Category Archives: DF95

DF95 Series 3 Event 7

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Tuesday 2 September 2020

10 skippers congregated for the final evening event of the 3rd Series. Fickle Mother Nature presented a warm evening and a clear blue sky. However she did insist on varying both the direction and strength of a light, mainly NNW air.

Accordingly the start once again ran adjacent to the bridge. Upwind to a trackside buoy, starboard to a far bank buoy. Once again to starboard and a broad reach taking another track side buoy to port. It was then just a case of a dead run to the finish.

A consensus of opinion resulted in a final upwind leg being added to future races. With the wind on the wane a total of 6 races were completed. With no one dominating proceedings several private duels emerged often producing varying interpretations of the regulations. Finally, may I thank not only the skippers but other members who have supported the Series during these trying times.

Mike Benson

DF95 Fleet Captain

DF95 Series 3 Event 6

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Wednesday 26 August 2020

Common sense prevailed and the decision to delay the event by 24 hours proved correct. A glorious clear blue sky together with a steady 10 to 15mph westerly breeze greeted the maximum complement of 13 skippers. Prior to race 1 everyone’s attention was directed to the up dated Covid Edict ,the importance of which was accepted without query.

An almost identical course to the previous event was set. The start parallel to the clubhouse upwind to the lollypop buoy taking it to port a fast goosewing to a choice of start buoys. Once negotiated back upwind to the finish. Between races 3 and 4 we were treated to some invaluable starting techniques from Uncle Derek. In a nutshell he highlighted that 1 or 2 of the skippers had trouble differentiating their glutes from their olecranon. Or do I mean the advantageous use of the port tack start.

Once again the fleet was enhanced with the inclusion of Shaun Priestley. The results confirm that he is always a force to be reckoned with. Furthermore Shaun and Mark Rose took sufficient bullets to apply for a firearms licence. Inevitably the odd rule was transgressed but everything resolved in a courteous manner. My special thanks go to Derek and Bob for their input and may I remind you all that, weather permitting, next Tuesday is a 6pm start.

Mike Benson

DF95 Fleet Captain

DF95 Series 3 Event 5

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Tuesday 18 August 2020

10 enthusiastic skippers lined up for the resumption of official racing. With Uncle Derek kindly acting as race officer a course was set with the start set parallel to the clubhouse. The predictable jockeying for prime locations ensued. Finally the start gave the release and the long upwind beat into a fickle westerly breeze certainly tested seamanship. Rounding the lollipop marker to port it was a dead run to a gate at the east end of the lake. Once negotiated it was a testing upwind leg to the finish.

The score sheet does not entirely reflect the cut and thrust of the races. The fluctuating wind speed was indeed a challenge. One or two skippers eventually tickled their tackle to good effect with the two Chris’s drawing on their wealth of know how. It would be remiss of me not to mention the encouraging 1st race win by Richard Hocking. It bodes well for the future. Furthermore we welcome Olly, Malcolm and Alan into the fleet and hope that the big boat racer Andy Richies may soon swell the numbers. Finally, may I thank you all for your courtesy on the water.

Mike Benson

DF95 Fleet Captain

DF95 Winter 2019/20 Series 3

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18th January 2020

A fine day, and a nice westerly breeze of about fifteen mph, allowed us to set a triangular course of two laps per race, using about three quarters of the lake, for the five skippers who turned out, with new recruit Malcolm Clement joining us for the first time.

The wind was a little unpredictable at times and it became a good challenge, with every race being different each time. As usual it was Derek who mastered the conditions the best, and with his experience it was no surprise that he took the honours on the day.

The wind had picked up a little after our half time cuppa, and it had become very cold, and we had just about had enough after our eight races, and we were more than ready to call time and get back into the warm.

Our next outing for the 95 is on Saturday 15th February, 12 noon start.

Bob Jolly

Twixmas Regatta Day1

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DF95

In the end, 20 sailors registered for the first day of the Twixmas event at Fleetwood Model Yacht and Power Boat Club.  After a short briefing by Derek Priestley, racing got under way shortly after 10:00 under the watchful eye of Bob Jolly as RO assisted by scorer Judith Baldwin.

The fleet raced as one on a course with two beats at a slightly different angle to try and make the best of the shifty 5 to 10 knot breeze.  Dave Burke was quick out of the blocks to win Race 1.  Derek took wins in Races 2 and 3, with Dave then picking up Race 4.

This was followed by a short break for mulled wine and hot mince pies and then resumed with Race 5 where it was the turn of Mick Chamberlain to take the win, followed by Jen Hand picking up Races 6 and 7 by a good margin from the rest of the field.  The final race (number 8) before lunch provided yet another winner in the form of John Sharman.

After a quick break for lunch, John again showed the fleet a clean pair of heels to win Race 9.  Race 10 then provided another new winner in the form of Chris Chatfield, followed by the first win for Peter Baldwin in Race 11.  Derek picked up Race 12 from Peter right on the finish line, the final race which may have been unlucky for some was won by Peter as a small compensation for narrowly missing out on Race 12.

When the final scores were added up, only one point separated the top three, with John Sharman (Keighley) taking the win on count back from Dave Burke (Lincoln) and Peter Baldwin (Birkenhead) in third just one point behind them.

Report by

Peter Baldwin

Some piccies, courtesy of Tony Wilson

DF95 Winter 2019/20 Series 1

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Saturday 30th November

WOW, sitting here on Saturday night thinking that days like today are why we sail model racing yachts, what a start to the new season for the DF95 !

For the first event of the winter series of 2019 a beautifully sunny day with mid A rig breeze met a great turn out of 10 skippers. The wind wasn’t straight down the lake but near enough to allow a decent course to be set. About half the lake was used until this could be extended when the power boat enthusiast from Malta left us free to use as much as we wanted. The shifting ESE wind made for tactical racing which was a joy to be a part of, after the first few races there was only going to be one winner at this event  ( when you discard a second its going well ) but the racing was close throughout the fleet including for the win on some occasions. It seemed a shame to finish after the usual 8 races had been completed so we threw in an extra two lap race at the end finishing just after 16:00.

Thanks again to Bob and Garry for all the organisation, it really is appreciated.

However we do need to share the load, a class captain who can be present for most events is required, please speak up if your interested, there’s plenty of support for anyone who wants to have a go.

Next  DF95 event on the 14th Dec, more of the same please. 

Gordon Bayliff

2020 Events Calendar

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There is now a draft version in the calendar on this website. Event finish times are an approximation merely to give an indication of the length of the event. The annual booklet will shortly be going to the printers. As soon as it is available next year’s membership documents will be issued.