East Kent Radio Sailing Club DF95 Spring Series event 9 at Barton's Point Coastal Park
by Peter Jackson 31 May 06:32 BST
29 May 2025
Rounding the top mark during DF95 Spring Series event 9 at Barton's Point © Jim LaRoche
Summer arrived at the Kent Coast with a 20 knot blast and big waves. The fleet was split between B and C Rigs and was quickly depleted as the conditions took their toll.
The eventual winner used a C rig throughout, 2nd place a B throughout and 3rd switched from B to C. It proved more important to get the settings exactly right whatever the rig and to get the tacks done first time! Jim LaRoche set the courses at the southern end of the lake and Ralph Wilkinson was race officer.
Mike Brand got his C rig settings spot on from the get go kicking off with a win, from Paul Woodward (B rig), then Spencer Pope and Peter Jackson (C rigs). Spencer having found good settings carried on with two more podium places. Paul got a 4th then went off to rebuild his rig until after lunch. Dave Adams won race 2 from Mike, then switched back positions for race 3 before Rob Maunder hit a purple patch with 2 wins in a row, both from Dave, both with B rigs. Simon Thornton put in an excellent race 3 & 4 with a B rig for a podium then a 4th.
After a slight drop in the wind and a 3rd in race 5 Mike came back with 2 wins and a 2nd, both wins from Rob Maunder. Rob Owens finally appeared on the podium before falling off again until his last race 3rd. Alan Hounsell also hit a purple patch with two 3rd places then a 2nd in race 10. After advice from Mike on jib twist Peter Jackson chased him round the track in race 8 then found a big right hand shift to take the win. Rob Maunder got his third win in race 9, from Dave and Peter, now up to speed.
But Mike was sailing imperiously, scoring 1,1,3,1,1 in the last 5 races. Rob M managed one more 2nd and Dave finished well with 1,2,2, but, after two DNF's and DNS, not well enough to keep Rob from 2nd place in the event. Peter Jackson was now consistent and plugging in the podiums, but a heady mix of water and electrickery put him out of the last 2 races to finish 4th. Alan's consistency got him 5th from Spencer who had a rudder problem then never got back into gear. Just 2 points behind Spencer and separated by only 1 point each were Simon Thornton, Rob Owens and Paul, who came back with two 3rds in the last 5 races to stay just in the top 10.
Event 9 Results:
1. 875 Mike Brand
2. 571 Rob Maunder
3. 358 Dave Adams
4. 211 Peter Jackson
5. 380 Alan Hounsell
6. 32 Spencer Pope
7. 665 Simon Thornton
8. 479 Rob Owns
9. 20 Paul Woodward