A cold day due to the northerly breeze but the various spells of sunshine made everyone feel so much more comfortable. Across the lake there were various snow showers from time to time. Mike came prepared for the cold weather though, he was in his wolly jumper, despite wearing it inside out and back to front!

The weekend’s racing is a fleet handicap series of five races for the MJM Trophy and Asymmetric Cup. Back from his travels, Zefer was back crewing with Scumper and somewhat tickled to discover a broom head tangled in the running gear for the wing wangs – not surprising they hadn’t been working very well last week!

The wind proved to be variable in both strength and direction, resulting in very biased start lines for each race. The first race was a struggle for boats to cross the line on starboard, and the second race had a couple of boats over, though�Mike/Eric failed to return.

The occasional holes in the wind were frustrating and challenging, and places were readily gained or lost.

Sunday started off sunny, which again made the cold wind more comfortable. The wind was just about as shifty as Saturday so beats came and went, and, unusually, one reach turned into a beat briefly!

The asymmetric fleet were caught out by one shift which caused another biased start line, and resulted in three of the four starters to be over the line. They all returned eventually!

The wind freshened as the day went on, resulting in various capsizes, and�a blown out F15 spinnaker (not a good start to the racing season for John and Tim).�With three races scheduled, numbers dwindled as time passed, and various crews were pleased to hear the final finishing signal.

Final results MJM/Asymmetric Cup

…is better than a good day in the office. That could be Shunty’s mantra for the day. The Bates just happened to be in the way when he tacked, left go of his tiller, and had the first bump with the refurbished Bates. Later�he�capsized. He couldn’t even blame his crew as he was in his Solo! Fortunately these mishaps were all in the first race, pushing him down to 5th, although finishing 11secs quicker would have landed him a 3rd.

Throughout the morning there had been a strong contingent enjoying their first training session of the season

The weather clouded over after a sunny morning, stayed cold, and rained briefly. Windwise it was mixed (nothing new there!) varying from sitting out conditions to light airs in the lee of the shore at times.

There was enough wind for Ethan to capsize his latest boat, an�RS600, and�Scumper had to capsize his boat between races to sort some rigging issues. Dave/Lynn’s racing didn’t follow their typical format of leading from the start, one bad lap and they were pursuing the rest of the fleet for the rest of the race (perhaps Lynn should have taken the helm again?). After a poor start,Mike/Eric worked their way through to the front by the finish of the first race, with Joan/Jack 2nd.

With a couple of F15s racing at Windermere, there were just two contenders at Bass. Some consistent sailing by Ian/Lezli-Ann gave them two wins over Tim/Elaine.

Scumper won both handicap races, with Banter 2nd in the first race, and Shunty 2nd in the second one.

Latest results MG etc

Clear blue skies with a 2-3 from the SE greeted sailors on Sunday morning. Though not much warmer than Saturday, the sunshine certainly made it feel hotter. The figure of eight course pleased many sailors, including Jim (wonders will never cease!). Scumper had his sister Gayle crewing for the first time in many a year, so it is, perhaps, not surprising that there was a minor episode of kite trawling. Fresh back to the water, Alastair was fully expecting to be giving his Vareo an early wash and go swimming, but the boy did good, and stayed upright all day!

Dave/Lynn took a while to find top gear, but they did get their act together to win the morning race ahead of Mike/Eric. Mike won the afternoon race, with Joan/Jack 2nd. In the F15s, Tim/Ian and Ian/Lezli-Ann each had a 1st and a 2nd.

Jim won both races in his Hartley, with John 2nd in his Pico.

Despite narrowly avoiding a collision with Ian/Lezli-Ann, Robbie D/Banter in their 400 went on to win the morning race with Alastair taking 2nd and Neil in a Laser 3rd.

The afternoon race looked promising, but the wind promptly faded after the start sequence began. Robbie D took over 30 secs to cross the line, and Hazel, in her Laser 4,7, several minutes! Consideration was given to abandoning racing, but it was a sunny afternoon! With the wind filling in, the fleet was left to sail a second lap in a better breeze which would benefit some tail enders on handicap. Shunty won on handicap, with Hazel 2nd and Ian H in a Solo 3rd.

Latest results BL etc

In the�F15 open at Windermere, Simon/Jon finished 5th and Mike/Kayla 7th

The forecast force 4/5 was not to be on Saturday which offered a light southerly for the small fleet of boats. Perhaps the drizzly conditions had dampened enthusiasm?

Shortly after the first start the breeze eased to nigh on drifting conditions with boats relying on the intermittent zephyrs that passed over the course from a variety of directions!

In the F15s, Mike/Kayla took and early lead which they strengthened over time, but lost to Ian C/Lezli-Ann as they waited for their next zephyr. By the end of the beat Mike took the lead again, with Ian M/Elaine pulling through to 2nd. Ian and Joyce were the only contenders in the Handicap fleet, and Ian took the honours despite�trying to�avoid getting embroiled in the F15 fleet.

Dave crewed for Lynn in the GPs, and she managed to give Mike/Eric some strong challenges, though Mike did secure the lead over the finish line.

With no prospect of the wind filling in again, and little enthusiasm, the 2nd race was not sailed.

Latest results

Saturday’s rain continued through the night but dried up in time for Sunday racing. There was a general recall for the Handicap fleet, but they were all clear on the second start which was held in a fresh southerly which resulted in just one capsize before easing to near drifting conditions.

Mike/Kayla and Mike/Eric again took wins in the F15s and GPs respectively. Steve/Ruth in a Merlin won the Handicap fleet ahead of Jim/Poppy in their Hartley.

Latest results

The afternoon race was the Eric Twiname Trust pennant, typically held around the lake but as marks beyond Scarness are yet to be laid it was held in the bay, perhaps fortunately as the wind again eased causing some bunching on the finish line, and throwing handicaps into disarray. �Steve/Ruth were first across the line, but on Handicap the honours went to Toggle in his Solo just 9 secs ahead of Dave/Lynn.

Lynn leads the Sandra’s Salver series.

Eric Twiname Trust pennant
Sandra’s Salver

With the sunny Good Friday blown away overnight, it became a bit of a no news day as the wind and rain put all potential contenders off (perhaps the Bass Ski team chose a better option this year by heading to France) so racing was abandoned for the day.

Easter Sunday appeared all the quicker (mainly due to the clocks going forward for British Summer Time), but looking down wind the tops of the waves were visible (not good!), and there was a dearth of sailors interested in taking to the water, so we had the second non-sailing day of the season. It turned out to be a mixed day of sunshine and showers with the occasional rainbow to boot.

Having been washed out of their tent, Pete and Karen were pleased to spend a comfortable Saturday night at home only to appear next day with a caravan!

Competition would get off the ground later in the day with the annual egg dumping competition. Would it be a child prodigy that would take the honours? Well, he may have been a child prodigy (some time ago), as the winner was Charlie’s dad, Martin!

While the South endured storm Katie on Monday, we were able to get the sailing season off the ground (well on to the water) with a�couple of�enthusiastic fleets. Ever patient Peter helped Lottie to rig her boat – she managed to make it to the line a little late, but Peter had to wait till the afternoon for his first race. The wind was blustery, and there were several capsizes (is Zefer the Sailing Sec taking on Roy’s mantle of being famed for capsizing?!), and some consequent retirements as sailors headed for a warm shower, but the rain held off during racing at least. The winds led to some exciting reaches and good racing.

Dave/Lynn took two wins from Mike/Eric in the GPs to win the Bass Tankard, while Phil/Naomi beat Hugh in his Vareo by 10 secs in the first race, and Robbie D/Banter in an RS400 by more than 70secs in the second race. The conditions enabled the RS Aeros to put in a good show with Harry sharing 3rd place with Robbie in the first race, and visitor Caitlin earning a would be 5th position in the second race. Phil/Naomi’s two 1sts won them the Easter Trophy.

Final results

Snippet of the day – Becky was entrusted by Oscar to look after some of his Easter chocolate, only for Robbie D to start tucking into it before Becky caught him!

Keith Thomas has sent a couple of shots of the Bass Ski team in France. It looks slightly cooler than Bass!�

With the arrival of November, racing is scheduled for Sundays only, and that means just five days racing left this season. The day started misty with no wind whatsoever, but the forecast looked promising. However, 11.30 came and went and there was still little sign of wind in the northern bay, but it was nice, mild, and bright, and several boats were rigged ready for action. By 12.15 various zephyrs were filling parts of the bay, so the rescue boat was launched and the Bates brought ashore.

The OD opted to make the most of what little wind there was, and while waiting for the fleet to get to the start line set in the light southerly, the wind swung to the west, so the line was moved and racing was soon underway. Perhaps the raising of a knotted class flag was the OD’s way of keeping his fingers crossed that the wind would hold.�

Although the wind swung a little more to the north, and was somewhat shifty, the wind did hold long enough to get two races in back to back. However, by the end of the second race, the clear blue skies were gone, a mist was starting to roll in, and the wind was fading to nothing again.

The results show how fortunes varied in the changing conditions with first three positions going to Tony in a Solo, Mike/Eric in a GP, and Neil in a Laser in the first race, and Steve/Izzie in a Merlin, Jim/Poppy in a Hartley, and Val/Ken in a GP in the second race. Steve/Izzie lead the fleet handicap series while Pete is winning the personal handicap series

Winter series latest results

Saturday�s races was held in a light but bitterly cold southerly wind. Competitors having to endure nearly four hours of racing were pretty chilled but at least they were moving around. The Bates and safety crews were absolutely pickled when they finally came ashore.

There were eight starters although Joan and Jack had an early capsize and were well down the fleet. Banter Phil was first on the water but Mike & Eric won on FH and AJ and Sue on PH The following race held back to back in ever lightening winds had a long course and took an age to finish. Jim in the Supernova was fed up with conditions and bemoaning no reach in the course so he came ashore. Banter was again first over the line 5 seconds ahead of Mike & Kayla. There was no wind when coming into the slipways and the Geeps had their paddles out. But Mike & Eric were again winners on FH with Banter taking the PH win.

Conditions on Sunday were much of the same. Chris & Julie had a flyer at the start of the morning race at the start and it took Mike & Kayla in the other Fifteen a fair time to get by them.

 After lunch the action switched to lower down the order. Richard lost the forestay fitting on his Solo and retired, luckily without further damage. Meanwhile Joan and Jack brought their Geep ashore for de rigging prior to their forthcoming holiday adventure. Mike & Eric took two further bullets to make it a full hous

Latest results FH PH (to be updated…)

With the high pressure continuing to dominate the weather, racing was cancelled again due to a lack of wind.

As with last week, Sunday morning welcomed sailors with an unexpected light southerly which freshened slightly as the day went on. A simple triangular course in the morning for a fleet of 13 boats suited Banter in his RS100, enabling him to put in some consistent 12 min laps and build up a 4 min lead (on handicap) on Dave/Lynn who held Joan/Jack at bay. Dave Darling suffered problems taking down his spinnaker at the end of each lap and then retired.

Although the wind swung to SSW over lunch casting a shadow on the course area, it backed to the south again in time for racing, and behaved itself till the end. An inverted P course proved to be more enjoyable, and a little more challenging.�Hazel only sailed the afternoon race, but retired due to being ‘starving’ having missed her lunch. Val/Ken exited the race early as well after, but not due to, a flat tack. This time the course and conditions�suited Dave/Lynn as they won ahead of Neil in his Laser, with Joan 3rd.

On personal handicap, Banter and Peter Winfindale each had a win.

Latest results FH PH