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.

Latest results FH PH

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!

Latest results

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.

Latest results

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.

RNLI Pennant Final results

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.

Final results

The final day of May and the sun has returned. The forecast of light winds was ominous, and swinging airs as the race officer was challenging. As the fleet sailed out, they were driven by a fair sea breeze from the West which held, if somewhat shifty, throughout the afternoon.

In the Celebrity Glass Pursuit, Mik started first and led the way for almost half the race before being passed by Mike/Eric in their GP. Despite an excellent start by Banter in his RS100, a broken halyard forced him to capsize to undertake a makeshift repair (or was it so he could cool off swimming in the lake?). Tog was on form again, but unable to break through finishing just over a minute behind Mike. The conditions didn’t suit the strong fleet of F15s, and they all finished in a bunch led by Neil/Rory.

Celebrity Glass Trophy latest

The 2nd race was part of a long championship series. Mike/Kayla were keen to improve on the poor beating in the 1st race, and merrily forced Neil over the line at the start, but had to return themselves. However, Neil made up the ground winning ahead of Graham/Elaine, with Mike 3rd.

AJ/Sue were on top form taking an early lead in the GPs and holding their nerve through to the end.

Banter’s repair was secure enough to see him through the next race, earning him a win from Tog in his Vareo

Mik secured another win in the Mirrors/Toppers to take a strong lead in the Red Sails Trophy. Hazel sailed well in her Topper with a good lead on Mik until the final beat, pushing her into 2nd place. David sailed most of the beats standing on his Topper, different if not competitive!

Latest results

Sunday started bright but overcast. The light breeze appeared to be swinging around Sale Fell, but the race officer was assured by Mike That there was a southerly breeze at Shap heading our way! True enough the wind did settle from the south and racing got underway. Ian/Lezli-Ann repeated their light weather dominance, pulled out an early lead (while Mike/Kayla wallowed in a hole) and went on to win comfortably.

AJ had started the morning next to a flip chart, talking through his success of the previous afternoon, but he too wallowed long enough for the rest of the GPs, led by Dave/Lynn, to disappear into the distance!

The holes and wallowing were a result of the wind swinging through more than 90 degrees to the west – great breeze, but it meant there were no beats!

Mik and Hazel stuck close together throughout their race, and Mik won on handicap. Banter and Tog battled it out again, with Tog winning by just over 30 secs

Latest results

The westerly breeze held for the afternoon, no doubt reinforced by another sea breeze, but it meant the traditional round the lake course for the Jimmy Lancaster Memorial pennant would be in the shade if Sale Fell. The OD did reduce the extent of the frustrations by just sending the fleet down to 10, but light, swirling, winds were in play even before the boats got to Scarness. The conditions suited the GPs (apart from AJ) as they took first three positions on handicap, again led by Dave/Lyn. Tog was 4th and Mike/Kayla 5th

Final results

It might have been the sun gone to his head, but AJ vowed to hunt out, and dust off, his tennis racket…