Category: Racing

Winter Sunday Series 5 & 6

It didn’t look too promising just prior to the first race with a W trying to reach f1 and calm water.  Did I say westerly?  The turbines were blowing from NNE!  But the Bass wind soon swung to that direction which gave a start from 0 and a course of 1-B-9-0.

Of the four competitors AJ / Sue and Paul were soon vying for the lead, with James & Jenny’s newly acquired green machine (a pristine GP for those who haven’t seen it) just ahead of Barbara.

With the wind dying the course was shortened to 1 lap which suited all.  And so did the abandonment of the after-lunch race.  AJ reckoned there was wind down the lake but it would have taken a long paddle to get to it!

Final results

Winter Trophy 3 & 4

A glorious winter style cold morning, with clear blue skies, but a lack of wind was not looking too promising for the day’s racing. The wind filled in enough for the committee boat to take to the water, but it quickly faded, even before the fleet was launched! After a while various boats went out for a sail in some light airs, but the wind never filled in sufficiently for a race, which was later cancelled for the day.

Latest results

Winter Trophy

Now that November is here, it is Sunday only racing (isn’t it Mik?!) for the Winter Trophy. There was a cold light wind that picked up slightly over the course of the morning, and light rain to boot!

Eight boats competed, no capsizes, with some close racing and four boats finishing less than 17 secs apart on handicap in the morning race, two of which tied – AJ/Sue and Peter. The wind eased after lunch, and continued to do so throughout the race. Although Peter established an early lead, he lost ground in the calm patches as the wind started to fade and AJ secured 1st place, with Peter 2nd. Shortly after the boats returned to shore, the lake was like a mill pond.

Latest results

The bonfire celebrations are being held on Saturday 9th from 6pm – please bring a display firework, and drop off any spare wood that you may have for the bonfire.

Autumn Series 7 & 8

After a wet, night, and a calm morning, the wind freshened as the afternoon went on, and the sun shone, revealing a snow capped Skiddaw as the rain clouds disappeared.

There was a fleet of 11 boats, some suffering mixed fortunes. Steve/John in their GP, headed for wrong marks, and capsized getting their mast in the mud, but righted it and finished the race – all part of the learning curve! Paul had a great start in the 2nd race, but lost the benefit when he, too, capsized. AJ was getting giddy doing turns again, though he seemed to suggest Sue was at fault (I wonder if he still has a crew available for Sunday?…) It was the Solos that fared best with Tony winning both races, Paul 2nd in the first, and Rory 2nd in the last race. Paul wins the series on fleet handicap with AJ/Sue 2nd.

Final results Autumn Saturday Series

Here’s another video from John of his first October race.

With the clocks going back, perhaps many enjoyed their lie in, and did not fancy a sail as only three helms turned up in the morning, and another couple in the afternoon, for what turned out to be another sunny, but cool, day with a force 1/2. The GPs shared the honours, with AH/Sue winning the morning race, and Joan/Jack in the afternoon.

Overall, Mike/Eric won on fleet handicap, and AJ/Sue on personal handicap.

Final results Autumn Sunday Series

F15 Team Racing

Due to various other commitments, numerous regulars are not available for the planned team racing on 26/27 October, so, due to low anticipated attendance, it has been decided to cancel this year’s event.

Club racing will continue as planned.

Autumn Series 3 & 4

A sunny but chilly Saturday had a fleet of 10 boats enjoying lighter than forecast winds. AJ was in a spin soon after the first start due to a port/starboard incident. He was spotted doing another turn later having hit a mark! At least he was close enough to hit that one as a group of boats then headed for the wrong mark…. They did realise their mistake and correct their course. Barbara had a couple of capsizes before retiring. Mike/Kayla and Ant each had a win from the afternoon’s racing.

Latest Saturday results

Sunday was nothing like the day before, with a light wind fading as the sailors arrived together with the rain showers. However, the wind soon filled back in from the SE to get racing underway, and it unexpectedly strengthened, albeit for a short while. The wind eased as it backed to the east, and losing the beat, but Dave/Lynn held their lead to win the race.

The afternoon race was held in very light airs, taking an hour to complete the one and only lap. Dave/Lynn taking the honours again, ahead of Neil in his Laser.

Latest Sunday results

Championship Stakes

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.

GP Youth and Masters Championships & Flying 15 Open

Lovely day, apart from the wind!

With the Indian summer continuing, there was clear blue skies, and a warm south easterly wind to greet sailors, the only problem being that instead of a gentle force 2, the Bass micro climate offered a force 6 with even bigger gusts, and plenty of white horses to prove it!

Our own John Reekie ventured out in his Solo, getting very wet in the process (spray, not capsizing), but after a three hour postponement, the wind had not eased sufficiently to tempt enough people out, so the OD postponed until the morning when conditions should be better.

By Sunday morning the wind had eased, but was still blowing from the south east, the blue skies had disappeared, and the rain moved in!

The wind strength eased throughout the morning, but not before Keith and Gayle broached at one of the gybe marks! There was only one premature starter in the Youth fleet during the two morning races, and there’s rumblings of a protest in the F15 fleet.

At lunchtime the sun started to shine, and continued throughout race 3, as did the light breeze. There were mixed fortunes in the race, including Simon/Jon hitting the committee boat at the start! However it meant that the overall positions were all to race for in the final race.

Simon and Jon’s win in the final race snatched victory from Mike Preston and Chris Robinson from Blackpool and Fleetwood.

In the GP masters, it was to be the final reach that determined their winner which changed twice in a matter of minutes from Andy and Phil, to Graham and Frank, then Mark and Sam Platt from Bolton.

Robert and James from Royal Windermere won the final race to keep their lead, and secure the Youth Championship from Alastair and Joel from Southport.

Flying 15 winners Simon Longstaff and Jon Denwood from Bass
GP Masters Championship winners Mark Platt and Sam Platt from Bolton
GP Youth Championship winners Robert Richardson and James Abbatt from Royal Windermere

Tinker Trophy

With a large contingent of members at Southport for the annual 24 hour race, there was a limited number of takers for club racing, and one of those was a little reluctant due to the strength of the wind. However, Joanie overcame her concerns and went out with Tog in their RS200. As it turned out, the wind was stronger on the leeward shore than expected, so soon after the start a dutiful Tog was heading back to shore leaving John/Jack to finish the race on their own.

Sunday’s wind was much lighter, but as shifty as ever, with various light patches. With a mix of boats and skills on the water, racing wasn’t exactly close, but still a challenge. 1st places went to John in his Pico and Neil/Rory in their F15, but it was Paul Gannon that won overall, as he had been on rescue duty on Saturday, and therefore had three results to count.

Final Tinker Trophy results

The visiting Tinker fleet raced a total of six races during their open meeting, and had an evening meal in the clubhouse.

The winner was TCOA Commodore, Alistair Parker. Prizes were presented by Barbara Warden.

Team Bass had a hard, but fun weekend down at Southport for the 24 hour race finishing 23rd overall

Team Bass

The final results are shown below

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Here’s some more footage that John Bracegirdle took this weekend

Saturday Sunshine

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…

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