This time we had wind! A constant force 4 Easterly. Alex set a course from 0 of B-1-0 which was deliberately short so he put up 6 laps. What he didn�t reckon on was the speed of the Musto Skiff and lap times of 5 mins! Luckily Val and Izzie were on the Bates to ensure lap recording was accurate.

When we had disentangled the port end mark we had a clean start for the somewhat depleted fleet. AJ and Sue had a good starboard end start and were second to John�s Skiff around B but Sue didn�t fly the kite on the next beam reach and Jim�s Supernova and Tony�s Solo got through, positions on the water which they held to the end.

Considering the wind strength, competitors handled the conditions well although Steve Peck / Simon Smith in the L2000 couldn�t stow the kite at 0 and continued half way to 9 before tacking for the line on lap 2.

Safety crews, of which there were several, were having an easy night until John Roberts� Pico capsized just before the final mark. He righted it but turtled again just after crossing the line!

Peter and Karen had elected not to sail so that the meal was done to a tee when crews came ashore. Results were rapidly published but your scribe had some reservations about them so see the amended ones as checked by the Sailing Secretary.

Latest result FH PH

The chances for racing looked slim with heavy snow falling and even settling on roads leading to the Club. But it stopped before the start time.

Seven boats took to the water – and then the wind dropped! What little there was appeared to be coming from the East and Joan in the Bates set a course from upwind of 0 towards 3 with 1 and 0 following. But a 100 degree shift meant the last minute inclusion of 1 as the windward mark.

So it was a short and starboard biased line. Those at the port end lost out, particularly Mike & Eric when the GP became lodged in a particularly stubborn hole. John�s Skiff was first around the mark and also around A but then it came to a complete stop and was passed by Pete�s Laser.

By this time Owen O�Donnell from South Windermere had retired his Tera with the hope of more wind for the Northerns. Joan had decided that one lap would give a long enough race bearing in mind the conditions.

At 1 Tony�s Solo and Neil�s Radial were also in the mix but, with the wind filling from NE, Tony and John pulled out 20 seconds from Pete with the former taking line honours. Mike & Eric had got through Hazel�s Radial by the time they reached 0 but she was not to be denied and re-passed them on the way up to the line to finish two seconds ahead.

Then it was time for a roast meal cooked by Alan and Sue who had decided a warm oven was preferable to a cold lake!

Results showed Tony had taken the FH win from Pete with these positions being reversed on PH.

Latest results FH PH

A cold day due to the northerly breeze but the various spells of sunshine made everyone feel so much more comfortable. Across the lake there were various snow showers from time to time. Mike came prepared for the cold weather though, he was in his wolly jumper, despite wearing it inside out and back to front!

The weekend’s racing is a fleet handicap series of five races for the MJM Trophy and Asymmetric Cup. Back from his travels, Zefer was back crewing with Scumper and somewhat tickled to discover a broom head tangled in the running gear for the wing wangs – not surprising they hadn’t been working very well last week!

The wind proved to be variable in both strength and direction, resulting in very biased start lines for each race. The first race was a struggle for boats to cross the line on starboard, and the second race had a couple of boats over, though�Mike/Eric failed to return.

The occasional holes in the wind were frustrating and challenging, and places were readily gained or lost.

Sunday started off sunny, which again made the cold wind more comfortable. The wind was just about as shifty as Saturday so beats came and went, and, unusually, one reach turned into a beat briefly!

The asymmetric fleet were caught out by one shift which caused another biased start line, and resulted in three of the four starters to be over the line. They all returned eventually!

The wind freshened as the day went on, resulting in various capsizes, and�a blown out F15 spinnaker (not a good start to the racing season for John and Tim).�With three races scheduled, numbers dwindled as time passed, and various crews were pleased to hear the final finishing signal.

Final results MJM/Asymmetric Cup

…is better than a good day in the office. That could be Shunty’s mantra for the day. The Bates just happened to be in the way when he tacked, left go of his tiller, and had the first bump with the refurbished Bates. Later�he�capsized. He couldn’t even blame his crew as he was in his Solo! Fortunately these mishaps were all in the first race, pushing him down to 5th, although finishing 11secs quicker would have landed him a 3rd.

Throughout the morning there had been a strong contingent enjoying their first training session of the season

The weather clouded over after a sunny morning, stayed cold, and rained briefly. Windwise it was mixed (nothing new there!) varying from sitting out conditions to light airs in the lee of the shore at times.

There was enough wind for Ethan to capsize his latest boat, an�RS600, and�Scumper had to capsize his boat between races to sort some rigging issues. Dave/Lynn’s racing didn’t follow their typical format of leading from the start, one bad lap and they were pursuing the rest of the fleet for the rest of the race (perhaps Lynn should have taken the helm again?). After a poor start,Mike/Eric worked their way through to the front by the finish of the first race, with Joan/Jack 2nd.

With a couple of F15s racing at Windermere, there were just two contenders at Bass. Some consistent sailing by Ian/Lezli-Ann gave them two wins over Tim/Elaine.

Scumper won both handicap races, with Banter 2nd in the first race, and Shunty 2nd in the second one.

Latest results MG etc

Clear blue skies with a 2-3 from the SE greeted sailors on Sunday morning. Though not much warmer than Saturday, the sunshine certainly made it feel hotter. The figure of eight course pleased many sailors, including Jim (wonders will never cease!). Scumper had his sister Gayle crewing for the first time in many a year, so it is, perhaps, not surprising that there was a minor episode of kite trawling. Fresh back to the water, Alastair was fully expecting to be giving his Vareo an early wash and go swimming, but the boy did good, and stayed upright all day!

Dave/Lynn took a while to find top gear, but they did get their act together to win the morning race ahead of Mike/Eric. Mike won the afternoon race, with Joan/Jack 2nd. In the F15s, Tim/Ian and Ian/Lezli-Ann each had a 1st and a 2nd.

Jim won both races in his Hartley, with John 2nd in his Pico.

Despite narrowly avoiding a collision with Ian/Lezli-Ann, Robbie D/Banter in their 400 went on to win the morning race with Alastair taking 2nd and Neil in a Laser 3rd.

The afternoon race looked promising, but the wind promptly faded after the start sequence began. Robbie D took over 30 secs to cross the line, and Hazel, in her Laser 4,7, several minutes! Consideration was given to abandoning racing, but it was a sunny afternoon! With the wind filling in, the fleet was left to sail a second lap in a better breeze which would benefit some tail enders on handicap. Shunty won on handicap, with Hazel 2nd and Ian H in a Solo 3rd.

Latest results BL etc

In the�F15 open at Windermere, Simon/Jon finished 5th and Mike/Kayla 7th

The forecast force 4/5 was not to be on Saturday which offered a light southerly for the small fleet of boats. Perhaps the drizzly conditions had dampened enthusiasm?

Shortly after the first start the breeze eased to nigh on drifting conditions with boats relying on the intermittent zephyrs that passed over the course from a variety of directions!

In the F15s, Mike/Kayla took and early lead which they strengthened over time, but lost to Ian C/Lezli-Ann as they waited for their next zephyr. By the end of the beat Mike took the lead again, with Ian M/Elaine pulling through to 2nd. Ian and Joyce were the only contenders in the Handicap fleet, and Ian took the honours despite�trying to�avoid getting embroiled in the F15 fleet.

Dave crewed for Lynn in the GPs, and she managed to give Mike/Eric some strong challenges, though Mike did secure the lead over the finish line.

With no prospect of the wind filling in again, and little enthusiasm, the 2nd race was not sailed.

Latest results

Saturday’s rain continued through the night but dried up in time for Sunday racing. There was a general recall for the Handicap fleet, but they were all clear on the second start which was held in a fresh southerly which resulted in just one capsize before easing to near drifting conditions.

Mike/Kayla and Mike/Eric again took wins in the F15s and GPs respectively. Steve/Ruth in a Merlin won the Handicap fleet ahead of Jim/Poppy in their Hartley.

Latest results

The afternoon race was the Eric Twiname Trust pennant, typically held around the lake but as marks beyond Scarness are yet to be laid it was held in the bay, perhaps fortunately as the wind again eased causing some bunching on the finish line, and throwing handicaps into disarray. �Steve/Ruth were first across the line, but on Handicap the honours went to Toggle in his Solo just 9 secs ahead of Dave/Lynn.

Lynn leads the Sandra’s Salver series.

Eric Twiname Trust pennant
Sandra’s Salver