DF95 Autumn Series at East Kent Radio Sailing Club - Week 4
by Peter Jackson 25 Oct 00:05 PDT
15 October 2026
With 13 boats mainly on C rigs it was unlucky for some, as all scored at least one 10th and only 9 boats lasted the course. PRO Ralph Wilkinson was aided by Mick Speakman with Adrian Tomlinson setting the course. The south-westerly wind made it choppy and tacking tricky.
In race 1 Adrian and brother Dave (DT) were taken out at the start, and Peter Jackson by a port boat on the beat, with Simon Thornton taking 1st from Spencer Pope and Mike Brand. Adrian recovered to 4th, but Simon was on fire, winning again in race 2, this time from DT and Peter, then plugging in a 2nd in race 3 after a long delay for repairs after Alan and Rob Owens tangled. A very pleased Andrew Nicholls led race 3 early and held his nerve well to secure his first ever race win, from Simon with DT 3rd.
In the meantime Adrian was having a torrid time with OCS's and collisions bringing an RTD and a 9th, finally hitting the front in race 4, winning from DT and Peter. DT then replaced his big brother at the front as most switched back & forth between B and C rigs. Adrian beat Alan Hounsel for 2nd, then got himself in gear to plug in wins in race 6 and 7, both from Alan, with Peter then Colin Honour 3rd. Peter had been Mr Consistency with a B rig scoring a string of six 3rds & 4ths. Ed Coxon finally by-passed his switch to join in race 6, but Simon was now slipping down the fleet to score 10,6,8,7, joining Rob Owens who couldn't get his rig working at all then retired with grace from the event. Spencer Pope joined him on the sidelines.
In race 7, the last before lunch, Adrian and Peter were locked in a fight for the lead, with Peter winning after Adrian cracked with his only failed tack of the day 15ft from the finish, with DT 3rd. That 1st put Peter in the lead pre discards, from DT and big brother Adrian. Peters switch failed before race 9's start & the boat sailed off across the lake, also missing the next race. Adrian now assumed his normal position, winning both, then 2 more to regain a comfy lead. DT struggled as Alan & Simon swapped 2nds & 3rds. Peter, rushing a switch by-pass to avoid missing 3 races in a row broke a pin and was out.
Mike Brand was improving with 5,5,4,4, to race 10 but was then last man out with jib tie down failure, to leave only nine boats. 2nd to Adrian in races 11 and 12 were Alan and Colin, with DT 3rd in both before winning races 13 and 14, from Alan and Adrian, to secure a solid 2nd with a race to go. Simon scored 5,3. Adrian cruised the last 3 races with 3,2,1 for a 20 point win. But a few points behind DT the race for 3rd spot was still wide open between Alan and Simon. All came down to a head to head battle in the last race. Alan finally won it by 1 place with his sixth 2nd place to Simon's 3rd place, finishing seven points behind DT.
There was a 12 point gap to Colin in 5th followed by a 28 point gap to the next close fought dual, between Andrew Nichols and the ever more consistent Max Hunt, which went to Andrew with a last race 4th, but only on a tie break. Martin Hill struggled round bravely with a best of 5th in race 11, but Ed Coxon was more consistent by 4 points, but both behind earlier retirements Peter and Mike. Adrian now leads the Autumn series comfortably after 4 events from younger bro Dave with Alan now popping into 3rd, equal with Simon, ahead of Dave Adams, busy performing well at the Globals.
Week 4 Results:
1. 30 Adrian Tomlinson
2. 750 David Tomlinson
3. 380 Alan Hounsell
4. 665 Simon Thornton
5. 48 Colin Honour
6. 613 Andrew Nicholls
7. 963 Max Hunt
8. 211 Peter Jackson
9. 10 Mike Brand
10. 007 Ed Coxon
11. 156 Martin Hill
12. 32 Spencer Pope
13. 479 Rob Owens
The full day's results are now available to view on the club website, www.eastkentrsc.com/2026