Mark Easton was back and in devastating form

Today 6 IOM sailors converged on the lake.  After some pondering on the north-east bank we decided the only location we could sail was the southern (jetty) side due to the low water level.  It would seem we have a problem with water supply into the lake.

 

We set-up a course running mainly west-east and surprisingly this worked well despite the seemingly south-west breeze.  We had excellent wind, albeit swirly as always.  Austin Lakes makes us better sailors, because reading the water is the key to getting ahead.  

 

We welcomed back Mark Easton after a lengthy break with illness.  Mark was back to his devastating self, winning all but two heats.  Graeme Elliott loaned his spare boat to Jason Poutsma, but all was not well with the steering and after a lot of difficulty Jason eventually called it a day after Heat 7.  Graeme was sailing his swish V12 but had trouble with the winch before the first heat.  With some desperate troubleshooting he got it sorted in time for the first heat.  Lawrie was back, albeit still with his ankle in a cast.  He brought out his new "spare" boat, a 3D printed Alioth V4, this time in regular heat-susceptible PLA filament.  The keel fin was a DF95 blade, suitably trimmed to fit the keel box.  Despite its narrower chord it was acknowledged that it worked just fine.  Looks like we have a cheaper alternative to IOM keel fins!

 

We also welcomed Greg Reynolds who came to watch and act as the scorer until the second break.  Greg sat next to Lawrie and ended up being Lawrie's tactician, which worked to Lawrie's advantage, with Lawrie collecting his first win thanks to Greg's suggested routes and also weathering of "false knocks".  

 

The racing was super-hot in the mainly fresh breeze.  Surprisingly there were no OCS events as everyone showed great restraint.  Mark was always the man to beat.  It was staggering watching him sometimes having a bad start, only to see him fly past the fleet.  However, the race for second was often hotly contested.  Graeme Elliott, Ray Silbereisen and Lawrie vied for the minor placings, often within a boat length of each other.  In the end the cream rose to the occasion and Graeme pipped Lawrie by a point for second overall.  It was interesting to see Phil Plowman coming in close behind the above pack as the day wore on.  Phil continues to learn IOM handling and was also assisted in his tuning by Mark Easton.  I am always glad when the "guns" pass on their secrets.

 

Big thanks to all who assisted to carry things today, as Lawrie was highly limited. This included buoy-bot launching and retrieval.  Mark also graciously carried Lawrie's boat to and from the water, as the hobbling-wounded could never carry or launch an IOM.

 

During the final heat we noted a pair of hawks diving on a duckling, as the mother-duck gave all she had in defence.  Lawrie sailed his IOM over to offer some coverage, which seemed to stop the attack.  Playing God?  Maybe.