DF95 National Championship at Fleetwood Model Yacht Club

by Tim Long 28 Sep 2021 16:14 BST 24-26 September 2021

DF95 Nationals 2021 at Fleetwood © Sue Brown

So, where do we start with this one, the 2021 DF95 UK Nationals? Well, I suppose there are a few things that stand this out as a great event.

First the most excellent welcome that the fleet received from the host club, Fleetwood MYPBC. In the last five weeks they have held three national championships and that task falls to the same few people who go above and beyond to allow us skippers to sail. Fleetwood stalwarts Derek, Bob and Peter along with Judith and the kitchen crew of Maureen, Elaine and Jackie were the people that made it work for us all. Thank you, without you guys and gals none of it would be possible.

Second was that the D rig was finally used at a UK Championship, it wasn't used by everyone and it wasn't used for long, but it was used.

The third thing that stood this regatta out for me was having judge Gordon Davies on hand at his judging table. He was keen to have skippers ask rules questions and was more than happy to explain how those rules worked in practice. He was also swift at dealing with the few protests that occurred over the three days.

So there are three stand outs for the regatta.

Let's start on Thursday morning and the breeze was up and the wind was pretty much as good as it gets at Fleetwood. As competitors arrived there was the usual conversation about which rig to put on and how your journey had been and tea was drunk and boats were rigged. Most went out on a C rig for some informal racing after Derek and Tim had deployed the adjustable start line and moved some marks about the place to approximate a course. During the course of the morning the breeze piped up a bit and some tried D rigs to stretch them in and make sure they'd be right if needed over the next three days. By 1500 Tushy was given the stage in the clubhouse for a brief history and tuning talk on how to trim your smaller rigs. This was followed by Gordon and Derek who presented a rules talk in the hope that issues could be avoided over the weekend. Back to the pond for a few more races, this time with a B rig. That done it was time to check into hotels and head off to The Mount for some food and beer and wine and more chatter.

Friday morning arrived and the breeze was, as forecast pretty much the same as Thursday and at the top of C rig, which was handy as we'd all tuned that yesterday!

Seeding races away with John Tush, Pete Baldwin, John Brierley and Dave Potter taking the top spots. A quick board reshuffle and the race proper began with the wind still strong and straight but with enough shifts to make gains, or losses, up the beat. Tushy looked fast in the second race and took the win from Craig Richards (remember that name) and John Brierley. Race three saw Craig and Tushy swap first and second spot with Potter in third. Race four was once again Tushy from smooth Swede Ulf Lindburg and Peter Baldwin. Craig took race five from Jonas " black sails" Samson who was scoring well on the quiet, Tushy finished third. Race six, the last of the day was going well with Jonas taking the win from John B with Craig finishing third. Further back Tushy and Potter had an incident which saw them both having to start Saturday in B fleet.

Tushy held a very small one point lead from Craig going into the overnight with third spot being more than ten points behind.

A quick freshen up and off to a new Italian in Fleetwood where we took three tables for nearly 30 people. Great food, good wine and another comedy evening in the books without mishap or incident.

Saturday morning saw a short postponement as there was no wind on the racecourse which gave everyone a chance to get their heads together and change their rigs to A for the day. It was light but when it came the wind was once again pretty straight and the racing went off well with the adjustable start line being tweaked on numerous occasions to offer a fair line. Peter took the race win in seven with Micky C and Fleetwood's own Gordon Bayliff in second and third. Both Tushy and Potter suffered and stayed in the B fleet. In race eight Jonas took the win from Peter and John B.

DF95 Nationals 2021 at Fleetwood - photo © Sue Brown

Nine saw Tushy back on form with Jonas and John B close behind. Ten saw Gordon go two better and win a race at the Nationals, always a good feeling. Wayne Stobbs took time out from looking at the Isle of Man and took second spot with swede Thomas Enwall taking third.

The final race of the day was Peter's with Chris Nichols and John Taylor rounding out the top three. Craig took a four point lead into the overnight from Tushy.

A quicker change than Friday night and some of us headed to the event dinner at The Venue in Cleveleys where, from the top floor you could most definitely see the loom of the Isle of Man... definitely.... An Uncle Derek quiz, some nice food and a few drinks later we headed back to The Mount for another beer or two and an early bath for most.

DF95 Nationals 2021 at Fleetwood - photo © Sue Brown

It rained on Sunday morning and once again the AP went up and we waited for the wind which couldn't really make its mind up all day and when racing started there was much to be gained and lost by being in the right, or wrong, place on the racecourse.

Race twelve saw Potter take the win from Chris Nichols with Tim Long who wasn't having his finest weekend in third spot. Thirteen saw Tushy back on top, beating Potter with Gordon Allison in third.

Fourteen was John Taylor's race from Thomas Enwall and Chris Chatfield.

So at this point the wind has gotten up a bit, A rigs are still the thing but only just, it's got a whole raft of lifts and headers in it up the course with an added washing machine spin cycle in it about a third of the way up the pond. To say the least conditions were testing. The top two are Tushy and Craig with Craig needing to bee Tush by more than four places to take the trophy. So the race was all important for those two skippers, as well as Peter who was in a solid third spot but didn't need a bad race.

DF95 Nationals 2021 at Fleetwood - photo © Sue Brown

Race fifteen, the final race. Peter is in a comfortable lead down the first run only to become entangled in a crab line bringing him to a stop. Four places back and Craig becomes entangled in the other end of Peter's crab line, also halting his charge. The race win was Tjakko Keizer's who had a troubled weekends yachting but finished strongly. Second spot was Chris Nichols with Jonas in third.

The aftermath of the crab line incident was handled very professionally and competently by the race team who offered the options of re-running the race or not. The decision was not to re-run and Peter and Craig were given average points for the race.

I'm not sure we've seen a closer finish to a Championship with Craig taking the trophy by just 0.1 point from Tushy. Peter finished a very strong third overall. Jonas sailed well into fourth with fellow Swede Thomas in fifth. John T came home sixth, Ulf seventh, John B eighth, Goran Uggla ninth with Potter rounding out the top ten spots.

Every time I write these reports I feel it necessary to point out the groups of three to five boats who are all separated by only a handful of points. Racing is tight that's for sure and Sunday was really hard with the conditions as they were. Credit once again to the race team who coped with the conditions, making course changes and adjustments where required to give us the best courses to race on through the weekend with the hardest job being Sunday where there were lots of adjustments made throughout the day.

Prize-giving was a strange affair with Tushy not coming to the table last to collect the trophy, instead Craig Richards of the Windrush club accepted the 2021 DF95 Nationals trophy and he couldn't have looked happier. Whilst not perhaps the way he would have wanted to finish his regatta, it was the fairest way to proceed and he sailed a consistent weekend in all conditions only counting one double point score. Congratulations Craig.

DF95 Nationals 2021 at Fleetwood - photo © Sue Brown

Once again huge thanks to Derek and the Fleetwood team. Rob Walsh got involved as ARO and did a fine job helping Derek over the course of the weekend, thanks for donating your time.

Everyone had a fun weekend and despite a few boat related issues most of the starters on Friday finished the race on Sunday, they were ably assisted by Mike Weston who had a van full of spares and an abundance of knowledge.

Fleetwood's own Alan "Smithy" Smith was awarded the Percy trophy for completing every race throughout the weekend but finishing down the field... but certainly not last! Well done Alan, you're what the sport is about, getting on with it. Apparently he has a new pit crew for next season...

As well as this report there are several other available on the internet, John Taylor has daily ones on Facebook, Jonas has one (it might be in Swedish) also on FB. Sue Brown has now edited her photos and they can be found by clicking here.

We're off to Eastbourne in two weeks for a TT event with 65's on Saturday and 95's on Sunday, join us if you fancy some good racing and some great social, that will be followed in early November by a trip to West Lancs YC for the final TT of 2021. Details will appear on dfracinguk.com when available.

Overall Results:

Pos	Skipper	Sail No	Club/City	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	Pts
1	Craig Richards	05	Windrush RYC	2	2	1	4	1	3	12	5	17	6	6	6	4	10	5.9	55.9
2	John Tushingham	51	Keighley & District	1	1	2	1	3	18	24	13	1	7	5	4	1	7	10	56
3	Peter Baldwin	172	Birkenhead RS&PC	1	10	7	3	15	5	1	2	5	12	1	10	14	11	7.4	75.4
4	Jonas Samson	60	HaSS	3	22	9	5	2	1	6	1	2	17	13	17	11	6	3	79
5	Thomas Enwall	130	Stockholm Segelsällskap	17	55	5	8	4	8	7	19	4	3	4	7	10	2	5	84
6	John Taylor	214	Fleetwood MY&PBC	5	8	6	9	7	7	9	8	8	15	3	5	18	1	15	91
7	Ulf Lindberg	58	Karlskoga	3	17	16	2	6	4	11	7	20	5	12	9	8	5	8	96
8	John Brierley	84	Birkenhead RS&PC	1	3	12	7	22	2	14	3	3	13	19	14	13	13	13	111
9	Göran Uggla	39	SRSS	2	5	8	6	9	6	16	6	11	18	26	34	5	12	7	111
10	David Potter	20	Birkenhead RS&PC	1	14	3	14	5	9	34	28	12	9	17	1	2	17	9	113
11	Christopher Nichols	383	Levenhall RYC	7	24	10	11	12	22	4	17	18	22	2	2	6	8	2	121
12	Mick Chamberlain	46	Lincoln RSC	9	13	21	32	13	15	2	4	7	22	23	16	12	15	11	160
13	Tjakko Keizer	180	DF Netherlands	9	6	11	10	14	11	5	9	15	20	31	38	38	50	1	180
14	Wayne Stobbs	42	Gosport MYBC	4	11	18	19	22	30	10	16	10	2	10	18	22	24	29	186
15	Adrian Tomlinson	1130	Medway RC Laser Club	3	12	17	24	10	10	15	12	21	26	29	22	19	9	18	192
16	Tim Long	199	Abersoch RYC	2	9	15	12	16	26	17	22	22	16	16	3	22	28	37	198
17	Gordon Bayliff	35	Fleetwood MY&PBC	8	35	39	50	26	13	3	15	13	1	7	15	16	25	43	216
18	Gordon Allison	62	Ayr Bay RYC	10	26	30	44	42	22	26	21	14	10	8	8	3	20	25	223
19	Dave Burke	30	Birkenhead RS&PC	5	18	22	16	25	14	18	31	23	14	14	13	17	26	24	223
20	David Lindsay	23	Hampton Court MYC	2	4	4	15	18	22	29	35	39	33	11	21	25	22	39	241
21	Malcolm Price	82	Alton RSC	4	15	20	23	11	12	21	26	25	8	18	26	34	50	53	243
22	Chris More	102	Askern RSC	6	31	36	39	36	43	13	14	6	4	15	12	20	27	28	248
23	Nigel Brown	55	Gosport MYBC	8	32	23	30	37	47	41	11	19	24	30	11	9	22	6	262
24	Ken Binks	83	Eastbourne MYC	10	7	14	22	36	9	8	10	16	28	22	36	50	64	64	268
25	Dave Darwell	32	Askern RSC	17	56	37	31	23	17	32	36	9	11	20	28	29	4	14	271
26	Dave Fowler	840	Blackpool & Fylde MBC	14	39	41	41	28	36	20	27	28	19	9	19	7	16	23	285
27	Martin Gray	783	Punta Gorda MSC	17	53	33	22	8	16	28	23	27	31	50	40	15	14	19	293
28	Chris Chatfield	183	Fleetwood MY&PBC	12	28	13	18	17	24	33	47	49	53	43	25	28	3	12	303
29	David Adams	358	Royal Temple YC	7	29	27	29	24	31	64	25	24	30	41	23	27	30	4	310
30	John Sharman	61	Fleetwood MY&PBC	11	44	42	13	22	25	25	30	32	23	24	30	42	18	20	315
31	Bob Conner	114	Woodspring MSC	5	25	31	20	29	27	30	40	42	36	28	31	48	23	17	342
32	Jerry Ibberson	45	Royal Palma RCYC	17	27	19	33	19	36	22	18	30	42	42	37	23	33	34	348
33	Thomas Nash	991	LMYC & MYSA	6	39	26	17	27	32	48	43	37	43	21	20	30	35	26	359
34	Taco Faber	201	RC Laser Ned	14	52	55	45	44	23	23	20	26	29	27	33	26	32	22	364
35	StIg Strömkvist	33	RHSS	8	30	50	57	64	28	19	33	36	41	37	24	35	31	40	412
36	Garry Benson	68	Fleetwood MY&PBC	3	19	29	36	39	29	27	34	38	49	39	41	46	50	43	423
37	Dave Holyoak	480	Hollowell RSC	5	23	36	28	31	37	37	32	40	44	64	50	37	41	35	426
38	David Stewart	221	Ashton Quays	4	16	24	26	33	38	43	29	36	39	36	50	64	57	59	431
39	Damian Ackroyd	139	Keighley & District	4	21	28	34	40	40	36	37	44	55	59	53	31	37	32	437
40	David Nickerson	365	Birmingham MYC	12	54	53	43	30	48	40	50	31	38	40	36	24	19	31	442
41	Gordon Rae	260	Ayr Bay RYC	7	33	44	42	47	53	31	24	29	27	35	43	47	64	58	462
42	Jen Hand	69	Lincoln RSC	7	39	50	50	64	58	49	39	41	25	33	47	50	39	27	496
44	Brian Holland	95	Abersoch RYC	10	40	43	25	34	36	46	55	56	35	46	52	53	38	48	506
43	Mats Hagman	14	Stockholm Segelsällskap	8	39	25	27	32	50	64	64	50	51	64	50	43	29	38	506
45	Liz Tushingham	100	Keighley & District	6	34	40	40	43	41	38	46	57	52	32	46	52	42	49	509
46	Graham Marsh	75	Ashton Quays	12	48	52	55	54	51	58	45	48	32	25	29	32	40	47	515
47	John Cleave	00	Ryde MYC	11	41	50	64	55	55	50	50	43	37	34	42	39	36	30	518
48	Alan Watkinson	4	Birkenhead RS&PC	9	42	38	37	48	45	51	58	34	46	45	56	40	45	50	530
49	Malcolm Clement	958	Fleetwood MY&PBC	13	43	45	53	51	42	44	52	33	34	47	39	44	54	52	539
50	Paul Hounslow	103	Birkenhead RS&PC	15	49	57	46	41	33	42	41	45	40	38	44	58	56	51	541
51	Tim Denby	987	Royal Temple YC	6	20	32	38	50	46	52	48	51	56	57	59	57	50	46	552
52	Stewart Campbell	50	Tayside RSC	13	64	64	64	64	39	39	38	47	54	52	32	36	46	33	557
53	Martyn Aspinall	877	Rotherham MYC	9	47	50	51	38	44	45	42	46	61	48	55	45	52	54	571
54	Garry Box	712	Manor Park RSC	17	58	51	50	56	50	47	56	55	50	50	27	33	43	43	572
55	Eric Austwick	540	Fleetwood MY&PBC	14	59	56	56	53	57	55	53	53	47	55	45	41	34	36	598
56	Jim La Roche	57	Coalhouse Fort RYC	17	51	59	36	45	52	53	51	52	59	44	54	64	51	44	609
57	David Williams	133	Birkenhead RS&PC	11	45	54	54	52	54	54	64	60	60	56	60	51	44	55	650
58	Barry Rolfe	519	Birmingham MYC	17	64	64	64	46	64	57	54	54	48	54	57	55	53	45	668
59	John Blackburn	430	Keighley & District	10	46	50	52	50	64	59	57	59	57	58	61	56	58	64	673
60	Ian Sinclair	11	Fleetwood MY&PBC	17	64	64	64	64	59	64	44	64	45	51	51	54	55	57	689
61	Alan Smith	13	Fleetwood MY&PBC	13	57	58	58	57	56	56	60	58	58	53	58	59	59	56	697
62	Susan Sharman	36	Fleetwood MY&PBC	11	50	60	59	58	60	60	59	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	737
63	David Hope	111	Alton Radio Sailing Club	17	64	36	50	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	743