The Annual Prizegiving takes place on Saturday 28th November which may seem some time away but will soon be upon us. To assist in preparation for the event can all members who have club prizes please ensure they are returned to the Committee Room, engraved and polished before Saturday 31st October. This will allow a full audit of prizes and their condition to take place before the Prizegiving.
Thank you
Jon Denwood
A brilliant finish to September and start of October is all due to a high pressure system, and a consequential lack of wind, which was not even strong enough to turn the nearby turbines, or blow away the mist which had been lingering all morning, so the likelihood of sailing was low. A small puff of wind caused ripples across the lake briefly, but they soon faded, and racing was abandoned for the day shortly afterwards.
Sunday’s forecast was not a lot better, but it may have suited team Bass (comprising Commodore, rear commodore, bar chair, lady commodore, social secretary, youth squad co-ordinator and assistant, past social secretary) who are all took part in the Cumbrian Run!
On arrival at the club, sailors were pleasantly surprised by a light, southerly breeze, albeit somewhat cooler than recent days. Ten boats �sailed what was to be the first race in the October series. Banter in his RS100 led the fleet, and was lucky to take the wind around the course with him because shortly after the start of the first race wind from�the SW enabled Sale Fell to cast a shadow on part of the course, but as he approached the shadow it was pushed away by the slightly stronger southerly. It was to be the GPs, led by Mike/Eric, that took all three pole positions, with Banter 4th on fleet handicap. Dave Lawson’s lower than usual position was due to offering some coaching to Pete Winfindale.
Though the wind strength varied throughout the day, it held for the afternoon race, but�there were some major shifts to contend with which, of course, could prove to be beneficial if on the right side of the shift. Despite their best efforts, Joan/Jack were unable to stay ahead of Mike/Eric who went on to win the race on fleet handicap and take a 3 pt�lead in the series. Joan leads the personal handicap series, with Banter 2nd.
North West Electricity have advised us of some scheduled maintenance work this Saturday 3rd October between 10am and 2pm. Consequently access through the gate will not be possible until some kind person does a manual override.
So if you’re not privy as to how to open the gate manually please be patient, someone will turn up eventually!
Several members of the Youth Squad took the opportunity to attend the RYA Youth North Zone Championships over the weekend, as it was being held so close to home at Ullswater Yacht Club.
Hazel Newport, David Rodgers & Poppy Gannon were sailing in the Topper fleet, Harry Binns & Izzie Hunter in the RS Feva Fleet, Josh Hunter and Sam Macey in the Regatta Fleet.
Although, the weather was amazing for the weekend’s camping, it was a sad note for the sailing. On Saturday the squad waited all day but the winds never came, so at 4.30pm it was declared no racing was going to take place.
Sunday started to look the same but the organisers were more hopeful and sent the fleets out at 10am only to abandon racing at 11am and bring them all back in. Then the winds came and while most sailors were enjoying a relaxing lunch, note David, the racing was set to start and everyone was quickly back on the water.
The wind held while the fleets managed to sail 3 races but it was not very strong and proved to be very challenging for some.
However, a good weekend was had both on and off the water. Hazel Newport sailed really well in the Topper Zone fleet, finishing 3rd girl and 7th overall in the Topper fleet out of 29 competitors. She was really pleased as last year she came 23 out of 28!! Also, Josh Hunter managed to bring home a medal by finishing 3rd in the Regatta Fleet in his RS Tera.
Well done all.
What a weekend it was, most arrived on Friday afternoon/evening with caravans, motor homes and tents ready for a fun packed couple of days. Friday evening saw the clubhouse full of sailors watching the Rugby World Cup Opening ceremony and match on the big screen, a number continued late into the night celebrating England’s victory against Fiji. As a result several were quite subdued on Saturday morning but the glorious weather soon got them livened up.
Early Saturday afternoon saw the on water activities commence which consisted �of 4 teams of 10 aged 5 to 60+ compete firstly in a relay race in Toppers, the rules of racing were totally disregarded, numerous forced capsizes and sinkings were encountered. The next leg of this unusual Triathalon was a paddle board race followed by an open water swim. Again a lot of skulduggery was apparent. The whole event was enjoyed by all including the numerous spectators and adjudicators, who won, who cares. After a quick shower and tea and cake which was sold to raise runds for Macmillan Cancer Support everyone met in the freshly cut back field for a game of rounders. The game lasted the best part of 2 hours and was won by the team that batted first as the light was fading by the end. Saturday evening was spent in the clubhouse with a bring and eat buffet which was excellent followed by a game of bingo.
Sunday morning whilst not quite as sunny was dry and a reasonable Westerly wind was blowing for our Barts Bash Race, bacon, egg and black pudding butties were eaten in preparation. 35 boats took to the water and sailed the course, there were a few capsizes and tales to tell. The faster boats sailed 5 laps the slower boats 2 and others 3 & 4. When the club results were computed Alex & Olivia �in a RS 200 were declared winners from Dave & Lynn in a GP14 and Commodore Mark in a RS100. �244 was raised for the Andrew Simpson Foundation. Everyone returned to shore for lunch and to reflect on an excellent weekend, caravans etc were packed up and we all went home.
Bart’s Bash results�Bass Version��Bart’s Version
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.
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.