Katia celebrated finishing her exams by taking on Race Officer duty, ably assisted by Lily and Andy.
15 boats enjoyed a shifty Westerly with plenty of place changing and occasional planing gusts.
Mike/Jack diced it out with the Solos of John and Neil with places changing regularly, Matthew and James were so close for 2 laps that they were able to continue a conversation before Matthew broke away. Meanwhile, Jeff and Dave were enjoying sailing the 200 until it started sinking! Ending up swimming it ashore (the bung was still in place so cause unknown).
Blue skies, and a southerly breeze creating white horses, didn�t put off those sailors that turned up. Nigh on champagne sailing conditions, apart from some twitches of westerly gusts as the wind swung round Sale Fell (or was it the effects of a sea breeze?) which frustrated some legs in the first race of the weekend series.
To be more certain of steadier wind direction, a windward/leeward course from 5 to 7 was set for the next race.
Apart from Zefer capsizing before the start, and falling out on a beat, everyone stayed upright, until John broached in his F15!
Despite the varied conditions over the two races, Zefer�s mishaps didn�t stop him taking two wins, and the overnight lead, with Alex in a Laser 2nd.
Cam and Henry had some close racing in their Teras, with Cam taking two wins, and the overnight lead.
Sunday’s forecast was a stronger version of Saturday, though the Bass micro-climate had other ideas, so, despite some strong gusts at times, it would have been sailable had there been sufficient takers. Accordingly, racing was cancelled with Saturday’s results becoming the final outcome.
While the wind had been swinging round Sale Fell, James Moore was sailing with his uncle, John Ramsden, and other family members in the Round the Island race around the Isle of Wight. Although 13 is unlucky for some, it was an excellent overall position considering there were 568 starters! Check out results for ‘Sofa So Good’ here
In sub-categories their positions were
ISC Class 5 – 4th out of 109 starters
ISC Class 5A – 3rd out of 45 starters
Family crew (more than 50% of crew must be related) – 3rd out of 45 starters
As the storm clouds gathered over Keswick, 16 boats took to the water in a fickle West/Northwesterly with sufficient windshifts to ensure beats on at least 2 legs of the figure of eight course.
Barbara’s splendid effort to get off to a flyer was thwarted by the Race Officer (OCS). Meanwhile, Mike and Jack set the pace closely followed by John and Rory in their Solos. Two laps were completed by all but two boats and full marks to the Teras for sticking it out till the end just as the rain started in earnest.
Blustery and shifty westerly winds were managed well by the two fleets totalling 30 boats racing on Saturday.
With three races sailed back to back there was bound to be a few aching bodies overnight, especially as there had been a few capsizes, particularly after gybe marks.
There was just one general recall with Ian Preston leading the Flying 15 fleet to the course side of the line! A later involuntary gybe by Ian just in front of father in law Graham created a target rear quarter which Graham just could not avoid hitting. Oops!
Three varied courses tested sailors on all points of sailing, and it proved to be the visitors that mastered the challenging conditions as they won all races with three straight wins. Steve Goacher/Tim Harper from Royal Windermere lead the Flying 15s with Scumper/Robbie D 2nd, and Matt Mee/Chris Robinson from Burghfield lead the GPs with Dave Lawson/Zefer 2nd
Sunday was overcast with light drizzle as the sailors rigged their boats, but the sun soon broke through. The Flying 15s may have been slow to launch, but theey were too eager to start, resulting in two general recalls and the introduction of the black flag!
The wind was lighter than Saturday but just as shifty, which mixed up positions more than usual. Even Steve Goacher was caught out on the final beat, losing his lead to Mike Preston/Karl Sloane from Blackpool.
By the final race the wind has swung to the forecast northerly direction, and started to freshen with some gusts being beneficial to those able to take advantage.
In the final race, Steve took most of the first lap to break away from Mike, finishing in that order overall with Neil Currie/Rory Yardley 3rd.
Val and Ken Bell had their moment of glory when they took the lead in the final GP race, though a wind shift, and a gybe later it was but a memory! Dave/Zefer broke Matt/Chris� winning streak by pipping them on the line. Overall the honours went to Matt/Chris, with Dave/Zefer 2nd, and Val/Ken 3rd
Flying 15 winners Steve Goacher and Tim HarperLakeland Grand Prix winner Neil Currie GP 14 winners Matt Mee and Chris Robinson
Several days of windy weather is putting paid to club racing at present.
Thursday�s wind didn�t tempt anyone to race, while a gusty forecast, and a Killers� concert in Manchester, meant there were no takers on Saturday either.
Sunday�s forecast wasn�t much better, and although a few sailors appeared, the sight of breaking waves looking downwind dampened their enthusiasm.
Hopefully sensible conditions will return for next weeks F15 and GP open
Dubwath Silver Meadows will be holding their AGM in the clubhouse on Friday 10th June at 7pm
It will include a talk by Dr Mark Tilzey, Associate Professor in Political Ecology & the Governance of Food Systems, Coventry University
Conserving our Humble Hedgerows
“Hedgerows can make an important contribution to agroecological transitions and to an overall contribution to multifunctional agro-ecosystems with multiple benefits for biodiversity, climate change�mitigation, soil health, human health, well-being, and livelihoods.”
All are welcome to attend. Members will have received separate details of a link to watch the proceedings using Zoom
It was with some trepidation that the 9 boats launched into a brisk, shifty NorthWesterly under blue skies after earlier rain. By the start time, however, the wind had moderated resulting in more manageable conditions but the shifts continued.
Race Officer, Val, set a figure of eight course starting with a beat to number 1. John Reekie used the shifts to best effect to round first which he held to lead on the water throughout, closely pursued by Alex in his Laser. James Reekie was the solitary Tera competing, getting in some valuable practice ahead of Saturday’s Open, together with Mike Fairlamb who had earlier safely delivered the pies!
It was good to welcome Jeff Tweddle and Robert Hedges back to competition both sailing without mishap to complete the course.
Saturday started with some champagne sailing conditions for an excellent turnout of 40 boats across the two fleets racing this weekend. It was good to see that the Mirror fleet had mainly junior, or parent/child combinations.
With a westerly wind any potential sea breeze from the blue skies would only bolster the wind strength.
The Solo fleet were a little eager on the first start resulting in a general recall, and being pushed back behind the Mirrors in the start sequence. The main downside of this being that some Mirrors were buried for a while as the Solos powered through the fleet.
Unusually, Dave Lawson in a borrowed Solo capsized part way up the first beat, but he pulled some distance back to finish in the top half of the fleet.
There was a lot of close racing, and vying for position, especially rounding marks, with plenty of calls for water, and a few penalty turns carried out.
To avoid further general recalls the U flag was used for the second race, and it generally had the desired effect with helms sitting back from the line. A general recall of the Solos in the third race of the day brought out the black flag – everyone was well behaved thereon in.
With the wind easing during the final race, the finish line was moved to the top of the second beat of the lap, perhaps just in time as the wind direction became fickle, and final positions in the race were difficult to maintain!
Overall during the afternoon there were mixed fortunes for many, but in the Solos, consistency by Martin Honnor from Ogston made him overnight leader with three 2nds, a point ahead of Innes Armstrong from Burwain with a 1st and two 3rds.
In the Mirrors, it was a battle of the Smiths. Sailing secretary Phil, with son Oliver, are overnight leaders with two 1sts and a 2nd, but he had to fight off brother Andy, with daughter Lily, who are 5 points behind and lying 2nd overnight, as well as wife Naomi with daughter Lucy!
One major incident of the afternoon was the search for a hair bobble for 3 year old Saskia after the first race…
Sunday morning was overcast with a fading wind despite a reasonable forecast for an easterly breeze. At the scheduled start time the lake was mirror like, however, shortly after 11 an easterly filled in so the OD launched to set a course. It soon became apparent that a SE wind was bedding in.
With a 10minute beat to 7 in a strengthening wind, waves building, and some white horses, there was some exciting racing, good reaches, various capsizes, and a few retirements!
The beat was shortened for the final race, but the squalls had passed through, much to the delight of the remaining sailors.
In the Solos, Martin Honnor held his lead through to race 4, but race 5 was his downfall and he retired when he couldn�t stay close enough to Innes Armstrong who won overall by one point. John Reekie was best Bass boat finishing 4th overall.
In the Mirrors, the high wind took its toll on Phil and Oliver who lost their lead to Alex and Rory Taylor in race 4, but with two 1sts and two 2nds their overall 1st place was unassailable so they opted not to race the final one. Alex�s win put him on equal points with Andy and Lily Smith, but Andy had better overall results to finish 2nd with Alex 3rd
Solo Open winner Innes Armstrong from Burwain
Mirror Northern Areas Champions Phil and Oliver Smith from Bass
A light westerly breeze with regular shifts coming round Sale Fell greeted the 17 boats, including 5 Teras, who turned out for the first Night Jar of the Thursday evening series.
So keen was Ant to get started in his new role that he forgot to take a Race Officer with him (sorry Robin) but with the able assistance of Pen and moral support from Sid, racing started on time despite worries from shore that there might be an early start.
Val and Ken were first to show on a quadrilateral course and proceeded to set the pace for the first 2 laps, closely pursued by James and Jenny and Alex Reed in a Laser (ICLA7) with Neil and Rory regularly swapping places. A large wind shift on the 3rd lap allowed Alex through to lead on the water and converted the beat into a fetch, turning the last lap into a procession. It was good to see the Teras out in force clearly benefitting from their winter coaching and next week Val has promised meat pies!
