Defying the forecast, Saturday had sunshine all the way to welcome over 40 visitors to the club and get them on the water as part of the RYA’s Push the Boat Out campaign. The wind was light but at least it didn’t result in anyone from getting an unexpected soaking. We were pleased that some visitors were tempted enough by our wonderful surroundings to join and explore our sport more.

Sunday was sunny too, but the winds were stronger, and considerably steadier in direction than sailors have enjoyed for the last couple of weekends. It’s a shame there weren’t more on the water to enjoy it.

There were two Flying 15s out in the morning; with conditions suiting Ian/Lezli-Ann, Mike/Kayla weren’t going to take any chances and cover tacked all round the course to prevent a break through.

After some close racing, Paul Gannon sailed his Laser well in the morning to win ahead of Zefer, but Zefer took the honours in the afternoon with Neil 2nd.

Paul Bowmer, with wife Vicki crewing, won both GP races from Val/Ken, while Bean/Oliver (who sang a lot of the way round!) took two wins from Mik in the Mirrors.

Latest results

Has anyone seen or borrowed a combo road trailer that fits a GP? AJ�s isn�t where he left it a couple of weeks ago.

Who would believe a sunny bank holiday weekend?

When the morning mist shifted on Saturday it revealed a warm sunny day. �The wind was forecast to be Southerly but it swung between northwest and southwest being light and with many holes. The Handicap Fleet had a general recall and boats from all fleets, including the visiting Catapults, were switching positions dependent on the number of holes they encountered.

The OD decided to move the Bates after race 1 to try to find more constant wind which caused a significant delay. At his restart Mik became confused by the many sound signals the Bates� novice driver was issuing and went OCS and later, Mike & Eric found a further hole and came to a dead stop letting Val & Ken through albeit briefly.

On Sunday morning, as with Saturday, the wind struggled to settle from a given direction, and there were some calmer patches between the shifting winds. The sea breeze helped settle things down in the afternoon, and the stronger winds gave some good planing conditions. In addition to several premature starters, there were various capsizes throughout the afternoon; Paul Bowmer in a GP was washed out of his boat causing a Chinese gybe as he held on to the main, and an inevitable capsize followed. Ian/Lezli-Ann in a F15 got a gust of wind as they passed The Bates which they narrowly missed as they struggled to bear away. Another gust had two Catapults rapidly catching Simon/Jon in a F15 as they were about to round a leeward mark. One took water to round, but the other couldn’t fully bear away and finished up astride the F15! Simon ended up on the Catapult to enable a separation.

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With three races, two of which were in the stronger winds, there were many sailors ready to top up their energy with the pie and pea supper before taking part in a race night.

A sunny bank holiday Monday delivered more of the same. A short wait in the morning allowed the wind to settle in from the north, only to swing to the west early in the race. As a result the beat became very one sided, and there were some wind shadows around mark 1. The initial light winds put off a few sailors who opted to enjoy the sunshine on shore. The wind then filled in from the south west with some gusto, and it remained for the rest of the day as it was reinforced by the sea breeze. Simon/Jon avoided further incidents with the Catapult with which they had a close encounter on Sunday, to break back through to the lead, win the race, and secure the Jak Pot trophy, leaving Mike/Kayla and Ian/Lezli-Ann to battle it our for 2nd overall in the final race.

Although the variable morning race conditions suited Mike/Eric in their GP, enabling them to take first place, Dave/Lynn had the series in the bag with their 2nd place, but still raced the final race to win the Lyne Tankard with a clean sweep of four 1sts.

Ian Hall in his Solo took advantage of the morning conditions to take a win on handicap, but it was Scumper in his RS100 that took the May Holiday trophy with 9 points ahead of Steve/Ruth in their Merlin.

Bean and Oliver won the MT fleet trophy with four wins, while Jonathan/Henry were 2nd overall.

Final results

After 6 mixed and challenging races, the visiting Catapult fleet had a new winner in Dave Terry, with Gareth Ede 2nd overall.

Saturday started with a warm southerly that promised some great sailing conditions. Banter was keen to start in the narrows at Scarness and race down the lake, although his wish was not granted, a course was set taking the fleets up to mark 7.
By the time the race was started (the OD was waiting for Josh and Poppy to get launched), the wind was easing a little as it swung, and then came from multiple directions (well it did where the committee boat was moored).

After a slowish 1st lap the race was curtailed with the hope of getting another race within a more settled area of wind. Banter/Rob in a RS400 finished first on the water, then cooled off by diving into the lake as they headed ashore waiting for the rest of the fleet to finish.

Eventually the wind did settle down, generally but from the north west, and most boats opted to give it a go. The first beat had the fleet opting for separate sides of the beat which led to some unexpected leaders at the windward mark! After 30 mins the wind faded for a while but came back enabling most boats to finish in a fair breeze. Who would benefit from the lulls in the wind as some boats sailed more laps than others?

MT Series latest results

Sunday started with a force 3-4 south westerly, but much more overcast and cooled than Saturday. With open meetings on elsewhere for GPs and F15s, their fleets were depleted resulting in just one handicap race of 12 boats. The gusty conditions did cause some capsizes, and a few retirements, but it was Steve/Ruth that took the fleet around one leeward mark the wrong way, and another four boats followed! Ian/Tim in their F15 was the first to round it correctly, and four boats turned to re-round it, but not all of them unwound their mistake – one notable sailor being Sailing Secretary Zefer! This led to a few more retirements. Steve’s unconvincing ‘story’ was that he had a problem with a spinnaker pole and rounded the mark wrongly by mistake, so went ashore to fix it.

Of the three finishers, Ian/Tim won ahead of Mike in his Streaker, with Banter/Rob 3rd.

BL latest results

The afternoon race was a in aid of the Calvert Trust, and with the SW wind it turned out to be a true penance, with the down draughts from Sale Fell causing calm patches, gusts, and shifting winds. Stave/Ruth did break away in their Merlin, only to lose ground, then regain sufficient to win on handicap from Dave/Lynn. The 90 min race in such conditions will ensure many sleep well tonight!

Calvert Trust Pennant results

Sunday started with gusting southerly winds which led to some exciting and spectacular spinnaker legs. There were some occasional capsizes as the gusts increased.

The heavier winds suited Mike/Kayla who took an early lead in the F15s and maintained it to the end. Zefer took a good win in his Laser over Steve/Ruth in their Merlin. No real need to confirm that Dave/Lynn won in the GPs again, as did Bean/Oliver in the Slow Handicap fleet!

Latest BL series results

With white horses building through the Scarness narrows over lunch, and the rain moving in, it was surprising that 11 boats were ‘keen’ to race around the lake in aid of the Eric Twiname Trust Pennant. In fact, the wind eased considerably so the 3 mile long beat was not as arduous as it might have been. Certainly there were some mixed fortunes as the fleet progressed down the lake, with the F15s taking the lead. By the time they got back to the northern bay, Scumper/Alastair were leading in a RS400, but with Mike/Kayla on their tail, they wouldn’t be taking the honours which went to Dave/Lynn, beating Mike by 36 secs on handicap.

Eric Twiname Trust final results

Some light airs on a wet afternoon were just enough to tempt four boats to the water for the next race in the long MG series. The official starter, aka Herb, opted to have a shore start to minimise exposure to the rain showers.

The handicap fleet comprised Dave L in a Laser and Mike F in his Streaker, and they have a keen, clean start. AJ/Sue and Nigel/Glenys in the GPs also had a clear start, though it wasn’t quite as keen!

The light airs lasted long enough to complete the first lap, just, so the race was shortened and a show of hands (or lack of them), brought racing to the end for the day.

Dave took the honours in the Handicap fleet, and AJ in the GPs.

MG Series Latest results

Sunday started with a light southerly, though with the wind forecast to come from the SW the OD fully expected the wind to swing around Sale Fell and cause some light patches until the true wind settled in.

There was a good turnout of 21 boats over all four fleets, and although the wind was swinging, with some holes, most boats were on the second lap before the wind disappeared. Various zephyrs teased the boats along the course which was shortened 2/3rds around the second lap. Bean/Oliver noticed where the course was being shortened without losing too much ground as they were heading for the wrong mark, but it would be another half hour before Mik finished. Dave/Lyn won the GPs, and Ian/Lezli-Ann regained the lead to win in the F15s. Zefer in his Laser won the Handicap fleet 30secs ahead of Robin/Erin in a RS200.

The wind didn’t look at all promising during the lunch break, but suddenly filled in from the North so the committee boat went out to set a start as the wind started to swing to the NW. The wind held, but continued to swing more to the West (no, not the first sea breeze of the season!).

There were only two fleets racing; Dave/Lynn won in the GPs and Alex/Olivia took their first win of the season in the Handicap fleet ahead of Mike F in a Solo, whose crewed had jumped ship over lunch due to the lack of wind.

BL Series latest results

An Easter easterly helped reduce air temperatures for sailors and campers alike. Fortunately the forecast gusty winds on Saturday eased late morning to encourage a few more boats to race.

Banter/Tim were out in a RS400 and powered through the start line a few seconds early to claim the first individual recall of the season! At the next start AJ/Sue had nowhere to squeeze through as they approached the line but they unsuccessfully tried to duck Mike’s stern with which they collided and had to do the first sets of penalty turns of the season.

The wind was shifty, and the gusts did increase through the afternoon, resulting in a few capsizes. Oliver Smith was well wrapped up with three sets of joggers, but it wasn’t enough to keep him warm enough to continue through the full race so dad Phil opted for an early retirement.

At the end of the afternoon Dave/Lynn lead the GP Spring Cup with two 1sts, Zefer leads the Handicap Barf Trophy with a 2nd and a 1st, and Sandy/Douglas the Slow Handicap Red Sails Trophy, also with two 1sts.

Latest results

The evening entertainment started off with a bring and eat meal for the kids followed by a film, all to be repeated for the adults later

Sunday started busily with an Easter egg hunt, and there were plenty of successful finds

The temperature was only 5C but felt so much warmer than Saturday, and the winds, still from the East were not quite as gusty as Saturday, though there were plenty of shifts� about to catch out helms on the beats.

After three races, all to count, some consistent sailing puts Ian/Lezli-Ann in the lead for the F15s, Dave/Lynn lead the GPs with two 1sts, and a bit of a mash-up in the handicap fleet has Tony King leading with 13pts and new member Stan Barton just a point behind (did Stan give a position away when he forgot about the leeward mark as he head for the finish?). Only one race has been sailed in the slow handicap, but it is led by Banter/Oscar.

The annual egg dump competition was as strongly contested as ever. Fortunately, or otherwise, this year no kids made it to the final only to be intimidated and have their egg cracked by nasty adults. Peter Winfindale was up against Wendy Somerville in the final, but he was no match for the canny Scot who took the honours!

The forecast for Monday was not good, and a wet morning with a blustery easterly was not sufficient to entice anyone to race, so racing was cancelled, and campers dodged the showers to pack up and leave after the long weekend.

Weekend series final results