Best of luck to Scumper and Zefer who are racing in the elite Endeavour Trophy competition at Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham on Crouch this weekend. Eight races, seven to count. Winds there are forecast to be somewhat lighter than Bass today for the five scheduled races which start at 10.30am
Thomas’ Twitter
Joanie, Pat and Carol are plied with Champagne at Prescott sprint hillclimb in the Cotswolds by Alan whilst basking in the hot October sun, Keith took the photo but where is Toggle ?
Is Toggle the one on the right I wonder?
Results
The problem with the Sailwave website has been rectified, and our results are back online.
New Year’s Eve Poll
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Playing Away
This weekend five club boats travelled to Windermere for the GP Northern Championships.
AJ, sailing with Commodore Andy, has been good enough to report on the proceedings.
He starts with explanations for their overall 21st position out of 25
For the Saturday he says ‘I don’t do no wind’, as for the Sunday, he tells us the wind was not as strong as at Bass (perhaps he should ask Steve/Ruth how long they spent drifting on Sunday).
All weekend he said ‘ I think Andy needed to remember the bit for the boat still in his garage’ that he forgot to include with the boat initially, as there’s clearly no alternate explanation as to why ‘Hand in the Glove’ was not in the top few boats.
To make matters worse he slept in the car overnight to be on time for Sunday racing, while Andy went home to the comfort of his own bed only to turn up on Sunday after AJ had rigged the boat.
AJ also ponders that it may be interesting to see what happens at the GP Open at Bass in three weeks without Andy crewing… Will the boat go better there when he won’t be crewing?!
At this point AJ decides to stop musing else Andy won’t talk to him again
Moving up the fleet, Val with Ken came 19th, and Mike with Sally 13th. Paul Bowmer was 3rd, and Dave/Lynn 2nd to winner Mike Senior.
All change
Sunshine and a warm wind tempted out a good fleet of boats for a weekend series counting towards the club championship. Although there seemed to be a steady breeze coming down the lake, the sea breeze would have its effect from time to time.
Banter took the lead in his RS100 only to realise he didn’t remember the course properly, and when called back to re-round 3, he capsized in fits of laughter! Asked why he didn’t write the course down, it was because he lost his pencil last time he capsized… Although Robbie D won on the water in his RS300, Scumper was close enough to win on handicap, as he did in the 2nd race as well. Tog took 3rd place in the first race, but John/Janis sailed well to take 3rd in the second race.
Neil tempted Judith to make a guest appearance in the F15 and kept a strong lead, while Mike/Kayla chased Tim/Ian, managing to pip them on the finish line by the smallest of margins. Ian had a guest crew in the form of John Somerville, while Chris had daughter Kat as his guest crew. Chris opted to demonstrate the art of ‘polishing his keel’ on some soft ground at one stage – perhaps he shouldn’t have done it while racing?! In the lighter winds of the 2nd race, Mike/Kayla led throughout with Ian/John 2nd and Neil/Judith 3rd putting Mike in pole position overnight.
In the GPs, Kath also had a guest crew with Jack Hardie getting some practice in the front end of a GP; they won both races from Richard.
Although Pam built a strong lead in the Mirrors, problems with her spinnaker resulted in it slipping away to Mik with only minutes left in the race. Emma made a guest solo appearance in a Mirror, finishing 3rd. Mike was the only finisher in the 2nd race, so leads overnight.
The forecast higher winds for Sunday had the lake filled with white horses, despite some reluctance, there were several takers.
Jim and Peter opted to use storm sails on their Supernovas, while Scumper and Banter found crews and sailed their 400s. Banter/Alastair had a fantastic port on port start, but it went downhill from there, culminating in a prolonged capsize at the gybe mark. Scumper/Tog pulled out a big lead before trying the gennaker which resulted in a capsize at another gybe mark. The gennaker remained tucked away after that, but they went on to win on handicap, securing the series trophy.
Three F15s raced as well. Mike/Kayla led throughout, though Tim/Ian were in close contention for a while until they had to fend off Ian/John which they managed, albeit with the closest of margins. the result may have been very different if Ian/John had realised where the windward mark was and didn’t have to reach back downwind to round it!
Over lunch the wind has eased, but would it pick up for the final race? The wind did not strengthen but it did swing to the east, so a suitable course was set. However, as the fleet got closer to 5, Skiddaw created a shadow similar to the Sale Fell effect, and there was a lot of wallowing, tacking and gybing to find steadier winds.
Banter’s start was not as impressive as the morning – he managed to go between The Bates and the inner distance mark, despite them being tied together, so he had to untangle himself then do turns.
He was half way up the 2nd beat before before he was able to pull his gennaker pole in! Despite these problems he still beat Scumper on the water!
Steve/Ruth led the whole race, but the wind filled at the end resulting in him losing to Jim by just 2 secs on handicap.
In the F15s, The wind dumped Mike/Kayla in a hole, and they eventually retired, meanwhile Ian/John took the lead with Tim/Ian 2nd
Three Bullet Toggle
‘Three bullet Toggle’ managed to win the RS Vareo Northern Champs at UYC 21/22 September.
Ethan Dawson secured second overall, with Robbie D crewing, in the Mike Saul Dinghy Services 200 event at the same location
What did you think of Bass Week 2013?
A month on and Bass Week may seem like a dream, but we would like to know your thoughts so that we can take them into account when planning next year’s regatta.
You can find this year’s questionnaire on the Bass Week website and, for every 25th entry received, we will award a £25 voucher valid against Bass Week 2014.
Thank you for your continued support in helping make Bass Week a great event, and we look forward to your company again, hopefully next year from 2-10 August!
1st voucher goes to Kevin Bilham! Not too many more surveys until the next voucher – Could it be you?!
Latest feedback
Annual Dinner Dance
It may still be almost three months away, but if you’re thinking of staying at The Castle Inn after the dinner it would be worth booking your room sooner rather than later as there are only a few still available at the special rate for attendees
Grant Opportunity. Another Chance to Vote!
We reported recently that our training officer had submitted a grant application for £500 towards training equipment. The allocation is determined by a voting procedure which has been extended to 24 September. Although voting is limited to one vote per IP address, if you haven’t done so already, we would appreciate your support by voting here.