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

TT Overall to Round 6

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.