Eastern District DF65 Championship at Coalhouse Fort RYC – Race Report

Warm hazy sunshine, a WSW 12 to 15 mph wind, with gusts up to 25 mph, tested everyone’s ability on a windward/leeward course consisting 3 beats & 2 runs. There were 90 degree lifts, massive headers, nose diving on the runs & the occasional big hole to be negotiated, often putting the leading boat at a disadvantage as they were the first to encounter the issues which others could try to avoid.
 
8 races completed before the lunch break with Buzz leading but not having it all his own way. Keith suffered boat gremlins all morning & sadly retired at the break.  The rest of the fleet had mixed results while slowly getting to grips with the testing conditions, but still produced some great racing. Starts were difficult, there always seemed to be a gust or lull 10 seconds before the gun, making timing almost impossible, but somehow there were no general recalls all day.
 
All stuck with A rigs, but A+, B & C rigs would have been preferable at some point in all races. 8 more races after lunch, the last 2 having the strongest winds of the day which we should have changed down for but didn’t.
 
Although a small fleet, the overall standard was high with very few on water incidents, especially considering how hard it was to just sail. The racing was closer than the scores suggest, places swapping many times during each race & plenty of tight finishes, providing plenty of fun & banter between skippers.
 
Congratulations to Buzz on becoming the 2025 eastern district DF65 champion, a big thank you to Tony for travelling the furthest to participate, Geoff for doing the start/finish duties & all who supported the event.
 
Glenn Meekcoms