IOM Handicap Racing
IOM Handicap Series No 8. 5th December 2023
Without exception we all questioned our sanity on whilst travelling to the lake this morning. In mist and heavy rain things did not look too promising, despite what the forecasts were saying. However, on this occasion they proved correct – the rain stopped on cue as we were about to start racing.
Being the first Tuesday of the month, today was another round of the handicap series. The northerly wind was chilly, but reliably steady, so it was pleasant not having to deal with fluky shifts. Brian was surprised to learn that he was the duty OOD, but swiftly laid the course and racing started on time. Steve, Edward, and Ken were to be first away in their group, unfortunately Ken had an immediate rig failure, which left just two in the green fleet. Steve proved difficult to catch by the remaining fleets in many of the races.
Sailing in clear air, his MX16 had impressive boat speed, which further increased after a couple of tweaks to the rig. Regarding boat speed, Paul, and Garry’s Alioth’s were very rapid at times, particularly downwind.
Their Monday sessions spending time together on the lake pacing each other and tuning their rigs, appears to be paying off. The 30 second handicap separation was spot on today, with the bulk of the three fleets approaching the finish line fairly closely bunched. The handicap races appear to be popular and entertaining and makes an interesting change from the usual fleet racing.
It is an ideal opportunity for anyone considering IOM racing to come along and have a go!
We finished a relaxed day in sunshine completing 12 races mainly of two laps, having had a most enjoyable and incident free competition. In closing, we were pleased and relieved to learn from Terry that Viv’s heart problem was successfully overcome having had a stent fitted, and was recovering well.
We send our best wishes for continued improvement in the coming days!
Next Week’s Officer Of the Day is Tim.
