A busy weekend with coaching sessions for 16 Teras alongside club racing on a sunny Saturday afternoon with a F1-2 SW breeze which attracted 15 boats.
The starts were clean, though only just! There was mixed fortunes in the swinging, variable, wind. AJ/Sue were caught port/starboard requiring them to do some turns. Neil C missed his toestraps and had an unexpected swim, while Val/Ken headed for the wrong mark!
Latest results (when available)
The first half was Saturday, once the heavy rain passed through, the westerly wind seemed to ease (from the clubhouse at least), but when some clouds parted the white tops of the waves were visible downwind – never a good sign! The white tops were sufficiently off putting for one of the two boats that were potentially prepared to race, so racing was postponed for the day.
The second half being Sunday started off with mirror like conditions on the webcam, though there were nominal signs of katabatic airs an hour before the scheduled start they soon faded, so those potentially interested in racing had an early lunch. Following lunch conditions hadn�t improved so racing was cancelled for the second day in a row.
It is with great sadness that, after a long illness, Judith Currie passed away at home last night.
Judith has been a long time member of the club, quietly supporting, and occasionally crewing for, husband Neil.
Our thoughts are with Neil and extended family at this difficult time.
Judith’s Funeral Service will be held at Crosthwaite Church, Keswick (CA12 5QG) at 11.00am on Tuesday 22nd of October.
Family flowers only.
A private cremation will take place at a later date.
Seventeen boats on a sunny Saturday enjoyed a southerly breeze that initially freshened.
The first start was busy, and there were some near misses (or was it collisions?!). Phil/Oscar in their RS200 had mixed fortunes against Dave/Lynn in their GP, especially when the wind veered slightly to the SSW, as Sale Fell affected the wind streams causing downdraughts, and some holes for sailors to contend with! At times there were great three sail reaches.
There was a major shift to the SW during the start sequence for the second race, but the S breeze returned, then Sale Fell intervened again making it challenging to complete the first lap, but the S breeze returned in time for most of the fleet to race one more lap.
Neil C in his Laser Radial won the first race, with Dave/Lynn 2nd, and Dave/Lynn won the next race with Phil/Oscar in a RS200 2nd. Neil C leads the series overall with AJ/Sue 2nd.
Though lighter winds than last week, Sunday’s conditions in the bay were very similar with a breeze from the SSW on the east side, and from the NNE on the west side! To get some steadier conditions a windward/leeward course was set from 6 to 7. It took a while for the fleet to reach the start, and the first race was held in reasonably steady conditions, though there was the odd shift to the SW that a couple of boats on the right hand side of the beat took advantage of.
The wind strength was much more variable for the next race, especially during the first lap, but it returned for subsequent laps.
Both races were won by Dave/Lynn, with Neil C 2nd, resulting in the same positions for the series overall.
Despite a healthy forecast, the wind didn�t look at all promising as sailors prepared their boats, as the occasional shower seemed to kill whatever zephyrs there were.
With some breeze filling in from the southern end of the lake, the OD set out to determine a suitable course. As the forecast SW direction seemed to be settling in, the port pin was laid only to find a NW wind was more appropriate for the starboard end! The line was reset for a middle of road W wind, and it worked!
With his crew incapacitated again, Neil Campbell raced a Laser Radial, got a flying start, led the fleet for the first lap and promptly capsized. James/Jenny in their GP then took the lead only to be passed by Mike/Jack in a Graduate when the wind eased, however, James regained the lead on the final lap.
The rain stayed clear for the racing, and the courses offered some good planing reaches. The occasional shifts caught out Nigel/Glynis while beating, causing a capsize, and subsequent retirement.
William in a Tera was on a high after being finished first ahead of mum Emily, but opted to quit while ahead, retiring on the first beat of the next race. AJ/Sue�s spinnaker was reluctant to come down losing them a bit of ground, though not a place. Gear failure resulted in Ian retiring his Solo, leaving just four boats to fight it out. Apparently Sue’s guidance to AJ on one beat, was not heeded, resulting in a collision with Neil, and the need to do a 720!
Sunday started a little strange with various sailors turnin up on autopilot for a 1130 race, though others had read the sailing programme which stated a 1230 start. While waiting many could not fail to notice the forecast SE wind creating white horses on the eastern side of the lake, and totally different N-NW airs on te western shore!
The OD found the steadiest wind on the eastern shore, though most of the white horses had dissipated, so set a beat from 4 to 6. Richard in a Solo was caught out by the differing winds on the way to the start, capsized and returned to shore before starting. The wind/swell increased as the fleet progressed up the first beat, and Sue soon persuaded AJ to head home, Val/Ken soon followed suit, as did Neil in his Laser, leaving three boats battling the elements. Dave/Lynn completed the first lap in just over 10 mins, but it was quite a while before Paul completed the lap, especially after capsizing just before the leeward mark. As Richard in the remaining Laser had retired at the first gybe mark, and it was clear Paul wouldn’t be attempting a second lap, the race was shortened, much to his, and Dave/Lynn’s, relief!
No interest in having a second race… There was a challenge for the committee boat raising the anchor which was well lodged on some lake bed object. Fortunately the rescue crew came to the rescue!
Photo gallery (Saturday) � Photo gallery (Sunday)
Bassenthwaite hosted GNAC, sponsored by Trident UK, for a fleet of 68 boats. A dry afternoon with a cooler F3-5 ENE breeze meant there was some champagne sailing conditions that required sailors to remain alert for other boats while beating, tacking, and reaching, especially if planing! Unfortunately, not all boats managed to keep clear all of the time, so there were a few collisions, and many more crash tacks…
The first four races of the eight race series were held on Saturday. A problem with the starting horn for the first race helped keep the fleet cautious for the start with no-one OCS. They were well behaved for subsequent starts, with only a few OCS boats, so the black flag remained tucked away (for the time being!).
Several boats missed going through the start/finish line at the end of each lap hindering their chances considerably. For everyone else, there was great, close racing with Pix/Matt Sharman securing overnight lead ahead of Alistair/Tom Coates from Leigh & Lowton, and Richard/Heather Marsh from Hollingworth, all separated by just three points.
Sunday started clear sunny skies but with a wind that refused to settle, so it was to be a waiting game. As the wind bedded in from the forecast NE the OD set off with the aim of starting at 1230 (a delay of two hours). The flukiness returned, but there was a good WSW breeze south of the Scarness narrows so the course was set there, but it took the fleet an extra half hour to get there, then the wind faded as it swung back to the forecast NE!
The course was repositioned into the main bay and racing started at 1320. Consequently only two races were held to conclude the series. There were a few more boats OCS, but there was no need for the black flag during the weekend. The winds were as challenging as Saturday, possibly stronger at times, giving way to more exciting planing conditions.
Some great racing and results by Ollie Groves/Esther Parkhurst, and Alistair/Helen Norris, both in RS200s leapfrogged them into 1st and 2nd overall, with Paul/Jude Allen in their 59er 3rd.
Final results:
Following� the championship series held last weekend, the overall club championship results have been compiled and can be viewed here
Many congratulations to this year�s champions, new and old, as listed below! Though you may need to click the heading to view them!…
| Fleet | Helm/Crew |
|---|---|
| Flying 15s | Robin Dawson/Mike Cowan |
| GPs | Val/Ken Bell |
| Handicap | Dave/Lynn Lawson |
| Mirror | Phil/Oliver Smith |
| Tera | Oscar Davenport |
An excellent turnout of 50 boats for the Flying 15 northern championship, after high winds over the last couple of days, were greeted with plenty of sunshine and a mirror like lake, with a forecast of F1 from the east.
At 11am the AP was raised as there was little chance of the racing starting at the scheduled start time of 12 Noon. By 11.30, there was signs of the wind filling in from the southern end of the lake, and the OD, sailing secretary John Reekie, went out to investigate. 10 mins later he returned and advised the AP would be removed at 12 Noon with a view to starting at 12.45pm.
In order to find steadier winds, the OD had to head as far south as Bowness bay, some 2 miles away from the club launch area! Although the wind was F4-5, it was from the SSW, nothing like the forecast, and the OD was concerned that it would not last too long, especially as there was a risk of the sea breeze having a dramatic effect on sailing conditions. Having the corse so far down the lake caused issues for the race management team because the lake is so much deeper, and extended warps for start marks, as well as course buoys. The depth and swell required two anchors to enable the committee boat to stay on station!
Despite the advice for sailors to get launched, it was after 1pm before everyone was in the starting area, and racing could get underway.
The fleet was given the chance of a soft, unrestricted, P flag start, only for it to be thrown away by the need for a general recall. The next start used the U flag for which four boats were disqualified due to being OCS, including several Bass boats, and race leader Andy Tunicliffe/Ian Hopwood, so no favouritism there!
The windward/leeward course did not offer any planing conditions, but the wind held, and resulted in various crash tacks/collisions.
The U flag did not curb sailors’ enthusiasm on the start line so, after another general� recall, the black flag was used for subsequent races.
Unexpectedly, the F4 last for the first two races, then eased slightly for the next race, after which various sailors convinced themselves that was the end, but the OD wanted to make best use of the available wind as Sunday’s forecast was not at all promising. A fourth race was started in F2 but, after rounding the windward mark, there was clear risk of it fading if the race was prolonged, so it was shortened at the end of the first lap.
On Sunday there was a delay until the wind filled in, after which the OD invited the fleet on to the water, aiming for a 11.10am start. A course was set up, then moved, and moved again as the wind veered towards the east. It later backed towards the forecast northerly direction, but apart from the gusts it rarely reached 5mph so by 12.30pm the fleet headed ashore as the wind faded.
At 1pm, the wind had filled in from the NE, but with little prospect of the minimum desired wind bedding in, racing was postponed for the day.
The prize giving followed with thanks to all by Commodores Ian and Andrea Preston
Final results
Considering the weather over recent weeks, ironically, the final Saturday of meteorological summer started with an abundance of bright sunshine and a lack of wind, it filled in from the south with some white horses in the narrows at Scarness.
As racing started, the wind backed and eased, took away planing conditions, and minimised the risk of capsizing (much to AJ�s relief). Though Dave/Lynn won both races in the GPs, they didn�t have it all their own way, and had to pass AJ/Sue in the first race! AJ sailed consistently enough to secure 2nd place in both races.
Neil/Archie led both handicap races by a large margin, securing a 1st and a 2nd. Ian in a Solo was the other winner, while Rory, also in a Solo, took the other 2nd
Sunday�s forecast was somewhat mixed with conflicting predictions as to the direction (E and NW). During the morning there was a patchy NE that filled in with a vengeance just before sailors headed out.
The beat on the course was soon very one sided as the wind veered more to the south, and though the OD anticipated the wind would back again to the east, it didn�t so the race was shortened after 30 minutes. Neil/Archie led and won the handicap race, while Dave/Lynn won the GPs.
The next race was the RNLI pennant, in the distant past held around the lake. However, with the southerly breeze holding out, there was an appetite to head down the lake by all sailors, so a compromise course down to mark 10 was agreed.
The fleet stayed very close together, and Neil/Archie in their RS200 led, with AJ/Sue next around the windward mark, ahead of Dave/Lynn, a position they held for most of the run down to 3. Dave had taken heed of the light and fluky airs along the eastern shoreline, and by keeping west he pulled back to make it a close fight to the finish.
Coming in to the final mark the GPs seemed to be taking it to starboard instead of port, much to the consternation of Neil who was reaching in on starboard! Consequently AJ got flustered and dropped back from being 1st on the water to 3rd as Neil, then Dave got past, there being no more than 4 secs between them all!
Dave won on handicap , AJ 2nd , and Neil 3rd
RNLI pennant overall results
For the last bank holiday of the sailing season, there has been an additional day’s camping. After two wet and stormy nights, there were plenty of sunny intervals for racing on Saturday.
Although a few sailors found the high base wind level offputting, there was a good turnout for the afternoon races. There was plenty of close racing, with little room for mistakes.
The wind eased temporarily after the first start, but then returned with good gusts to provide some exciting planing reaches. There were various capsizes, and several benefitted from the higher lake levels as they discovered their burgee still in place after turtling!
Robbie D/Toggle won both races in the F15. In the handicap fleet Chris/Laura in a RS200 won the first race, with Phil/Rory winning the second. In the slow handicap fleet Oscar/Poppy in a Feva won one race, and Oliver in a Tera the other.
Latest DW series results
Sunday’s forecast for higher base winds, higher gusts, and plenty of rain was almost correct (the rain showers weren’t particularly heavy!), and despite a two hour postponement the conditions didn’t improve sufficiently to tempt anyone to go out out (though Oliver was keen to have a shot!)
Monday’s wind was much more amenable, though it tried the OD’s patience by rapidly shifting more to the SW soon after the start sequence!. The bonus being that backing to the SW meant one of the reaches was better for planing.
The F3/F4 was sufficient to make the sailors work hard to stay upright, and there were a few capsizes, including AJ/Sue to name but one, but the racing was good.
With the series curtailed to just two races, there was no discards. Robbie D/Toggle won both races and the Flying Free Trophy. Chris/Evie won the August Trophy, with Dave/Lynn 2nd. Phil/Lucy won the Mirror Mug with Andy/daughter 2nd