Barts Bash 2015 is almost upon us, together with�thousands of Sailing Clubs worldwide we are hosting a Bart’s Bash race this Sunday 20th September at 1100hrs as part of our action packed “fun” weekend.

Last year we had nearly 40 boats taking part, let’s try and top that this year, the race is open to all classes and abilities and is all about breaking world records and raising money for a worthwhile charity. All you need to do is�enter via this link http://www.bartsbash.com

To ensure Bass is represented well in the final standings you can register your participation as a crew through the link above.

Entries at present number 19 so get yours in.

The programme for the Fun weekend whilst flexible due to the weather will broadly be as follows:- Camping and Caravanning Friday to Sunday, bar open Friday evening, Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony then England vs Fiji from 7pm, Saturday on water activities using club boats – relay/team racing etc. Rounders match followed by evening Bring and Eat and Bass Bingo. Sunday morning Breakfast Butties in the Clubhouse followed by Barts Bash race at 1100hrs, all sailors welcome.

Jon Denwood

An intrepid team of sailors and supporters set off in atrocious conditions on Saturday morning to take part in the 49th sailing of the West Lancs Yacht Clubs aka. Southport 24 hour race. Fortunately on arrival the torrential rain has passed by and the sun shone and wind blew. For the second year in succession we were sailing an Enterprise kindly loaned by Mark Ninnim.

The race started at 1200hrs and we were in the second flight as a result of our excellent 11th place last year. The wind was blowing a good force 4 from the SW which meant the start was on a broad reach. Mark and Emma made a good safe start and sailed consistently well in testing conditions until 1500hrs, our position at this time was 17th out of the 64 entries. They were replaced by Alex and Izzie who had an exciting time including two�capsizes at the Gybe mark.

There were numerous boats capsizing and a number being towed back to base. At about 1630 Rob replaced Izzie as crew as the conditions demanded more ballast and at 1800hrs Ethan and Alex2 took over in gentler conditions. They sailed steadily maintaining our position until 2000hrs when Neil and Hazel, sailing her first Southport took over, conditions were now much lighter and our position was varying between 22nd and 16th throughout the race.

Mark and Emma did a second stint between 2200 and midnight followed by Alex and Harry who finished a creditable 5th in the midnight race. At 0130hrs Harry did a swallow dive into the lake and Izzie stepped aboard to crew, winds were blowing a force one gusting two and it was cold but dry.

At 0300hrs Ethan and Alex2 were sent out for the graveyard shift and despite Ethan’s pleas for leniency were not replaced until 0600hrs by Neil and Hazel who sailed until just after 0800hrs when a tired Alex and cold Rob went out for their final stint. Mark and Emma, who had slept at Chez Preston and were refreshed, then sailed to the finish in bright sunshine.

�After the results were finalised we were 16th overall and 4th Enterprise which was an excellent performance from a fabulous team of sailors who were fine representatives of Bassenthwaite Sailing Club.

Jon Denwood

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It�s all over. Cor! I, and the dedicated competitors, can take a mid week break in future. But Thursday NJ & Social evenings will be missed over the coming months. 

This has been a record series with 59 different helms contesting it. As the Night Jar was based solely on PH in the past, let�s give preference to the winner and leading crews in that category. Tony King took the series win although only by a single point from AJ & Sue.

 In the FH category the clear winners were Alex & Olivia with the GP of Mike & Eric second despite their not contesting the final four round. Joan & Jack came third after a season long contest with Val & Ken who were placed fourth.

 Other results of note were David Haselden who was placed 5th on PH, Peter Winfindale 8th and David Roger a brilliant 10th. On FH Hazel was 8th and Jon Anson 10th.

So what happened in the final race? There was a force1 ESE wind leading up to the start and the OD chose 5-3-1 as the course. With 20 boats it was a busy line and Alex (I think) was over at the port pin but immediately restarted without much loss of time.

The wind swung a little up the long beat but was generally true. The journey to the wing mark was a broad reach for most with Joan/Jack & AJ/Sue in the GPs being gradually hauled in, and later overtaken by Alex/Olivia�s 200 and Joe�s 300.

After 3 there was a huge hole followed by a temporary wind shift to the North. The leading crews gybed out of it but, with the wind dropping, a number of boats decided not to round 1 for the finish but to head for home. After 23 to 53 minutes, dependent of fleet position, it was all over.

Thanks go to OD�s, safety crews, meal providers and all the other helpers for making the Series such a success.

Final results FH PH

There was not a lot of wind around. But crews were keen to get another race in with the Night Jar drawing to a close, so the Bates went out and posted 0-9-A as a course.

Of the 14 starters Val & Ken had the best get away from the starboard end of the line. But the force 1 wind was dropping away to a drift. Hazel & Izzie in the Feva struggled to cross the line even with the crew perched on the bow and they soon capsized involuntarily or otherwise. After a spell going in reverse Josh joined them to practice righting the Tera.

By the time many boats reached 0 many crews were in no mood to continue and five more retired. It was slow work for those who continued. Terry Hall led from Val & Ken with Peter�s Laser and David�s Solo in close company and Poppy Gannon with Neil in an Enterprise in pursuit. And that was the order in which they finished. The last finisher was Tony King needing to get another result in to maintain the lead on Personal handicap which he had built up in earlier rounds.

FH results were as the finishing order on the water except that David moved ahead of Peter to take third place. Terry also took the win on PH with Peter taking his best result of the series in second place. With a third, David has given himself a chance of moving into a podium place.

The race was enlivened by a low level fly by with spectacular starboard turn by a Hercules. Well, either there were two, or the same one circled around for a second attempt? And this was followed by a superb sunset lighting up the underside of the clouds and enveloping fells and boats, in a ruddy glow.

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Photos (C) Sarah Newport

Back in the clubhouse Olivia and Alex had been laying out tables and preparing a meal which was enjoyed by all.

Latest results PH FH

The last bank holiday camping weekend of the year started off with a mild sunny afternoon combined with a good breeze, somewhat lighter than forecast, that tempted out a fair fleet of boats.

In the F15s, Ian/Izzie got the best start but it was Mark/Ian that took an early lead and promptly headed for the wrong mark, with the next couple of boats following like sheep. Bean/Alan were the first to head for the correct mark and take the lead. Mark did get back in to the lead, but Bean finished a close 2nd.

Dave/Lynn took two 1sts in the GPs leaving Val/Ken and AJ/Sue to battle it out for the next couple of places, each sharing a 2nd and a 3rd. 

Having burnt out Alan in the F15 in the first race, Bean moved into the GP with Tog to practice for the forthcoming 24hr race. Finishing 4th might suggest they need some more practice!

Scumper/Zefer won both handicap races in their 400 with James in a Laser taking one 2nd, and Banter in a 100 taking the other.

Lighter winds are forecast for the next two days over which the five race championship series will be held.

DW etc latest results

Sunday started with camp patches and a slight shower but broke out into another bright day, and the wind filled in, albeit shifty, for the first three races of the weekend series. Visitors from Southport SC joined in with the racing, though not included in results, topping up boats to a busy 35.

Keith/John had a good first race pulling out a good lead which they held to win the F15s, while Ian/Izzy wind the second race and Mark/Ian finally got their act together to win the third.

Joan/Jack shone early in the GPs, but Dave/Lynn eventually got back into the groove winning all three races. It was good to have Jess/Sally sailing their GP together for the first time.

Bean/Naomi were back in the RS200 taking three bullets in the fast handicap fleet. Newcomer John Roberts in Pico won two slow handicap races while Jim won the other in his Hartley.

What would Bank Holiday Monday bring? While the south of the country battled through flooding and heavy rain showers, after a misty start, we were blessed with clear skies but a general lack of wind. Racing got underway after a short postponement with a light breeze from the North East but the wind would fade to drifting conditions after little more than 10 mins then return for another brief spurt. The OD was keen for the race to be a reasonable length, though he didn’t expect the tailenders viz Josh and Martin to be on the water for 90 mins!

Although the wind faded again over the lunch break, it returned from the NE to get racing back underway on a short course to manage any further wind drops. What it didn’t allow for was the wind backing to the north, making the beat a fetch! Later the wind backed further to the west (was that the sea breeze effect?) creating a beat on the final leg of the course.

Dave/Lynn again mastered the conditions winning the GP trophy with five wins. In the handicap fleet, the light airs suited Steve/Ruth in their Merlin and they were able to secure a 1st and 2nd behind Ian Hall in a Solo. However, Bean managed to get a 3rd which was enough to win the trophy.

Jim’s collision with a F15 on Sunday perhaps spurred him on to take two 1sts in the conditions and win the slow handicap trophy.

In the F15s, Ian/Lezliann only sailed two races on Sunday, but took two commanding leads on Monday to win the trophy, and denying Mark/Ian of one their few opportunities to win a series while the newer boats were elsewhere.

With racing over, the rain held off for another hour. All in all a good bank holiday!

Final results 

It was a dull evening but without the threat of rain. With a constant force 4 wind from the SW the beat was 3-B in a box shaped course B-A-4-3. There were fourteen starters with two newcomers to the Series, Mike Cave in his Solo and Poppy Gannon in an Enterprise.

Following a good start, Joe Watkins in his 300 streaked around the course to complete the first lap in five minutes. The 200 of Alex and Olivia followed some lengths back and then there was another gap to the GPs of Val & Ken, Joan & Jack and AJ with Janie.

But it was not a good course for the Geeps with two tight reaches interspersed with a dead run. David�s Solo moved ahead of them and Ethan�s Radial and Pete�s Laser were also in the mix.

Joe was now lapping in six minutes and those on the Bates were asking how many laps he could complete before the light started to fade and the race was shortened. The wind was shifting ahead of beam on the final reach and all the kite boats were having difficulty getting them to fly and, particularly, dropping at 3. A tight rounding was needed to make the line but all were losing seconds while stowing and before they could harden up.

Val & Ken seemed to fare best of the bunch at 3 while Joan & Jack were not having one of their better Thursdays. But Alex & Olivia, a lap ahead, had the poorest rounding on the final lap eventually tacking off up the line. Surely that would ruin any chance of a win on FH? But no! FH results showed that they had beaten Joe by a mere second. David was third and Ethan fourth.

On PH it was Joe from David from Pete. Where were the Geeps? Don�t ask!

Latest results FH PH

Memories of the week can be found on the photographer’s website www.benunwinphotography.co.uk/Bass-Week-2015

Here’s an example of the fun Ben can do with the shots

Did you spend your holiday with us at Bassenthwaite for our annual regatta?

The Bass team are always striving for continuous improvement and in this respect we would like your feedback on this years regatta.

If you have 5 minutes to spare please click on Questionnaire 2015�and let us know what was good about this year and where we can improve. For every 25th completed survey, the lucky individual will receive a �25 discount voucher off next years entry.

Thank you and congratulations to Zena Martin for her survey and winning the first voucher!

We have a second winner already – it’s Emma Smith. Not the Rear Commodore’s wife, but his brother’s!

Four members of Bassenthwaite Youth Squad travelled to Rutland Water to be part of the Cumbria Youth Sailing Team taking part in the National Schools Sailing Association Regatta.

Hazel Newport, Ethan Dawson, Charlotte Winfindale, all from Cockermouth School and Harry Binns from Keswick School were part of the Cumbria team with over 30 members.

Some 282 boats from 21 Teams took part with most of the competitors and Team Managers camping at the Rutland Agricultural Showground.

The teams enjoyed some amazing racing in some very challenging winds, from very light to gusts of over 25kts at times. There was also some great competition between the different fleets members to create a fantastic event for all.  

The whole weeks experience was a great opportunity for the young sailors to travel further afield and be part of a great team event. They all described it as “a fantastic experience with some amazing fun throughout the evenings”

They are all looking forward to the NSSA at Great Yarmouth in 2016.

Well done all.