My website exists to inform, support, and engage with people who share a genuine passion for radio sailing. It is a place for thoughtful discussion, technical insight, and constructive debate. From time to time, when a subject feels particularly important, I share a post on Facebook - especially on the MYA Downwind page, where many of the sport’s most active sailors read and contribute. It is therefore disappointing when these occasional shares are sometimes interpreted as at

I have been out in the doldrums a bit lately. Not qualifying for the worlds, a period of recovery after that, disappointment with my speed at the latest M ranking, a lot of gardening and decorating to catch up in the house after the worlds preparations and a new boat to understand. So it was a pleasure to see that the sailing skills are still there at the latest one design DF event. It was the first cold weather I have experienced this summer. The mornings on the moors at

A reflection on behaviour at a recent ranking event - and why it matters for the future of our sport Last weekend’s Marblehead ranking event should have been everything we love about radio sailing: close racing, good company, and the simple pleasure of spending a day by the water. And to be fair, most competitors were exactly that - welcoming, supportive, and quick to lend a hand when someone’s winch jammed or a rudder servo decided to retire early. But it’s time we talked ho

I remember at a Poole weekend where I had got a set up where the boat was so fast but stupidly I did not measure the settings. Last weekend I had no edge over anybody so I am trying on this page to unravel any differences. Small margins on the DF65 make a huge difference I had a look at a series of photos to try and understand the difference between my rig 54 and Craig's 121. In summary I think he was able to point a little higher all weekend, carried more mast rake, set a

Photo courtesy of Dave Budden Barton’s Point Coastal Park proved an inspired choice for the 2026 DF65 National Championship. With its expansive car park, on‑site café, proper facilities, secure motorhome area and most importantly a lake offering clean wind from every direction, the venue ticked every box for competitors and organisers alike. Under the calm and capable leadership of Jim La Roche and his dedicated East Kent Radio Sailing Club team, supported by PRO Wayne Stobbs

Delivering the commentary for this event proved to be rewarding and a valuable experience watching the best in the world. In a way I am glad that I was last man standing so I could support the event. I do have to offer apologies to all those whose names I mispronounced. Next time……… The Week Datchet became the Centre of the IOM World The 2026 International One Metre World Championship at Datchet Water Sailing Club will be remembered not just for its scale, its competition,

After finally accepting that no one was going to drop out, something I’d actually suspected a week ago, it was straight down to business: finishing the setup and preparing for the commentary. I should be clear: I’ve never done this before. But I was confident I knew enough about the players, designs, and tactics to do a decent job. And frankly, if I didn’t do it, no one else was going to. What I hadn’t considered was the reality of being on my feet for nine hours a day (9:30

It can be slightly frustrating to wait for somebody to pull out of the worlds and I have waited expectantly since May 1st. Even more annoying was the number of people who asked me, “Have you got a place yet”. I had a nagging gut feeling that it was not going to be my year and I was proved to be right. However putting that aside there was so much to do on the planning side which was my role on the organising team and then there was the question who would do the commentary.

The global radio‑sailing community is mourning the loss of Ian Vickers, the renowned New Zealand sailor, designer, and founder of Vickers RC Sailing, who passed away yesterday after a courageous battle with cancer. His illness had become widely known in April, when the Australian Radio Yachting Association shared that he had been admitted to hospital in a gravely ill condition, prompting an outpouring of support from sailors around the world. Ian’s contribution to radio saili

The Yachts and Yachting report

Now I have a stable platform to work with, i.e. the VISS, I can focus totally on sailing technique and that will be the flavour of the blogs going forwards. So what happened at the ranking. The results were not to expectation. I was just outside the top 10 in a fleet of 57 boats but there were so many positives. Great starts with clear air and speed and mostly had freedom to tack when I wanted. Good speed and then ability to go high or low and fast when I needed the spee

Why is it some days I can go out and sail like a god and then others the devil gets into my head and it all goes wrong. My sailing a Poole yesterday was an example of what not to do on the race course. Misjudging starboard crosses, trying to do turns in the middle of the fleet, being conservative when an aggressive attitude on the start would have been so much better. We sailed at the south end across the inner pond by the clubhouse. The beats were short and racing tight w

Boat Preparation The DF 65 comes in a box with the hull fully fitted but before you put it on the water there are things you meed to do. Waterproofing. I put a little 5 minute epoxy around all the screw eyes on the deck to make sure they are completely sealed. You can also fit a sticky back plastic sheet on the bottom of the hull around the fin box. I am not sure if this has any impact on performance but as I found on my last DF95. when the fin box started cracking at the b

I have tested, spinnaker cloth, wool, strips of silver fabric used as warm blankets after marathons and finally concluded that there is nothing better than a piece of wool. I wanted to prove Craig Richards wrong but yet again I have to agree with him. To quote someone at the last DF TT, "Hse is annoyingly good". On a recent visit to a garden centre, I found the perfect black wool, three strands but very light, ideal for tell tales. With a quick spray of Fly Float the woole

Subtitle - Finally a win for the author against Craig Richards, described by one competitor as annoyingly good. Southport, UK — Competitors arriving for the DF Traveller Trophy weekend at West Lancashire Sailing Club (WLSC) were greeted by a familiar companion: relentless February rain. For many, the journey north on Friday was a tour of Britain’s saturated landscape, with flooded fields stretching across Oxfordshire and the Midlands. By the time sailors reached Southport, t

https://www.sail-world.com/news/293281/British-thoughts-on-the-IOM-Worlds-in-Gladstone?source=email

One of my winter experiments has been exploring the various switches and dials on my transmitter. If you’ve read my earlier posts, you’ll know I’ve used the dial to fine‑tune the upwind sheet angle, a switch to ease the sheet by 5–10 degrees, and the sheet stick to shift between high mode, VMG mode, and low mode. The aim was to find the optimal setup. My usual approach has been to set the sheets fully in with both the switch and dial in their “in” positions. As I sail, I the

This time we shot the video of 54 in calm conditions but it is an interesting study in how the rig works. I am learning a lot about setup and sailing from this video. Lessons learnt, Slower tacking, ease sheets in puffs, total concentration. Bear in mind some of this video was taken with me based up to 100 yards away. Hence the hitting of the mark. Again my thanks to Iain May and his camera cat for the footage. Drifting at Gosport

When I sailed dinghies it was great to get in a motor boat and follow you own boat to see how it looked and how the rig was working. That wasn't so easy in radio sailing until now. Iain May and his team have developed a camera cat which is producing some wonderful footage of One Metres. Here is a segment of the footage with the camera cat following my boat at Gosport. One person is in charge of driving the boat and the other in charge of the stabilised camera on it. Enjoy