Please find below the results of TT events and the overall TT scores for the season.

TT Overall Results 2024

DF95 Nationals 2024 – West Lancs YC

After a bit of kerfuffle earlier in the year and the cancellation of the DF95 Nationals we were pretty pleased to have been able to reorganise the event to take place at West Lancs YC up in Southport over the weekend of the 9th and 10th November.

A very familiar scene presented itself on Friday afternoon with some practice going on and skippers arriving and catching up on what’s been going on. This was followed by a couple of drinks, a couple more and then some food before heading to bed for a good nights sleep.

Saturday morning dawned, as the last week had, with a million shades of grey but no rain and the 45 skippers assembled for the morning briefing in the clubhouse which was conducted by club head honcho and all round great guy Alan Tickle who welcomed us all to the club. He then handed to PRO for the weekend John Brierley who very kindly gave his weekend up to head the race team. He gave us a taste of how he would run the weekend and then it was time to go racing.

Seeding races are always fun because anything can happen and with three fleets there were three seeding race winners, Craig Richards, Pete Walters and Steve Venables. The course we had been set was a tricky one from an eyesight point of view and included a windward mark that had more than a suggestion that you’d be better off getting there on a port tack, which we all know is not the right thing to do as it usually involves a pileup, some grumbling and some poor sod losing out massively whether it was their fault or not. Today was no exception and the only saving grace was that the sun wasn’t out. PRO Brierley was quick to act and brought the course a little closer in and this helped a little but it was the change to a windward gate that made things easier for the skippers.

Race two winners were Micky Chamberlain showing that there’s plenty of life left in him yet followed by Dave Potter and Buzz Coleman. In race three Craig found his stride and took the win from Peter Baldwin with John Tushingham in third spot. Race 4 saw another win for Craig with Eastbourne’s Ken Binks in second spot and Buzz in third spot again. Race 5 was Craig once again followed by Steve and Peter.

With fading light it was unfortunate that we couldn’t complete race 6 before the light faded enough for PRO Brierley to call and end to proceedings at the end of the B heat. So the overnight leader was Craig, scoring 4 points for the day. Second to fifth spot were separated by a single point. The margins were certainly tight after a tough day for skippers and PRO alike.

Time for a beer or two in the club and after four or five it was off for a debrief at the hotel followed by some dinner and an early night for most of the skippers.

Day two dawned similar to day one and the wind was similar in direction and strength with a forecast to change and pipe up a little. The previous days course was tweaked again to make it as good as it could be and because of the windward leg distance compromise to make the marks as visible as possible the races were increased to three laps which gave ample distance for recovery.

Starting with A fleet clearly didn’t suit Craig who scored his worst result of the weekend, a fifth place. Peter’s Baldwin and Walters took the top two spots with John Tush in third. Dave Burke was hot to trot in race 7 with a win followed by Craig and Buzz.

And then John Tushingham woke up and between them him and Craig provided the best spectacle of the Championship over the next four races carving out the firsts and seconds between them.

Tush took race 8 from Craig with Steve in third. Then the wind changed sufficiently that we took an early lunch and the course was moved to outside the clubhouse with the windward mark closest to the shore. It was a genius move and my racing improved immensely for the last few races!

Race nine saw Craig win from Tush with Buzz in the mix in third. Ten was a repeat of nine with Craig, Tush and Buzz again. Race 11 was to be the last with C and B fleets sailing the course but between the B and A fleets the wind went well right which required the course to be rotated to make it work. This was done just in time to get the race underway before the time limit Tush took the win with Craig in second spot and Micky C in third.

And then it was over. Craig was a convincing winner on 12 points. Tush was second with 23 points. Buzz finished third with 40 points just 4 points ahead of Micky C on 44.

Huge thanks must go to all the team at West Lancs YC for looking after us. We must also thank PRO Brierley, Judith and Sharon who gave us the best chance of getting as much racing in as possible. Heatboard updates were quick and the race turnarounds were seamless.

Well done to all involved, skippers included.

There were none of the usual photographers in attendance so photos are a little thin on the ground for this report. If you have anything decent please get in touch. John Taylor has also written a report which appears on Facebook, he has a couple of photos!

DF TT Rounds 11 & 12 – Fleetwood

Peter Baldwin sent the following report, Thanks Peter!

Saturday started with an A+  breeze from the houses and so a long reach down to a gate and then two beats and a broad reach/run in between. This was the course for two (or was it three races), before the wind started to swing to being nearly down the lake.  A change of course to sail the length of the lake and a change down to A or for some straight to B.  We then had two races with many in A before everyone changed down to B.  With 6 races completed, lunch was called.  After lunch the wind had increased again and although it was possible to get up the beat (with some gybes instead of tacks), downhill was a struggle at times and the RO decided that racing would have to be abandoned for the day with an increasing forecast and instead we watched an Americas Cup race before prize-giving.

Sunday started off with a decent but dying breeze before the briefing, but dropped away to a very light breeze by the time of the first race. Of the 6 races completed, we sailed two up towards the clubhouse, then two the opposite way, before resetting again to run two in the original direction.  All very light and patchy with sometimes the middle being favoured, but mostly the near bank being the best place whilst the wind was over the dunes.  Eventually there was insufficient wind to start a race and after a half hour postponement and no change in strength evident, racing was again abandoned for the day after 6 races.

DF TT Rounds 8 & 9 – Eastbourne

Thanks to Paul Middleton for the report below.

(by a Northern Traveller)

                Eastbourne and District Model Yacht Club kindly opened their doors early to visitors, like myself from the more distant clubs, on the Friday afternoon before the events. We were greeted by strong sun shine and the wind in the of A rig strength straight down the lake.

                Whilst some (i.e. myself) replaced some rigging on their DF95 that had played up the day before at the club racing at Fleetwood as well as unpacking and others rigging the boats ready for the following day some decided instead to have a play with the club members newish/new to them IOMs at EDMYC that were taking advantage of the conditions in particular the Alioth owners.  As the wind strengthened it found any weak points in the boats on the water but having my bit boxes of things like spare bottle screws, crimping pliers and 16 strand dyneema around we managed to keep most of the boats on the water until it became a bit too much for the A rigs.

                Saturday morning came round in stark contrast to the Friday being grey, wet and not a lot of breeze for registration. I don’t know if the weather had a major impact but a somewhat disappointing 15 DF65 registered to start the proceedings although the standard of skippers was not exactly poor!!

                Fortunately, the weather improved as the day progressed, getting both brighter and windier as the day progressed. Following a slight delay the fleet started on A+ rigs with the significantly shifting wind causing the PRO and his team issues trying to set a line and course. The wind shifts turned out to be a significant situation all weekend making it impossible to set a “perfect line” as the preferred end could change 5 times in the last 90 seconds before the starts!!  My thoughts go out to the PRO and his team.

                A Gosport Duo of Nigel Brown and David Donin provided the initial result with some mug from Fleetwood in third. Following this however John Tushingham and Nigel Barrow showed consistently the way to read both the wind shifts and rig changes as many changed onto the A rig at the right time (not myself I’m afraid) with Ken Binks and Buzz Coleman also emerging from the pack. The racing progressed at a good rate and as the windshifts caught even the top skippers out with almost every one spending time in the top 5 or 6 at some point during the day and a rig change to the B was fruitful for some skippers as the wind increased further. Some skippers were also caught out by the sun appearing in the afternoon with a few red faces that were not due to embarrassment.

                Even with a pleasant a 45 minute lunch break, plus quite a few stops for course changes things rattled along quickly with a total of 21 races being completed by the end of the day. This resulted in John Tushingham in first, Nigel Barrow in second followed by Ken Binks, Buzz Coleman, Nigel Brown and David Donin .

                Sunday for the DF95s saw a larger entry of 22 boats but unlike the Saturday the sun shone from the very start and the wind strengths stayed firmly in the A rig range all day. However, the significant wind shifts continued to challenge the PRO and skippers alike and this with the larger fleets caused far more general recalls and Black flags than the day before and this also became a significant feature of the days racing.

                This time it was Ken Binks, David Donin and Buzz Coleman that were the first away but the second race it was Ken again but this time chased by John Tushingham with Nigel Barrow and John Sharman filling out the top spots. Like the day before getting the shifts and gusts right, or wrong, on the beats had a number of other skippers into the top six occasionally with the top six sometimes having the odd bad result but these six skippers dominated most of the results.

                However, after 16 races there were only 7 points covering the top four places so a few errors probably made all the difference with avoiding a black flag proving beneficial.

                Congratulation to David Donin for completing the series with ONE less point than Buzz Coleman in second who was ONE point ahead of Nigel Barrow in third followed by John Tushingham, Ken Binks and John Sharman. 

                On behalf of all the DF skippers I would like to thanks Eastbourne for their welcome and providing lots of racing with a real challenge for the skippers.

DF65 2024 Nationals @ Gosport

Please find below a report on the recent DF65 Nationals held at Gosport, thanks Wayne.

Link to Sue Brown’s excellent photos – click here

DF Racing TT Rounds 5 & 6 – Lincoln RSC

Two excellent reports from MYA Race officer and DF fleet skipper Nigel Barrow. Thanks Nigel!

DF65 TT at Lincoln Radio Sailing Club

First of all, a huge thank you to the Lincoln team:

Colin Helliwell Scoring

Tracey Ballington Scoring

Jen Hand Organiser

Judith Baldwin scoring

Darin Ballington RO

Tim hand ARO

Mick Chamberlain. Kitchen. You make the best bacon roles.

Without your time and dedication, this day would never happen. Thank you.

Onto the racing.

After a detailed briefing from Darin, the fleet was split into 2 heats.

Nearly all the competitors started with the B rig although the gusts were top end B Rig through the morning. At the end of the day the anemometer said average wind was 13 mph with gusts up to 31mph

The seeding races were held down the South bank. Craig Richard’s and John Tushingham appeared to be tied together with piece of string for the whole race with John just getting the win on the line. In the other race, Pete Baldwin and Nigel Barrow snuck through on the last beat to take the top spots.

Racing continued through the morning with the strength of gusts increasing so that one or two C rigs appeared. Consistency was the order of the day by staying in phase with the significant shifts and after three races at lunch Nigel Barrow and Peter Baldwin headed the pack.

After lunch the gusts were more frequent and stronger and by race 5 we were all down to C rigs.  John Brierley dominated the afternoon with John Tushingham a point behind in second. Barrow faded to third overall and Peter Baldwin to 4th having suffered some winch issues in 2 races. David Donin completed the top 5.

I have to say it was my first DF 65 meeting and I found the boats fun, easy to sail but hard to set up well and the one design nature provides a true test of sailing. Everyone abided by the rules with the help of some sharp eyed observers.

Another great day out in the world of radio sailing.

Results below

DF95 TT at Lincoln Radio Sailing Club

First of all, a big shout out to the helpers on Sunday who endured a slightly better day than Saturday, as the weather improved and temperatures warmed as the wind eased during the day. Our thanks go to: 

Dave Rigby – RO

Rob Wilson – ARO

Colin Helliwell – Fleetboard and scoring

Judith Baldwin – Finish line and Fleetboard

Colin Toll – Finish

Mick Chamberlain – Galley and provider of the best bacon rolls

Jen Hand – Organiser

Onto the racing. The day dawned with a good breeze from the west ensuring all the competitors started with their B rigs. Racing was extremely close with the main challenge avoiding the fluffed tack which could send you from a strong position to the back of the fleet. 

After the Briefing from Dave Rigby we got into the seeding races for the two heats. In the morning we all sailed on B rigs and there was a reasonably consistent wind down the lake with enough shifts to make life interesting. Despite the port bias line it paid to start towards the windward end of the line so you avoided the melee as boats tried to tack off the bank. The 13 to 23mph wind was forecast to drop after 4pm which would have worked out well, however the wind decided to switch off early in the A heat for race 5 and become extremely shifty. Get it right and you were a winner, get it wrong and the you were destined for the back of the fleet as the author can testify. The one bonus of the wind dropping was it allowed us all to warm up a bit. Standing in a constant cool wind is tiring and chilly however we enjoyed broken cloud and sunshine.

Craig Richards and John Tushingham were tied together for the lead again like yesterday in their seeding race with Craig winning on the finish line, and Peter Baldwin and Dave Adams took out the other. Through the day John Tushingham proved to be the most consistent sailor and beat Craig Richards by one point with Nigel Barrow third having faded again in the last two races with Derek Priestley and Peter Baldwin completing the top 5.

At the prize giving John Tushingham thanked all the organisers.

All in all a great weekends racing enjoyed with great spirit and everyone appreciated the support and efforts of Lincoln Sailing Club.

Results below

DF Raciing TT Rounds 1&2 West Lancs YC

Always a great venue it was really good to return to West Lancs YC in Southport for the first two rounds of the 2024 DF Racing TT series. Whilst plenty of skippers turned up on Friday afternoon it seemed that the favoured location was inside the warm clubhouse rather than out on the water getting some practice in. Some of the skippers we haven’t seen for a while and it was great to have an afternoon of catchup with everyone before we found our way to the pub.

Saturday morning dawned and with forecasts of big winds all weekend we were a little disappointed not to have a raging gale. There was more disappointment when it started to rain just as we all started to set up for the day. The rain was soon sorted by Tim Long who was PRO for the day and he organised a great course for the conditions which offered options up the beat in the shifty breeze and even options down the run where the straightest course wasn’t always the fastest.

An early briefing was something that several skippers were a little confused about but by the time we started the first seeding race at 0945 the rain had abated and the wind was just between B and C rig with a smattering of both on the course. Tushy and Ken Binks were winners of the seeding races and both would go on to have a good day on the water.

Race two saw Tushy on the top step with John Brierley in second with Derek Priestley in third, conditions were pretty stable and there was plenty of opportunity for gains or losses up the beat and reading the shifts was a key part of the day.

Race three Saw Tushy, John B and Ken take the top spots with race four being an identical result.

There was then a break for lunch. Now lunch at West Lancs is a thing to behold, a group of lovely ladies worked all morning to produce thirty odd lunches with a choice of three or more options, all warming and very welcome after a chilly morning on the water.

Once refreshed it was time for more racing, there were some rig changes and away we went with race five. Tushy, Derek and JB were your top three. Race six saw the wind start to drop off a little, not in the forecast but there it was and some more rigs were changed.

Tushy continued his run at the top with another win but second and third spots went to Nigel Brown and Olly Murray who both had a great race.

By race seven the light had dropped and the wind continued to do so too. It turned out to be the final race of the day and saw a mix of A, B and C rigs on the water. Winner of the race was Dave Donin who had the correct choice of rig on the boat. Second spot was JB with an A rig and third spot was Peter Baldwin.

And so, the results were in and no surprises that Tushy was top of the pile with a score of six points from seven races. Second spot saw John Brierley seven points behind on 13 points having had a stellar day on the water. Third spot went to Ken Binks on 29 points. Peter Baldwin also finished with 29 points in fourth spot with Simon Fairman coming home in fifth spot a few points back on 32 after a great day on the water.

Cue food and drink at a local Italian.

Sunday morning looked quite similar to Saturday but the rain didn’t stop quite in time for the racing. another early briefing this time by PRO Tushy and the seeding races got underway. One brave skipper decided B rig was the answer but the others were sure that C rig was where it was at. Ken Binks and Dave Fowler showed the fleet the way home in the seeding races and then it was into the heat racing with B fleet then A fleet.

Race two was Ken from John B with Peter Baldwin in third spot. Three was Ken’s race too, putting together a hatrick of wins. Second spot was Dave Lindsay with third spot being taken by Dave Fowler.

Race four saw the wind start to perk up a little and some of the fleet made a rig change to D, although there is plenty of overlap with the C and D rigs it wasn’t the choice of champions at this stage of the day. Race winner was Ken followed by Mark Rose and Tim Long. During the race there was a gust of around 40 knots which suggested that it was time for lunch.

As we settled in for lunch, which again was superb and warming, the wind really increased and PRO Tushy decided to extend the lunch break to an hour to see whether the breeze moderated any.

Race five through eight were contested soley on D rigs. From memory this is the first time we have had a series of races in the UK where all the skippers have been on D rigs. Even with a D rig it was sometimes a tough ask to get the boat tacked up the beat.

So race five saw JB at the top with Kiwi Dave taking another second spot from Ken in third. At this point the breeze was such that a few skippers decided that they had taken enough punishment for one day and retired which with a fleetboard reschedule saw us racing as a single fleet which made for a busy startline in the now hairy conditions.

Race six saw JB put together his hatrick of wins for the day, followed by Dave F and Ken. Seven was Dave F from Derek and Peter in some now quite rough conditions on what is quite an open water. Waves were significant when you were tacking off the bank and timing of your tack was pretty important.

Race eight was the last of the day and again the light was starting to go and the wind was still increasing on the course. Peter Baldwin took the win by some margin from Tim Long and Ken.

And just like that the first weekend of TT racing was over. There were minimal boat breakages and those that didn’t race on Sunday afternoon didn’t, in the main, have a D rig and it just wasn’t suitable to be racing with a C rig.

Boats packed away and warming cups of tea in hand the prizegiving got underway. John Brierley on eleven points at the top of the podium just one point ahead of Ken Binks on 12. Four points back on 16 was Dave Fowler in third. Peter Baldwin in fourth spot was only a point ahead of Derek in fifth spot with Kiwi Dave only two points back from Derek in sixth. Testament, if ever you needed it, that even when it blows it’s conkers off the racing is still that close.

Huge thanks to the team at West Lancs who just make everything look so easy. Alan Tickle in particular was busy both days making sure the PRO for the day had all the support he needed and marshalling the team of volunteers into action as required. Mrs Tickle and her galley team kept us fed and watered all weekend in the clubhouse. Judith Baldwin took every finish line score sheet and braved the elements all weekend. Without these people we just couldn’t do what we do. Thank you to everyone that gave up their time and helped out.

Next time we are at Blithfield SC in the Midlands. It’s a fresh venue for us but one that looks great. Full details are on the events page.