Following hot on the heels of the upcoming Ranking Races. (Not Entered Yet- click HERE to do so.)
We have been sent the following in from Roger about events happening in the Summer as part of the GAMES series.
Dear Marblehead enthusiasts,
Guildford Model Yacht Club extends a warm invitation to you for our Marblehead Summer Series, which is described in the first attachment.
This is a new part of the GAMES series, where we are running 3 events, Mermaid GAMES 4, the new Halfpenny Trophy GAMES 5 and Arcadia Cup GAMES 6, which we hope will give you even more enthusiasm to race Marbleheads on a superb water in the forthcoming summer months.
You can see the trophies on offer in the PDF description of the the Summer Series, which in addition to those just mentioned includes a revived trophy from the past, the ‘Nylet’ RM challenge first donated in 1974 and which like the Mermaid has the names of some of the best radio sailors engraved on them. Can you and your name on them?
We hope that you like this idea and will come and help to create some fun at Abbey Meads.
Cheers, Roger
Thanks Roger,
More info below and entry open for the Mermaid via the MYA Online System HERE
2023-04-02 Mermaid Trophy NoR.pdf
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Preview attachment 2023 GMYC S Summer Series inc Mermaid NoR.pdf
For those who want to find out about what’s happened with our friends in Australia, Andrew Reid and Scott Condie admin an active Facebook group with news of events and images of M’s sailing in hot weather, well it is when we are still in cold and wet March in the UK.
Find out more by signing up to their FB group HERE
There was a time when the sailing season finished in October and we all went away to rebuild, repair or replace our boats not returning until March or April. No longer!
Just tipping into March we have already had two rounds of the GAMES series, Chipstead RSC held the 1st round on a cold and wet day in January, and with all Marblehead events, those attending were treated to good competitive racing throughout the fleet.
A full report on the day can be found by clicking on the link below, but the top 3 were:
The end of February saw Round 2 take place at 3 Rivers RYC. Held in much better weather (the sun shone) and with a record entry for this event the racing was the highest quality with the top 3 this time being:
We also know of regular club racing going on at Ryde MYC with reports regularly being posted on Facebook (HERE) alongside Datchet Water RSC and Guildford MYC.
With the weather getting warmer ( so they promise us) and daylight hours getting longer there will be more action with the M’s throughout the UK.
What’s Coming Up?
The next big event on the calendar is in a few weeks at Lincoln RSC. This is the 1st ranking weekend of 2023 and the final chance for those going to the Worlds to practice in a bigger fleet. If you haven’t entered yet the entry is open on the MYA online calendar HERE. Maybe also look at other M events for 2023 and put these in your diary if you haven’t already?
Finally, please send us any news, information, or images of your M’s, wherever you’re sailing and we will post them on the website.
That’s it for the moment but don’t forget to have fun and get your boats wet in the near future.
Word on the street is that there may be a few spots available for the M Worlds in April. GBR has taken up 12 places but there are likely to be more available if you fancy it?
For more information please contact Phil Holliday.
A note from the MYA Chair regarding the upcoming Worlds in Italy.
Dear Skippers,
I am writing to you because you are in the top 15 skippers on the Marblehead Ranking list and, or, in the top 10 skippers on the 10 Rater Ranking list. If you know of any other skippers who would like to take up a place, if available, then please forward this email to them.
The combined World Championships for the Marblehead and Ten Rater classes takes place from the 22nd April 2023 to 3rd May 2023 at Castiglione del Lago, Italy. The Marbleheads will race from the 22nd to the 29th April and the 10’s from 1st to 3rd May. The entry process has been delayed slightly to make sure as many countries as possible have been able to join the IMCA and ITCA and send skippers to the Championships and, as a result, the entry forms and the allocation of places are not yet available. It would be of great assistance to the MYA in organising the GBR entry if you could let me know as soon as possible if you wish to apply for a place at the Championships and let me know which, or both, classes you would like to sail.
The GBR entry will be chosen from the Marblehead and Ten Rater ranking lists as shown on the MYA website at the end of 2022 in the order of the ranking positions shown therein.
Brad Gibson, as the reigning World Champion in both classes, will have an automatic entry which will not affect the GB allocation.
Many thanks
Phil Holliday
If you are interested in going, whether you think you may have qualified or not, please contact Phil and get your name on the provisional list.
A smaller fleet than usual presented themselves at the briefing on Saturday morning, (more on the size later) John Tushingham our PRO for the weekend called everyone together for a minutes silence for Her Majesty the Queen, and then went through the normal briefing notes and identified the course and potential hazards before sailing started promptly at 10.00am.
A northerly breeze and a bit of liquid Yorkshire sunshine kept most in their jackets for the early races, although shorts were still in view, mainly from those outside of Yorkshire. The race team set a simple windward leeward course with a good long beat and finish line at the top of the course. The wind direction created a walk from the launching pontoon (with new easy access steps) and the race course, but the single fleet and decision to hold a series of races back to back meant that there was plenty of racing and little lost time. The recent investments in the class was evident in the limited number of gear failures with only Roy Stevens really suffering as his winch suddenly decided to eat batteries, 3 races being his limit before a new set was required. Further investigation is needed on this, the blame was put on the winch but it could have been down to the swing rig and Gizmo, Roy will no doubt get to the bottom of it.
It was good to see that the fleet has a mix of designs and that these gave their skippers good racing, Damian was sailing his newly printed Peroni development hull, and a like an F1 test car it was without sponsors logo and coloured in primer grey for the shakedown but allowed John Taylor and Damian to evaluate progress before their next move.
Racing was competitive with boats evenly matched and finishing positions were mainly dependent on shifts, patience and a bit of luck but at the end of the 1st day Darin was pronounced the winner with Rob Vice and Tony Guerrier 2nd and 3rd. the gap from 2nd to 5th was only 10 points and the finishing order only decided in the last few races.
Day 1 result:
Darin Ballington- 21pts
Rob Vice-38pts
Tony Guerrier- 43pts
Duncan Ellis- 46pts
Austin Guerrier- 48pts
Martin Roberts-56pts
Rob Wilson-77pts
Roy Stevens-80pts
Damian Ackroyd-110pts
Day 2:
After retiring to the pub for a evening of food and water (!) the fleet minus Martin reassembled for Ranking 4, Damian gave the sticks to John Taylor and racing, delayed by a lack of wind, commenced slightly after the scheduled time. Direction was now more South East and launching closer to the course. Duncan Ellis was the man to catch in the early light breeze with 4 bullets in the 1st five races. As with Saturday there were numerous winners and no one controlled the day. And like Saturday there were only a few short stoppages for boat tweaks and repairs. The club members did a sterling job in keeping racing flowing, moving marks as required and allowing the visitors access to their superb lake.
16 races were completed on both days giving everyone 3 discards each day.
All in all a great weekend and a fantastic advert for the class.
Day 2 Result:
Darin Ballington-23pts
Duncan Ellis-29pts
Rob Vice-30pts
Austin Guerrier-49pts
Tony Guerrier-54pts
Roy Stevens-60pts
Rob Wilson-73pts
John Taylor-95pts
Unfortunately the prize giving on Saturday was not recorded but below are the images for Sunday’s.
Darin Ballington 1stDuncan Ellis 2ndRob Vice 3rd
Thanks to John Tushingham, the race team and all the members of Keighley & District MES for allowing us to sail and making us very welcome. See you all next year….
Size of the fleet – Why?
Discussions were held over the reasons for the smaller fleet and the general consensus was that timing, planning of calendar and cost of travelling were the overriding reasons. As a class there is only so much we can do about some of these things but holding large MYA events on consecutive weekends increases costs and pressure on family time, and no doubt reduced the entries in this instance, something that we should avoid. This will be presented to the MYA as a point for discussion and will be considered by the class when looking at the calendar for 2023, however, ultimately there are only so many weekends in the season and clashes may be unavoidable so we need to make the class as welcoming and friendly as possible alongside the fantastic racing that our class brings.
Marblehead Class Radio Sailing in the UK 