Heat One of the 2012 IOM Club Championship drew a crowd. Twenty two boats fronted up for the afternoon's racing, with a fantastic wind and the sun shining. Everyone had B rigs up, and the weed wasn't too bad (in comparison to recent weeks!), making for some fast, exciting racing. The first Saturday of the month has been set aside for the Club Championship series. A series of 12 heats with 9 to count, will comprise the Championship.

The course was set further to the north of the lake, to avoid the fickle winds in the south west corner. The start line had a nice port end bias, to spread the fleet. A gate at the leeward end of the course reduced the number of mark rounding incidents, and gave boats an opportunity to gain or lose ground, rather than having to "follow the leader". Making the correct decision as to which mark to round is becoming more critical, as many skippers are begining to make good decisions on this more regularly.

Rob Murdoch quickly showed that he was the boat to beat, with noticable boat speed and height. Getting a good start was paramount, and keeping out of trouble was vital. Some collisions were inevidible, given the number of boats, but generally the fleet behaved themselves. It was critical to stay out of trouble, as any small error lead to a large number of boats sailing passed. 

Thanks to Moby for coming along and assisting with the running of the day - good job Mobes.

Full results will appear in the Race Results section shortly. At the end of the day, Rob Murdoch finished in front, followed by Glenn Dawson, Hub Bell and Matt Donelly.

Ian Holt has taken a video of one race (after a few seconds of his tri), which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWuXu_zvp7Y

Last Updated ( Sunday, 08 January 2012 11:34 )