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Newbie here 😁 So I bought an IOM.. with a certificate (2018)… Expecting to jump through a few hoops…. Followed the online registration process… WOW… 2 hours after submitting request… a nice new Certificate hit my Inbox. Impressed? Oh yes I am. Many thanks to Jim La Roche. 👏👏

For many years we had a situation in Germany where the 10R class was suffering in numbers. The fleer sizes did not justify organizing events for them. To keep the class alive, we organized races for IOM and 10R at the same date and venue so that the host had enough entries to make it worth the clubs efforts. However, we didn't race them in a single fleet bus raced with alternating starts. This gave each fleet a brief pause and chance to watch the others sailing and act as observers for the PRO. Watching 10R sail did spark interest with some IOM skippers whohva invested in a 10R (myself included) and the fleet has grown since to allow for a dedicated 10R circuit and national championship with decent numbers.

Just to muddy the waters - The class rules for all three active IRSA international classes (IOM,10R, M) follow the same general format for their class rules, and give jurisdiction for measuring to the recognised national authority in each member country. The format is structured to reflect the Equipment Rules of Sailing (ERS). Section A for each of the Class Rules use BOLD type as a reference to defined terms in the ERS and all three classes use the term Official Measurer. I have found an anomaly - the issue is that the term Official Measurer is not a defined term in the ERS. The defined term in ERS is Certification Measurer. The wording is consistent with what we would intend for an official measurer but is not identified correctly. I have reported this discrepancy to the IRSA to verify and to follow up with the ICAs. From the ERS C.4.4 Certification Measurer A person appointed or recognised, by the MNA of the country where the control takes place, to carry out certification control and when the class rules permit, certification. An MNA may have delegated this responsibility. John

All good points, but they still need a paper copy at the finish line as a paper and pen can write the results down quicker when there are a bunch of boats finishing together.

The latest World Sailing Case book contains a new case Case 140 which covers an incident on the start line when 30.3 or 30.4 are in effect. However the wording of Appendix E 3.7 prevents radio sailing from applying the benefits covered in Case 140. I have written a summary of the situation attached, together with a solution which the regatta organiser may apply to fix the problem. John Appendix E3.7 and Case 140.pdf

I’d suggest in the current climate, whenever possible; buy British!

If, especially, you're new to the class then you might want to factor in which are popular designs at your club - you'll then have a good breadth of knowledge and advice to tap into at the lakeside. Many designs have setup info all over the interweb, but good to be able to compare your setup with another, there-and-then, and actually see how things compare on the water. My club has many Britpops (of course), also several Venti and now Alioth. I personally wouldn't go for a new K2, for example, as we don't have any of them. (I have a Sedici, cos a tidy one became available 2nd hand. I don't myself have the inclination for the cash & delay of brand new - I'm not good enough lol)

Look for a design that not just one skipper has had success with, as he's probably one of the best skippers in the World and would win with anything half decent but a design that many different skippers have had success with and its taken a mid fleeter to the front of the fleet.

With 3 weeks to go to the Fleetwood 50th Anniversary Radio Marblehead Nationals, we have 38 entries so 12 short of our target "50 boats for 50 years!" We've got lots of things planned to make this event a great celebration of 50 years of Radio Marbleheads, with a display of some of the earliest Radio Marbleheads from the early 70's & 80's, some extra one-off trophies for the highest placed classic & vintage boats, and a great late summer Barbeque and 50 years of Marbleheads quiz on the sat night for all competitors helpers and guests. All this and the racing too, for just £25.00. So If you're not one of the 38, please come & join us!!

Yes, its an AI generated image and makes no sense at all :)

Switched out from the sails this morning to start the production of some of our quality accessories - IOM and DF95 boatbags, foils bags, transmitter snugs and rigbags ( not in the picture)

YACHTING MONTHLY CUP Model Yachting’s equivalent to the “Americas Cup” In 1922 there was an active model yachtsman in the London area, Bill Daniels, who challenged “any model yachtsman world wide” to meet him in a race or series of races. He convinced his friend the editor of the sailing magazine Yachting Monthly, to donate a trophy for this contest and the “Yachting Monthly Cup” annual event was born. The yachts used for this challenge, which we now know as A class, were built to a formula, devised by the editor and Bill, and was loosely based on the 6 metre rule at a scale of 2 inches to the foot, and produced boats with an overall length limit of 19 feet 6 inches! although most were around 6 feet in length. The class was called the “Yachting Monthly 6metre” There was a club founded for this class The YM6mOA (Yachting Monthly 6 metres Owners Association) was founded in 1924, probably by Mr W J Daniels at the Rick Pond in Home Park Surbiton, south London. This club still exists but is now known as Hampton Court MYC. The first event was held at Gosport MYC in 1923 and was won by Bill himself sailing a boat he had designed & built for its owner J Scott Freeman a solicitor and keelboat sailor from the Upper Thames YC. Daniels went on to win the next two years securing the YM cup outright for his owner Scott Freeman, who donated the cup to the UTYC for competition in 14 foot dinghys, where it remains to this day. That could have been the end of the story, except that Yachting monthly very kindly presented a further very grand silver cup in 1926, which cannot be won outright and this trophy is still raced for to this day. The Yachting Monthly Cup centre. The Cup was challenged for every year in a similar format to the America’s Cup with the previous winner defending and a new hopeful skipper challenging. Many Americans challenged unsuccessfully as is reported below from a story in an American Model Yachting publication. In some articles, John Black, who had represented USA on several occasions, was described as the “Sir Thomas Lipton” of the model yachting world, in that he failed to win the Cup, time after time. According to a later article in Marine Models of 1937, this point was echoed: “a well-known model ”. yachtsman has said that this Cup has caused as much grief to America as the America’s Cup has to England The point being made here is that it was a period (1923–1948) when America would dearly have loved to win; it was by far the biggest challenge in model yachting. A win for Bill Bithell and Fred Pigeon in 1948 on British waters would be momentous indeed. This is just what happened. The Event continued every year and reached it’s zenith in its 50th anniversary year, 1973 at Fleetwood when 56 competitors raced for the MYA National Championship and 13 boats from 8 nations challenged for the YM cup. As time passed interest in the A class fell but the National Championship survived and celebrated it’s centenary in 2023 at Gosport. Although the large number of entries are a thing of the past, there are a dedicated number of about 20+ boats racing each year with many 2 & 3 generational families taking part. The 2nd YM Cup which celebrates it’s own centenary this year is still raced for, although not in it’s original challenge format. In 1986 as overseas entries dried up, the event was changed to a knock out competition held on the Wednesday of the Championship week, and was won the first time by a boat from Portugal! The Fleetwood club, the centenary hosts look forward to welcoming as many boats as possible to the centenary celebration regatta. Derek Priestley President Fleetwood MYC & MYA

Gary Dickens, That would be amazing. In 1976 there was a tie for 1st place between David Andrews (Whirlwind winches) and Derek Stevenson resulting in a sail off for the trophy with everyone watching. A much better, more exciting way to settle a tie than today's countback!!

As has been said, I think the principle is correct, the numbers are probably slightly off. It should also be noted that the actual ranking regulations can be amended easily, however the software to implement this has been in existence for a long time now and even a simple change like doubling the points has taken longer to record than was anticipated due to its complexity, hence why the 2026 ranking positions have only just been published. Any change that is considered requires either a simple solution, like Brad's option 3, or will require a complete rewrite of the software. Obviously there will be plenty of people who say "that's easy" but they will also have to follow up on their words... If we can agree on the weighting it can be introduced for 2027.

Results

Derek, Just an update from the IOM Registrar. It seems this IOM was originally yours. I have found an old photo of the boat sailing with your personal number on the sails (67). It must have been sometime after 1996. The registrar mentions below.... Hull 1667 is on the register as a Paracite named Para+, according to the register Derek was the original owner, first measured by A Kissick 23/05/1996. It was last owned by Iain Ferguson from 03/2008. JT

After a cracking weekend of Vane sailing we got ourselves back into the workshop on Monday to make some improvements to a few existing designs after some great feedback from customers, and also finalising some new products. Our aim is to create a one-stop-shop for all your component needs and bit by bit we are getting there. The main "Improvement" we have made this week is to our printed Clew Fitting . The older design could be over tightened to prevent it moving on the spar, but now it will snug up tight without needing the bolt that holds the clew of the sail to be too tight. Another item we revised was the Proteus mast heel. A very small change here to help the heel account for mast rake. On the "New" product side we have pulled out an Adjustable Fairlead design from our archives and, after some tweaking, made it available in the shop. Then we created a mast heel for the Vickers mast step. Thank you to that regular customer of our that pushed me to do this, you know who you are. Finally we have had added a z-hook and jib boom counterweights to our shop. We do not manufacture these ourselves, but we buy them in and resell them with a small markup. It's all about making everything available in one place. Thank you to all those Customers who visited our shop this week, whether you browsed, purchased or left us a review, we greatly appreciate your interest and custom. Next week we hope to bring you some good news on a new winch drum that we are working on. Keep watching, a number of you have asked us to do this, I only hope we can satisfy your wishes. Have a great weekend everyone. Regards Wayne

Last weekend, 52 skippers from all over America and beyond gathered in Hobe Sound, Florida. The regatta was set for four days, with sunny weather and temperatures in the 70s, although the breeze was a bit light and variable. We had four fleets and managed to complete 18 rounds of racing by the end of the event. There was a nice mix of IOM designs on display, including two wooden boats: my own 'Gillette' and a beautifully crafted 'Alternative.' One thing, I want to share is that sometimes, unexpected scenarios happen during a race that skippers can’t control. The top skippers seem to find a way to navigate those fine margins to achieve success, a quality I am missing. A big shoutout to Peter Feldman, who raced consistently throughout the regatta and took home the win! When I chatted with Peter, he mentioned he’s aiming to compete in the UK Championship this April. As for me, I’ll be heading back to the UK soon and I’m looking forward to racing with friends, both in the championship and the West Lancashire Ranking race in March. Those who follow You Tube, will know there is a lot of video footage of the regatta online provided by Dan Shier, so I invite you to browse at your leisure. Regards JT Gillette Alternative Alioth Version 4 K2 Proteus Solaris / Polaris V12 Venti VISS Skippers

Hi Richard, (I believe,in no official capacity), that as both the FRA and CRO proposals on differing kicker/vang restrictions were not passed, that the rules are as read prior to an emergency 2024 change that was not IRSA ratified. While it may have initially passed at events (by some measurers), there are equally a number of measurers around the world,(including myself), concerned that without genuine area restriction, that the kicker/vang may not be in line with a closed class rule set. Precedents and previous rule changes/banning of equipment due to size would support this. The recent IOMICA voting reflected the divided opinion on just how big a kicker/vang can be before it is considered larger than its purpose. I expect the freshly elected IOMICA Technical Officer will have this issue at the top of his to do list leading into the big events this year. Until that happens, the class has not officially ruled either way on the kicker/vang legality as an official class interpretation was never sought or given. In the meantime, as suggested above, both your supplier and MYA Technical official will no doubt keep you and others in the same position up to speed should any change be needed. Cheers Brad

It can be useful to set your failsafe to a slight turn, and sails mid way out, in case of loss of signal due to range, it may then sail back into range 😊

That Jim for you. A diamond (in the rough)

Hi Andy, 40lb single strand wire is what i have used on all of my boats. Same Malin Stainless steel leader wire brand i use for shrouds and backstay. The issue with dyneema and before that dacron on leech lines is the amount of stretch under load making minute adjustments difficult and any setting moving under different wind conditions. Near imposible to get repeat consistent adjustments. Just loop ithe wire at the top over the hook that goes into the mast and put a loop in approx 100mm above the jib boom that leaves enough room for a dyneema and bowsie adjuster at the bottom. Cheers Brad

With all of the hours I have in this little project, they’d probably need to be priced at a full-size America's Cup hull to break even.

Simon, a certificate does not need to be updated when new rigs are built. The certificate will have the same number of rigs as the original. The rigs do however need to measured, signed and dated.

For sure the skipper must have the ultimate onus, but I reckon a sailmaker could be allowed to certify. Akin to a Company Director paying a fortune to a Chartered Accountant to prepare their year end accounts, but it's only the Director who is liable to HMRC for what is generated. A sensible skipper would therefore buy from a reputable sailmaker who doesn't want to lose future business by being 'found wanting'.

Hmmm. My ancient ISIS is consistently mid field without really trying. If my mind doesn’t wander mid race I can keep pace with the best boats in the club in 45 degree A rig conditions.

One of our tasks today is to assemble the Self Tensioning Winch Drums that our customers have pre-ordered. All the MJF printed parts have arrived and been inspected, the torsion springs wound.. now all that is left is the assembly and getting them into the post. Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered. Your orders should be in the post in the early part of this week. If you have not yet ordered yours we still have some stock of our initial batch of 36, 40 and 42mm drums in both Hex mount and T25 spline mount available in our online shop. (www.catcomponents.co.uk)

David Almost all the information published online would be shared on request across different platforms. You will have some communities keeping information relevant to a certain class, but entirely appropriate for them. However, generally speaking RC topical chats will usually find there way between online groups, sometimes via duplication by different members. Skippers, boat designers and builders will generally share info between us all. JT

"Select "Yes" if you want official IOM measurer to measure and officially mark your sails (signature) so they are ready to be used on next IOM class regatta." While Sailboat RC will have the sails measured exactly as stated (by an independent measurer, not a specially licensed "in-house" measurer), they do not make it clear that the sails are only "ready to be used" in CRO.

Hi Colin the 'how long' is easy - while mark room exists. See the definition of Mark Room and R 18.2(b). And for your comment about a poor rounding and space being given, see WS Case 63, where you take such room 'at your own risk'. But in this example, 71 was sailing close to the mark and there was no opening to sail into - perhaps an issue with depth perception but poor sailing non the less. John

Dear All, ITCA is please to announce that CRO will be hosting the 12th 10R class Worlds. All details on the class homepage. The NoR will and an event homepage will be published shortly. International Ten Rater Class Association

I've used chatgpt a few times recently, and found it pretty useful, if only to collate and summarise things that actual human beans have said somewhere. But retain or start with your own knowledge first where poss. I've sometimes responded to ai with "but surely that doesn't make sense because xyz", and it responds "yes, you're right, good catch". I've even had "ah, yes, your solution is better than mine". And smilies.... very creepy.... Skynet/Terminator here we come! It can be useful, but use with care, never forget the A in AI ;)

I like the fact that it only has shrouds on one side - a proa perhaps? Your plan shows the winch drum above the deck. I haven't seen a boat like this in years and would highly recommend having the drum below the deck as it is so much easier to keep the water out like this. You will need to choose between a continuous winch line and a single ended winch line and whether to have the winch line (and the tensioner) above or below the deck. The latter looks better but is so much harder to repair at the lakeside. On my 10Rs I use 2 winches with single ended winch lines exiting right at the stern and these pull the sheets directly. This saves the friction (and expense) of turning blocks. I tension the lines with fishing pole elastic that runs in a loop to the bow and joins the two winch lines. There are many other ways of doing it and I seem to be in a minority of one in using two winches.

The first step was getting my little shop space sorted out and building a simple torsion box out of MDF as a platform for the strong back.

You need a mast deck block. Try GB or Robot Yachts https://www.sailsetc2.com/index.php/mast-blocks-1503.html The gizmo sheeting is witchcraft, and far easier to explain on the water side than on a piece of paper🤣

Marblehead sailors Please, lets not make this too complicated! We at Fleetwood, think that there are lots of old classic & vintage Marbleheads in lofts & garages, which have not been raced for some years. We just thought that this will be a good opportunity for them come out to play. Rob, as you're looking for ranking points for next years worlds, obviously you'll bring your Grunge. Gary, we'd love you to come with your Bloodaxe (as I've mentioned before a Bloodaxe was joint 1`st in 1976) You may be racing with modern boats in the early heats, but the fleets will establish themselves, as they do with HMS, an soon you will be racing with the other vintage boats for a prize just for that class. Hope this makes sense, and you'll all come and join us for a weekend of celebration of "50 years the Radio Marblehead class" Entries are now OPEN!

The inside out gate used at the M/10R Worlds with additional spreader marks turned downwind legs at that race into pure lottery. The beauty of what we do is that clever tactical racing is and should be rewarded. Do we want to further dumb down the sport by having a close race between 2 competitors choose gate and spreader options (under a weather bank) to round near 25+ metres apart and see who is lucky enough to get the unseen gust through trees? Without the other having any chance to attack or equally defend, this is not racing. All of this because we either don’t know how to overlay a windward mark in waves and wind for a clean rounding or don’t respect our opposition enough to take a transom? We can all get it wrong, but persistent offenders are not that hard to weed out at bigger events if willing. Weeding the club or local offender (bully) maybe not so easy…. Yes we want a clean race, but it should still be a race that rewards race craft, not further increase of luck. Regarding Umpire use of R2 and having to have a level of certainty, why did they not use a video option if in doubt as they were happy to ‘selectively’ use for an early incident? As for distances, of course nobody wants an eyesight test. The reports from the last IOM Worlds in Australia paint a mirrored picture of any umpiring issues being blamed largely on distance. What was conveniently overlooked was the start/finish line being within clear view of a raised platform of skippers where the largest number of unpunished rule breaches occured worthy of R2 hearings. Are our issues course distance related, venue related, skipper behaviour related or umpire standard related? It might be worth a bigger look at how all areas can be improved not just throwing people under buses….

They indicate the age category of the entrants and their eligibility for prizes in those categories. As listed in the NoR the category are as follows: U26 (under 26) Open OP (26 - 55) Master M (56 - 65) Grand Master GM (66 – 70) Great Grand Master GGM (71 – 75) Legend L (76– 80) Fantastic Legend FL (above 81).

I try to avoid using rules 30.3 & 4 if at all possible but if you're up against a time restraint i.e. no race will start after 18.00 and you have A fleet having multiple general recalls, sometimes you as RO have no other choice to get the race off. The problem sometimes is, if a boat misjudges their approach and is early they will bear away to avoid crossing the line at the risk of fouling another boat to leeward ruining their start also, but crucially avoiding dsq. So, rules 30.3 & 4 should be viewed as "last resort" as RO when you're confident that the line is correct and you've tried everything else.

Great news - World Sailing has issued the corrections. Visit https://www.sailing.org/racingrules/ to download both the 2025-2028 RRS with corrections and the detailed document listing the specific changes. These is one item in this list of corrections that affects radio sailing and Appendix E. After the RRS was published for 2025, we noticed an error in E6.3 in that the requirement to hail 'Protest' promptly had been dropped. This is now corrected by putting back the words that were already there in the 2021-2024 version. E6.3 now reads Appendix E, Rule E6.3 Change rule E6.3 to: Rule 60.2(a)(1) is changed to: (1) If the protestor is a boat, she shall inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity by hailing ‘(Her own sail number) protest (the sail number of the other boat)’. John

According to the register, 2116 is a Kite named "Flyer 3" designed by Graham Bantock, first measured 15/03/2002. It has had 3 previous owners. MYA contacts can be found here: https://www.mya-uk.org.uk/contact-us/ I hope this helps. Jim La Roche MYA IOM Registrar

A straight plug connection is the easiest if you have a pot. Just make sure you “twitch” the rudder before launching to check you’ve plugged it in!

Hi Mark and all A class sailors ALL A class sailors are welcome. NOR will be published around April and entries will then be OPEN!! to use a Strictly parlance!! Meantime book your accommodation so as not to miss out. there's not too much choice in the town of Fleetwood but plenty within a 5 mile radius. We look forward to welcoming you & your Sword. Best wishes Derek Priestley.

Hi Tim Depending upon where you might settle, there are a number of options in the Northern District and it may be worth having a look at the MYA list of clubs with a Filter to show just those in the Northern District see ND Clubs A good number can offer racing in a variety of classes, although some clubs currently only sail a single class on one day of the week. We may see you at some point in the future Peter Baldwin Northern District Councillor

Hi all, After attending the AGM and jumble sale, I came away feeling quite disappointed. The MYA make a huge effort to organise this every year, and the traders dutifully turn up with their goodies to show and sell. There were some amazing bargains on offer from brand new boats to RMG winches at half price. Yet the members that did turn up were only interested in parting with a pound or two here and there. Personally this has cost us two days out of our production facility, and £200 in accommodation and fuel. I know others went to huge effort to bring their boats and rigs to the event with nothing to show for it. Another disappointment was observing members turning up, having a Quick Look round, then sitting down to eat the free lunch, and leaving while the jumble sale was still in full swing, not bothering to stay for the AGM. I personally didn’t eat as by the time I had finished and packed up, most of the food had gone. I always like to support the MYA AGM, and another observation was that most of the members in attendance were the regulars that you see every year. This brings me to these questions: Do we need a jumble sale or trade show at the AGM if it’s attended by pretty much the same members each year ? Should the AGM and jumble sale be in an area where some of the bargains to be had might be more appreciated . Should it be in a more central location, like it used to be. Your thoughts please. Nigel Brown.

The following was from IOMICA - "Concerning your votes: The new IOMICA bureau of executives is elected with 100%. Thank you to those volunteers accepting that charge. The special and/or technical resolutions passed except: The CRO Kicking strap did not pass, although it had passed last year with 2/3 of votes. The FRA Vang one did not pass either. The MOU with IRSA passed The proposal for levy failed to pass. The feedback was favorable but needs some fine tuning to be worked on. A special committee should be volunteered on, if we care to see it through in the future in order to enable us to put our class in the world’s eyes." 2025 AGM BALLOT FINAL.pdf

You can use Afleet for the series as well. Create a new "event" for the series and insert the individual overall results for each round of the series. Change your discards as you require....

Hi Eric. You are correct. We are finalising that at the moment and should be able to share a price in the next day or two.

I have used this method of bending the shrouds to hook directly into the mast. https://www.facebook.com/iomsdownunder/videos/another-tip-to-make-building-a-rig-just-a-little-easier-thanks-to-graeme-howie-f/1492045977491350/ It is simple and works. John

You need a great committee all pulling their weight, short meetings and growing any club as the priority, none of us are getting any younger.