Strong gusty winds in the morning eased sufficiently for racing in the weekend series with a turnout of 16 boats. There were various capsizes, some challenging variable conditions around 9, and opportunities for some spectacular reaches, especially by Scumper in his RS100.

At one stage, AJ seemed to have a new take on an age old rule re mark rounding…

In the handicap fleet there were mixed fortunes with the shifty conditions, and the asymmetrics were able to take advantage of the gusts on the long runs to the leeward marks. Scumper had a 1st and a 3rd, Robin/Erin in a RS200 two 2nds, while John in a Solo had a 3rd and a 1st to take overnight lead.

There was more consistency in the GPs with Andy/Phil in overnight lead with two 1sts while John/Jack had two 2nds.

Paul leads the slow handicap fleet after both Poppy and Katia retired.

Sunday morning was bright and dry but with a strong SW breeze that wasn’t tempting anyone to even take covers off their boats. Perhaps the occasional sunny spells highlighted too many white wave crests?!

After a while Andy/Phil and John/Jack decided to give it a go, and three handicap boats followed suit.

Conditions were such that the Bates wasn’t holding its anchor, even second time around, so it resulted in a lot of port bias (probably so much that boats couldn’t cross the line on starboard tack!). There were numerous capsizes, hard beats, and some good reaches to make up for all the hard work.

Despite a strong lead, Scumper had one, or two, capsizes too many and ended up finishing behind John on the water. In the GPs, Andy/Phil led throughout the race with John/Jack 2nd.

Coming ashore after the first race there was no appetite for any more races, so that brought the series to an end, with no change to the overnight leader results.

Final results

Persistent drizzle/light showers seemed to flatten the lake and give the impression of fickle winds, but once on the water there was enough wind to keep the boats moving, and after the first lap, it freshened resulting in a few capsizes, and a few near misses.

Paul Gannon moved in to a Laser in the lighter airs, and sailed well to take the lead, lost quote a bit of the lead after hitting the penultimate mark, finishing 3rd behind Rory and Neil in their Solos.

Toggle was getting ‘excited’ while explaining to Joanie what had to be done in some of the gybes as gusts kicked in. Despite Tog/Joanie leading in the Pink RS200 most of the second race, on handicap the finished 4th, with the honours going to Ant in a Vision, and Rory in a Solo 2nd. Neil Currie finished 3rd and won his second series of the weekend, the Skiddaw Trophy

With Val OD, Mike Fairlamb took the opportunity to nab Ken as a crew and sail his GP for the first time this season, winning both races from AJ/Sue. Perhaps their umbrella was too much of a hindrance? However, AJ’s results were sufficient to win the GP Autumn Cup.

Bean/Oliver in their Mirror won the first slow handicap race ahead of Katia in a Topper, but both boats retired in the next race. The MT Bates series was won by Bean.

Final results

The day started with a mirror like conditions which continued on through the cadets training up to lunch time. However, with the arrival of AJ, aka Mr Fixit,� there were signs of� ripples on the water around the northern end of the lake, far too many to be created by the 10(0?)s of people on the lakeside. The ripples soon filled the lake, with a strength probably twice that of the forecast.

All afternoon the sun shone, without finding a cloud to hide behind! For the first race the wind was in a generally consistent direction, not always steady of course, whereas the racing on the eastern side of the course became challenging with strange wind gusts from the east, south, and west!

Latest results

Warm sunny weather, combined with a 6kt ENE breeze, led to some champagne sailing conditions for a good fleet of 25 boats.

Martin fell out of his Laser before the first start, and assured everyone it wasn’t just to cool down. He did capsize another couple of times during the race too. At the front of the fleet Neil in his Solo took an early lead, though Dave in a Laser Radial, took advantage of the swinging wind, and broke cover on the second beat to win overall, while Neil had to settle for 2nd place. However, in the 2nd race Neil didn’t make the same mistake, maintained his lead, and won with Mike in a Streaker 2nd.

In the GPs, Andy/Lily sailed well to win the first race from Paul/Vicky, who won the 2nd race ahead of Joan/Jack. Perhaps the heat had got to a couple of crews who were voicing their views to their helms during the race…

Bean/Oliver in their Mirror led and won the first race in the Slow Handicap fleet, with Matty in a Tera 2nd. Matty had to settle for 2nd in the next race which was won by Paul in a Pico.

Latest results

The long awaited return of Saturday racing coincided with (what would have been) the start of Bass Week 2020! What fantastic sailing weather it was too – sun and a great wind.

In the strong fleet of eight GPs, Val/Ken took an early lead, and promptly capsized at a gybe mark! There woes did not end there because in the next race they had spinnaker problems (on the beat!) before retiring. Dave/Lynn went on to win both races but John/Jack were snapping at their heels, taking two 2nds.

In the handicap fleet, Mike realised the hard way that nipping in at the start pin is not the done thing when racing against Neil Currie, who has just joined in the Solo fleet. Having been forced out, Mike struggled to get moving again, and ended up giving the rest of the fleet a two minute start. Ant/Pen in a Vision made the most of the conditions to win the first race on handicap ahead of Rory in a Solo. Rory was runner up again in the next race, this time to Neil who presently leads the series.

Paul sailed a Pico in the slow handicap fleet winning both races from Mik in his Mirror.

Latest results

The overnight rain eased through the morning, leaving a dry afternoon for the start of the final weekend series of the club championship season for which more than 20 boats took to the water.

The wind was lighter than forecast, but there was still opportunities for planing conditions on some of the gusts.

The occasional light patch created opportunities for some to make up ground, but, generally, positions remained consistent throughout the afternoon, with Simon/Jon in the F15s, Val/Ken in the GPs, and Andy/Lily in the Slow Handicap each had two wins, and therefore made them overnight leaders for their fleet trophies. In the Handicap fleet, Neil won in his Laser in the first race, and Tony in a Solo in the second one.

Another film video from John, this time 360 version so turn your phone/tablet, or drag the image, to choose your view

The wind and rain was forecast to return on Sunday, but, although it was miserably wet, the wind was similar to Saturday, and eased as the morning went on. The F15 and GP sailors were less than enthusiastic to race, while the Slow Handicap were tied up doing other things, including standing in as OD in Mik’s case, which left a the the Handicap fleet of five boats.

The changing winds strengths throughout the day led to a mix of race positions, with the overall result being dependent on the final race. Banter/Izzy’s win in their RS400 put them half a point ahead of Steve/Ruth in their Merlin to win the Comet Trophy.

Final results

The weekend’s results changed the club championship results with Simon/Jon taking the lead in the F15 championship from Mike/Kayla, and Andy/Lily winning the Slow Handicap championship from Mik. Congratulations also go to Dave/Lynn in the GPs, and Steve/Ruth in the Handicap fleet.

Club Championship 2019

Members will note that the lake level has risen considerably over the last week, and with a lot more rain in the pipeline, please consider moving your boat off the foreshore to avoid the risk of damage if flooding occurs yet again.

Some cooler autumnal airs, with blue skies as a backdrop, were the order of the day on Saturday. The winds proved to be variable in both strength, and direction, all afternoon.

Despite getting caught on the Bates’ anchor warp just after starting, Paul, with Evie and William crewing, in their Mirror beat Mik to the windward mark in the light conditions. The story goes that William helmed as Paul freed their spinnaker sheet from under the boat, Mik subsequently passed them, and held the lead to the finish.

The wind dropped during the start sequence of the second race, such that when AJ was starting in the GPs, and creating chaos as is often the case, there was still three late starters from the handicap fleet in his way, not that anyone did any turns…

Dave/Lynn won both races in the GPs, with Paul/Vicky, and Joan/Jack each securing a 2nd place. In the Handicap fleet, Stan won both races in his Solo, and Paul in a Laser two 2nds.

On Sunday morning the clouds rolled in, but brought no extra wind with them. While inspecting the beats, the OD noted two winds, the first from 5-9, the second from 4-1. How can that be possible? Relying on the 4-1 beat, a course was prepared but then the wind backed, seemingly settling on 4-0, so the course was adjusted, and racing got underway.

The wind did continue to have some big shifts to keep helms on their toes. To extend the race time slightly, the OD opted to finish at 0, but as the lead boats were on that final beat, the light patch around 0 quickly expanded over the full beat. Fortunately, after about 15 mins the wind filled in sufficiently to bring the rest of the fleet home.

Dave/Lynn secured another win from Joan/Jack to win the Autumn Cup, and Steve/Ruth won the Handicap race from Stan who won the Skiddaw Trophy, with Steve 2nd overall. Though not sailing, the F15 Dawson Trophy was won by Angus/Mike, and the slow handicap Bates Trophy by Mik.

Final DW results

The wind came and went over the lunch break, but never bedded in properly so the afternoon pennant race was cancelled.

Meanwhile several club sailors have been on the circuit and their results can be followed here
Mike Moore/kayla Sheard – Flying 15 Championship of Ireland, World Championship
Tony King – Solo Inland Championship
John Reekie – Musto Skiff Nationals

John Bracegirdle has been trying out his 360 camera…

Blue skies, southerly wind, temperature in the mid 20s – champagne sailing conditions no less, surely it can’t really be a bank holiday?

The junior were having more fun on the water with relay races, and Pirate netball (not sure what that entails, other than it was described as carnage by one mum!).

The following photos from team Brotherton demonstrate what sailing is all about with fun on the water. Will there be any Olympic hopefuls amongst them?

Racing for the weekend started with two races in the Dawson Trophy long Series. The good weather had tempted Graham and Alan on to the water in a F15, and they held a commanding lead only to round the final mark of their first lap the wrong way (was it really by accident that they were told it should be rounded to starboard?). Unfortunately they did not unwind their mistake, they made it worse by rounding it the wrong way again, and consequently opted to retire just before finishing the race in the lead. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, they led the next race as well, and won it.

The wind held throughout the afternoon for the 30+ boats, across the four fleets, racing which was followed by an afternoon tea with a vast selection of cakes.

Latest results

Sunday’s racing started in similar conditions to Saturday with a good southerly that tempted the OD to send the fleets down the lake to mark 15, with a windward/leeward course which proved to have one of the steadiest winds for a long time. Emily kept shouting she couldn’t sail to 15, but she proved herself wrong by so doing!

During the next race after lunch, the wind faded rapidly which made sailors uncomfortably hot in the heat of the day with no comforting breeze. The wind did seem to be returning, and a new course was set for the final race of the day but, with seconds to go before the sequence began, the sea breeze came in with gusto, so the line and course was reset, hopefully allowing the misery of the second race to be quickly forgotten.

After racing the Commodore had a drinks party to thank everyone that had helped make Bass Week a great success, and it coincided with her parents’, David and Barbara Darling, 50th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to all!

Monday morning was foggy and grey with little sign of the forecast F1 from SW. As the start time approached, the AP was raised, but there was a hint of some wind filling in so the OD went on the water to investigate. Soon after the decision was made that racing was good to go and the fleets soon joined the OD on the water. As ever, the wind was shifty, but it did ease and prolonged the final lap for the later finishers.

After lunch there was some apathy towards venturing out again, but the OD went out, set a line only for the wind to shift, then disappear, but, with 20+ boats milling around, the OD just waited to see if anything would fill in. The sea breeze did its bit, and racing was soon underway, though when the F15s started there was no wind at the 2nd mark A. Fortunately as the lead boat edged towards A, the wind followed them, then strengthened, and held through to the finish, complete with mega shifts to contend with.

The overall winners were:
– F15 Flying Free Trophy – Simon/Jon
– Handicap August Trophy – Steve/Ruth
– GP Dave/Lynn
– Slow Handicap Mirror Mug – John

Final results

For a pleasant change there was a good wind forecast for the whole weekend, over which a club championship series is being held. The day started with some youth sail training. The wind freshened as the afternoon went on, and there were surprisingly few capsizes. Though a notable one was Val and Ken, having been in the lead earlier in the race, if only because they were caught on camera before colliding with the Bates after righting. The Bates seemed to be a risky place to be with Simon/Jon avoiding colliding with it, and then Mike/Kayla, just before the start of the second race.

Was it the lack of recent experience in higher winds that had various crews on the foredeck clearing spinnaker lines at the start of the windward leg? Banter/Emma joined forces in the RS400, but after breaking their spinnaker halyard, they popped ashore after the first race with the intention of being back out for the next one! – it was not to be…

Generally the stronger winds seemed to be shifty, making it hard work, and resulting in obvious relief from numerous crews as they finished the last race of the day.

On Sunday the wind started lighter than expected, but freshened as the day went on. The morning race had two beats, the 2nd one heading to mark A, partially blanketed by Sale Fell (though it wasn’t meant to be), which proved challenging as to how to approach it. Peter thought it was ideally positioned in the worst place possible!

There were a few more capsizes throughout the day, numerous spectacularly fast spinnaker legs, and some good racing. However, it all took its toll on the competitors that reduced in numbers as the day went on, to the stage that there was only one taker for the final race.

AJ was feeling the pressure with Dave crewing and jumped ship (or was he washed overboard?) on one reach! Steve/Ruth realised it was faster without a spinnaker than bearing away on a gust with kite, then beating back up to the next mark as Banter did more than once. Paul was sailing a Topper but struggled to tack at one stage adding more than 7 mins to his lap time (it was wondered whether he was sand bagging waiting for the course to be shortened!)

The overall winners were Simon/Jon in the F15s, Dave/Lynn in the GPs, Steve/Ruth in the handicap fleet, and Phil/Oliver in the Slow Handicap fleet

Final results

The sunny Saturday started with some junior sail training in variable light airs. It was hoped that a sea breeze would be the saviour and fill in the various flat patches, and steady the swinging breeze.

On setting the course it seemed that the sea breeze was on its way as the fleet headed to the start line, so the start sequence got underway despite a late swing back to the north resulting in a reaching start for most fleets. However, they did have to tack to reach the windward mark, as the alternate breeze filled in again. The twin airs continued to battle it out throughout the afternoon.

Perhaps it was one of the lulls between the airflows that AJ/Sue took advantage of to catch and pass Mike/Eric in the GPs? In the next race, AJ again took the lead when Mike had to do some turns, but Mike pulled back through, and presently leads the series.

A last minute decision to sail scuppered Scumper’s chances in the first race as he started behind the Mirrors & Teras! It was John Reekie in a Solo that won race 1 ahead of Colin May in a Laser. Scumper won race 2 with Stan in a Solo 2nd. Stan leads the series.

In the Slow Handicap fleet, Matthew/Cameron were practising for next weekend’s Mirror Inlands, finishing with a creditable 1st and 3rd to lead the series. Katia and Poppy were in Teras again, and vying for position with Mik in his Mirror. They all ended the day with 6 points, but Poppy’s win split the tie putting her 2nd overall, and Katia 3rd.

Latest results

Sunday’s forecast was not at all promising with less wind than Saturday. Fortunately the Bass micro-climate filled the flat patches to get racing underway in another day of sunshine. There were some occasional lighter patches, and various shifts, but that’s fairly normal!

A couple of Mirror crews stepped up to the Handicap fleet with Andy/Lily in a GP, while Phil/Oliver were in a RS200. On handicap Andy took 1st place just 8 secs ahead of Phil, with Ian/Lezli-Ann 3rd. Mik won the Slow Handicap fleet, with Katia 2nd, and John Roberts 3rd.

After lunch there was a pennant race in aid of Calvert Trust. With the light winds the fleet were only sent to mark 10 which took the lead boat more than 30 mins to reach. On the return the wind strengthened, and lifted benefitting the boats further down the fleet one of which was AJ/Sue, sailing Andy’s GP, who broke through to the lead for a while. Ian/Lezli-Ann did regain the lead, but not sufficient to win on handicap, finishing 6th overall. It was to be Mik’s day, taking another win almost 50 secs ahead of AJ, with Rory in a Solo 3rd 14 secs later.

Calvert Trust Pennant results
Sandra’s Salver latest results