DF95 Club Racing – 27th July 2026

A west-north-west wind averaging around 12 mph, with gusts touching 25 mph, made for a challenging day’s sailing for the eight helms who took to the water at Coalhouse Fort.

The opening course was: Start 11 & 12 – 14P – XP – 14P – XP – Finish 13 & 14.

As always, the Fort produced its trademark swirling winds, and when combined with the frequent gusts, getting the beats right proved difficult. Every skipper had moments where they got it wrong, but Chris Hodson seemed to have more answers than anyone else, making light of the conditions to dominate the morning’s racing.

For Glenn, things became even more interesting after four races when a trip to the “dark side” with suspected radio range issues, resulted in an extended break. Buzz kindly came to the rescue by lending him a replacement transmitter and receiver—if only to stop Glenn blaming the radio for what everyone else suspected was simply poor sailing!
Vernon unfortunately had to leave at this point due to other commitments.

The break coincided with a slight shift in the average wind direction, prompting a move to the opposite end of the lake. The new course was: Start 5 & 6 – 1P – TP – 1P – TP – Finish 4 & 5

The finish line became one of the biggest challenges of the day. With the wind constantly shifting and disappearing altogether at times, several boats gained—or lost—multiple places in the final ten metres. Five more races took the fleet into lunch with a real mixture of results for everyone except Chris, who continued to cope with the conditions better than the rest of the fleet.

A few lunchtime tweaks paid dividends during the afternoon. Ian Lloyd found some extra pace after a quick tuning session and enjoyed a much stronger final six races, while Buzz elected to sail from the bench to give his troublesome knee a well-earned rest.

Despite the demanding conditions, the racing remained close throughout the fleet, with plenty of position changes and very few processional races. It was one of those days that reminded everyone just how rewarding—and frustrating—radio yacht racing can be when the wind refuses to settle.

There was no surprise at the top of the leaderboard. Chris Hodson produced a superbly consistent performance to win the day by an impressive 24-point margin, remarkably never finishing lower than second in any of the sixteen races. On more than one occasion he also managed to steal victory right on the finish line, proving that races are never over until the final boat crosses.

Thanks to everyone who supported the day’s racing and helped make it such an enjoyable event.
Glenn.