David Murfett Memorial – IOM “Woodie” Day
Round 2 – Forcett Lakes
Clear skies greeted nine skippers at Forcett Lakes today to contest Round 2 of the David Murfett Memorial for IOM Woodies.
Numbers were down slightly with the cooler conditions scaring away a few competitors from the north of the state which was disappointing as it is always great to catch up and have a chat during the day.
Racing nearly didn’t get started for one nameless skipper who packed his boat, sails, batteries, lunch, water but may have forgotten to pack the all important transmitter. Pete W came to the rescue with a spare and we quickly bound it to the receiver and I was up and running. (Thanks Pete 😊)
Our PRO for today was Leigh Behrens who was ably assisted for most of the day with Chris Wood. It was challenging setting the courses with little breeze from the NW before it swung around and strengthened from the NE which is not ideal direction for this location.
Overall, ten races were completed which included a handicap of 15sec, 10sec and 5 seconds for the first three places cumulative throughout the races, with only 1 drop allowed. Racing was very competitive and at times you could hear a pin drop with concentration levels at an all time high.
Wayne “Buzzy” Behrens (PRO’s brother…. hmmm) had a slow start to the day but found rhythm with his thumbs and had a comfortable win on 32pts. Second place today was myself on 37pts very closely followed by Lisa in third place 1 pt adrift. Scores overall were really close with only 9pts separating 2nd place to 8th place. Well sailed by all skippers
Thank you to both Wayne and Pete for organising the day with Pete supplying the rescue dinghy that thankfully wasn’t required.
The next DMM IOM Woodie day (Rnd 3) will be held again at Forcett Lakes in November 2025, an exact date to be advised.
Ian (aka Bodge)
