Thursday evening was muggy with “spits and spots of rain” as the TV forecasters are fond of saying. So there were only eleven starters after Val decided that looking after food (yet again!) was preferable to joining the fleet.

The light wind was South West so, with a start near B, the beat was to 0 with A being the wing mark. This gave a broad kite leg followed by a tighter one.

At the start signal the Lasers of Tony King and Peter Whipp were OCS but they made rapid returns and restarts. On the first lap Joan & Jack led in their GP closely followed Mike’s Streaker although he dropped back on Lap 2 as did the GP of AJ & Sue.

Tasha Todhunter’s Laser was the first boat to finish on 2 Laps followed by the Topper Contest between David Roger and Rosie Hogg.

The wind had by now swung further South meaning that a single tack from B to the port end of the line wasn’t practical any more. Most boats headed on port for the Bates before tacking off. Chris and Karen in the FF wanted to but AJ was close to windward and, by the time he realised that the FF was entitled to room and tacked, Chris had squeezed through virtually head to wind.

After Joan and then Mike, Tony who had recovered well from his recall, was finished on 3 laps. Not so Peter who was bemoaning a performance well below his best.

Positions on the water reflected Results on FH. Tony beat the Solo of David Haselden for the win on PH and he moves into second place in that Series.oves into second place in that Series.

Thursday evening was, yet again, unseasonal with grey skies and a chilly westerly force 3 breeze. Is it really the Summer Solstice this weekend? The OD decided on a figure of eight course for a change. 0-9-B-A was the order of the day for the twelve competing boats.

Alex and Olivia took an early lead in their 200 with Joan and Jack leading the pursuit from the fellow GP’s of Val & Ken and AJ and Sue. Mike’s Streaker was also in the mix. Into the second lap and gaps were extending between most of the boats. The exception being the Toppers of David Roger and Rosie Hogg which were in close company throughout although David eventually got the upper hand.

It was decided to finish the second half of the fleet after 2 laps and Harry in the Aero was first to receive the horn ahead of Jon Anson’s Radial and the 200 of Jeff Tweddle / Mike Siddall. Josh Hunter who had started late in his Topper was finished on one lap.

On lap 3 Alex / Olivia extended their lead with a plane on the broad kite leg into B and they finished ahead of the GP fleet’s lady helms. That plane had swung it their way and they were just classified first on FH ahead of Joan / Jack.

AJ / Sue took the win on PH ahead of Joan /Jack and they move into the series lead. However, Mike retains his prime place in the FH series.

Back ashore, there were appetising smells from the Galley. Also, a number of Bass’ potential Swallows & Amazons film stars recounting their experiences from the selection get-together earlier in the day. We wait to hear the final outcome of which of them will be playing the sailing roles.

Latest results – FH PH

After a changeable week weatherwise for the Whit half term there was a great turnout, especially in the slow handicap fleet. Various Flying 15s were competing in the Northern championship being held at Windermere so Chris/Julie sailed in the handicap fleet.

Although the wind was not too strong on Saturday, there were massive wind shifts for sailors to contend with resulting in numerous capsizes, particularly, but not only, in the single handers, and some mixed fortunes positionwise.

Mik recalled that he was not sailing to his best (a more polite version of his description of his efforts!) and gave substantial distance away by heading for the wrong mark. Joan/Jack had similar issues after sailing a fantastic first beat only to finish 3rd in the first race, which was won by Val/Ken, after getting intermingled with other boats. They got their act fully together in the 2nd race and maintained their lead through to the finish.

All in all a good days racing.

The forecast for Sunday must have put many people off with the expectation of persistant rain. The two GPs led the campaign to not bother with the morning race but have an early afternoon pennant race, however, Harry’s interest in racing urged the OD to get racing underway, albeit a little later than scheduled. The two GPs of Val/Ken and Alan/Sue were on the line in time, as were Jim/Poppy and Izzy. When Harry/Josh reached the line in a Mirror he innocently asked ‘have we started’ with the other boats some minutes up the beat!

Late in the race a squall came through, along with pleading by Ken and Val for the S flag to be raised. Their wish was granted, but conditions were too much for Izzy who suffered a couple of capsizes before retiring. Harry retired after receiving assistance following a drooping mainsail, leaving Jim/Poppy to battle with the shifts to stay upright and finish.

For the afternoon race there were only two takers – Harry in his Aero, and Alan/Sue in their GP. An early squall had both boats upside down before the start, and opting for shore leave even before racing was underway. Harry was toying with death rolls on the beat on the return ashore (perhaps deliberately, or possibly due to the gusty conditions) which he seemed to beam all the way through.

So apart from some muddy sails, and dinted pride from a chipped tooth (nothing to do with the sailing), no harm was done, and all went home happy.

Latest results Sat series Sun series