Manx Sailing and Cruising Club’s Watling Streetworks Dinghy Series continued at a bitterly cold Baldwin reservoir last weekend.

As Storm Darcy raged around the island, amid the shelter of the Baldwin valley racing took place on Sunday morning.

No mistaking the easterly wind, just above freezing and after the wind had wrapped itself around our hills, what reached the reservoir could best be described as ’wind soup’: from all directions, all strengths, including up and down, not forgetting those vicious calms (more of those later).

A fleet of 10 brave crews left the bank with eight starting and two crews retiring early after quick swims before the start.

The race officer set a course up and down the lake - normally this would be a windward/leeward course but in these wind conditions both laps had equal amounts of ’on the wind’ (into) and ’off the wind’ (with) and not forgetting calms!

Quickly mastering the conditions, junior Peter Cope (Aero 7) was soon one whole leg ahead of his nearest fellow junior Teddy Dunn (Aero 5) very closely followed by the radial Laser of Simon Pressly.

Although three and a half minutes ahead on the water, this was reduced to about one minute after correction, with Pressly second and Teddy 10 seconds down in third.

For race two over the same course - featuring the same cold and wind - young Peter was kept in check by veteran sailor Dave Batchelor (Aero 7. It was five seconds at the finish and one and a half minutes ahead of third on the water Teddy, the first of the chasing pack.

After correction, race two could not have been much closer with Peter and Pressly joint winners plus Teddy in second three seconds down and Batchelor a further one second back in third.

It could all have been different: James Allinson (Laser) let the red mist descend and hiked hard into one of the vicious calms, resulting in a messy capsize in what must have been inches from the line.

l Manx Sailing and Cruising Club would like to thank sponsor Doug Watling, race officer Keith Poole and patrol boat crew of May Shiu Chan and Andy Dunn.RALPH KEE