So we’ve had a good day of practice down here at Gosport, the Swedish contingent were on the water at around 0830 followed by Snackers at 0915 who had made a stupidly early start from North Wales.

By early afternoon we were having 20 boat practice races in the light and tricky breeze, was it best to go out first then head for the mark or was it better to head over and then up…… who knows.

John Tushingham was on hand to help those who wanted a bit of tuning help too and he was a busy chap throughout the afternoon.

A debrief is still in progress at the pub before we get down to racing proper in the morning. Good luck everyone.

So I guess there are 50 ish DF65 skippers out there looking at updated weather forecasts for this coming weekend, do I need my A plus rig, should I pack my big coat? Currently it looks like another light weekend but in reality it’s probably a little early just yet to know whats going to happen at the Cockle Pond. However, there will be some practice on Friday followed by some pretty close racing on Saturday and Sunday, that’s for sure.

We’ll bring you another update on who to watch out for later in the week, along with details of who will be the 2018 Nation Champion….it won’t be Mr Tushingham, we can guarantee that as we’ve kidnapped him and have him stashed away until the event is over……….

DF95 racing at Two Islands – Photo Sue Brown

We’ve had word from the chaps over at Two Islands RYC regarding rounds 8 and 9 of the DF Racing UK 2018 TT series. We’ve had a NoR, we’ve posted it up online, the MYA online entry details are there to be used to make everyone’s life easier so please crack on and get entering. The location is good, the surrounding area is lovely and the de-brief and social is usually exceptional apart from the bizarre queuing system at the bar!

Lots of details available by clicking here.

On another note there seems to be a problem with the website home button, for some reason it still links to the original website address. We are aware of it and we will do something about it once we’ve had a head scratch, a tea and a few biscuits.

Fleetwood DF95 start – Photo AM

Nope, not reading, riting and rithmetic, but reports, results and reminders, see what I’ve done there…..

So we’ve had five minutes to put together a report for the weekend just gone at Fleetwood, which was by anyone’s standard a great one. Some great racing, some grand old social and some tired feet at the end of it all.

The report is available on the Results page along with some great photos of the weekends action.

So that’s two of the three out of the way and the third is a reminder that Friday, Star Wars day, is the deadline for entries to the DF65 Nationals at Gosport. If you are umming and ahhing about it please just get on with it and I promise that you won’t be disappointed that you entered. Details here.

We’ve had the following reminder note from the Gosport club regarding the upcoming DF65 Nationals, please take note and action if required.

“A reminder that the closing entries date is Friday 4th May, which means there are less than 3 weeks to get entries in, processed and paid for.
The latest list of those entries received is available to view on the club website which also provides links to the full event entry form and details of the event dinner on the Saturday evening.
If your name isn’t on the list, it means that an entry has not yet been received. All entries that have been received have both been formally acknowledged and added to the list.

John Smith
Sailing Sec.
Gosport MYBC”

Some flags and a car park….it must be Fleetwood.

So we are a couple of weeks out from the famous Fleetwood DF Racing TT for 2018 and it looks like we have a good crop of entries. So far we are up to 26 on Saturday for the DF65 racing and then currently 25 for Sunday’s DF95 racing.

There is still plenty of time to get your entry over to the guys at Fleetwood, for full details and up to date entry lists please check out the Fleetwood website by clicking here.

Don’t forget that the next event after the Fleetwood weekender is the DF65 Nationals at Gosport on the 19th and 20th May, entries are filling up for this event and we currently stand at 36 skippers. For further details please check out the Gosport website by clicking here.

Evening folks, great news, we’ve got some details of the next DF Racing TT event, to be held at Fleetwood. To take a look at the NoR please click here.

Fun fact for the day, you can most defintely see the Isle of Man from the picnic benches located outside The Mount pub….definitely.

Last years crab before the Rule 69 violation.

Fancy some sailing over the Easter period? Well look no further than a couple of events happening up North. Friday sees Ripon SC holding their annual Easter Open Meeting and Monday sees Fleetwood hold their annual “Crab Race” which may need renaming this year after John Tushingham BBQ’d last years crab.

Full details of both events are posted on the Events page.

We have also now had the updated TT results to round 4 at Coalhouse Fort. Check out your scores on the doors on the Results page.

So we’ve had another successful weekend of racing but there is plenty more to look forward to. Ripon SC are hosting an Easter Open Meeting on Good Friday.  Details are posted on the Events page, take a look by clicking here.

The next TT event is to be held at Fleetwood at the end of April, more details to follow as soon as we get them. As usual it’s sure to be a cracker of an event, wind straight up and down the lake.

Uncle Derek Needs YOU!!

So today was a little better in that it wasn’t chucking it down with snow. The wind was a little bit up on yesterday, also good. However with the breeze up and the super dense air the windchill was probably pegging the temperature at around minus 9 or minus 10, maybe even a little more.

Once again 16 skippers rigged up and after a car park briefing they tramped round to the lakeside to take in the breeze. C rigs seemed like a reasonable place to get started however Tim Long decided to go with his D rig to see how it went. Ken Binks started the day where he left off yesterday and took the first race bullet. Gosport skipper Wayne Stobbs took second, Tjakko third and Tim was 4th with his D rig. Race 2 saw Ken win once more with Tim second and John Howard in third spot.

Race 3 saw Tim go with the flow and he put his C suit on to match the majority of the fleet. It seemed to work and It was Ken, Tim and this time local skipper Glen Meekoms in third spot.

It was race 4 that Tjakko managed a second place finish, not close enough to bother Ken but close enough for a race with Tim. After last nights drinking it seemed that the fresh air was starting to clear Tjakkos hangover! Race 5 saw the same result with Vinnie Zammit, who hadn’t seen a DF95 until this morning scoring an excellent 5th place finish with Glen in 4th, a result he would repeat for the next few races.

The wind didn’t really shift during the session and the two lap course was a great test of skills, especially bowling downwind at top speed whilst in close quarters to other boats. Another couple of races took us to 6, with Ken making bullets look easy and Tim finding good pace to take a brace of second spots.

By this point most skippers needed a warm and a visit to the gents so we had a 15 minute break. With the weather not getting any warmer it was decided to run another couple of races and all it a day. Ken, Tim and Tjakko then Ken, Tim and the other Dutch skipper Peter Molenaar with local skipper Dennis Graham and his amazingly orange boat taking 4th spot.

The prize giving was held out of the breeze in the car park and it was Ken Binks who earned the top spot, discarding two first places to win with just 6 points. Tim Long sailed a solid day but couldn’t match Kens blistering pace and he finished second. Tjakko will never drink with Tim again but he did well to finish third. Local skipper Glen finished a good day on the water in 4th spot with stalwart skipper John Howard rounding out the top 5.

Today’s top three having a high speed downwind battle.

Congratulations to all that braved to conditions, not just today but also yesterday which was also a test of stamina on the racecourse and also in the bar!

April sees us in Fleetwood, details will appear soon enough.

Results for today are posted below.