Almost back to winning ways

As the saying goes, "Every day I am getting better and better".

The pop up open meeting at Lincoln was a great success with a report of the affair on their club web site. I had a few issues getting round the course to start with the VISS and then gradually got my act together. Only 4 hours sleep in the wind and rain in the van did not help. The overnight rain hit the van like a machine gun and the wind was rocking the van hard.

Sailing at Lincoln, there is no doubt that local knowledge was a benefit, but aside from that I felt there was more speed to come out of the VISS. It was only the second time out in competition. Second to Darin Ballington in his Britpop was a good result and he was a deserved winner sailing fast and in the right direction most of the time. A repeat of his Marblehead performance a week or so earlier.

The following day I headed to Chipstead for the latest round of the DF district champs where I put in a dominant performance. This year I have got to grips with the DF but have work to do to repeat the performance with the IOM. The competition is hotter in the top 10 of the latter class but I feel that having a platform (VISS) which has a good baseline will build my confidence further.

This weekend is the DF95 Nationals so it will be interesting to see if I can break the dominance of Craig Richards and John Tusingham in this class. Next weekend is the Huntingdon DF95 open followed by the Clive Hand memorial event at Lincoln and then the final ranking event at Woodspring. After that I will hang up the transmitter for a break and get on helping to organise Datchet for the worlds next year. Lets hope for a wet winter so we get some water back in the reservoir.

Good to see my results are picking up and if the trend continues, I may be in with a chance of qualification for the worlds but it will require a solid performance at Woodspring. Onwards and upwards.