Saturday’s sailors were met with bright sunshine and a strong westerly wind for the Celebrity Glass Pursuit Race.
Mik Chappell rigged his Mirror but decided it was too windy so didn’t launch. The Topper sailors who had been to Scarness for a “Push the Boat Out” picnic in a Wayfarer and an Enterprise arrived back late so the OD delayed the start, one Topper ventured out but returned to shore before the start. This left seven boats, three F15s, three GPs and Jim Christie with his grandson in the Hartley 12. Phil Davenport, the OD, set an excellent course with 2 beats, 2 runs and a reach. Jim started first but decided to retire after the first beat as his grandson was cold. The GPs went next, Alan Jones sailing with Izzie Hunter getting the best start followed by the F15s where Chris and Julie Rolle got the better of Mike/Kayla and Graham/Elaine at the start. Mike Fairlamb and Eric capsized their GP and retired, Ken and Val went the wrong way around mark 3 and retired, Alan and Izzie found the conditions too strong and also retired. That left the three F15s, Mike won from Graham followed by Chris.
Only 2 F15s ventured out in the second race Mike/Kayla winning with Graham/Elaine in second.
Twenty four boats were tempted out on a superb evening with sun, warmth and a Force 2 westerly wind. The course was 0-A-B-4 which gave three off wind kite legs.
The line initially had some port bias but it switched to starboard at the last moment and Alan Jones / Sue Watson made a superb start. Mike Fairlamb / Eric Smith from the port end tacked only to be put about by AJ and they were trapped in the starboard mêlée.
It was John Reekie who took the lead followed by Joan & Jack Hardie and Val & Ken Bell. This was the order at the end of lap 1 with Dave Lawson (Laser), Phil & Emma Davenport and Tog & Joan Cowan also in the mix. Kath Davis / Glenys Kett retired soon after as they were on supper duty and realised there would be more hungry sailors to cater for than they had envisaged!
Some of the Toppers were allowed to do two laps while the remainder were shortened for a single one. Frankie Millar was classified first in that fleet from Nikki Hutchman and Rosie Hogg.
Meanwhile, Mike & Eric had been hauling in Val & Ken but after some spirited tacking and covering they lost out by 6 seconds on the water.
On FH John beat Joan & Jack on corrected time by 2 seconds. But, on PH it was the Solos to the fore, Richard Broughton and Ian Hall sandwiching Joan & Jack in the podium positions.
It’s strange how rain puts us off sailing, but the weekend’s forecast was covered in blue dots as well as a reasonable wind. As it turned out, Saturday was somewhat changeable between sunny spells and drizzle, with a limited turnout in each fleet to enjoy the breeze.
Normally racing against each other, Harry joined forces with Izzy getting to grips with a Mirror for the day. Andy/Lily took an early lead but the cool weather didn’t suit Lily and they soon retired. In the F15s Ian/Lezli-Ann fought to recover from missing the shore lift on the main beat but, despite closing the gap, finished 2nd to Tim/Ian. They did hold it together in the 2nd race in which positions were reversed. Mike/Eric in their GP had two straight wins against AJ who was busily adjusting his toestraps at the end of racing (clearly a key aspect of his performance!). Although Hugh won both handicap races from David, only 14 secs separated them in the first race.
Sunday was more of the same ie more wind strength and more rain (than drizzle!). There were a few capsizes early on, but the wind did ease for some good racing with a stronger fleet of boats. Mik was keeping an eye on the BatesCam and was delighted at some of the shots (especially of Lezli-Ann!)
The two Ians battled it out in the F15s, with Ian/Tim taking the advantage on the final beat! It was Jim C’s turn to take the honours in the handicap fleet with Newcomer Ian Hall 2nd. After a bit of encouragement from the committee boat, David Rodger in a Topper moved closer to the start line, got the best start, and held on to be the only finisher despite a capsize just short of the finish line.
The afternoon pennant race was held as a fleet pursuit, with David in his Topper starting first. However, the onslaught of a heavy downpour (much to the dismay of those in the committee boat without waterproof over trousers!) zapped the wind of its energy as the shower passed through, and the course down to 10 seemed to be wishful thinking with many calm patches appearing. As the last boat started, the wind came back but it meant the distance between first and last boats was much less than it was planned to be. It wasn’t too long before Dave/Lynn took a lead that wouldn’t be given up, and won them the Albert Bates Retirement Trophy. Ian/Lezli-Ann took 2nd place
On a grey evening, initially with a SW Force 2 wind, a course of (4)-0-A-4 was posted. Sixteen boats took to the water including five from the Topper Fleet.
But the wind dropped away down the beat and there was virtually nothing by the time the lead boats reached the windward mark. There was clearly only going to be a single lap. Those successful on rounding and on the return legs included David Haselden in the Solo and Jim Christie in his Supernova. . They crossed the line in the leading group to be classified in the podium positions on Fleet Handicap behind the GP of Mike Fairlamb / Eric Smith who lead that series.
On Personal Handicap David took first place ahead of Mike/Eric with Paul Clark in his Laser third.
The Toppers had the most demanding time as it was dead calm at zero by the time most reached it. All retired except Louise Roger who was first around the mark and determined she was going to Finish. It took her a time of fifty eight minutes to do so but she gets full credit for determination.
During another excellent meal the heavens opened. All agreed that it could have been a lot more disagreeable if they had done so earlier.
Ne’er cast a clout till the May is out – so true! The forecast wall to wall sunshine was nowhere to be seen, and the light winds were cold.
With the Catapult fleet having their open meeting with us again, there was a great turnout of boats. The winds eased as the afternoon progressed.
Tog coaxed Joanie out in the RS200 again, and despite his frustrations seeping through, she was still smiling at the end! It was Robbie D that built up a good lead, but when the handicaps were applied, Banter, newcomer Ian Hall, and Alastair were hot on his heels finishing within 29secs of his corrected time. In the 2nd race, Robbie D again took the honours, with Jim C 2nd, and Mik, with no comps torus in the Mirror/Topper fleet, finishing a few secs later in 3rd place.
Mike/Kayla won the 1st F15 race but in the 2nd race, Ian/Lezli-Ann kept the wind to take the lead, and advantage of the shortened course (though they were hoping it would have been shortened earlier). Dave/Lynn won both GP races from Mike/Eric
There could be a bit of hot air this evening with entertainment comprising Chilli followed by a rules talk/discussion by Eddie Ramsden. Will everyone be fired up to protest on the water tomorrow?
Fatherhood – when needs mustClaire was treated to an early birthday celebration
Sunday offered slightly milder, but much stronger and gustier winds. Although there were various capsizes, and several near misses, the good reaching conditions and close racing made it an enjoyable race for many. For some reason sheep syndrome took over and several boats went around the leeward mark the wrong direction (consistently) and so were giving DNF.
Lucy was crewing for Alastair, but not amused that they capsized on their way ashore. Perhaps they’d let their guard down…
After lunch there were another two races that were certain to tire many out, especially as the wind continued to blow with some wild gusts at times.
Alastair/Lucy crossed the finish line only to be flattened by one of the gusts – did it blow Alastair’s hat off too?
Izzy (or is it Hazel?) and Harry put in gutsy performances in their Toppers coping with several capsizes, finishing two of the races, and retiring in the final one of the day. Despite some close racing, Harry took two firsts and currently leads the series.
Scumper/Zefer kept Robbie D/Banter at bay taking 3 wins and the overnight lead in the handicap fleet, while Paul is in 3rd place. Dave/Lynn recovered from their mark rounding mistake in the first race to win the next two races and overnight lead ahead of Alan/Sue.
The F15s had some close racing, sharing the wins between Mike/Kayla, Simon/Jon and Neil/Tog meaning everything was to sail for on Monday for which the forecast was more of the same, though with the wind from the SSE. Indeed there was a good SSE wind on Monday, but it wasn’t as gusty. The wind direction suited some courses that made use of the southern end of the lake. Birthday boy Simon sailed with his sensible head to win both races and the F15 series with Mike/Sally and Neil/Tog each getting second to finish 2nd and 3rd overall respectively.
Despite some strengthening competition from Val/Ken who are quickly getting to grips with their new boat, Dave/Lynn took another couple of firsts (and the Lyne Tankard), with Val and John each taking a 2nd place, but AJ’s first on Sunday secured him 2nd overall ahead of Val.
Whether it was the less gusty conditions, or the longer beats, John Reekie mastered his Musto Skiff to win both races in the handicap fleet. Robbie D and Shunty each had a second position, but Scumper’s 3rd place was more than enough to win him the May Holiday trophy when combined with his three wins from Sunday.
Commodore Andy sailed, and won, one race each with daughters Lily and Katia, but it was Harry’s consistent performance over the two days that earned him the Peel Pot ahead of Hazel.
There was more consistent results from Gareth Ede giving him a clear lead in the Catapult open, but some more close racing led to there being only 3 points separating 2nd to 4th places, with John Terry securing 2nd overall.
One of the things that has survived the move to Chipping Norton is the Easter tradition of the egg dump.
Both Chris and Andrew and family were with us on Easter Sunday with children and my brothers family happily made 16.
I remembered that Ken Bell had told me that it would be easy to win the egg dump. All you had to do was bring your own “ringer” a free range egg which would have a stronger, thicker shell.
So off I went to Tesco to buy some cage eggs and up the road to buy some eggs from a guy in the village. The draw was rigged so all the children had free range eggs and all the grown ups cage eggs.
And the result – my 30 yr old niece won with a cage egg and there were tears !!
Peter
And just to show we’re still sailing, a week on Monday Toni & I are off for a 9 day sail in the Azores
Entries for the first round of the season long Night Jar Series are usually a little sparse. But, on this occasion, regular competitors were supplemented by nine Trainees or beginners giving a total of eighteen boats on the water.
The evening was warm and dry with an extremely light NE wind. With calm patches around the bay, race officer Ian Macpherson chose a clockwise course starting upwind of 0 with a beat to 1, a close reach to B and a long run as the final leg.
The Skiff of John Reekie took an early lead and completed the lap in 17 minutes. So, when given the option, he requested a further circuit. He was followed some 10 minutes later by the four GP14’s and Ethan Dawson’s Radial and, with the wind dropping near the Bassenthwaite shore, a shortened course was signalled at 0.
Mike Fairlamb / Ken Bell were first of the group to cross the line followed closely by John Riley / Nigel Lewis. However, the wind was shifting SE and both Alan Jones / Sue Watson and Kath Davis / Glenys Kett were pushed into 0 when rounding resulting in turns.
The trainees and beginners were receiving on the water instruction from Robbie Dawson and six completed the course with Julie Tomkinson and Peter Winfindale in Radials finished in under 38 minutes. Izzi Hunter in her Topaz Uno crossed the line just ahead of Morgan Glass who was helming the first Topper to finish. Congratulations to all who were attempting their first Club race.
GNAC 2014 is less than a couple of weeks away and we have decided to offer a £5 discount for early entries made through our WebCollect online portal. This discount is available until Bank Holiday Monday 21 April so don’t put it off too long!
Note from Pete Nuttall