After a glorious morning the forecast came true! Rain greeted sailors as they arrived for the afternoon race, and the wind freshened from the South. T wasn’t going to be put off by all the malingerers(?) and went out in the Vago with Ginger Phil, and had considerable capsize practice in between some exhilarating legs.

Big E wasn’t to be outdone, and he followed suit (both sailingwise and capsizing). Rich Critch was a little nervous at going out with Kayla, but as sister Ruth was all dressed up and nowhere to go (William wasn’t rushing to go out), Bro and Sis took to the water, albeit that they only got to the end of the jetty before taking the main down and coming back ashore!

Of course, it wasn’t long before the winds eased and those that were left wondered what the fuss was about… Some may have thought it was the eye of the storm, whereas in fact it was the wind swinging to the SW and allowing Sale Fell to cast a shadow on the bay for a short while.

Tomorrow’s another day.

Or should you? You may have noticed lots of activity on the webcam as boats took to the water this weekend. No,� the season has not started yet, but several sailors decided that it would be useful to get some practice in. Word has it that the commodore has been practising some racing over recent weeks – looking at his results he needed it!

Chris Tooley and I were invited to attend the dinghy show by the NSSA last weekend. We drove down on Friday night and stayed two nights (expenses paid!). We took the Mount Haes trophy we won at the Youth Regatta held at Plymouth last July and spent some time on the stand talking to visitors.

We arrived at Alexandra Palace for the opening of the show on Saturday morning and saw Ben Ainslie when he cut the ribbon. (He’s a lot smaller than he looks in pictures) There were talks from loads of top sailors including Paul Goodison, GBR Olympic laser sailor. There was loads to do, looking around all of the stands, wishing you could afford all the shiny boats, collecting freebies and getting a bit over-competitive at the model boat pool.

We had a great time and would definitely recommend going.

Sam.

You just can’t take some people anywhere. Never heard anyone describe Bridget as a shrinking violet, so no surprise when she was at a recent Westlife concert she spotted Ginge on the big screen she leant (well dived) across and waved like fury. Don’t think there’s any truth in the rumour that she ‘flashed’ the camera, but who knows 🙂

Instead of a Mirror, Toddy has been building a Cobra this winter. Check out when he started it for the first time!

The recent rain has lifted the lake level again. Well at least the camping field is getting a good watering! The top panorama is a view that we should be rightly proud of. How many other club’s benefit from such views?

Find out what you may not have known about long standing club member Ian Macpherson from a recent local newspaper article WHATEVER FLOATS HIS BOAT

Have we had some members mis-behaving? Is it to do with getting out those Christmas baubles and keeping them out of reach of the family pet?

No, it’s related to another addition to the Preston / Kirkpatrick family! ‘Barley Wine‘ has been carefully looked after by hanging high in a tree to dry out whilst waiting for a new owner to give it love & attention. Trustee Graham Kirkpatrick’s favourite son-in-law, Ian, has long had a vision of him making a come back to the world of 15’s. There is now a serious risk that Graham could be seen on Bass, and on the Classic FF circuit, with Ian next year! ‘Barley Wine’ is now at the Preston’s rest home for old boats. Two old codgers in an old boat! Competing again against Alan & Keith. The mind boggles!

Just as well the sailing season’s over. As you can see from the webcam, the weather has not been too inviting. There’s snow on the top of Skiddaw, and the few boats left by the lake are at risk of floating away if the lake continues to rise!Oh to be tucked away next to a log fire. Not very good for the carbon emissions, but on a day like today – who cares! 🙂

Oh yes, it had to happen. Another birthday for Kayla. I know you should never reveal a lady’s age, so I’ll make an exception this time and won’t! However, the clue might be in her email address kayla1967.So many congratulations, on this special day – We hope she finds enough puff to blow out all 40 candles (oops).

She is of course holding a birthday party on Sunday afternoon, to which all children are invited to come and play games and see Santa who is making a special visit to club. Don’t forget to bring some snacks for the bring and eat buffet. The fun starts at 3pm