DF95 Summer Series at East Kent Radio Sailing Club - Week 6
by Peter Jackson 5 Sep 07:42 BST
3 September 2026
DF95 Summer Series at Barton's Point week 6 - Start with Starboard bias © Alan Hounsell
In winds between 13 and 18 knots 12 DF95s competed over 14 races with all still to play for in the series. Most switched between B and C rigs as squalls came though the course of just over 100m set by Rob Owens.
In race 1 Adrian Tomlinson passed Peter Jackson on the second beat for the first win with Jim La Roche, back from a break, in 3rd and Dave Adams 4th. Peter again led race 2 but lost winch control, Adrian again winning from Jim and Dave with Spencer Pope 4th.
Adrian and Dave switched to C rigs, with Dave now taking over winning duties holding off David 'DT' Tomlinson the younger then Peter, both still on B rigs, with Alan Hounsell 4th. David Adams C rig was working well holding off a consistent Peter Jackson and so far less consistent Rob Owens in race 4, but with Rob now up to speed finishing in 2nd, Peter 3rd and Alan again 4th.
It was all change again for race 5 as Dave suffered the same winch glitch as Peter, only temporarily but the first of 3 occasions. Rob Owens, now in the groove, followed Adrian in again ahead of Simon Thornton. DT got another 4th and Peter got a series of penalty turns, blamed on senility, then more electrical issues. Pre-lunch races 6 and 7 had the same podiums; Adrian, Dave & Rob Owens, with Spencer, then DT, in 4th.
Rob changed the start line from a Starboard to Port bias over lunch, then did a stunning Port flyer in race 8 to lead for half the race before giving best to Adrian, then Jim (avoiding the marks this time) then also Alan Hounsell and Simon Thornton. Adrian was on fire with 5 wins of 6 races, then Peter was literally on fire with a switch plug short, burning boat and battery, retiring hurt. But Dave had now overcome his winching glitches and plugged in a 1,2,1,1 sequence before the penultimate race to try to keep Adrian honest.
For a change only Adrian and Dave scored wins, but the fight for 3rd place was neck and neck between Rob Owens and Tomlinson the younger. DT's 3,2,4,5 left Rob's 7,4,5,3 leading for 3rd overall into the last race. Adrian won it to confirm a comfortable 7 point win from Dave in 2nd with a 7th. Many many points back DT scored 2nd in the last race from Andrew Nicholls guest appearance in 3rd, pulling him back level with Rob, who finished 6th. The younger Tomlinson got 3rd spot overall on the last race tie break, also having three 2nd places to Rob's two. Next came Simon, Jim, Alan and Spencer.
On a boisterous day notably all boats stayed the course, even Peter, charred, melted and leaking in 10th, and Andrew with his 3rd place after a bridle rebuild and 6 races out. Adrian now sits just 1 point behind Peter for the 18 boat series overall with two event wins to three, with Mike Brand on one win and three events still to go.
Week 6 Results:
1. 30 Adrian Tomlinson
2. 65 Dave Adams
3. 750 David Tomlinson
4. 479 Rob Owens
5. 665 Simon Thornton
6. 57 Jim LaRoche
7. 380 Alan Hounsell
8. 32 Spencer Pope
9. 211 Peter Jackson
10. 48 Colin Honour
11. 613 Andrew Nichols
12. 156 Martin Hill
The full day's results are now available to view on the club website, www.eastkentrsc.com/2026