IOM Autumn Race 12: 19th Nov 2024

I woke this morning to the sound of wind and rain on the bedroom window, a bit like living in a washing machine – not that I have ever tried living in a washing machine! I had a quick look at the weather forecast to see if I should roll over and go back to sleep or venture out to start the day.
The forecast suggested the wind would moderate and the rain ease off, in fact with it being a northerly it actually looked to be a good day for model boat sailing. In error I didn’t look at the predicted temperature, it had been warmish overnight – why worry.
Opening the car door at Setley I was met with a cold blast of air, fortunately I found a hat and a pair of cut off finger gloves by rummaging through the car which certainly helped fight the cold, though at the break the unprotected tips of my fingers were a bit like ice cubes. At this point I also saw others don extra pairs of socks to help with the chilblains. I think winter has now arrived!!
As for the sailing, the wind moderated to being the predicted light northerly, giving good racing. Though in most cases, the winner of each race was the skipper who went round the first mark in the lead. The wind did carry on dropping throughout the morning, with the course length being reduced to help us get the races in. It even started drizzling at one point, but fortunately not for long.
We had 5 different race winners, Nigel (3), John M (2), John T (2), John B and Hugh. However John M won the day with Nigel second and John T third.