The 2010 MYA IOM National Championships will be held over the weekend of May 29th - 31st at West Kirby Sailing Club.

Situated on the Wirral Peninsula, it will also be the venue for the 2011 World Championships.

Supported by the MYA, ( Model Yachting Association) MYA Northern District and West Kirby Sailing Club, it will be attended by some of the top skippers from the UK and Europe.

It is open to any skipper who is a member of the MYA or affiliates to it via other organisations.



This site will be the place for all your information relating to this event, before, during and after the event.

SAT NAV Details- CH48 3HZ




Saturday 19 June 2010

A Competitors View No 3

Greg, Josh and myself embarked on the three day IOM National event on 29th‐31 May held
at West Kirby, a man‐made retained lake adjoining an estuary, with raised embankments,
exposed to the elements from the west.
We were warned that you could expect to use all three rigs, preparation did of course
include the storm rig which we seldom if ever is used on Midland lakes.
After an endless drive up the M6 we phoned ahead and managed to persuade the
measurers that we would just make the end of day deadline for last to be scrutinised, which
made day 1 preparation less hectic.
The course on the three days consisted of two windward buoys, a leeward gate and start
and finish line between. These would be adjusted to suite wind direction variations.
Day 1 Fleets A ‐ E‐ Saturday, there was little in the way of wind so top suite was a certainty.
The seeding races went well and we all sailed consistently throughout the day, Greg
managed to get into the A fleet once after finishing 2nd in the seeding race, Josh fluctuated
between B, C, and D, and I sat in C and B feet's.
Day 2 ‐Fleets A ‐ E Sunday.
As we approached the water to the north of the reservoir promenade it appeared flat and
tame, travelling down the side road waves fetched into a mini swell, maybe they were right,
storm rigs were going to be used in anger.
As the day progressed the swell turned into a choppy waves and a stiff breeze never abated
all day even though local dinghy sailors promised that it would.
Sailing in storm suite is a knack and skill all of its own, going windward through the tack a
double flick of the rudder is required simply to aid the bough to go through head to wind,
going down wind to the gate was hairy, with boats half surfing down the backs of the swell,
desperately trying to find open water so not impede other sailors and half pray that when
you reach the leeward gate that there is space enough to sling shot your boat around the
buoy, nose propelled skyward and head windward again.
Greg, Josh and myself learnt that day how to survive the onslaught of bad weather, look
after the boat and rigs, and staying clear of trouble at the buoys so to carry us over safely
into day three. For the unfortunate few rig failure forced retirement.
Day 3 ‐ Monday, Fleets A‐D was calm and serine with light airs up to 11.00 am.
Top suite was used to good effect with fleet promotion for Greg into B, Josh stayed in Fleet
C with myself for most of the day.
Rig 2 was used for a couple of raced with Greg being the first to persuade the fleets to
change up to top suite again from second for the remainder of the day sailing which played
dividends.
Sailing in such an event with such a high calibre of entry was formidable, to stay in fleet A
was a great achievement in itself with European and World Champions. Fleet B was also
very stiff competition with well respected sailors.
After three days sailing in all conditions it was a true test of sailing ability and durability of
boat preparation.
The end result was Greg finished in top position 32nd, myself 40th
Josh came in 44th position and won the IOM MYA Junior Trophy for the second year
running, previously held by Greg in 2008.
These events are a great way of learning the rules and sailing at the top end of your own
ability against like minded sailors that can part so much information to help you sail more
affectively.
Overall it was a great occasion which was officiated by Peter Stollery who kept the race
impetus flowing.
My only advice to many of the Midland sailors is get those third rigs out of the boxes and
practice in any storm that comes your way.
Congratulations to Midland sailors Tony Edwards, and Darin "surfing up the rankings"
Ballington showed us how to sail with positions of 12th and 34th respectively.

Team King:



Terry- Widget 181
Greg- Isis 55
Josh- Stealth 122

Tuesday 15 June 2010

A Competitors View No 2

Report from Holland
All of us (the Dutch guys) found the whole event last year so nice and good organized that we
decided (as a small group of enthusiastic IOM sailers) to do the Uk nationals this year again.
Rob, Joop, Walter and Krijn went by plane and we (Huub and Hanneke) took all the IOM
boats and other stuff in our VW Transporter to the UK. Graham Elliot was so kind to
organize a good Hotel in West Kirby for us.

Thanks for all your effort Graham.

The event had the same armosphere as the one in Eastborne. The whole organization was
very good and also the volunteers did their Job very well.
For me (Huub nr 99) was the event not so successful. Sliding seams, broken goosenecks,
broken topping lifts, broken side stays, unhooked backstays and more funny misery did me
end on place 37. Joop performed pretty well and ended as nr 8.

The first day started with a lot of rain and we kept that for the most of the time. One heat with
the nr 1 rig and than all the races with the nr 2. What a terrible job to get promoted to a higher
group. And it's so easy to fall down. Some guys stayed for ever in the A fleet (I still have a lot to
learn) Others (like me) jumped constantly up and down. It's more sailing when you behave
like that :0).
That's why I created so much technical problems.

What makes you a good IOM sailer. Small details can give you that advantage you need. I
analyzed a lot of trims of the top sailers. There is nu rule to find.
Some like to sail with a lot of twist, others like to sail with everything very tight. And all
performed well.

The second day 20 -24 knots. I love these conditions. It gives a lot of spectacle on the water.
Starts are stressful and you must react very quickly. For me better conditions than begging for
wind.
That was the case on the last day.
No wind-- ore winds from different directions.
To Finish last while you where first by rounding the first mark was no exception I found
out....
The wind became more stable during the day. And we could sail a couple of good heats. Not
to forget the good organized meals. We enjoyed it all. It's nice to speak to people with the same addiction. We certainly come back next year for the
Nationals.

I don't know all the names of the guys yet, but I felt sympathy for the big guy yelling for the
boat numbers from the next fleet to sail. He was standing like a rock with a voice like a bear.
Nice guy. Don't forget the lady with the terrible job to find observers..... Complements for
here perseverance.

But to be honest no one likes to be an observer. But she did a good job. Thanks for that.

And then Peter the man in charge. Wow what a perfect job he did. The Right decisions on the
right moments, never something to guess left. Absolutely perfect!

All the guys thanks for giving me advice and for helping me to trim. Hope to do better next
time.

Hanneke (the photographer, think you all have seen her around) and I enjoyed it, despite my
personal result. We had a wonderful time.

Hope to be there by the worlds. We only have two places, so I do my best.

Hope you enjoy the pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/hankieberen/IOMNationals2010WestKirby#

Huub Gillissen
NED 99

Friday 11 June 2010

Photos from Hanneke Gillissen & John Kline, video by Greg King

Hanneke has started to put her photos of the weekend on Picassa, so for a complete set of her pictures visit here


John Kline also took some photos which can be found here

Greg King has posted some video clips on you tube here

Wednesday 9 June 2010

A competitors view No1

VALUE FOR MONEY AT WEST KIRBY SAILING CLUB

72 boats from 7 countries, 3 days of racing on good long challenging courses, marvelous race management, wonderful hospitality, very different wind conditions, not too much rain, good food, good company, and a 3rd place for me!!! What more can I say?
As competitors we paid £22.50 entry fee and a further £18.50 "meal deal" thats £41.
For our £41 we got:-
At least 16 races each (more if you were promoted)
Buffet lunch on Sat (served by the nice ladies of the WKSC)
BBQ lunch on Sunday.
2 course meal on Sunday night and get together at the sailing club.
BBQ lunch on Monday.
Non stop tea & coffee all weekend.

If you missed it, and you could have been there, you missed a great event.

But all of this begs the following question.

If we can run 72 boats (only 4 less than the number in a Worlds or European champs) in 5 or 4 fleets and feed everyone lunch each day and unlimited tea & coffee and dinner one evening, WHY are we being asked to pay 8 times as much to enter the Europeans??

Derek
Lintel 167

Thursday 3 June 2010

MORE PHOTO'S AVAILABLE

Apologies for the link being incorrect.

Click here for the correct link to more photos.

We have plenty of images that we are converting ready for the web, but if anyone has photos or video that you would like to share with us please email: sailing@ashbyroadeast.demon.co.uk with the details.

The Birkenhead Club has a link to images by one of their members.

Tuesday 1 June 2010

FINAL POSITIONS MYA IOM NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010


FINAL POSITIONS





For anyone that was not able to come along to West Kirby last weekend here is a link to the flickr site for some very dramatic photos from the Sunday. There are many more to follow that may take up to a week to upload. Keep an eye on this site.


CLICK HERE


Gsa

Final Day

The final day was a tense affair, the wind direction and strength (lack of) causing problems for competitors and organisers alike.

The final results will be posted soon, but we can report that going into the final race anyone of 4 skippers were still in with a chance of victory, Zvonko Jelacic, John Tushingham, Derek Priestley and Martin Roberts, with Zvonko Jelacic from Croatia coming out on top overall from John Tushingham in 2nd, Derek Priestley in 3rd and Brad Gibson in 4th.

A fuller report will be coming along with all the pictures once competitors and organisers recover from a busy weekend.

A quick resume of the weekend though would be; excellent venue, great organisation, fantastic racing.

Well done to everyone for making the event a success.

Sunday 30 May 2010

Day 2







There was a total change to the wet conditions of yesterday, we were greeted with rolling white horses and a cutting wind, However the sun did shine.
With winds of 25knots+ conditions were testing, with survival being on many skippers minds. Unfortunately some didn't survive and there were several boats who pulled out of the days battles due to the strength of the wind and the damaged caused by the wind and power of the waves.
Peter Stollery kept the racing going allowing a total of 12 races to be completed so far in the event. With court jester Jeff Hill attempting to bully skippers into observing with his jovial manner!!!?
Competition at the top of the fleet is stronger than ever, with few points splitting the top ten, and the winner could come from any one of 5 skippers.
Those currently sitting at the top are sailing boats suited to the tough conditions today, so the forecast of light winds for Monday could be a worry to them.
Although they were all putting on a brave face in the bar later!

Plenty of photos have been taken over the weekend and we will put these on the web as soon as possible.



Saturday 29 May 2010

End of Day 1 results


Gsa

Day 1

Wet & windy...


All the competitors arrived to find a strong South/ South Easterly wind accompanying the steady rain falling on the 1st morning. We were greeted by the President of West Kirby SC who gave us all a warm welcome, Pete Stollery (PRO) ran through the do's and don'ts and we started the 1st of 5 seeding races promptly at 10.00am. The weather and building wind gave some un expected results in the seeding, with some of the top names not making the A fleet.


The incoming tide brought in even more wind, with all but the bravest changing down to their No 2 rig, although even they were forced to change down very quickly after seeing some spectacular wipeouts.


The race team did an excellent job of keeping the event moving quickly, with 5 races of 5 heats completed in the day. Skippers should also take credit, with protests kept to a minimum, with only two heard during the day, neither of which held the racing up.


Although the wind dropped slightly it was only in the last hour of the day that all skippers went back onto their A rigs.


At the end of the day most skippers retired to the club bar to chat and discuss the days events.


The racing looks like being even hotter tomorrow with the top guys slotting in the A heat, and those pushed down the fleet looking to climb back up, something, given the quality of the racers that is going to be very hard.


Forecast is for a nice day with 21 mph winds.... Bring it on.


The 1st days provisional results will be posted soon, when everyone retires from the bar!


(Post rewritten Sun AM, after a re read! I only had a couple of pints honest!)

Friday 28 May 2010

Practice Day & Registration

Skippers started arriving from around noon on Friday, with the measurement team starting their arduous process from 1.00pm. As usual, their were a few boats that needed a bit of "tinkering" to satisfy the measurement team, but nothing too drastic.

Most skippers took the opportunity to grab the chance for practice and tune up. The weather was fantastic with a good top of No 1 breeze and bright sunshine. Almost all skippers took the chance to shake down their smaller rigs as well given the forecast for Saturday.

There are a variety of designs on display this weekend and a visit if at all possible is recommended.

Hanneke Gillissen has agreed to provide a few of her images each day to give you a flavour of what's going on.

Here are a couple.





































More can be seen here.

Friday 28th Update

A couple of late withdrawals, (sorry to hear you couldnt make it guys) but this still leaves well over 70 entries.
Forecast is a bit mixed but other than early Saturday should be ok.

Keep checking in for regular score updates,
Graham Allen will be posting HMS scores over the weekend, and hopefully images of the days.

Good luck to everyone.


CLICK FOR SOME PHOTO'S

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Weather Forecast

For an up to date local  weather forecast visit here.

Remember it is a Bank Holiday in the UK, so bring clothes for every season!

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Provisional Seeding Race Heats

The event gets ever closer and things are starting to slot into place.

Below are the provisonal seeding heats.

Click on them to view a larger version or see below for a downloadable version.
















 NOTE: These are only provisional and may change at any time before the 1st race.

Click Here for downloadable version


Thursday 20 May 2010

Addendum Q

Attached below is the extract from Notice of Race regarding the use of Addendum Q along with an advice note for skippers.

Please read carefully.


Addendum Q(Page 1)

Addendum Q (Page 2)

Race Committee Notes 1

Umpire Notes

Competitors Notes

Observers Notes

Thursday 13 May 2010

Welcome letter

All competitors who are confirmed entries will receive a welcome letter from the Race Officer, outlining the format of the weekend and giving information on the social events planned.

This is being sent by email.

Should you not receive yours by the weekend (15th May) please contact Graham Allen

Wednesday 28 April 2010

Entry List Update

The current confirmed entry list is shown on the Entry list page.

If your name is not listed the race team have not recieved your entry or payment and do not consider you entered at this stage.

Please contact the race team if you have any questions or doubts over your entry.

Thursday 22 April 2010

Current Entry List

The closing date for entries is getting closer and the numbers entering have been high. To avoid confusion the entry list has been temporarily removed for updating.

It will be re posted once payment has been checked and confirmed.

If your name does not appear then your entry may be in doubt.

Tuesday 30 March 2010

Entry Clarification























Click on image for larger version


Due to the high demand for places the MYA has issued a statement via the MYA forum regarding the entry conditions.


The statement can also be viewed here.

Friday 26 March 2010

2010 IOM MYA National Championships Race Team

The Race team has been agreed, and the following people have volunteered their services:

Principle Race Officer: Peter Stollery
Assistant Race Officer: Graham Allen
Scorer: Sarah Stollery
Assistant Scorer & Heat Board: Damian Ackroyd
Start Line: Peter Stollery (or Graham Allen)
Finish Line Judge: Bernie McNulty
Finish Line – Results Recorder: Joyce Roberts
Rescue Boat & Course Setting: Trevor Jenkins
Measurer 1: Keith Partington
Measurer 2: Damian Ackroyd
Measurer 3: Dave Stewart

There will be others volunteers who will be added when confirmed.
Anyone wishing to offer their services please contact Peter Stollery or Graham Allen.

Sunday 21 March 2010

Recent IOM event at West Kirby

Vicky McNulty has sent this link to some excellent photographs taken by Dave Williams of Birkenhead MYC.
These show the recent Northern District Winter series event at West Kirby.

Click here to see the pictures.

The results can be found on the Birkenhead MYC website here.

Monday 8 March 2010

Entry List Details

The entry list has been updated and can be viewed by clicking on the "current entry list" page on the right hand side of the home page.

This will then open a new page with the entry list on. Dont be fooled by the appearence as the header and picture on the page are as the home page, scroll down to see the names.

To return to the home page just click on "Home" again

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Where to stay and what to do

The West Kirby SC website has an excellent section for accommodation click here to link

Premier Inns

Travelodge

Wirral Tourism

What to do in North Wales