IOM Thames Cup EDSC 4 and Icicle Trophy 20/11/2022
The early rain had all but disappeared by 10 am, but the start was delayed a little whilst we waited for the wind direction to settle down. Unfortunately, the direction it settled on was Westerly, meaning the fort would cast a huge shadow over the middle of the lake & compromise course setting all day for the 15 skippers attending the event.
Initially a course was set at the north end of the lake, consisting 3 beats & 2 runs, on which 8 races were completed before lunch break was called. Sailing was difficult with a less than ideal start line & many big shifts over the course, however, the whole fleet were very accepting of the difficulties posed by the wind direction & tried to make the best of it. At the break, Colin was leading the way, Vernon & Dorian equal second, while just as few points separated the next 5 places.
Lunch break saw the course moved to the southern end of the lake where the wind had filled in, offering better sailing, albeit still with a compromised start line. once again the fleet were accepting of the difficulties in setting a course & completed a total of 15 races before the 3.30pm cut off time.
Prizes were awarded to the top 6 places, Colin running out overall winner was awarded the Coventry trophy, Vernon & Dorian’s day long battle was finally won by just 4 points in Vernon’s favour, whilst Buzz put together some consistent finishes after lunch to take forth spot & claim the Icicle trophy as the host club’s highest finisher.
for more pictures go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/1490192604579441/permalink/3247893465476004/
DF95 ED Open Sunday 08/05/2022
Coalhouse Fort MYC welcomed 10 skippers to today’s event & were greeted by a stronger & more northerly wind than forecast. Following the briefing, racing started promptly at 10am on a course consisting of 2 laps of a windward mark with spreader & a downwind gate, however, the wind threatened to swing easterly from the beginning & forced a course change for race 5. Early pace setter was Buzz, although Ronnie did manage a bullet in race 3 while most of the fleet struggled to find consistency in the tricky conditions.
Whilst far from ideal, the 2 lap zig zag course set for race 5 onwards was the only real option available to give reasonable race lengths, although it did provide some good racing from the very well disciplined fleet as they were forced to cope with many port starboard crossings as well as 2 testing far mark roundings per lap. Lunch was called after race 8, with Buzz winning the 4 races on the new course, Malcolm starting to find some form & the rest of the fleet putting in some good finishes.
The next 4 race wins were shared between Buzz, Dave Green & Vinnie, who needed a sit down to recover from the excitement, so a short break ensued before pushing on to the 4 pm cut off time. Buzz lost a little form over the last 6 races but still managed 2 wins, Dave Green added 2 more race wins to his tally, Ronnie took race 15 & Malcolm topped off a very consistent afternoon with a win in the final race.
After an afternoon long battle, it was Vinnie who took 4th place by 1 point from Ronnie in 5th, with Dave Green in 3rd, Malcolm second & Buzz taking the victory. A huge thank you to all the Coalhouse Fort MYC members who helped out today, to the skippers for providing some great racing entertainment &, above all, the superb attitude with which they competed in some very testing conditions. The news that there may be a 95 district championship next year was also great to hear.
DF65 ED Open Saturday 07/05/2022
For a change we arrived at the lake to find not only some sun but wind in the forecast North direction and speed, allowing a course to be set with a windward offset and leeward gate. All Good, but no! No sooner had Buzz blown for the briefing the clouds and rain arrived with a large shift, then typically as the briefing ended so did the wind, with a 30 min postponement before racing could start. With a very light Northerly racing got underway using the original course. Malcom Price (Alton RCSC) took the first race Followed By Dave Adams (East Kent )RSC and Angela Mears (Coalhouse Fort RYC). Dave then showed everyone some great boat speed coupled with good starts until gear failure put an end to his day after 9 races. Malcom made the best of this having already scored firsts in race 4,6 and 8, scouring Firsts and seconds for the reminder of the day. These results all the more impressive as the wind went back to playing Games, swinging considerably to the East, then back Northerly and Back to the North East. With all this 19 Fairley long races where run. Coalhouse Fort Members Glen Meeckoms (with 2 Firsts) and Terry Wright (3 Firsts) Finished in Second and Third, Behind Malcom. We retired back to the car park for the prize giving, all except a delay Buzz who’s car battery decided not to play. Just what you want at the end of a long day.
DF95’s Tomorrow with Glen taking over as Race Officer.
IOM Icicle Trophy 14/11/2021
Hosted by Coal house Fort Model yacht Club
11 skippers were welcomed to the lake by a chilly NNE 10mph wind on a bright Sunday morning. Fortunately, the forecast for the wind to swing more easterly never really materialised, permitting a long course to be set for the first 3 races. The fleet paused to observe the remembrance day 2 minute silence at 11am, after which the start line was moved to the leeward end of the course in an effort to lengthen the race time. 5 more races were completed before lunch was called, with only a short pause to tweak the start line.
Mark Dennis & Dave Allison fought over the podium places for most of morning, providing the spectators with some wonderful racing, but, despite pushing him hard at times, were unable to beat an on form Colin Goodman, who took the bullet in all the mornings races. Further down the fleet overall places were changing every race, leading to some very hard fought & entertaining racing.
Racing resumed after lunch with 2 races on the same course, albeit with the wind a little stronger & starting to swing easterly. The change in wind direction finally forced a course change for race 11, as boats were starting to reach to the windward mark, sadly, the prevailing conditions made this new course shorter than desirable. 2 races were held on the new course before the wind returned, almost to its original direction enabling the longer course to be sailed once again, admittedly with the windward mark much further from the bank. The final 4 races were completed on this course, but the position of the new windward mark did cause some a little difficulty judging distance. Whilst the official last race time was 3.30pm, the finish of the 16th race at 3.20 pm brought in the 3rd discard & the excuse to call it a day after the long distance walked, which all present agreed to.
Prize giving was conducted in the car park, once everything was packed away. A well-deserved 4th place went to a pleasantly surprised & pleased Dennis Graham, just reward for having sailed consistently. The battle for second & third place had raged all day, but with the 16th race bringing the 3rd discard into play, it saw Mark Dennis pipping 2nd place from Dave Allison by just 1 point. However, Colin Goodman was the class of the field, winning all but the last race to top the leader board with a mere 13 points from the 16 races, thus retaining the Icicle Trophy for another year. All the prize winners kindly took the opportunity to thank the Coal house Fort club for running the event & their fellow competitors for sailing with such good sportsmanship, all infringements having been dealt with amicably on the water. Glenn Meekcoms.
IOM Ranking 3&4
See https://www.iomgbr.co.uk/ranking3-4
Icicle Trophy Coalhouse Fort 2019
We had a very crisp but dry day. Twelve skippers enjoyed a good days racing fifteen races. Colin Goodman winning thirteen races giving him a perfect score of thirteen after discards. He also had a perfect port start in one race spotting a shift to clear the fleet. With a north to north easterly wind towards the top end of A rig. There was good race for second place with Mark Dennis coming out on top from Trevor Binks. Racing down the fleet was very competitive. Jim La Roche was the top Coalhouse boat in fifth place. Thanks to the team from Coalhouse club for running a very slick event.
Geoff Appleton.
IOM Thames Trophy Results
DF95 Eastern District Open
Following on from Saturdays weather 13 skippers arrived to a very sunny day with a light wing which immediate swung to the forecast Easterly, not ideal at Coalhouse Fort. For the first 10 races a Zig Zag coarse was set to allow at least two windward legs, occasionally more as the breeze filled from a different direction for a short while. Mike Adams visiting from Eastbourne kept things tight at the front until the coarse was changes to a more conventional windward leeward, albeit a bit one sided at times. Mike stayed in second place some 19 point back with Glen in third a further 10 point behind. Full Results below.
DF65 Eastern District Championship Round 2
8 Skippers arrived at Coalhouse Fort RYC, to race in what in effect is the 1st round of the Championships, to find a light Northerly breeze. This unfortunately was not to stay for long as rain clouds moved down the Thames, bringing an ever swinging breeze varying from 0 to 12 mph which made setting a coarse very hard. Our PRO Geoff Appleton set as best a coarse as possible, allowing the swings in direction to still give some very close racing, over a long coarse of around 15 minutes per Race. As can be seen from the results the top 3 boats kept things close between them, with Mike Addams Taking the top spot with a 7 point lead after 12 races.
Coventry Trophy 7th April 2019
Results
Icicle Trophy 2nd December 2018
A bright but breezy day with wind speeds of between 14-16 Mph from the WSW and gusts between 27-32 mph.
14 Skippers entered the event, falling to 8 for the final 14th race of the day. Various elctrical and mechanical issues befalling a few.
Racing commenced prompt at 10am through until 1pm when a short beak for lunch was taken, resuming jaut after 1pm the event finished as the light began to fall just before 3pm.
Mirroring the recent Thames Cup event for the first second and third spots were taken by Colin Goodman finishing on just 13 points from the 14 races with Trevor Binks second followed by Mark Dennis in third.
So ended a good days racing that had very few incidents and those that did occur were all resolved on the water in very sportsman like manners.
Thames Cup – 28 Oct 2018
A breezy, sustained 13-16 mph wind from the NE with gusts to 27 mph , chilly 8 degrees and initially very damp day greeted the 15 skippers that had entered the 2018 Thames Cup event hosted by Coalhousefort RYC. By just after midday the dampness had all but gone and a little brightness to the sky appeared, later another shower, hail this time appeared but was thankfully short lived.
With a course set and after the normal race briefing the first race commenced at 10am through until 12:30 when a short break was taken for lunch. The afternoon racing commencing again at 1pm and carried through until 3::45, a total of 17 races for the day.
Colin Goodman dominated winning all but 2 of the races – both of which were discarded, ending the day with a very impressive score of 14 point. At times Colin was hotly challenged in races by Trevor Binks who finished the day on 33 points with Mark Dennis coming a very creditable third on 47 point.
The days racing in difficult conditions was conducted in a very friendly and sportsmanlike manor, with the very few penalties all being taken without the need for undue prompting.
Special mention has to be made of a very good result from Jim La Roche who was leading a race towards the end of the day leading but unfortunately being pipped to the post at the very last second to finish second behind Trevor Binks by mere inches.
The highest placed skipper from our club being Graham Bartholomew who came in 7th overall with his Widget.
Another good days sailing for all involved and well done to all from the club who took part and assisted in the running of the event.
Coalhouse Fort Radio Yacht Club 