After a cloudy morning, the clouds started to part, the heat of the sun was felt, which was useful to combat the cooler than recent breeze, from a more typical SW. Indeed many were pleasantly surprised by the strength of the breeze that led to a few capsizes, and some good planing conditions.

Ian/LezliAnn took an early lead in the F15s in both races, but their downfall in the first race was rounding a windward mark the wrong way, which Neil/Rory took advantage of, and held 1st position through to the finish. In the second race, Neil sailed a better beat to take the lead through to the finish, though Ian remained on his tail throughout.

Robbie D/Banter in their 400, and Scumper in his 100, were the main contenders in the fast handicap fleet. Despite having the slower boat of the two, Scumper had some close battles with Robin, taking water at one mark (whether he had it or not!), only to get his comeuppance when he capsized, and struggled to right it as nimbly as he did the Vareo.

No particular changes of position in the slow handicap fleet, with Jim leading the fleet in his Hartley, followed by John in his Pico, and Mik back on the water in his Mirror.

Sunday started with the wind blowing down the eastern edge of the lake as Sale Fell shadowed the western edge. By the time racing started the wind had backed a little to the south so that OD Neil Garrison could get a beat from 1 to 8 and then zig zag the fleet back downwind again. The various gybe marks were the downfall of several helms in the stronger winds, one being Joan/Jack leaving Val/Ken to continue to the finish to take a 1st place in the GPs. The same happened in the next race, resulting in Val winning the McMillan Cup.

Neil had a fresh crew in the F15s, and the strengthening conditions suited him and Nick, securing another two 1sts with a good lead to win the Ullock Mug and let him finish early to go and watch the tennis!

With no racing in the slow handicap fleet, John Roberts results on Saturday earned him the Round Table Trophy with Mik finishing 2nd, and too shattered to race on Sunday!

With overall positions being very close, the cream of the fast handicap fleet battled it out to the end and were suitably shattered after the 5th race. It was Robbie D/Banter that secured the trophy from Scumper with Alex/Olivia 3rd.

Overall results

Congratulations go to Andy Smith and Phil Hodgkins on winning the GP14 Scottish Championship at Arran this weekend.

Duncan and Peter were 2nd, Mike and Eric 4th, and Alan and Sue 7th

A cloudy start to the day cleared offering mainly sunny spells throughout the afternoon.�With�no wind at home, several people who turned up were surprised by the strength of the wind as there was�some white horses. It again�blew from the NE though at 22C it was�warmer than recently, and warmer than many other areas of the country!

Although the F15s were competing at Kippford in the Scottish Championship, and no doubt looking forward to an evening sponsored by Loch Fyne, there were 17 boats racing for the first races in, inter alia, the Autumn Trophy! (Hopefully Summer is over just yet?). In the GPs, Val/Ken seemed to lose ground for a while (what wasn’t Ken doing that Val thought he should?!), and the first race was won by John/Nigel with a good lead. In the second race, Val/Ken found their form, holding off Joan/Jack though to the finish.

Jim in a�Hartley won both slow handicap races from John in a Pico. There were some consistent results in the fast handicap fleet, with Scumper winning both races in his 100, Tony had two 2nds in his Solo, Robbie D/Banter two 3rds in their 400, and Peter two retirements in his Solo!

Mike was sailing his Streaker, capsized over the Bates almost taking out Herb, the official starter, who said his eyesight was squiffy, then he realised his lens had been knocked out of his specs!

Latest results DW etc

Sunday’s forecast was for light airs, which may have put some sailors off, but the wind filled in suitably for the morning racing, and the sun continued to shine! Ian Hall won in his Solo ahead of Mike in his Streaker, while John/Jack took the honours in the GPs from Val/Ken. Jim C took another win in the slow handicap ahead of John in his Pico. Amber took to the helm of a Mirror, but someone hadn’t given her a full fighting chance as the mainsail was not fully raised…

Latest results BL etc

The wind disappeared totally over lunch but made a reappearance, and with a few remaining sailors prepared for the water a race was started in light airs that rapidly faded again. Jim had taken to his Supernova to tune it back up, not that the conditions were suitable for that, and took an early lead but the lack of wind worked against him and he subsequently retired. With the conditions not looking likely to improve the race was shortened at the first rounding of 0. With the threat of rain, after leading the fleet across the finish line, Val/Ken rushed ashore so Ken could�put the hood up on his open topped car! Fortunately, the rain held off at the club and attacked Binsey instead. Next across the line was Mike in his Streaker who, on handicap, secured 1st pace from Val by just two secs.

RNLI Pennant

Next weekend we host a multitude of open meetings viz Topper NW areas, Laser Travellers, Solo open alongside club racing in the form of a fleet challenge.

The start of half term, another Bank Holiday, and another camping weekend resulted in the unusual sight of a revision/homework table in the clubhouse on Friday night.

Saturday was delightfully sunny, and despite�a forecast for very light airs, the wind did fill in to get racing underway. However, it was neither steady in direction or strength, and there were various lulls for sailors to contend with, along with occasional planing conditions.

Dave/Lynn and Scumper/Zefer mastered the varying conditions and each secured two wins in their respective fleets. In the F15s, Mike/Kayla and Ian M each had a win, while Jim C won the only race in the slow handicap fleet

Latest results MG etc

A�communal barbeque on Saturday night proved very popular.

Blue skies were the order of the day for Sunday, with�slightly greater wind strength than Saturday, though just as shifty and inconsistent in strength! Another good turnout of 32 boats including, notably, six Mirrors with an abundance of junior crews. Ian P has been enjoying his exploits in a Mirror, but has a bit of tweaking to do to ensure his rudder stays attached to the hull! Could it be true that ‘interaction’ between a Mirror and some F15s led to some tearful kids?…

Ian/Elaine took the honours in the first F15 race, but Simon/Jon went on to win the next two. Dave/Lynn had a clean sweep in the GPs. Jim/Poppy won�the first race in the slow handicap fleet, while Andy took the next two in a Mirror. In the fast handicap fleet, results were a lot less consistent with Robbie D/Josh, Mark/Emma, and Scumper each winning a race.

The Hunter’s curry night was�a sellout success raising �500 in aid of charity Asha, and may have led to more�wind�on�Monday!

Monday turned out bright again, with a stronger, though still extremely variable, breeze from the NE for the final two races in the weekend series. Andy/Phil won both GP races, but Dave/Lynn 2nd was enough to win the series. In the F15s, Simon/Jon had a 1st and 2nd to take the series ahead of Neil/Rory. Scumper and Alex/Olivia both won a races, but Robbie D/Banter’s 2nd and 3rd won them the series, as did Jim/Poppy’s 1st in the slow handicap fleet.

AJ had some coaching from the F15 fleet over lunchtime and he moved up to 3rd in the last race. Perhaps he should have taken advice sooner?…

Final results MM etc

Overall an excellent bank holiday weekend.

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Saturday started with another well attended training session. The wind, though patchy initially, filled in from the north west and backed to the west as the afternoon went on.

There was a good mix of boats across the four fleets, together with some close racing. There was a few capsizes, mainly by Ethan getting to grips with his 600, and a couple of groundings by two F15s! The shifting winds turned broad reaches into close reaches and even beats, but it helped test the sailors skills.

Latest results MG etc

On Sunday, the Bass micro climate again�beat the forecast and, though lighter, the wind filled in from the north west, and after a short postponement, racing got underway. The breeze�was light and shifty and backed to the west, strengthening slightly in the afternoon for the Albert Bates Retirement Trophy, typically sailed around the lake, but contained in the bay due to the likelihood of the wind fading.

Robbie D/Erin in an RS400 led the fleet across the finish line but, on handicap, Steve/Ruth won in their Merlin ahead of Dave/Lynn and Mike/Eric in GPs.

Latest Results BL etc

Final results Albert Bates Retirement�Trophy

Latest results Sandra’s Salver

Next weekend we are taking part in the RYA Push the Boat Out campaign to get more people on the water, so encourage your friends and colleagues to�come down and take part and experience life on the water.

After the final championship weekend series of the series, the championship tables have been updated and can be viewed on the following link

Club Championship 2015

Congratulations to this year’s champions are

Flying 15s – Neil Currie�&�Rory Yardley
Fast Handicap – Robin Dawson�&�Phil Davenport (Pipping Commodore Mark Somerville at the post!)
GP14s – Dave�&�Lynn Lawson
Slow Handicap – Jim, Poppy & James Christie

For various reasons there weren’t many takers for the latest weekend series, but those that did turn out were keen to take to the water once there was the hint of sufficient breeze to blow away the mirror like conditions. So when a light northerly filled in the OD took to the water and the sailors followed.

The wind swung a couple of times while waiting for the fleet to get to the start line, so a simplified triangular course was set, which seemed to be the most manageable option for the conditions.

Fortunately the general wind direction remained from the north, but the strength was much more variable. Joan/Jack took the leeward mark a little bit too close and had to do a turn losing significant ground on Dave/Lynn who went on to win.

John Roberts managed to lasso the staff on mark A, so after untangling himself he too had to do a turn. Jim C led and won the slow handicap fleet, with Mik 2nd.

In the fast handicap fleet, Robbie D/Banter won with Alex/Olivia 2nd

Before all had finished the wind dropped to drifting conditions and all hopes of another race faded.

It was unlikely that Sunday’s conditions would enable four races to be sailed, but it did look promising as the day started with a warm, light southerly.

With a plan to get two races in before lunch, the courses were plain and short, even though Robbie D wanted longer legs (an eternal wish for him some might say!)

The wind did ease as the second race went on, and finally died over lunch. Scumper and Hugh each had a first in the fast handicap, while Jim C and Barbara each had a first in the slow handicap fleet, and Dave/Lynn took two more firsts in the GP fleet.

With no obvious sign of the wind filling in, afternoon racing was abandoned. As is the norm, the wind did fill in, though not really strong enough to race in.

Trophies go to Dave/Lynn in the GPs, Robbie D in the fast handicap, and Jim C the slow handicap fleet.

Final results 

Other sailing events over the weekend had good representation from Bass members with Andy and Rob Smith finishing 2nd at the GP Northern Championships at Derwent Reservoir, while Hazel Newport came 7th at the RYA Zone Championship, and Josh Hunter came 3rd overall in the regatta for Toppers, Teras and Oppies at Ullswater. Meanwhile Mike Moore and Kayla Sheard came fourth of 17 at the Burton open meeting. The results meant that they were tied on points for the Waples Wine Northern travellers series but came second on countback.

A bit mixed would probably sum up the afternoon. Sunshine with cloudy spells, wind varying between force 0 and 3, and shifting between NE and NW!

As ever, OD Moore was determined to start on time, and he did. Unfortunately not all sailors were there on time. Despite being late for the start AJ, caught up with, and passed, Joan/Jack to take the lead which he held through to the finish. It’s a shame that he wouldn’t repeat it in the second race in which Joan got away and continued to strengthen her lead.

Banter sailed the first race well taking a deserved win from David Hazelden, but a good performance by Joe Watkins in his RS300 in the second race, and Banter doing an extra penalty turn for hitting a mark put paid to a repeat performance, and the race ended with David taking 1st place.

John Roberts in a Pico had one of those ‘could do better’ days when, in the first race, he couldn’t work out where he was going on the final leg giving away precious minutes (!) and his chance of 1st place to Mik. Jim C was out in his Hartley in the second race, and sailed well to take 1st with Mik 2nd.

Latest results

Sunday brought more sunshine but a battle of the winds left a central calm patch resulting in a delayed start once the forecast northerly took control of the racing area. As with Saturday, the wind direction twitched somewhat before backing more to the west by the end of the race which was the first of a two race, one day series for all classes on fleet handicap.

Mike/Kayla sailed well in the morning race to pull out out a good lead securing consistent lap times despite the variable conditions around the course, but the last lap conditions suited the GPs better as they closed the gap taking the first three positions, and Hugh in a Vareo took 4th pushyMike down to 5th.

The race after lunch had a steadier SW breeze which suited Mike’s F15 and he won overall more than 20 secs ahead of Joe W in a RS300. Hugh’s chance at winning disappeared as he capsized on the 2nd beat. Perhaps the afternoon conditions would never suit the GPs but AJ’s chance after taking the lead faded after trying to defend his position coming into the leeward mark which he promptly over-ran (or went the wrong side of) as he was taking down the kite.

Final positions were very close with GPs of Joan and Paul on 5pts, with Joan’s 1st splitting the tie in her favour, and Mike in his F15 with 6pts taking 3rd overall.

Final results

This weekend some of our�Flying 15s are sailing away at the National Championships �being held at Rhu on the Clyde. Club racing comprises a 5 race championship series and started on Saturday in sunny, blustery conditions. Check latest results

There were many capsizes, and a few retirements as well, including our black flag man Toggle, and even F15s were flattened occasionally. There was a contingent of five Solos racing in the handicap fleet. Scumper/Zefer made the most of the gusts on the reaches gaining a strong lead to take first place on handicap in both races.�Similarly, Jim in his Hartley, Mike/Eric in their GP, and Neil/Nick a F15, led their fleets in both races and taking the overnight lead.�Our black flag man Toggle, despite missing a mark and having to return, took 2nd place in the handicap fleet in the first race, but his retirement in the second race led to David Haselden taking 2nd place on the overnight leader board for the handicap fleet.

Another three races were scheduled on Sunday, which started off drizzly and with lighter winds. Aj was keen to postpone the start in the expectation of drier weather, and although there wasn’t much of a delay, the drizzle soon stopped, and there were intermittent sunny spells.

There were no F15s racing which meant Neil could go home triumphant in winning the Scarness Cup after being overnight leader, and watch the Mens’ singles final at Wimbledon.�Keen to make the best of the good sailing conditions, two races were held back to back before lunch (even though Mike F was starting to feel peckish after the first race). By lunchtime the�other three winners were declared – Scumper/Joe in the�Wythop Trophy for the handicap fleet, Mike/Eric in the GP Graham Cup, and Jim C in the Reflection Trophy for the slow handicap fleet.

�After lunch three new additions to our training fleet in the form of RS Teras were launched. They were bought with support from a scheme by the Eric Twiname Trust. Eric, the son of a former member Alec Twiname, and author of Start to Win, sailed occasionally at the club. The wind had freshened a little and Josh was the first, but not only helm, to capsize one of the new boats! Other notable capsizes include one by Val/Ken just after the start – Ken is quick to tell how much of a lead they’d have had if they hadn’t tipped it in… With Jim C taking to his Supanova for the final race, Hazel/Izzie were pulling out a good lead in a Feva on Mik in his Mirror only to capsize at the�gybe mark and let him past.

Final results

After a damp, stormy start to the day, the sun broke through and made for an inviting afternoon on the water. However, with various people away at The Lord Birkett event on Ullswater, and an earlier forecast for a wet weekend, and some stronger than expected gusts passing through. there wasn’t a lot of takers on Saturday.

Of those that did venture out, there were various capsizes, and three retirements, even before racing got underway. Of the two F15s to start, Chris Rolle, with a novice crew, realised the strength of the wind was going to be too much and retired at the end of the first beat leaving Tim/Ian to complete the course on their own. OD Val wasn’t giving them an easy ride, sending them around two laps of the course.

The handicap fleet comprised three single handlers, two Lasers and a Vareo, which had some close racing. At the gybe mark all three opted to ware round. Peter was first, but capsized. Tony was next but took it rather cautiously letting Hugh get through to the lead. However, Hugh retired on the next beat. Peter righted his boat with a mud stained mainsail, and retired shortly after, leaving Tony to complete the course for a win. However, a couple of capsizes on the reach into the gybe mark put paid to his intention to sail the final 300m and he retired as well.

So with eight boats taking to the water, there was only one finisher… No takers for the second race meant an early finish on a gloriously sunny afternoon.

Latest results

Sunday started sunny with a southerly which seemed slightly stronger than forecast. The beat was set from 1 to 7 (Scarness in old money), and with laps taking over 25 mins for the leaders, some commented how far it was. That didn’t stop them going round for a second lap though! There were just two boats in the slow handicap fleet but Joyce in a Splash soon retired leaving Jim in his Hartley racing alone. Once his course was shortened the OD raced to a wing mark on the course to shorten other fleets, but was beaten by the lead F15, so back to the startling to shorten their course before racing back to the wing Mark to shorten other fleets. Ok, it may have been a slightly moving finish line, and Val did point out she was catching Mike/Eric, but they were pleased to finish.

BL Series latest

The afternoon race was the Jubilee Sailing Trust Pennant. OD Hugh had determined the course before heading ashore for lunch, during which time the wind freshened and white horses appeared, however by the time the race was due to start the wind was swinging towards the SW and Sale Fell was casting a shadow over the northern end of the lake. Upon seeing the course the OD was bombarded with numerous not so witty comments (NB must try harder) about the length of the course and number of marks being used. Racing got underway and the wind filled in a little as it swung back to the south for some good racing conditions. After 40 mins Angus/James were first to the windward mark in their F15 with Tim/Ian close on their tail, and Joan/Jack in a GP not too far behind. On the return legs, Tim broke through to the lead, but didn’t shake off Angus. Val/Ken caught up with Joan on the return trip and, with a matter of seconds between them at the finish, the GPs took 1st and 2nd with the F15s 3rd and 4th.

By the time Mik had finished in his Mirror after 2+ hours, the rain moved in, the wind had swung, faded!

Poppy strengthened her lead in the Sandra’s Salver Trophy with another 1st.

Jubilee Sailing Trust Pennant
Sandra’s Salver Pennant