With two weekends of the championship season to go, the final weekend series is being held this weekend. With a forecast of rain and gales for Sunday, it may be just a short series!

There was a good breeze all afternoon, enough to cause the odd capsize – Mike Fairlamb with Margaret Trotter had an unfortunate capsize on the beat that lost them the lead to Val and Ken Bell in a closely fought race. However, Dave and Sarah Nicholson came through to win the first race.

Mike and Kayla had two close races against Tim Chittenden in the F15s, but it was Mike that took the honours.

Scumper and Big E took the lead in the handicap fleet in both races, and won them on handicap from Bean and brother Rob (or was it Tim?!)

In the Mirror fleet Nick Orton was so far ahead he had to do a lap of honour! Mik had his knickers in a twist after doing turns for hitting Nick on the head with his boom earlier in the race. Toddy’s 2nd in the first race and win in the 2nd gave him the series (the Mirrors have already decided they’re not sailing on Sunday)

Sunday came together with the forecast wind. Mike Fairlamb was itching to race and strengthen his position in the series – he’d brought in Dave Lawson to crew! However, the OD checked out the conditions on the water and decided to cancel racing for the day

The latest championship results are listed below. The championship winners may have been determined, but can next weekend make a difference to your place in the championship?

The rain cleared overnight on Friday with a forecast of 10-12mph afternoon breeze from the SW for Saturday

The FF team racing having been cancelled we had the lake to ourselves. There were many puffs of wind which made all the difference in terms of getting lifts, but they never seemed to be sustained long enough to gain a good advantage. The wind freshened towards the end of the first race, but lacked lustre for the second 🙁

Shunty and Ruth got away in both races to secure two firsts on fleet handicap basis. Lynn Lawson tried her hand at helming, with Dave crewing, and sailed consistently to take a first and second on a personal handicap basis

Sunday was forecast to bring some sun, but less wind.

Sunday started with a light southerly which looked promising for some good sailing – how deceptive looks can be! With a very starboard biased beat there was little tacking to be done on the main beat of the course, and the light winds gave little opportunity for the asymmetric boats to gain (or should that be not lose) any ground on the rest of the fleet. This led to Shunty losing, well spitting out, his dummy. Mike and Kayla were taking advantage of the situation and sailed well to finish first on the water and take first overall on personal, and fleet, handicap basis.

Backed by, perhaps, a sea breeze, the wind swung to the SW during the lunch break, and seemed to strengthen with various gusts passing through. Although the fleets finished in the expected order this time, the lulls and gusts on the offwind legs allowed the pack to tighten. Lynn Lawson again sailed excellently to win the race on fleet handicap from Shunty, and a 2nd on personal handicap basis gave her the October personal handicap trophy.

Mike Moore had to win the last race on fleet handicap to take the October Series, but Shunty’s 2nd was sufficient to fend Mike off and take the trophy. With 2nd place in both series Mike felt like it was a case of always being the bridesmaid, never the bride. Say no more! Well it was his wedding anniversary – what did he expect? Special treatment?!

Congratulations go to Phil Smith and Naomi Darling following the announcement of their engagement

Saturday’s horrendous forecast was right! Wind and rain was probably the cause of a lack of interest and competitors. OD Toggle was ready and raring to go (home), but that was it. Shortly after the due start time he raised N over A and that was it, racing cancelled for the day

Sunday could be a better day – we hope! Can you spot the difference?

The wind and rain passed through overnight, with sunshine, but no wind, the view of the lake was as good as it gets

The wind was due to fill in from the north, but whether it would come in time the sailors just had to wait and see

Surprisingly, they didn’t have to wait long. The wind filled in from the north as forecast, although a swinging wind meant the windward leeward course was a bit of a fetch for one of the laps. Shunty and Ruth headed for 3 instead of 2 on the first beat putting them back into 4th place, but worked their way back through the fleet to finish 2nd behind Robbie D and Toggle who were making a guest appearance in Roy’s RS400

Mike Moore and Kayla sailed into a big lead ahead of Alan Nicholson and Sam Hall

The wind was due to freshen, but there was the expectation that racing would be over by the time it did. The wind did hold but not particularly strengthen. There were some significant shifts to contend with, together with holes that swallowed up parts of the fleets.

Julian Cruickshank in a GP worked his way through one of the holes so well that he got to the front of the fleet and beat Mike Moore on the water! Also, the Mirrors both did well with Mik Chappell securing 2nd and Alan Waugh a formidable 3rd.

The last race in both series was the qualifying race for both Robbie D in the Asymmetric fleet and Mike Moore in the MJM series. Mike’s wallowing in the hole cost him the opportunity of winning the series which went to Sam Hall. Robbie D had a poor first beat but worked his way back to 2nd overall to snatch the series from Joan and Jack Hardie

Next week the Flying 15 team racing is being held alongside club racing for the October Series

The wind freshened as the afternoon went on to give a pleasant sail, though the curve on the wind always seem to benefit those to windward.

In the mirrors there was a dead heat in the first race and some very close racing in the second, though Toddy lost his nerve on the final beat to the finish and Mik sneaked through.

Val and Ken Bell continued their winning streak to take two firsts from Mike and Elaine Fairlamb, and Dave and Sarah Nicholson – all a bit of a family affair?!

In the Handicap fleet William with Neil Garrison crewing put up a valiant fight until the final reach when Scumper and Robbie D broke through for their second win of the day. When the results were calculated, Scumper had beaten Mike by just 3 secs pushing William into 3rd place

The light winds from the south made things seem like there was a pleasant sail ahead. Although William and Elaine were able to pull away on the beat from the single handers, the single handers benefitted on the runs. However, after completing two laps in 40 mins OD Mike Moore let William sail on (as Alan Waugh in his mirror had just started his second lap) but shortly after the wind faded and it was to be another 50 mins before William completed the next lap. To be fair Mike made the rest of the handicap fleet endure the conditions, but it was to be the lasers that gained with Robbie D coming in just 5 mins after William to take first overall

The wind faded through the lunch break but did fill in from the SW. Due to the light winds the Banana Stakes pennant race was just sailed down to mark 10 and back. A shadow on the lake around 7 bunched the fleet up on the way down the lake. William in an RS400, Rory in a Vareo and Val in a GP were the three lead boats that broke away. With the race being calculated on a personal handicap basis, it was Val that won, followed by Rory then William. Mik Chappell came in a notable 4th overall

Saturday: Not a good forecast. Flood warnings. High gusting winds. Rain

The wild conditions in the morning were sufficient to postpone the taster session, but the Youth Squad duly turned up for their 1pm race. The five competitors all took to the water, and all capsized. The race was started twice, but eventually abandoned

As for the main racing, the weather remained uninviting, but 10 boats ventured out and braved the autumnal weather. Although William and Elaine put up a fight at times, Steve and Ruth took advantage of the gusts to get ahead, but kept giving William a chance by capsizing (was he trying to preserve his handicap?) albeit briefly.

Mark Ninnim and Rob Smith sailed well in their Enterprise and may have won all three races on personal handicap if they hadn’t capsized in the second race. It seems that Ian Macpherson was mastering the conditions and is in a good position in the series having secured a first and two seconds.

Tomorrow’s forecast for the conclusion of this six race series is less blustery and dry, but only time will tell what the conditions will actually be

Sunday seemed like a different day. The rain had passed through and the wind seemed so light that we were unlikely to get the chance of a plane. However, the wind was forecast to pick up a little. There were even patches of blue sky!

The final three races of the fleet challenge. How would things fare today?

The wind did come, but in fits and starts, occasionally planing conditions, but usually when boats were on the beat! Was the OD just looking the other way at the start as several boats thought they were over the line but there was no recall, so they got away with it.

Despite an adjustment of handicaps, the overnight leaders had sufficient standing to see them through the day, so congratulations go to Mark Ninnim and Rob Smith

Though the forecast is for a gentle breeze, the mirror-like water does not give us much hope!

Perhaps it would have been better if the wind had stayed away because the drizzle came down as the OD tried to determine where to set the course. He seemed to take Albert’s view of Let the B***ers Go to try and make sure a race was held. Unfortunately the wind had swung and the windward leeward course ended up without a beat. Interestingly at 2, several boats tacked with the gennakers flying!

Over lunch the rain bedded in and the wind faded. No more racing for today!