With a SSW force 4 wind blowing and 15 boats competing, having two fully crewed rescue boats on the water was essential. There were numerous capsizes and six retirements. Richard Broughton and Peter Winfindale went synchronised swimming and pulled out of the race as did Joan & Jack Hardie who had ended up with mast in mud.
The course was 0-4-2 which gave a long beat followed by broad and tight reaches. The sting was in the tail as a very tight rounding of 2 was essential to cross the line inside the starboard end pin and a tack meant a beat up the biased line without actually crossing it. This left a number of competitors pinching and loosing time by ending up head to wind.
Trevor Morton in the Dart found the stronger conditions to his liking finishing second on the water to the Skiff and winning on PH. The GPs of Mike & Eric and AJ & Sue were next up, the former winning on FH and the latter coming second in both series.
The Toppers handled the conditions superbly with only one of the five starters retiring. Hazel Newport finished fourth on PH and sixth on FH while Rosie Hogg was seventh in both series.
After numerous masts had been cleaned of mud it was inside for another excellent meal, provided on this occasion by Neil.
For kids of aged 9 or over we have three x one-week/5 day Start Sailing
courses (RYA stage 1 and 2) running 9.00 to 17.00 on the following dates,
Monday-Friday:-
a) 21 to 25 July
b) 28 July to 1 August
c) 11 August to 15 August
Then a short week and following Monday, 19 to 22 August plus Monday 25 August.
Each of these one week courses will feed into the Autumn Better Sailing course which start on Sat 23/Sun 24 August and run through September.
For non-members the cost of the one week course, and the Better sailing
course will be �100. For existing members the cost of the course and Better sailing Course will be �60
We also have an adult course RYA Level 1 to Level 3. due to start next week.
Tuesday 8 July 6.00 till 9.00 Introduction
Sat /Sun 12/13 July 9.00 till 5.00pm
Tues 15 July 6.00 till 9.00pm
Sat/Sun 19/20 July 9.00 till 5.00pm
Tues 22 July 6.00 till 9.00pm
Sat/Sun 26/27 July 9.00 till 5.00pm
Mon 28 July
Tues 29 July.
Course fee is membership fee plus �50 boat hire and �10 for books.
While Chris and Julie headed south to spend the day in Wimbledon No 1 court, and were delighted that the forecast rain held off, as well as witnessing the surprise defeat of No 1 seed Serena Williams, club racing comprised a weekend championship series, in bright but cool airs.
The shifting wind made course setting challenging, but a cunning plan was devised to cater for more shifts while still maintaining a second beat. While some of the fleets expressed their disappointment (ie whinged!) at enduring a JC style fetch, others did have to beat on each of the windward legs.
The wind was light for the first lap, but picked up again for the rest of the race. Challenging conditions led to various place changes and some close racing not that the consistency in the results particularly show this.
The wind swung to the north for the 2nd race, but half way through it swung to the east and eased again, providing testing conditions and more close racing.
After two races there is a strong overnight with two 1sts for Graham/Elaine in the F15s, Mike/Eric in the GPs, and Pam in the Mirrors/Toppers. In the handicap fleet the position is somewhat closer with Ian, Scumper, Jim and Robbie D all on five points!
While Sazzle got to grips with her newly acquired Laser, Gary was getting his first taste of helming in a F15 with Kayla. Well done to both of you, and we look forward to seeing you both on the water again in the near future.
Sunday’s weather was very similar to Saturday’s, a light and variable easterly wind with numerous holes. Simon ditched his regular crew in the flying fifteens and took Kaylas out and despite missing Y/Z he corrected himself and won from Ian and Lel. Val and Ken also missed Y/Z and retired in the GP14s leaving victory for Mike/Eric from Alan and Sue. Ian Hall continued his good form and won he handicap race from Robin and Phil. Commodore Andy and daughter Lily won the Mirror race from Mik who managed to hold off Pam. During the lunch break the Bates was taken off the water for its long overdue refurbishments and the fleet took to the water for race 4 in even lighter conditions. Graham and Elaine won the flying fifteen race and the series, Mike and Eric made it a double for the Fairlamb family winning the GP14 race and series. Pam was back to winning ways in the Mirrors also claiming the series and Mark and Phil won the handicap race from Ian whose second place clinched the series. The wind died away to nothing and the sailors voted with their feet and came ashore rather than sail a 5th race, the race officer duly abandoned it and the wind picked up again.
With Bass Week just a month away it’s time to hunt out those coveted trophies that you deservedly won last year, give them a polish, and return to the club in plenty of time for presentation to this year’s winners (hopefully you’ll be there to defend your position!)
You can bring them with you, but there’s often not enough room in the car by the time you’ve packed your kitchen sink…
Thank you in anticipation, we look forward to seeing you back again this year
Well, this is one round that nearly didn�t take place! At Start -15mins there was little wind and, what there was varied from E to SW. The beat was to be B-0 but it turned out to be B-A. Well B wasn�t actually in the eventual course which was A-4-1 and a finish line around B. Sounds confusing but it worked ok!
All except the 5 Toppers did 2 laps with John Crosbie�s 400 pulling out a lead on the water from Joan & Jack Hardie�s 200 on the first despite doing turns for touching 1. The fun stared at 4 on lap 2 with a 90 degree shift which brought a raft of boats together. Jim Christie�s Supernova seemed to fare best but a further shift at 1 changed the order again and Joan crossed the line second with Nick Bell�s Seafly and Kath Davis/Janie Britcher�s GP in close contention. David Roger led the Toppers home on this occasion.
It was a relatively short race with a delayed start waiting for wind and a shortened course in case it died again. This gave more time to enjoy Debbie Binns� excellent meal and for results to be calculated.
Kath took the PH win which moves her into the lead of that Series while Ian Hall in his Solo took the FH race win.
You may well be asking yourself what is this all about, well read on. The Club Council is aware that Club Members are regularly invaded by visiting fleets who want to host events at our beautiful Sailing Club. This brings a lot of benefits but also requires a great commitment from members and can restrict our own racing. A decision was made to hold a weekend for members when Camping and Caravanning would be available and was a bit of a deviation from our usual Racing Programme with the emphasis on “FUN”.
Those who were present for the Queens Diamond Jubilee Weekend in 2012 will remember the Topper Events we had which involved a Le Mans style running start, followed by a team race with helms changing over at the end of the jetty. As well as being great fun for competitors, it provided fantastic entertainment for those on shore, needless to say it was chaotic. As part of the fun weekend, on Saturday we intend to have a rerun of this event in the Club Toppers, together with more conventional Team Racing. This will be followed by a rounders match between teams captained by the Commodore and Vice Commodore, Tug of War, Games Night and a BBQ.
On Sunday we will be holding a more conventional race for all members in whatever boat you choose. This race will be run on Fleet Handicap in memory of Pete Ballard who sadly passed away earlier this year. Pete as well as being our Safety Officer was extremely active in all aspect of the running of the Club, always willing to help out whether it be felling trees and other ground works, training, teaching members children to climb trees safely and a whole host of other things. Pete also played a leading part in the Topper event, capsizing other teams boats, removing and even breaking rudders as well as editing the video which was taken of the chaos and is available on the website. A small contribution will be requested from all competitors which will be donated to the Samaritans, a charity Pete was actively involved with.
The programme for the weekend will be flexible, dependent upon weather conditions, but I would encourage all members to come along and take part. The emphasis is on getting together as members and enjoying ourselves. I would particularly like to see our Thursday Night Sailors who make the Night Jar so successful coming along, we have had 45 different boats racing so far which is fantastic.
Sun and wind, albeit shifty, tempted 22 boats on to the water for another two races in a championship long series.
The day started with two sets of opposing views from two ‘vocal locals’ as to how and why the anchor warp ended up wrapped around the prop of the Bates last weekend. Was it Tog’s dereliction of duty as he stopped pulling in the warp to lift the front weight, or was it Herb ‘reversing at 100mph’?
While setting the start line there seemed to be two opposing winds – one from the south west, and another from the north. The OD did make allowance for this in the course, but ultimately the SW breeze provided the lion’s share of the wind. The leg that allowed for beating into a northerly wind becoming a fetch that frustrated the Sailing Sec (and others, no doubt!).
In the first race in the F15s Simon/Jon led with a temporary challenge from Graham/Elaine. In the 2nd race, Neil/Judith took an early lead from Simon, but later retired, so Graham secured another 2nd to Simon.
The GPs were eager pushing the start line resulting in a recall signal for which Paul and Mike/Eric returned. The big question is – did they both need to?! Paul worked his way to the front and won, followed by Dave/Sarah. Paul led the 2nd race too, but sailed the wrong course, leading AJ/Sue astray, and losing a lot of ground to Mike (who went on to win) while they corrected their errors.
Tog and Hugh had some close racing in their Vareos, with Tog grasping the lead at the start of the final leg, and finish 1st on handicap. Tog won the 2nd race too, with Ian in his Solo 2nd, and Banter, despite an appalling start after getting into irons, finishing 3rd.
The Mirrors/Toppers were led by Vice-Commodore Scumper crewed by son Cameron. Pam took 2nd, and Hazel. Mik having retired with gear failure in the first race, had some close racing with Scumper/Cameron, and nervously led the way across the finish line. Sarah sailed her first race in a Topper but doesn’t want anyone to know. Word is that she won’t talk [to me] again!
The sunny weather continued on Sunday with a forecast of next to no wind, but there was sufficient to get racing underway. By the time the leaders reached the windward mark the wind was fading and they were all but drifting. Fortunately the few zephyrs that passed through filled the course again, and the breeze held for the rest of the race.
Ian was on form again in his Solo beating Tog by more than a minute on handicap, with Jim in his Supernova 3rd. Mike/Eric led the GPs home with Joan/Jack 2nd, while Pam built a strong lead in the Mirrors/Toppers with Jenny 2nd in her Topper.
The wind over lunchtime was light and not conducive to racing around the lake for the pennant race, so the course kept the fleet in the main bay. The wind freshened slightly, and Robbie D made the most of clear airs in a RS400 to lead the fleet and win on handicap by less than 15 secs ahead of Paul, Mike and Joan in GPs.
While the Solway Firth coastline was basking in the sun, the weather at the club was cloudy but warm.
Three of the youth squad had gone to an open at Ullswater. Jenny Dunn performed best finishing a creditable 22nd in a fleet of 29 boats which included National Youth Squad sailors.
The weekend racing comprises a series of five races scheduled to be run on a personal handicap pursuit basis, but a computer hiccup, and too many people giving JD earache, the format reverted to mass start with adjusted finish times. With such a light wind being forecast it was a little surprising that there was actually enough wind to race. OD Ethan took some ribbing from the stalwarts in the committee boat, but successfully got both races completed.
The wind did ease at times, and there was no sea breeze despite the sunny coastline, so it was very much a case of being in the right place at the right time. In the first race Mike/Kayla were in the wrong place when the wind eased and the course was shortened as they had to sail an extra lap in lighter airs. Ian won in his Solo, with AJ/Sue in a GP 2nd despite a pitiful start (or was he too much of a gentleman?), and Joan/Jack 3rd.
Pam was in the right place on the startline in the 2nd race getting the best start of all the fleet, and she went on to win the race on handicap. The patchy wind on the first beat led to some different lead boats with Anthony/Jeff taking the lead in their RS200 though they finished 6th on handicap. Ian secured 2nd, and is overnight leader, with Joan/Jack taking another 3rd.
In the absence of paid rescue crews at least we had one willing volunteer….
Sailors for day 2 of the Fleet Challenge B were met with a bit more wind than the forecast of 1mph. Stand in Race Officer Mike Cowan set a figure of eight course with a beat from A to 2. The majority of the fleet were keen to start at the starboard end which resulted in a general recall as most were over the line. They all got away at the second attempt and Robin Dawson with daughter Amber in a RS 200 led the fleet home followed by the flying fifteens of Mike/Kayla and Graham/Elaine. After personal handicaps were taken into account Alan/Sue in their GP14 won the race followed by Paul and Vicki Bowmer also in a GP14.
The OD decided a lunch break was in order and most thought the possibility of two more races was unlikely. However the wind remained and even strengthened for the final race. Robin decided to take the RS 400 out with son Ethan to celebrate Fathers Day and won both races on the water. Alan/Sue won the second race of the day on handicap followed by Ian Hall in his Solo. This left the series wide open with Alan/Sue, Ian and the Hardies all in with a chance of victory.
Joan and Jack Hardie sailed an excellent final race and won on handicap but the 5th place of Alan and Sue was enough to clinch the series by one point from Ian with Joan and Jack a further point back.
29 boats across three fleets took to the water for three races in a one day open. The weather proved to be a very mixed bag ranging from bright and sunny to dull and drizzle/rain. Windwise, everytime the OD set a line, the wind swung drastically. After about half an hour of delays, the line was set, the wind again swung, but the OD opted to get racing underway despite the challenge of a running start in light airs. The wind continued to swing and many boats had to beat on each leg of the triangular course!
After the first race there was a lunch break and the �wind came in with fits and starts.�It seemed that an�earlier SE breeze was settling in, and race 2 got underway. It wasn’t long before the wind swung again with Sale Fell partially shadowing the course, and turning the beat into a fetch.
After yet another wind swing to the west, the last race race wasn’t looking promising when the wind faded for the Laser start, but it did freshen, settle in direction and resulted in the best sailing conditions of the event.
Although Henry and Jamie Rastrick from Ripon had a poor first race, they pulled it together and improved over the following races finishing with�a net 3 pts, the same as David and Edward Coady from Derwent Reservoir. The tie was split in the Rastrick’s favour on the last race.
Henry and Jamie Rastrick from Ripon
Similarly, Tony Bamforth from Annandale improved his positions in each of the races finishing with an unbeatable net 3 pts. Tim Luke from Killington and our own Ethan Dawson battled it out for 2nd place, each finishing with a net 4 pts, the tie being split in Ethan’s favour on the last race.
Tony Bamforth from Annandale
The Topper fleet was a good selection of Bass junior helms in which Harry Binns led the way (while the others seemed to do a lot of chatting as the sailed round) in the first two races to win overall. Jamie Kerr came 2nd overall with 3 pts, while David Rodger’s 2nd split a tie with Hazel Newport in his favour to finish 3rd and 4th respectively.
Sunday’s forecast was for more of the same, and the major windshift after the start of the morning race was certainly reminiscent of Saturday. The Asymmetric’s windward/leeward course almost became reach/reach as the wind curved round Sale Fell, while the handicap fleet had to make do with a couple of very one sided beats. Lulls in the wind lost vital seconds for Mike/Kayla who finished 2nd on handicap to Dave/Lynn. AJ panicked while he was doing well, forcing Val/Ken to keep clear by tacking off on a fetch! He then took the rounded the next mark the wrong way, losing much ground. In the Asymmetrics, Joan/Jack described the winds as being similar to going round the lake, but still beat Toggle on handicap.
The SW wind direction held throughout lunchtime and strengthened to give some great racing conditions, if somewhat shifty, and there were numerous capsizes. Fortunately there was no sign of the forecast rain showers, just glorious sunshine! AJ was struggling to find forward gear on the start line, but eventually got underway, then opting to retire early. Mike/Kayla had written down the course incorrectly, rounding 0 the wrong way, realised their mistake, and unwound only to be told by Toggle that the mark was to starboard, so they unwound again, and yet again when they watched Tog round 0 to port! Chris/Julie took full advantage of the pandemonium, but Mike would eventually take the lead again.
Toggle nosedived at one stage, and promptly capsized (what was he thinking of?!) Ethan found it a struggle to release the mainsheet to depower because as he leaned in, the boat tipped, eventually resulting in a quick capsize. In the Toppers, Izzie survived several capsizes before retiring, but Hazel sailed well and completed the course, having led all the way.
While the Solway Firth coastline was basking in the sun, the weather at the club was cloudy but warm. 
