MYA IOM Northern District IOM Winter Series Round 6 at Rotherham Model Yacht Club
by Brian Quinn 27 Feb 2020 22:12 UTC
22 February 2020
Northern District IOM Winter Series Round 6 at Rotherham © Roy Randell
What a fantastic day, one which pushed the sailors and their boats to the limit. The weather forecast proved to be right with WSW wind direction, mostly 20 to 25mph but with frequent gusts of up to 45mph.
As the wind veered round to a SW we had to change the windward mark, otherwise the course stood up well throughout the day.
All competitors chose their number 2 rigs.
The early races saw Craig Raistrick (Rotherham MYC), Peter Walters (Lincoln RSC), David Winder (Keighley MYC), Neil Thornton (Scarborough MYC) and Gordon Bayliff (Fleetwood) vying for the first five places, but by the sixth race some boats were beginning to show signs of gear problems and by the 8th race we had four retirements due to broken gear and a lost rudder.
From this point on Craig Raistrick, Peter Walters and Chris Moore (Askern MYC) seem to dominate the top section of each race as they got use to the conditions however, David Stewart (Ashton Keys RYC) improved right through the day with each race finish.
All the competitors sailed well in very difficult cold conditions and at times in the gusts gave some spectacular sailing and of course were well behaved sportsman.
The final positions were Craig Raistrick first from Peter Walters, Chris Moore and David Stewart fourth.
We must not forget that these events do not run themselves so a well-deserved vote of thanks goes to Race Office Brian Quinn and his team of observers and the ladies in the galley produced fantastic hot lunch that certainly warmed us up.