Another success for the laser fleet occurred when Mark Somerville won this year’s Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy held at Ullswater. Robin Dawson and Ian McPherson, not far behind, finished 7th and 8th respectively. Well done!

Last weekend saw Lasers, Enterprises and Mirrors converging on the lake for some Open Meetings. In addition, the Enterprises were sailing for their North West Area Championship.

Desperately fluky winds on Saturday and most of Sunday taxed ‘light air’ skills to the limit, the wind only picking up for the last race. Leads changed frequently and there were some nailbiting contests.

Enterprise North West Area champions are Chris and Al Fry from Hallamshire with Nick Miller and Innes Wilkinson from Winsford Flash second. Third were Martin Honnor and Simon Haighton, Hallamshire. The home club took the first five places in the Laser Open with Pete Lawson the winner. Second was Andy Smith and third, Mark Somerville.

With the Mirrors it was the visitors who scored with Gareth Hughes and Neil Evans from Hollingworth coming home ahead of Robert Phillips and Thomas Partington from Hollingworth Lake SC. Third were Iwan and Nia Fletcher from Bass. In this class both Iwan and Nia together with Tim and Rob Smith (7th) were all competing in their first Open.

Photos from the open meeting.

This weekend saw a busy time for sailors on Bassenthwaite Lake. Saturday saw the continuation of the Max Joule Memorial Trophy, a long series of eight races that is nearing its climax. The blustery winds led to exciting racing for all concerned. The first race proved very eventful, the Commodore, Miles Middleton who was leading, lost his crew overboard. Good job Mike Cowan could swim! Miles eventually finished 5^th in that race. Hugh Godfrey and Rhonwen Bryce won the race in a GP14. They bravely flew the spinnaker where others didn�t dare for the blustery conditions. Andy Smith on a Laser won the 2nd race � even without the battens in his sail.

After a communal barbecue on Saturday evening a test was set to determine the appropriateness of musical chairs. The continuing competitiveness and enthusiasm of the Commodore to win even off the water left some of those taking part feeling rather sore the following morning! – perhaps the new guidelines were prepared after some similar events elsewhere. This was all followed by some mysterious late night scooter riding which left Andy Smith resting for the rest of the weekend due to his scooter accident.

Sunday and Monday saw Club Championship sailing. The conditions both days ensured very thrilling racing. The Flying Fifteen fleet were competing for the Ullock Mug. Scott Beattie and John Somerville were the clear winners, with William Carruthers and Alan Smith 2^nd. The GP14 fleet were competing for the Macmillan cup. There was some thrilling racing in all five races and a close result. Julian and Jane Cruickshank were 1st, with Hugh Godfrey and Rhonwen Bryce 2^nd. A notable GP14 finisher on Saturday was Richard Hodgkins who at 12 is the youngest GP14 helm this year. Unfortunately an untimely capsize lead him to retire from the rest of the races. It also meant that his crew for the day Mike Cowan went swimming again. �Don’t worry Mike, Mike Fairlamb will be back soon. The Lasers were competing for the Easter Trophy. Mark Somerville was the clear winner, with Robin Dawson 2^nd.

At Coniston’s laser open the three Bass entrants took pole positions out of a fleet of 14 boats.

Strong winds on Saturday eased, and were more variable, on Sunday. However Scumper mastered all the conditions and, having won the series with four firsts, played with the competition in the final race leaving Robin Dawson and Andy Smith to battle it out for second place.

Final positions 1st Mark Somerville, 2nd Robin Dawson, 3rd Andy Smith – Well done!

World class competition took over the lake for the weekend’s racing. Flying 15 world champions Steve Goacher and Phil Evans made the most of some excellent courses in generally breezy conditions to show the rest of the fleet around the course in all four races. However, in race 3 Steve and Phil had to keep a keen eye on defending champions Andrew Dunning and David Lawson who came back within fighting distance for the second half of the race. Similarly, in race 4 Scott Beattie and John Somerville took advantage of the easing winds to keep Steve and Phil on their toes.

Elsewhere within the fleet there was some close racing throughout all races and it very much depended on who made the least mistakes!

Overall results:

Further results on results page

After a weekend of blustery conditions, numbers were depleted for the Sunday afternoon pennant traditionally sailed around the lake. The six starters, comprising 3 flying 15s, a laser, a dart and a GP14, were all in close contention until they reached the narrows at Scarness. William Carruthers in his F15, crewed by Commodore Miles Middleton, managed to take the lead at this point in typically shifty conditions made somewhat worse by the frequency and strength of the backing gusts of wind.

The capsize of Neil Garrison and Margaret Trotter in the Dart in Scarness bay helped the GP and Laser decide that it was time to head home! So that left the three F15s.

The winds continued to lift, head, and fade in a generally unpredictable manner and although distances between boats increased and disappeared, the overall order was held until the finish. There were some exciting spinnaker runs on the way back and apart from Bill Wheeler with crew Pete Nuttall mistaking a fishing buoy for a mark of the course leading to them retiring there were no mishaps.

As the race was on fleet handicap the finishing order was the overall result – 1st Willam Carruthers and Miles Middleton; 2nd Mike Moore and Toni Nuttall

The GP14 North East areas was held at Derwent Reservoir on 6/7 May. After some very close, competitive racing Bassenthwaite helms Mike Fairlamb and Andrew Greenhalgh both tied on six points after counting four out of five races. Mike Fairlamb and crew Mike Cowan were delighted to receive the Trophy especially as it is the first season that Mike Fairlamb has owned a GP.

It was another busy weekend for racers this weekend as the fleet competed for the Celebrity Glass Trophy.

Saturday saw 12 boats out on the lake with some close racing throughout the fleet. A few close calls and a slight collision on the start line all added to the excitement. The winds were being typical Bass. At the back of the fleet, at one point it looked as if Ginge Hodgkins was going to be beaten by his youngest son, Richard, crewed by his brother Philip. Fortunately a change in the wind meant that Ginge came in about a minute before his sons crossed the line. Watch out Dad!

Sunday saw a windless start to the day, but by lunch time the wind had arrived and a small fleet took to the water. The wind filled in and this made for some close racing. Another young face could be seen out on the lake today, Emily Carruthers. This was 8 year old Emily�s second race as a crew in the GP 14. She has discovered the fun of sailing � watch out Dad she will want her own boat next!

The second race was longer with the fleet spreading out as each lap was covered.

Mike Moore had another slight encounter with another flying fifteen at the first buoy – as if there was not enough water for everyone to sail in!

The results were very close and after a recount Mike Fairlamb and Mike Cowen were victorious adding yet another trophy to their collection – well done.

2^nd Mike Moore, 3rd Paul Burnell, 4^th Ginge Hodgkins, 5^th Nigel Lewis.

A testing set of winds were offered to the formidable teams over the weekend. Overnight leaders were Cheat Seekers and they continued to hold their position, though only just, in the heavier winds that increased throughout Sunday�s racing. In the final reckoning Windermere�s Cheat Seekers beat Bassenthwaite�s Where�s Scott Gone by just one point! Well done one and all.

The Grotty Potty was awarded by last year�s winner, Terry Crumpton, to John Somerville for a triple backward somersault though other contenders included Commodore William Carruthers for a display of his inability to readily manoeuvre away from the jetty (in front of a crowd of onlooking helms) and Steve Goacher for almost capsizing.

�Listings

Last weekend the 17/18^th October saw the final weekend series that counted towards the Club Championship. Cold, blustery weather on Saturday was not to the liking of the Flying�15s and they stayed on shore and watched the GPs and Lasers cope with varying weather conditions that at the end of the afternoon left a covering of snow on Skiddaw.

No sailing for the Flying �15s meant that William Carruthers, who had to win all 5 races over the weekend to win the championship, would be second to Scott Beattie. Neil Currie, who braved the elements on Saturday along with world champion Steve Goacher but only to do some tuning sessions in preparation for the next World Championships to be held in Esperance, Australia next February, finished third overall.

The Flying 15s sailed all three races on Sunday to settle a closely fought battle. After two races Mike Moore and William Carruthers each had a 1^st and a 3^rd, and Graham Kirkpatrick had two 2^nds resulting in everything being on the last race. Graham Kirkpatrick took an early lead and left Mike and William to battle it out. Spinnaker problems for Mike enabled William to pass and chase Graham. Although it seemed the race was over when the shorten course signal was sounded, Graham mistook which leg of the course he was on and headed for the clubhouse. This allowed William, crewed by Graham�s daughter Andrea, to take the lead and win the weekend series! Mike, with a 1^st and a 2^nd finished 2^nd and Graham 3^rd overall.

Club Championship

• Flying 15s
• Laser Championship
• GP14 Championship
• Mirror Championship
• Flying 15
• Lasers
• GP14s
• Mirrors
• Handicap