And now for something completely different…. All you dragonflite95 Skippers bring your boat (and your appetite) to the Model Yacht Pond this Saturday! There will be plenty of Fun, Excitement, Prizes and HOT DOGS!!! The Event starts at Noon, so don’t be late!
Thanks to Bob Williams who RD’d the IOM Fleet and Fred Rocha who RD’d the DF95’s! Also, a special Welcome Back to Paul Hart who proves you can’t keep a good Skipper down!
Thanks to RD’s Gil Jansky (Solings) & Dennis Rogers (ODOM’s)! Results Follow:
Beautiful, sunny weather with wonky winds! The Dragonflite95 Fleet began in moderate but shifty Southwest winds. Due to the direction, Starboard rounding courses were selected by RD Tom Warren. Though the winds filled a bit over time and veered slightly more westerly, there were some big holes and massive shifts. There were many lead changes, but lawyers took the top two spots with Scotty Harris carrying the day by winning half the races:
Next it was the IOM’s turn and strengthening westerly winds allowed a return to our traditional Port Roundings. RD Chris Staiger ran a combination of Medium and Long courses. Dennis Rogers dominated the fleet of eleven IOM’s; missing a perfect score of “6”‘ by a single point. Results follow:
CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Golison, the 2024 Region 8 Dragonflite95 Champion! Racing was extremely close with 2 of the top 5 positions being decided via tie-breaks. Thanks to our Race Committee Members who worked so hard to host this regatta and congratulations to our Corinthian Award Winner, Henry Johnson!
Video courtesy of Steve Ross & Kerim Baran:
CARNAGE! Both on the Water and Off! Between damaged/malfunctioning boats and damaged infrastructure, we lost a number of ODOMs as well as a downed skipper (due to the collapsed concrete culvert in the control area: Get healed up, Paul!) Despite this, the conditions were beautiful with sunny skies, mild temperatures and good westerly winds. Chris Staiger RD’d the ODOM Fleet with Results below:
Following the ODOMs, the winds moved a bit southerly and became a little more shifty but didn’t slacken much. Gil Jansky RD’d the Soling 50 Fleet where racing was tight and lead changes were common. Overall, great day for Racing (and Gremlins…)
REMINDER: The Dragonflite95 Region 8 Championships are only TWO WEEKS AWAY!!! Get your Entries in! (see below)
Light southerly winds greeted the IOM fleet as Point racing began today. RD Ben Reeve utilized several course options from Medium to Long to mix things up until the winds filled and moved more westerly.
Thanks to Kerim Baran for the Drone Footage!
DF95’s were next. Winds filled to over 7 knots and moved near true West by the time the DF95’s turn came. Again, RD Ben Reeve called Medium, Long and ‘Reverse Short’ (Yes: downwind start to a leeward gate…) courses resulting in tight racing with many lead changes.
Good turnout despite the weather. Thanks to Race Director Steve Delva.
More Water, But less wind….
The Draining/Scraping/Refilling of the Pond left us precariously low on water and forced the use of a 4-Heat HMS scenario for the IOM Region 8 Championships held February 16th – 18th (limiting fleet sizes to 11 boats). Fortunately, the Pond has mostly regained its ‘normal’ water level and only a small reef remained near the fill pipe for our February 24th Points Races.
Seventeen DF95’s took to the water in light, variable winds with RD Ben Reeve calling the line, taking down names, arbitrating disputes and narrowly avoiding protests.
Next it was Deja vu all over again as Eleven IOM’s started in moderate westerly winds. Racing was tight and clean as five skippers shared the 1st Place finishes between them.
Full Regatta Report to follow. Stay Tuned….