IOM Club Race – 21/06/2026

A warm and sunny day greeted the five helms attending today’s event, with a gentle north-easterly breeze providing the conditions for what turned out to be an enjoyable and closely fought day of racing.

The initial course was set as: Start 13 & 14, Yp, 13p, Yp, 13p, Finish 10 & 11.

The light airs made things slightly tricky, with success often depending on who could best read the subtle shifts and find the small areas of extra pressure around the course.
Four races were completed before the heat of the day called for a well-earned and leisurely drinks break in the sunshine.

During the break we were joined for a while by our Treasurer, James, who came along to catch up with the fleet.
A big thank you goes to Buzz, who kindly spent part of the break working on Angela’s boat. After helping with some adjustments, Buzz sailed the boat for a couple of races and quickly got it performing well, giving Angela the opportunity to sail his boat and demonstrate that, despite her long lay-off, she certainly has not lost any of her speed or competitive edge.

With everyone refreshed, another four races were completed before it was time for another drinks break. As usual, this also provided plenty of opportunity for discussion, with rig tuning and boat setup proving popular topics.
During the break, the sea breeze began to fill in, swinging more easterly and requiring a small course adjustment to: Start 13 & 14, Xp, 13p, Xp, 13p, Finish 11 & 12.

The stronger breeze appeared to tighten up the fleet, with several boats finding extra pace. Andy’s changes to his jib geometry paid dividends, giving him improved boat speed, while Buzz’s advice to Glenn resulted in a couple of small but effective tweaks that helped him find more pace as well. The cooler breeze and increasing cloud cover also brought some welcome relief from the heat of the earlier sunshine.

By 2pm, thirteen races had been completed and everyone was ready to head home after a full and enjoyable day on the water. As always, the final scores did not truly reflect just how close the racing was, with many tight finishes, plenty of competitive sailing, and some excellent racing throughout the day.
The conditions turned out to be very favourable, producing a great mix of tactical light-air sailing followed by faster racing as the breeze built.

Congratulations to Buzz on his overall win, and many thanks to him for all his help and advice with boat setup and tuning throughout the day. Thanks also to everyone who came along, supported the event, and contributed to such a friendly and sporting atmosphere.

A thoroughly enjoyable day of model yacht racing.
[Glenn]