What Summer? On Saturday after a late start due to competitors watching the England World Cup match (Magic!) the sailors took to the water in strong winds and fair weather. In the two races of the day, the rescue crews where kept very busy with numerous capsizes including four from the Hodgkin�s brothers and a couple from Master GP14 sailors Mike Fairlamb (Deanscales) and Eric Smith (Dalston). They even managed to rescue some Damsels in Distress. In a weekend dominated by the GP14 fleet, honours were even between Phil Smith (Harrington)/Toggle Cowan (Crosby) and John Telford (Kirkland)/ Andy Smith (Harrington). Closely followed by Dave and Lynne Lawson (Kendal). The small Flying Fifteen fleet was won by Mike Moore (Preston) from Mike Parry (Carlisle). The ever-increasing Mirror fleet with a good mix of single handers and crewed boats. Tim and Rob Smith (Harrington) took the honours closely followed by the single hander John Sharp.

The day proved to be a good day for the club with the emergence of the GP and Mirror fleets and also the number of new members taking advantage of the club Toppers and GP14.

On Sunday the first race again had large Mirror and GP fleets with John Halliday in his Sport 16 following around. With a flying start from Robin Dawson (Carlisle)/Mark Somerville (Dalston), they were first to the windward mark, only to be overhauled and finish third behind John Telford and Phil Smith. The Mirrors again won by Tim and Rob Smith.The fresh breeze gave new members Julian and Louise another chance to practice their capsizing technique. Meanwhile Bridget was getting her knickers in a twist (rather than wet!) about beating sons Richard and Philip – much to Philip’s disgust! Anyway, the excitement was so much she spent the rest of Sunday afternoon painting the ladies’ loos with Joan Cowan

In the afternoon it was the Jubilee Sailing Trust Pennant and the OOD sent the fleet around the lake. A good mix of boats set off with very little wind in the bay. Everyone except Neil and Judith Currie were becalmed in no wind at Peel Wyke. With many boats retiring at this point, those that carried on found a wonderful breeze further up the lake. As expected the Curries were first home, followed by Mike and Jenni Moore then Dave and Lynn Lawson. Eventually after and 2 1/2 hour�s single-handed Epic voyage Mike Chappell (Wigton) finished to cheers from the Clubhouse.

Overall results

JUBILEE SAILING TRUST PENNANT

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1 Pts
 1     501  N CURRIE      RS400        1   1
 2    3473  M MOORE       FF           2   2
 3   13176  D LAWSON      GP           3   3
 4   13327  MiFAIRLAMB    GP           4   4
 5   69960  M CHAPPEL     MIR          5   5
 6   13013  N LEWIS       GP           6   6
 7   13161  S SPENCE      GP           7   7
 8     172  J HALLIDAY    SPORT 16     8   8

                     Points for RTD =  9
                     Points for DSQ =  9
                     Points for DNS =  9

 1 races to count

Moving in Royal Circles

What a weekend! Royal visitors, street parties, a fair share of rain and a great deal of fun.

As for going around in circles, the first race of the Paul Carruthers Memorial Trophy had those sailors that knew the rules pirouetting around one of the marks of the course. However, although this caught out almost half of the fleet, the final position was not influenced. Some excellent sailing in heavy winds resulted in Andy Smith and Robin Dawson (last year’s winner of the Trophy) taking two firsts on handicap and the series.

Yes, we were honoured with a visit from Her Majesty, together with many of her ancestors, at a disco on Sunday evening

More snaps of the royal guests can be seen by clicking here, and here, and here, and here.

The street party was held in excellent conditions. The spam sandwiches, blancmange, jelly and custard, etc., were enjoyed by all. It was topped off with a adults v children game of rounders! Lilo Lil was awarded woman of the match after fearlessly jumping into the beck to retrieve a ball. The evening was topped off with a magnificent concert by stars such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Queen, ……………. Ok, so we watched the televised version, but we felt part of it!

Want more? You know where to click!

As for the sailing, there were numerous aching bodies after the high winds but there was some excellent competition. The high winds even resulted in one race being abandoned.

Due to high winds, the start of the Flying 15 open meeting was postponed until Sunday morning. However, many visitors were put off by the poor weekend forecast (which was, unfortunately, right for a change) and there were only eight entries in total.

Although it was proposed to hold three races on Sunday, as torrential rain moved in, the winds eased by the end of race 2. Feeling somewhat cold and wet, OD Andrew Greenhalgh abandoned the last race (much to the relief of the sailors and Official Starter Herb Telford!).

Visitor Neil Platt and Richard Rigg gave Scott Beattie and John Somerville a run for their money, but Scott went on to win both races and the series overall.

Overall results

FLYING FIFTEEN OPEN MEETING 2002

PN    Boat  Helm          Crew           Club             1   2 Pts
 1    3673  SCOTT BEATTI  JOHN SOMMERVIL BASS             1   1   2
 2    3729  NEIL PLATT    RICHARD RIGG   BOLTON/WEST KI   2   2   4
 3    3521  NEIL CURRIE   PAUL BURNELL   BASS             4   3   7
 4    3560  IAN CAMPBELL  TONY FISHER    BASS             3   4   7
 5    3473  M MOORE       I SMITH        BASS             5   5  10
 6    3332  WENDY SOMERV  ELAINE FAIRLAM BASS             7   6  13
 7    3385  MILES MIDDLE  JOE HARDON     BASS             6   7  13
 8    3293  MARK NIMMIN   EMMA POWELL    DRSC             8 RTD  17

                                        Points for RTD =  9   9
                                        Points for DSQ =  9   9
                                        Points for DNS =  9

 2 races to count

There were grey skies on Saturday afternoon as many sailors took to Bassenthwaite Lake for the start of a busy weekend. Some new members joined in the racing after completing the race training on Saturday morning.

Saturday racing was part of a long series of handicap racing, with Mike Moore and Ian Smith currently heading the leader board but this might change over the next few weeks.

Many members enjoyed the Spring Dinner in Cockermouth on Saturday evening but all had an early night because Sunday and Monday racing were part of the club championship. The OD�s under the supervision of the official starter Herb Telford set great courses. Four different classes of boats were sailing with nearly 30 boats on the water throughout the weekend. The Flying Fifteen Jackpot was very close with William Carruthers (Carlisle) and Alan Smith (Harrington) having a great weekend but losing out on the last race to Scott Beattie and John Somerville (Carlisle) who win overall.

The Lyne Tankard for the GP14 fleet was just as close, competitively fought between Hugh Godfrey with Rhowen Bryce (Whitehaven) and Mike Fairlamb (Dean) and Eric Smith (Carlisle). Things didn�t always go their own way, with Philip and Richard Hodgkins (Brigham) working hard to come second in one race. Overall the series went to Hugh and Rhowen, with Mike and Eric second.

The Mirror fleet is going from strength to strength and six mirrors competing. Mike Chappell (Wigton) was the winner of the Peel Pot but he was given a run for his money when Tim and Rob Smith (Harrington) sailed for the first time this year and won two races.

Ian McPherson took the lead in the Sunday Handicap series in a laser.

All the sailors had a wonderful weekend but everyone was keeping in touch with three of our top GP14 sailors who were sailing at the National Inland Championships at Lake Bala. In a very competitive fleet of nearly 50 boats. Fantastic news was that John Telford and Andy Smith (Whitehaven and Harrington) came 2^nd missing out on the championship by just one point. A magnificent achievement and everyone at the sailing club congratulates their success. Our other two sailors also achieved high places with Phil Smith and Mike Cowan (Whitehaven and Crosby) coming 11^th, a great achievement in their first season together and Dave and Lynn Lawson (Kendal) coming 13^th. These results demonstrate the wealth of talent with the club, next weekend eight of the clubs GP14 crews will be sailing in the Scottish Area Championship at Kippford and the Club wishes them well.

Weekend Series results

Flying 15 JACKPOT

PN    Boat  Helm             1   2   3   4 Pts
 1    3673  S BEATTIE        1   2   3   1   4
 2    3268  W CARRUTHERS     6   1   1   2   4
 3    3473  M MOORE          2   3   4   3   8
 4    3332  W SOMERVILLE     5   5   2   4  11
 5    3521  P BURNELL        3   6   5 RTD  14
 6    3560  I CAMPBELL       4   4 DNS DNS  17
 7    3231  M PARRY        DNS DNS RTD   5  21
 8   93385  J HARDON       RTD   7 DNS DNS  24

           Points for RTD =  8   8   7   7
           Points for DSQ =  8   8   7   7
           Points for DNS =  9

 3 races to count

GP14 LYNE TANKARD

PN    Boat  Helm          1   2   3   4 Pts
 1   13749  H GODFREY     1   3   1   1   3
 2   13327  MiFAIRLAMB    2   1   2   2   5
 3   13142  R HODGKINS    3   2   3   3   8
 4   13161  S SPENCE      5   5   5   4  14
 5   13259  W ROBERTS     6 RTD   4 RTD  16
 6   13371  J RILEY       4   4 DNS DNS  17
 7   13733  A HODGKINS   OD DNS DNS DNS  21
 8   13201  R COY         7 DNS   6 DNS  22

        Points for RTD =  8   7   7   6
        Points for DSQ =  8   7   7   6
        Points for DNS =  9

 3 races to count

PEEL POT

PN    Boat  Helm             1   2   3   4 Pts
 1   69960  M CHAPPEL        1   2   2 DNS   5
 2   69675  T SMITH        DNS DNS   1   1   9
 3   68852  NICK WOOD      RTD   1 DNS   3   9
 4   48881  K SHARP          2 DNS RTD   2   9
 5   33434  S WATSON         3   3   3   4   9
 6   41143  D POULTON      DNS RTD DNS DNS  19

           Points for RTD =  5   5   5   5
           Points for DSQ =  5   5   5   5
           Points for DNS =  7

 3 races to count

HANDICAP SUNDAY SERIES

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1   2   3   4 Pts
 1  167828  I MACPHERSON  LAS          1   1   1   1   3
 2     501  N CURRIE      RS400        2   2  OD DNS   7
 3    1140  J CHRISTIE    VORTEX       4   3   2 RTD   8
 4     172  J HALLIDAY    SPORT 16     3   4   3 DNS  10
 5  146265  TBA           LAS        DNS RTD DNS DNS  20

                     Points for RTD =  5   6   4   3
                     Points for DSQ =  5   6   4   3
                     Points for DNS =  6

 3 races to count

Managed to sneak the following from Bridget's diary

Saturday
What a week. Just spotted WIlliam and remembered there was three things I was supposed to do – send in last week’s sailing report for the website (failed), send a cheque for tonight’s Spring dinner (never got around to that either), can’t even remember what the third thing was!

Somehow I ended up doing the shopping at Sainsbury’s in my nightie (don’t think anyone noticed).

Had a great meal at The Trout – we all really enjoyed it. Miles revealed a secret to those who were there – everyone will just have to wait a week or so.

Sunday
Should have been a lazy day till I was reminded that we were on OD duty. Managed to design a course with several black holes in it (and William fell in one of them!). Afternoon went better but it was suggested that the course was the wrong way round – time to dust off that resignation letter again.

Could this have been the first time that an OD has worn a nightie while on duty – who cares!

Monday
Remembered to get dressed properly today. Tent were taken down in dry weather – first time for a while. Must get that boat sprayed, the boys are getting too much practice and they’re going too bl***** well.

What happened to the weather at the weekend, gone were the sunny skies and light breezes during the week to be replaced by grey skies and wind.

The weather did not put off all the sailors and some 15 boats competed in the AT cup series for the different classes. Two races on Saturday afternoon were sailed in shifty wind but every fleet had competition. The Flying Fifteens were led by Scott Beattie and John Somerville who won the cup overall with their two race results as F15s did not sail on Sunday.

By Sunday the wind was very strong and only for the serious (or should that be mad) sailors, with only the GP14 fleet taking to the water. The GP 14 fleet saw close competition at the front of the fleet and several capsizes , with only John Telford and Andy Smith keeping their feet dry all day. Philip and Richard Hodgkins at only 15 and 14 years old did very well to keep their boat upright during the first race on Sunday in such strong conditions and nearly got a second place.

Not all the races went John and Andy’s way when they were late for the start in the second race Phil Smith and Mike Cowan saw their chance and gained first place. However overall John and Andy won the series and the cup.

The Mirror fleet is building with more new members. Alistair Fletcher with Nia and Osion won the series and the cup, with two first places.

It was bright sunny skies that enticed 20 boats out on to Bassenthwaite Lake on Saturday afternoon for the third weekend of the season.� It was a splendid sight with boats sailing in five different fleets even if the wind was a little fickle causing some problems for the official starter Herb Telford.

With some members undertaking race training during the morning they were very keen to put their new skills into practise.� Scott Beattie and John Somerville led the Flying Fifteen fleet, but it was close racing all afternoon, and in the second race the three lead boats finished within one minute.

The GP14 fleet is proving very strong this year with several new boats purchased over winter and a new team of Phil Smith and Mike Cowan very keen to do well, this season could be very close.� With close racing and the lead changing hands it was John Telford and Phil Hodgkins both not sailing with their normal team, who won both races during the afternoon.� It was very pleasing to see the mirror fleet making a come back with several younger sailors.� First in the mirror fleet were Alistair Fletcher with his daughter Eleri, 2nd was Nick Wood and his son Ben, followed by Derek Poulton and his daughter Jenny.� The Handicap fleet saw many new boats joining the fleet with Steve Hunt and his son crossing the line first in both races. Tim Knowles launched his RS300 and had a very good race for the first sail in a new boat.

Sunday saw a very different day with lots of clouds and dizzy, but even if the wind was light and patchy it did not discourage 12 boats to launch to compete for the Jimmy Lancaster Memorial Trophy.� The day ‘s racing was enjoyed by all the sailors with the winning margin was very close.� The overall winner was John Telford and Phil Hodgkins in a GP14. With such a good start to the season both in terms of weather and numbers of boats all the sailors at the club can look forward to great season.

JIMMY LANCASTER MEMORIAL TROPHY 2002

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1   2 Pts
 1   13741  J TELFORD     GP           1   1   2
 2    3673  S BEATTIE     FF           3   3   6
 3    1049  S HUNT        RS400        5   2   7
 4   13331  P SMITH       GP           2   6   8
 5    3473  M MOORE       FF           4   4   8
 6    3332  W SOMERVILLE  FF           6   5  11
 7  161866  M SOMERVILLE  LAS          7   7  14
 8   93385  J HARDON      FF          10   8  18
 9     501  N CURRIE      RS400        9   9  18
10   91223  TBA           LAS          8 RTD  21
11    6905  N GARRISON    D 18        11  11  22
12    1180  R YARDLEY     VORTEX     DNS  10  23

                     Points for RTD = 12  13
                     Points for DSQ = 12  13
                     Points for DNS = 13

 2 races to count

Well it is now. The final days racing was held in a force 2-3 – not boat bending weather you may think. Well William and Mike Cowan were to find out otherwise. Two minutes before the start and Mike asked if the was enough outhaul on, yanked the cord and Ping! it just came off in his hand! A quick scramble on to the transom allowed William to lash up the outhaul. It was soon very obvious that the main was going to look as full as Bridget Jones’ knickers for the rest of the race. Apparently Mike Moore and Elaine Fairlamb didn’t have the correct timing for the start of the race and William used this to his advantage to cover Mike as much as possible. After two laps Mike slipped out of William’s windstream, took advantage of a better lift and by the time William had tacked back to take command again Mike had broken through to the lead. At this stage a piece of elastic on William’s pole system went twang and more repairs on the move were required! To top it all, on the final leg, his kicking strap gave up the ghost as well!

Ginge and Jose had a final(?) sail around the course in their GP before upgrading to a new Duffin for next season. No mishaps, no capsizes and Jose kept her knickers dry too – how uneventful! Not quite the same could be said for Tim Chittenden in his laser though – he underestimated the windstrength a little and found that the gusts made for excellent planing conditions but they always came just at the gybe mark! So the prize for the last capsize(s) of the year must go to Tim. Let’s hope his teeth stop chattering before next season.

As the race was on fleet handicap, Mike Moore won both the Bassenthwaite Burgee and the Flying Enterprise Trophy for being first Flying 15.

In fact, Sunday’s racing concluded the Tinker Trophy leaving one race and two prizes to be sailed for next week – the Bassenthwaite Burgee and the Flying Enterprise Trophy.

The morning race started in light airs with Bridget and Ginge crossing the line first while William and Mike Cowan re-rigged the genny, and Mike Moore and Elaine just couldn’t get to the line on time. However, Mike didn’t hang back for long and soon had a spectacular lead. When the wind faded, the gaps between the boats narrowed; William gained an advantage from the change of wind direction but couldn’t quite break through (or even get an overlap if you believe Elaine!). Although Mike broke away again on the final beat, the fickle winds enabled Ginge to catch up enough to take the race on handicap. Certainly, due to the lack of wind, it wasn’t to be the day that Jim Christie was to demonstrate his prowess ‘on the wire’ in his Laser Vortex.

For the final race, Ginge, Mike and William were all on equal points. This forced Bridget to take to the water for another race (instead of going home to finish that Secretary’s report!). William took the first beat, but Mike powered back off the wind to take the lead. The gap varied with the wind strength. With just two marks to go, William was just 50yds behind Mike, but Mike rounded the mark and escaped the wind shadow leaving William to be swallowed up in a hole. William, unable to close the gap suuficiently to rescue a place, subsequently retired. Ginge and Bridget battled on but the final results gave first place, and the Tinker Trophy, to Mike and Elaine.

Overall results:

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1   2   3   4 Pts
 1    3473  M MOORE       FF           3   4   2   1   6
 2   13142  A HODGKINS    GP           4 DNS   1   2   7
 3    3268  W CARRUTHERS  F            2   5   3 RTD  10
 4     530  K CLARK       FF           1   3 DNS DNS  13
 5   33434  S WATSON      MIR        DNS DNS   4   3  16
 6    2504  K THOMAS      FF         DNS   1 DNS DNS  19
 7   13161  S SPENCE      GP         DNS   2 DNS DNS  20
 8  102591  J CHRISTIE    LAS        DNS DNS RTD DNS  24

                     Points for RTD =  5   6   6   5
                     Points for DSQ =  5   6   6   5
                     Points for DNS =  9

 3 races to count

No, I’m not talking about Mike Cowan, who, it is reported, snores like a truck on the M6 (Mike Fairlamb confirmed that when he slept with Mike C he suffered just as badly!!) and who had been out with Andy Smith celebrating the return of the Phil from Oz.

Anyway, back to the point. Want another sneaky look at Bridget’s diary?

Saturday:
After the boys’ success at Annandale last week, let them use our boat. Of course, that meant Ginge and I were in that Red Shed. It puts the wotsits up me! Fall about the place, get bruised and I’m petrified of getting my Natsy’s wet yet again. Anyway, one race was enough. Managed to persuade(?) William and Alan to sail the shed to show themselves up. Didn’t soddin’ work did it!! Al’s spinnaker work wasn’t up to his usual standard and the boys pulled through and sat on them William for a while. The gusts came in and the shed fell further behind (tee hee). More gusts, the boys struggled, William and Alan crept past, the boys went for a swim! Robin and Becky also cooled off with a quick dip. William was second – why can’t we do that? At least he wasn’t on the same leg as Mike Fairlamb as he took the winners bell.

This years Flying 15 Viking Team Racing Trophy was held in mixed conditions. For those that may not sailed in the series before, the weekend comprises four straight races for which teams of three boats add together all their results to determine the winning team. Although there is friendly rivallry throughout the weekend one of the main aims seems to be not making such a drastic mistake that you qualify for the Grotty Potty!

In the first race, Mike Moore and Eric Smith went out on a limb on the first beat, sailing up to (or was it under?) Peel Wyke and were first to the windward. mark. Next beat John Hardisty and Roger Errington (Derwent) also thought it seemed like a good idea, promptly ran out of wind, dropped from 2nd to 16th and became first contenders for the Grotty Potty.

The wind had swung around to the North West for race two, and again the chancers had their moments. William Carruthers and Phil Smith having sailed up the western side of the beat had to deal with a slight header just before the windward mark, duck behind several boats, tack for others, almost collided with a reluctant port tacker (Howard Green and Jonathan Bullen to be precise) who fended William’s boat off with great vigour such that William was then moving backwards!! So from a potential first at the windward mark, William cleared it in about 12th position!

At the next mark, Neil Platt T-boned fellow team mates Ian and Andrea Preston and promptly had to do a 720 in failing winds. Another contender for the Grotty Potty?

After Race three, John Gerrard’s crew made an attempt at becoming a Grotty Potty contender by jumping on to a non existent submerged jetty. Just as well he was wearing a drysuit!

Final race and the winds again caused a stir by throwing one or two holes into the equation and then a lifeline to some of the tailenders. Not that he was a tailender, but this time John Hardisty took advantage of the situation and slotted himself into second position.

The unassailable champion of the weekend was Steve Goacher and Phil Evans who worked his way through to win all four races. Unfortunately, his team mates were unable to show their true colours. Ah well, perhaps another year (if Steve doesn’t pre-arrange his team).

Overall results:

                              R1  R2  R3  R4 Pts
Two Bottles 3702 T Crumpton    4   8   5   8     
 of Dog and 3636 J Hardisty   16   6   6   2  72   1
  a Currie  3330 N Currie      5   5   4   3     
----------------------------------------------
            3729 N Platt       2  11   2   4     
Crazee Boobs3593 I Preston    17  10  13  14  88   2
            3638 H Green       3   4   3   5     
----------------------------------------------
 Zee Gulls  3721 S Goacher     1   1   1   1    
 follow Zee 3268 W Carruthers  6  15   9  13 100   3
  Trawlers  3521 P Burnell    15  17  14   7    
----------------------------------------------
  Harrison  3640 P Wright     11  14  10   6    
    Ford    3737 S Robinson    8   7  12  12 107   4
 Lookalikes 3675 A Tatters     7   2   8  10    
----------------------------------------------
            3725 H Simpson    10  12  19  19    
Flying Scots3606 I Laidlaw    12   9  16  15 154   5
            3666 J Gerrard    13   3  15  11    
----------------------------------------------
            3332 M Somerville  9  16   7  16    
     3M     3473 M Moore      14  13  11  17 165   6
            3385 M Middleton  18  18  17   9    
----------------------------------------------

And as for the grotty potty, it went to Ian Preston for causing(?) his team mate Neil Platt to do a 720!

With the Southport 24 hour race being a week later than Sailing Secretary Andy Smith expected, the visiting Tinkers had to share the lake with some larger than usual club fleets.

High winds on Friday evening eased in time for Saturday racing and at least 20 of the visiting boats took to the water in some breezy airs. However, there was some relief as the course took the boats under the lee of the shoreline. The gusty winds continued throughout the weekend and all sailors enjoyed themselves.

Overall winner of the weekend was Ray Young with David Warren 2nd and Stewart Warden 3rd. Finishing 4th overall, and leading 2up, was Malcolm and Elaine Ellwood.

The Jim Reely Memorial Trophy for the most improved helm over the season went to Peter and Anne Cross.