We need some help on rescue this weekend 17/18 October. If you are available to help please contact Mike Hunter.
Thanks
Still in a high
With the high pressure continuing to dominate the weather, racing was cancelled again due to a lack of wind.
As with last week, Sunday morning welcomed sailors with an unexpected light southerly which freshened slightly as the day went on. A simple triangular course in the morning for a fleet of 13 boats suited Banter in his RS100, enabling him to put in some consistent 12 min laps and build up a 4 min lead (on handicap) on Dave/Lynn who held Joan/Jack at bay. Dave Darling suffered problems taking down his spinnaker at the end of each lap and then retired.
Although the wind swung to SSW over lunch casting a shadow on the course area, it backed to the south again in time for racing, and behaved itself till the end. An inverted P course proved to be more enjoyable, and a little more challenging. Hazel only sailed the afternoon race, but retired due to being ‘starving’ having missed her lunch. Val/Ken exited the race early as well after, but not due to, a flat tack. This time the course and conditions suited Dave/Lynn as they won ahead of Neil in his Laser, with Joan 3rd.
On personal handicap, Banter and Peter Winfindale each had a win.
October High
A brilliant finish to September and start of October is all due to a high pressure system, and a consequential lack of wind, which was not even strong enough to turn the nearby turbines, or blow away the mist which had been lingering all morning, so the likelihood of sailing was low. A small puff of wind caused ripples across the lake briefly, but they soon faded, and racing was abandoned for the day shortly afterwards.
Sunday’s forecast was not a lot better, but it may have suited team Bass (comprising Commodore, rear commodore, bar chair, lady commodore, social secretary, youth squad co-ordinator and assistant, past social secretary) who are all took part in the Cumbrian Run!
On arrival at the club, sailors were pleasantly surprised by a light, southerly breeze, albeit somewhat cooler than recent days. Ten boats sailed what was to be the first race in the October series. Banter in his RS100 led the fleet, and was lucky to take the wind around the course with him because shortly after the start of the first race wind from the SW enabled Sale Fell to cast a shadow on part of the course, but as he approached the shadow it was pushed away by the slightly stronger southerly. It was to be the GPs, led by Mike/Eric, that took all three pole positions, with Banter 4th on fleet handicap. Dave Lawson’s lower than usual position was due to offering some coaching to Pete Winfindale.
Though the wind strength varied throughout the day, it held for the afternoon race, but there were some major shifts to contend with which, of course, could prove to be beneficial if on the right side of the shift. Despite their best efforts, Joan/Jack were unable to stay ahead of Mike/Eric who went on to win the race on fleet handicap and take a 3 pt lead in the series. Joan leads the personal handicap series, with Banter 2nd.
Power Outage
North West Electricity have advised us of some scheduled maintenance work this Saturday 3rd October between 10am and 2pm. Consequently access through the gate will not be possible until some kind person does a manual override.
So if you’re not privy as to how to open the gate manually please be patient, someone will turn up eventually!
Youth Squad invade Ullswater
Several members of the Youth Squad took the opportunity to attend the RYA Youth North Zone Championships over the weekend, as it was being held so close to home at Ullswater Yacht Club.
Hazel Newport, David Rodgers & Poppy Gannon were sailing in the Topper fleet, Harry Binns & Izzie Hunter in the RS Feva Fleet, Josh Hunter and Sam Macey in the Regatta Fleet.
Although, the weather was amazing for the weekend’s camping, it was a sad note for the sailing. On Saturday the squad waited all day but the winds never came, so at 4.30pm it was declared no racing was going to take place.
Sunday started to look the same but the organisers were more hopeful and sent the fleets out at 10am only to abandon racing at 11am and bring them all back in. Then the winds came and while most sailors were enjoying a relaxing lunch, note David, the racing was set to start and everyone was quickly back on the water.
The wind held while the fleets managed to sail 3 races but it was not very strong and proved to be very challenging for some.
However, a good weekend was had both on and off the water. Hazel Newport sailed really well in the Topper Zone fleet, finishing 3rd girl and 7th overall in the Topper fleet out of 29 competitors. She was really pleased as last year she came 23 out of 28!! Also, Josh Hunter managed to bring home a medal by finishing 3rd in the Regatta Fleet in his RS Tera.
Well done all.
Championships are finalised
After the final championship weekend series of the series, the championship tables have been updated and can be viewed on the following link
Congratulations to this year’s champions are
Flying 15s – Neil Currie & Rory Yardley
Fast Handicap – Robin Dawson & Phil Davenport (Pipping Commodore Mark Somerville at the post!)
GP14s – Dave & Lynn Lawson
Slow Handicap – Jim, Poppy & James Christie
Championship weekend series
For various reasons there weren’t many takers for the latest weekend series, but those that did turn out were keen to take to the water once there was the hint of sufficient breeze to blow away the mirror like conditions. So when a light northerly filled in the OD took to the water and the sailors followed.
The wind swung a couple of times while waiting for the fleet to get to the start line, so a simplified triangular course was set, which seemed to be the most manageable option for the conditions.
Fortunately the general wind direction remained from the north, but the strength was much more variable. Joan/Jack took the leeward mark a little bit too close and had to do a turn losing significant ground on Dave/Lynn who went on to win.
John Roberts managed to lasso the staff on mark A, so after untangling himself he too had to do a turn. Jim C led and won the slow handicap fleet, with Mik 2nd.
In the fast handicap fleet, Robbie D/Banter won with Alex/Olivia 2nd
Before all had finished the wind dropped to drifting conditions and all hopes of another race faded.
It was unlikely that Sunday’s conditions would enable four races to be sailed, but it did look promising as the day started with a warm, light southerly.
With a plan to get two races in before lunch, the courses were plain and short, even though Robbie D wanted longer legs (an eternal wish for him some might say!)
The wind did ease as the second race went on, and finally died over lunch. Scumper and Hugh each had a first in the fast handicap, while Jim C and Barbara each had a first in the slow handicap fleet, and Dave/Lynn took two more firsts in the GP fleet.
With no obvious sign of the wind filling in, afternoon racing was abandoned. As is the norm, the wind did fill in, though not really strong enough to race in.
Trophies go to Dave/Lynn in the GPs, Robbie D in the fast handicap, and Jim C the slow handicap fleet.
Other sailing events over the weekend had good representation from Bass members with Andy and Rob Smith finishing 2nd at the GP Northern Championships at Derwent Reservoir, while Hazel Newport came 7th at the RYA Zone Championship, and Josh Hunter came 3rd overall in the regatta for Toppers, Teras and Oppies at Ullswater. Meanwhile Mike Moore and Kayla Sheard came fourth of 17 at the Burton open meeting. The results meant that they were tied on points for the Waples Wine Northern travellers series but came second on countback.
Tinker Weekend
While the Southport 24hr race attracted a good selection of our members, club racing was held alongside the annual Tinker Rally. Forecast high winds may have deterred a few takers, but they need not have worried as conditions were very sailable, and the wind didn’t pick up until we tweeted that there wasn’t much!
The weather was mixed with sunshine and showers, a couple heavy, and there were mixed fortunes throughout the afternoon. Jim C was sailing his Supernova for a change and led both races winning the first one, but the heavier conditions in the second race suited the GPs and it was Joan/Jack that secured the winning position on handicap. Tony King is getting to grips with his Solo, finishing the day with two 2nds.
Nigel made a welcome return to the water, and despite a collision at the start of the second race, he was first to the windward mark.
Joan/Jack led overnight, with two races on Sunday started in a stronger than expected southerly could they keep their cool and fight off challenges from Banter et al. As it happened, Banter was a bit too eager to start and was called back (though he did suggest others were further over the line than him!), and promptly capsized, before making a sharp exit ashore. The course/conditions didn’t suit a couple of others who retired also.
AJ/Sue put in a good performance winning the first race ahead of Joan and Chris/Julie. The wind eased slightly in the afternoon but Banter kept his head to win, with Joan 2nd, and AJ 3rd.
Overall, Joan/Jack held on to their lead, and AJ/Sue’s 1st split the tie with Tony in their favour
The Tinkers were enjoying the conditions so much they had a total of six races, and had a tie for 1st overall that was split by the results of the final race with Alastair Parker pushing the regular winner Malcolm Ellwood into 2nd place. Vice Commodore Robin Dawson gave a vote of thanks, and his daughter Amber presented the prizes.
Our Southport team survived without major mishap (apart from being over at the start?) to finish 16th overall.
Night Jar 16
It’s all over. Cor! I, and the dedicated competitors, can take a mid week break in future. But Thursday NJ & Social evenings will be missed over the coming months.
This has been a record series with 59 different helms contesting it. As the Night Jar was based solely on PH in the past, let’s give preference to the winner and leading crews in that category. Tony King took the series win although only by a single point from AJ & Sue.
In the FH category the clear winners were Alex & Olivia with the GP of Mike & Eric second despite their not contesting the final four round. Joan & Jack came third after a season long contest with Val & Ken who were placed fourth.
Other results of note were David Haselden who was placed 5th on PH, Peter Winfindale 8th and David Roger a brilliant 10th. On FH Hazel was 8th and Jon Anson 10th.
So what happened in the final race? There was a force1 ESE wind leading up to the start and the OD chose 5-3-1 as the course. With 20 boats it was a busy line and Alex (I think) was over at the port pin but immediately restarted without much loss of time.
The wind swung a little up the long beat but was generally true. The journey to the wing mark was a broad reach for most with Joan/Jack & AJ/Sue in the GPs being gradually hauled in, and later overtaken by Alex/Olivia’s 200 and Joe’s 300.
After 3 there was a huge hole followed by a temporary wind shift to the North. The leading crews gybed out of it but, with the wind dropping, a number of boats decided not to round 1 for the finish but to head for home. After 23 to 53 minutes, dependent of fleet position, it was all over.
Thanks go to OD’s, safety crews, meal providers and all the other helpers for making the Series such a success.
September Sunshine
A bit mixed would probably sum up the afternoon. Sunshine with cloudy spells, wind varying between force 0 and 3, and shifting between NE and NW!
As ever, OD Moore was determined to start on time, and he did. Unfortunately not all sailors were there on time. Despite being late for the start AJ, caught up with, and passed, Joan/Jack to take the lead which he held through to the finish. It’s a shame that he wouldn’t repeat it in the second race in which Joan got away and continued to strengthen her lead.
Banter sailed the first race well taking a deserved win from David Hazelden, but a good performance by Joe Watkins in his RS300 in the second race, and Banter doing an extra penalty turn for hitting a mark put paid to a repeat performance, and the race ended with David taking 1st place.
John Roberts in a Pico had one of those ‘could do better’ days when, in the first race, he couldn’t work out where he was going on the final leg giving away precious minutes (!) and his chance of 1st place to Mik. Jim C was out in his Hartley in the second race, and sailed well to take 1st with Mik 2nd.
Sunday brought more sunshine but a battle of the winds left a central calm patch resulting in a delayed start once the forecast northerly took control of the racing area. As with Saturday, the wind direction twitched somewhat before backing more to the west by the end of the race which was the first of a two race, one day series for all classes on fleet handicap.
Mike/Kayla sailed well in the morning race to pull out out a good lead securing consistent lap times despite the variable conditions around the course, but the last lap conditions suited the GPs better as they closed the gap taking the first three positions, and Hugh in a Vareo took 4th pushyMike down to 5th.
The race after lunch had a steadier SW breeze which suited Mike’s F15 and he won overall more than 20 secs ahead of Joe W in a RS300. Hugh’s chance at winning disappeared as he capsized on the 2nd beat. Perhaps the afternoon conditions would never suit the GPs but AJ’s chance after taking the lead faded after trying to defend his position coming into the leeward mark which he promptly over-ran (or went the wrong side of) as he was taking down the kite.
Final positions were very close with GPs of Joan and Paul on 5pts, with Joan’s 1st splitting the tie in her favour, and Mike in his F15 with 6pts taking 3rd overall.