Nigel Winkley

Radio As in Fleetwood - now that sounds tempting. Just need a boat....😁

Thanks all. Got myself some sheet lead.

Thanks Wayne. Those were actually in the boat I got. They must have been of bad quality however, as they seem to have an iron content and were badly corroding.

I have been out of IOM game for some time. Currently rebuilding a boat that will need some 300g of corrector weights to bring it up to 4kgs. What is everyone using these days and how are you protecting against corrosion? The originals were badly bonded in place and rotting from exposure to salt water.

LiPo has higher voltage, therefore winch and servo have a higher output. LiPo is lighter for the same capacity. LiFe are not as sensetive to low temperatures I have been running LiPos in all classes of boats for as well as my radios more than 10 years without any issues.

and when is score significantly worse? One place lost, two, five or ten. All that is in the hands of the Jury! There is no objective measures for this. I lost enough places due to an incident on the last leg to not be promoted to A but relegated to C fleet - no redress given!

None of the initial paragraph is defined but only an interpretation. There is no clear cut, written definition of this. Thus it depends on how the members of the jury read the rule and act on it. But even on the details you describe above, the outcome of redress hearing in France was not consistant. The key question is, how long does an entanglement have to last. This is in the hands of the jury. With the pace of M & 10Rs a couple of seconds can make the difference between being promoted to the next fleet or not. A modern M and 10R stuck in irons by the action of another competitor is in essence disabled. Even with the best intent, any "seaman Like" action will loose you 10, 15 or more seconds. With the close racing we had in France, that was often the difference between being promoted and being relegated.

From experience at the last M / 10R Worlds there is another reason to not go down this path. That is the very bad definition in the RRS of being "Disabled ". The definition of Disabled is: "A boat is disabled while she is unable to continue in the heat." What does it mean to be "unable to continue", as a reuslt of what annd for how long? This gave room for a number of redress hearings for seamingly similar incidents with very different rulings in the jury room. Frustrating to say the least!

It's less about the power. The most basic servos have enough torque for the rudder on any IRSA class boat. However the cheap and chearful servos have one major short coming and that is accuracy. They don't centre as well as higher spec servos and also have play in the gears creating unwanted inaccuracy in stearing. As our boats are very sensitve to rudder input it's worth investing in good servo and precise linkage for accuracy and not for power. I have been using the Savöx SC-1251MG for years with not a single failure in M and 10R class boats.

no way is it forestay tension! It's solely the course you're sailing relative to the wind.

and being thereabouts is a fine line. 2 or 3° difference in your course down wind versus the boats around you, can make the difference between a perfect goose wing and a flapping jib.

Darin's / Martin's advise is (as most often) spot on! While the rule situation might seem crisp and clear, I doubt that most skippers while racing would come to the same result i.e. the boat on stbd is an obstruction and as a result I can't luff my fellow competitor into him. These are the incidents, that have a high probability of landing in a jury room when not talking to each other.

The IOM class rules provide the answer you are looking for: A.8.3 Each hull shall have the certification authority’s national letters and sequentially issued unique registration number. Under no circumstances may a registration number be used on a hull other than the hull on which it was first used.

Having gone through the somewhat cryptic WS website. I found the list current members to the RRS commitee. Germany has a seat at the table who I will reach out to. The RYA also has a seat at the table and is represented by Jon Napier.

I suppose the fundamental question is, what can the MNAs do to avert these proposals to be voted on by WS? My worry is, that the rules council at WS has no real oversight of what is happening in the RC sailing world. To the council members, with no further insight, the proposals as they stand make good sense and subsequently would receive the necessary votes.

The way CRO has gone forward with these proposals is a topic for a discussion of it's own. The proposal in itself fails to consider the fact, that these new rules would apply for any event held under the RRS. This does not only change the way World or Continental championships would be managed but would also apply to local, regional and national events. We can not expect all types and sizes of events to be run with an adequate number of umpires. 1.) most MNAs don’t have the number of umpires necessary to run the ranking races for various classes. Unlike CRO MNAs such as AUS, AUT, GBR, NED, GER, USA and many others don’t only sail a single class (IOM in the case of CRO) but run ranking lists and subsequent regattas for Marblehead, 10R, A and other classes. 2.) even if travel and lodging are kept to the bare minimum, the necessary team of umpires creates significant additional cost inflating entry fees at all levels. Even at an international level talks keep arising, how to reduce the financial impact caused be the size of the race management team prescribed by WS and the RRS. Instead of reducing cost at international level, the proposal would inflict this burden at every level of the sport. Using observers as an additional pair of eyes for the umpires is a proven system. Not only does it improve the quality of the racing it also creates a rapport between umpires and competitors which benefits both parties. There is no need to fix something that isn’t broken.

Yes, it was a great weekend of Marblehead sailing at it's best. While it was a crazy long trip for two days of sailing it was worth every minute of it. Thanks to all the helping hands that made this regatta happen and congratulations to Craig on becoming 2023 Champion for the Marblehead class. I'll be looking out for the 2024 NoR.

Super glue and fast epoxy will soften up in hot water. However I wouldn't put in to much effort as it's probably easier to start from fresh.

Come on everyone, there are more Marblehead skippers in the UK. Only 16 entries for a nationals is somewhat subpar and Keighley is such a great venue for sailing the "grand prix" class of radio sailing. Cheers Nigel

Hi David, not an easy one and need a few more details. What material is the mast and the mast stub made of? Do you know what was used to band them together? Cheers Nigel

Thanks Larry I tend to avoid booking.com and other portals where possible and book directly as you most often get the same rates but better amenities.

Thanks Darin!

The M Nationals are not to far away now and I am looking at my travel arrangements. Has anyone got any tips on places to sleep? Thanks Nigel GER 03

Can anyone share details on the new Dave Hollom RA design and were it might be available to buy? THanks Nigel GER 87

I will be there for the Nationals, that's for sure. Not missing out on Uncle Derek's pies on Saturday - they only reason besides a beer at the Mount why I keep going to Fleetwood.