Torrential overnight rain faded late morning, as did the wind, but with only one potential competitor in attendance racing was cancelled for the day.
Sunday started in a similar way, dry after a wet night, and little wind, but with a few more sailors interested in racing.
A light breeze did fill in from the south, then faded as the OD went out to prepare a start line… Fortunately it came back again, then promptly eased shortly after the start. With mirrorlike conditions the OD was ready to shorten the race at the 2nd mark, only for the wind to fill from the W/NW, which held sufficiently for the fleet to complete two laps. Despite the change in direction, the course still had a run and beat in it, which gave cause to a few changes in position, including Robbie D taking the lead from Dave L, both in Solos. In the GPs, a nervous AJ was keen to stop whilst leading at the end of the first lap, but he held his position to beat James/Jenny.
Though the wind was patchy, the fleet opted to hold the pennant race immediately after the first race. The start line was moved to suit the NW direction, which held with a few variations in strength throughout the race. Neil was trailing during the first lap, but took advantage of a major curve in the wind to take the lead which he held to the end, with Dave L a close 2nd.
After a busy day on Saturday hosting the triathlon, Sunday was somewhat quieter, sedate, and soggy!
The breeze was intermittent, but a selection of sailors were keen to make their visit worthwhile, so, with the Bates being a reluctant participant, there was a shore based start line.
Neil in his Laser was a bit too keen, and was OCS, so had to return through the line but he pulled back through to the front of the fleet to win in the water, and on handicap, with Isn in his Solo 2nd. By the end of the race the rain moved in so the fleet came ashore, and decided enough was enough before packing their boats away.
It was fanstastic to have a fleet of 23 Flying 15s for their northern championship. They enjoyed champagne sailing conditions throughout the sunny afternoon. Of course, there were a few shifts to contend with, but that’s Bass!
The fleet got away to a clean start for the first race, and the first beat seemed to set the tone for the four leaders, none of which changed position, despite various challenges, so the win went to Andy McKee/Rich Jones from Dovestone. Best Bass boat was sailed by Graham Kirkpatrick/Alan Smith who finished 4th.
The next start was not quite as orderly, with two general recalls before various helms offered the OD advice on introducing the black flag, Simon Longstaff being one of them. It’s a shame he fell foul of it (and perhaps fortuitous that usual crew Commodore Jon Denwood was substituted due to back injury)! Perhaps that was the reason he was leading the at the windward mark before being informed he was out?
Although Andy/Rich sailed well, they were pipped on the final beat by Steve Goacher/Tim Harper from RWYC. This time it was Neil Currie/Rory Yardley that led the Bass fleet, finishing 3rd.
After a short break, the fleet headed out for the third race of the day. Another clean start, but it was the first leeward mark which was so busy that there were various bumps, threats of protests, and turns done. However, Nigel & Gavin Tullett from RWYC kept their lead, though only by a smidgen on the finish line as Mike Preston/Chris Robinson challenged!
So with no discards, overnight lead was held by Steve/Tim, with Andy/Rich 2nd. Best Bass boat in 4th sailed by Andy Smith/Andy Tunicliffe
Sunday’s weather was more of the same – sun and a shifty force 2. There was plenty of competitive racing, although not as crowded at some of the marks, there was the incident resulting in turns being required!
In race 4 Steve/Tim broke through to the lead and showed a clean pair of heals to Neil/Rory, and strengthened his lead in the series. With main competitor Andy McKee finishing 4th, Steve needed to finish in the top three to be assured of the championship.
Andy/Rich took the final race (2nd overall), Steve/Tim 2nd (winner) with Andy/Andy 3rd (4th overall), and Nigel/Gavin 4th (3rd overall)
F15 Northern Championship winners Steve Goacher and Tim Harper with Commodore Jon Denwood
With increased prevalence of COVID infections and the cancellation of the ET Championships, members had the club to themselves for the weekend, and benefitted from the Bass microclimate. The forecast showers did not come to fruition, whilst the sailing was underway at least! Saturday was declared a fun day with a combination of racing, running and paddle boarding.
The racing took the form of a pursuit race, perhaps more aptly chasing the wind which was a reluctant participant. During the start sequence, the light airs swung through 90 degrees, but did bed in from the west a while later.
Sunday started with another good early morning southerly. There was an excellent turnout of 32 boats for the two race fleet handicap series. The wind eased towards the end of the first lap, but came back again. Banter/Rory were putting up a good fight against Bean/Naomi, both in RS200s, but after claiming water at the leeward mark, Banter touched it and then promptly capsized as he started to do his turns.
Just before the start of the next race, the wind veered massively to the SW, so the line was moved. Perhaps the threatening rain cloud was disturbing the wind, but it took a short while to find a settled wind direction, and then get the race underway. Beating into mark 1 is not always ideal, especially when the wind eases, fortunately it filled in again, to get the fleet ashore just in time to pack their boats away in a major downpour!
Perhaps with the Bass microclimate we shouldn�t be surprised that there was a reasonable breeze from the south and little sign of rain or thunder greeting sailors for the championship weekend series.
The breeze held for the fleets totalling 19 boats throughout the first lap, but then gently eased, which it continued to do after the start of the second race. It was only after the race was shortened before the end of the first lap that the wind filled in slightly as it backed to the east.
There was some close racing in the F15s with Simon/Jon winning the first race, but retiring due to the light airs in the second. Ian/Lezliann took advantage of some good fortune to beat Graham/Alan in both races, putting them in overnight lead.
In the handicap fleet, Robbie D is in overnight lead with two wins. The lighter weather suited Mike in his Streaker enabling him to beat Toggle in a Solo in both races, so they lie 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Dave/Lynn lead the GPs with two wins. James/Jenny pulled out the stops to finish a good 2nd in the first race, with Val/Ken 3rd. Val’s 2nd in the next race puts her in 2nd place overnight.
There was only one race in the slow handicap fleet, which was won by James in a Tera Sport, and Mik in a Mirror 2nd
Summer may well have started officially, but the sun was keeping a very low profile, and the NE breeze was contributing to the chill in the air.
A force 3 gave the fleet of 16 boats some good planing conditions at times, and there were a few capsizes.
A quick turnaround between the end of the first race and the start of the second race caught a few sailors off guard and they had some minutes catching up to do!
Joe and Alex in Lasers, together with Val/Ken in a GP shared the 1st three positions in both races, but with more races to count, it is AJ/Sue that lead the series, with Joan/Jack 2nd
Sunday morning was sunny, but with little wind. Although it filled in from the forecast NE direction, as soon as the OD on the water and ready to prepare a course, the wind faded. The fleet had launched, but after 45 mins of waiting for the breeze to fill in again, the OD opted for an early lunch, only for the wind to fill in from the NE before the fleet had reached shore! The appearance of some wind put paid to the sunshine for the rest of the afternoon…
After lunch, the wind eased a little, but stayed long enough to get both races in. There were, of course, some big swings to contend with, but that’s Bassenthwaite! In the GPs, Val/Ken won, with Mike/Tim 2nd. Robbie D in a Solo won the handicap race, with Joan/Jack 2nd. Word has it there was some abuse of the rules, but it did not go any further… The slow handicap race was won by Phil/Lucy in a Mirror, with Mik 2nd, and Poppy 3rd
The second race was the Calvert Trust pennant, but in line with tradition this year, the course was set in the northern bay. Robbie D led the race, and won on handicap, with Neil 2nd, and Hugh 3rd. James/Jenny had a good race, leading the GPs, and finishing 5th overall.
This weekend Red Seal volunteers travelled to Bass to provide additional safety boat cover for the� weekend. They brought their new D-Class boat Red Seal 1 which was formally named Barbara Darling by her family. Barbara sadly passed away last year and the family set up a JustGiving page which raised funds to allow Red Seal to purchase the new D-Class.
A fresh southerly greeted 85 young sailors as they prepared for this year’s NW Youth and Junior Traveller’s Trophy. Although the wind eased slightly before racing commenced early afternoon, the general direction remained relativly true (somewhat surprisingly!).
To ease congestion, the excellent turnout of 75 boats was split over two starts, though all results were merged into a single result. Although a few boats were OCS on the first start, all but one returned, and subsequent starts were clear. There were, of course, swinging winds, and some variations in wind strength, to contend with, but the sailors of all standards fared well. There were no capsizes (during racing!).
After two races, the fleet headed ashore for a break. Although the OD was keen to hold another race, the wind eased, and then swung through 180 degrees, a decision was made to abandon any attempt to hold another race on Saturday.
Overnight leader was George Creasy & David Bromilow in a 420 from WKSC, with Zak & Zoe Sanderson-Davies in a Feva from Windermere 2nd, and Oliver Mills in a Laser from Pennine 3rd. There was a very respectably performance by some of the slower boats with Tom Moss & Harry Wood in a Feva from Elton lying 4th, and Ben Welfare in an Optimist from Leigh & Lowton in 5th place.
With light airs forecast for Sunday, a 1030 start proved to be optimistic! A katabatic breeze came in from the south, and when the OD went out to set a course, every beat somehow seemed to be to mark 8! In the end, the same course as Saturday was used, although there were regular significant swings in direction.
The wind eased before race 4, but soon after the race was started, it faded more as competing winds seemed to come from various directions, so the race was abandoned (to a big cheer from competitors) until after a lunch break with the expectation that a sea breeze would settle things down.
Once ashore, a NE breeze bedded. Again, the OD had to contend with major swings in direction when setting the course, but a suitable course area was found and race 4 restarted. The wind continued to swing throughout the race, so there were some good gains to be had if on the right side of the shifts. By the time the race finished it was too late to start the 5th and final race.
Some more consistent sailing on Sunday gave Zak and Zoe the edge to beat George and David on countback, with Oliver Mills 3rd, just one point behind.
Top Bass sailors are Matty Somerville in a Tera Pro in 17th place, Jack Exley in a Laser Radial 25th, and Katia Smith, also in a Tera Pro, in 29th place.
We are saddened to report the untimely death of Mark Ninnim on Thursday after a short illness.
Mark’s funeral will be held at Tynemouth crematorium on Friday 25th June at 1.30pm. Although the chapel is just for close family due to Covid restrictions there is lots of space outside chapel, with speakers/tv in place. Anyone unable to attend can watch the service online with username jima7158 and password 399191
Everyone is invited to join for a drink to celebrate Mark at Tynemouth sailing club following the service. If possible, bring a glass (wine/champagne) but disposable ones will be available if needed.
Any donations to RNLI please.
There are no dress requirements, but if desired, ladies may wear black head band or fascinator, and gents may wear club ties.
Mark has been associated with the club for the best part of 40 years, and a member for over 10 years. During this time he has been instrumental in gaining significant sponsorship for Bass Week.
Our thoughts are with Mark’s wife Natasha, and the rest of his family at this sad time.
We are saddened to report the untimely death of Mark Ninnim on Thursday after a short illness.