Whilst there is glorious sunshine there is a total lack of wind so the OD has abandoned sailing for the day.

Last weekend there was only one race as the second race was cancelled due to no wind. Jim C won on the water in his Supernova, but Joan/Jack won on fleet handicap just 5 secs ahead of Ian in his Solo. Joan’s win took her into the series pole position one point ahead of Tony who still leads the personal handicap series.

One final deciding race next Sunday followed by the AGM!

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Sunday started cold, bright, breezy but with some drizzle. Fortunately the drizzle soon passed through and 15 boats (well 16 if you include Gary’s new F15) took to the water after many sailors had put forward their advice and requests to the starters and OD which included finishing early so that some could get to�Remembrance Day parades, and having the races back to back to avoid getting too cold.

Chris/Julie led both races in their F15, but were to be beaten on fleet handicap as several others were close on their transom. Joan/Jack would have been closer if they had headed to the correct mark on the first beat! Newbies Peter and Tony battled it out in their full rig Lasers while Jim grumbled around the course due to the lack of close reaches… With�less than one min between the first five boats on fleet handicap, Peter took the honours ahead of Jim and Tony. Sailing directly to the correct marks helped Joan/Jack take a convincing win in the 2nd race followed by Chris and Jim. Tony leads the series 1 pt ahead of Jim.

On personal handicap, Tony won the 1st race from Jenny and Chris, while Chris won the 2nd race from Tony and Joan.

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After the mildest halloween on record, reality is starting to strike with the start of November and the Winter Series. Despite a dreadful forecast, and overnight gales, there was a good turnout of 13 boats in sunny, gusty, and shifty conditions.

Steve/Ruth led the fleet in both races, winning both on fleet handicap, with Jim C taking two 2nds in his Supernova. Newcomer Tony King in a Laser Radial took a 3rd but won both races on personal handicap (No doubt Tony’s handicap will change for next season!). Chris/Julie secured two 3rds on personal handicap putting them in 2nd place.

There were numerous capsizes throughout the day – perhaps Alastair and Nigel competing for the most capsizes?

Though many would have expected the day to be written off due to the forecast heavy winds, two races were sailed in blustery and challenging conditions.

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You can almost tell it’s October by the high lake level following recent heavy rainfall. Be aware that with any further significant rain that boats on the foreshore will be at risk from flooding.

When sailors arrived the lake was mirror like, but there were occasional flurries albeit from the wrong direction! The OD was happy to wait ashore and have a brew, but many of the sailors rigged their boats, and even went afloat. It was the hoisting of the answering pennant to postpone the start that seemed to generate�slightly�more sailable conditions, so the OD was soon on the water to set a course for the first race in the October Series.

Despite a very starboard biased start line which had everyone aiming for the committee boat end, there were several great starts, especially by Tony King. Fortunately the wind held, with the odd light patch, for the rest of the afternoon. A true line for the 2nd start and there was no-one near the line!

Joan/Jack mastered the conditions in their�recently acquired GP, winning the first race, and finishing 2nd to Peter Whipp in the second race, to take overnight lead. Jim in his Hartley is 2nd with a 4th and 3rd, ahead of Ian in his Solo with a 3rd and 4th.

The forecast for Sunday was for even less wind! As sailors arrived, unexpectedly there was a gentle southerly, though the shadow of Sale Fell was expanding from the west…

The committee boat did go to set a course, and various zephyrs enabled the fleet to reach a start area, before the wind totally disappeared. An early lunch was called for… With no sign of the wind returning during the lunch break many packed away their boats. With most sailors gone, and the rescue boats packed away, the wind filled in from the west about 2.30. Hey ho….

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With the onset of the Southport 24 hour race, we have pulled together a team of willing volunteers to race in this prestigious event for the first time in several years and, for the first time, we are racing an Enterprise! Good luck to all the team, especially as the race started with a lack of wind.

Back at Bass, there was a similar lack of wind for the visiting Tinkers first race, though it did fill in from the East to keep everyone moving for the rest of the afternoon.�The Tinkers had a fleet of 10 boats this year, and completed six races over the weekend. Unusually, for Bass, there was a new leader and overall winner this year, Malcolm (sorry, don’t know his surname), who was presented with his trophy by Vice-Commodore Mark Somerville.

Club racing comprised the Tinker Trophy but, with many away at Southport, there was a low turnout (much to AJ’s delight). AJ led the first race but had to make do with playing second fiddle to Jim in the 2nd race, while Nigel always stayed close to the mix (except when his out haul came undone!). Sazzle had a keen start in the first race, but misunderstanding the oh so helpful advice from many ventured even further into the race area before the start. Consequently she was recalled as the rest of the fleet sailed on. All part of the learning curve. Kayla kindly nurtured Josh around the course for his first ever race in a Topper, and he promptly beat her! Well done.

As expected, Sunday had stronger winds, well at times! The problem was that the wind was swinging around Skiddaw offering either an Easterly or South Easterly. Each of these directions cast shadows on the course area causing some drifting conditions. Although there was a better turnout, and Neil/Rory led the way beating John/Nigel by more than 1 min on handicap, the competition for the trophy would remain with Saturday’s main contenders – AJ and Jim, who was overnight leader with two 1sts. Jim was sailing with grand-daughter Poppy and they convinced themselves that, having beaten AJ in the morning, their position was unassailable so opted not to race the final race.

There was a couple of premature starters in the 2nd race, one of which was Neil/Rory, but the wind dropped so it was a slow process for them to return. There seemed to be great confusion as to whether there was an individual or general recall as several tried to drift back to the start line. Some 4 mins later, Neil had cleared the line again, and the wind started to fill in to take the fleet down to 15. The first boat to come back into view from the clubhouse on their return leg was that of Neil/Rory having built up a 6 min lead on the next boat of Tim/Ian which was sufficient to give them their second win of the day, and secure Jim/Poppy’s winning position in the series.

The finish was not without its moments when several boats opted, for no apparent reason, to cross the finish line from the wrong side, so they delayed their finish until they finished correctly!

Final results