfarer; 5th Pressly, Laser Standard; 6th Hinds, Radial; 7th Baker, Windsurfer; 8th Cave, Laser Stratos.
Race 2
1st Collister, 2nd Jolley, 3rd Pressly, 4th Swindlehurst, 5th Hinds, 6th Cave, 7th Baker, rtd Dowling