I.O.M Winter Series Round 10 at Lincoln Radio Sailing Club

Lincoln I.O.M Winter Series round 10 © Andrew Wallace

Rain? I've never seen rain like it! Well I have actually, but it did not dampen the spirits of the 20 odd skippers who showed up for a great day of I.O.M racing.

Tea urn on and boiling for a welcome cuppa on arrival, the race team on the go getting everything sorted, and ready to race at 10 am sharp. We were running two fleets under normal HMS with 4 up/down prom/demo etc. Racing started on the East banks with a great top suit breeze say 70% even if it was not quite the direction we would have liked it was fine.

The two seeding races got under way and were won by Peter Stollery and Josh King, interestingly, both of these skippers have been selected to represent the UK in the upcoming World I.O.M championships in May as have others in this very hot fleet of skippers, in fact five skippers in total.

Lincoln I.O.M Winter Series round 10 - photo © Andrew Wallace

There were a variety of designs 9 different in the 23 on show racing today, 9 Brit Pops and one Pop (a derivative I am told), 6 Ventis, among others and skippers from as far afield as Birkenhead (the home of radio racing I was told), Fleetwood, Cambridge and Suffolk and somewhere else, way down south.

A short break to sort the fleets out and away we went with B fleet away first. The system that works out how we can score all the boats as one fleet is a little complicated but does the job really well on the laptop into the results.

Race two and three were won by local lad Tim Hand, 134 with Martin R 22 keeping close and taking the second spot after a slow start in the first race. It looked as though the Brit PoPs in very capable hands were going to be asking all the questions on the day. The breeze stayed steady and the bank became very slippery (non stop rain) for the first few races, but gradually the breeze backed enough and we were all transferred to the South bank for the remainder of the day, the rain also got lighter and eventually stopped, it was in fact much drier under foot.

Lincoln I.O.M Winter Series round 10 - photo © Andrew Wallace

Racing was moving at a good pace and the fleet board crew were doing an excellent job keeping it moving. A short lunch break was had with Micky Boy sharing out his cake, yes he was 80, he is not sure how he got to that age but he did. Also to be mentioned we had a young skipper who is just starting out young Hayden W 154, he is 12 years old and definitely the future, sailing well above his young years.

It was a battle royal between the top half dozen skippers all fighting tooth and nail for every point, but at the end of the day it was Martin R 22 with his Brit Pop that took the win with a good margin from Tim H 134 and Peter Stollery 391 taking third position, so we had 2 past World Champions in the top three, some fantastic racing in a great spirit.

Well done to all and thanks for coming to Lincoln, it would not have been possible without Jen Hand and all her willing helpers, and you all know who you are, Jen, Penelope, Ron, Mick, and of Course Tim H, OOD, and the guys and gals who tore around in the dingy sorting the course, Darin, Tracy, and separating boats where necessary. Brilliant day well done all.

And well done Lincoln for sorting this great series out.

Martin Roberts (R) wins Lincoln I.O.M Winter Series round 10 - photo © Andrew Wallace

Winter Series Round 10 Results:

Tim Hand (R) second in Lincoln I.O.M Winter Series round 10 - photo © Andrew Wallace