After a hot sunny week, Saturday was disappointingly hazy and muggy. A taster session was held during the morning for newcomers to the sport. This was followed by some Youth Squad training and a race (or should that be a drift). With the lake mirror like, it seemed unlikely that any club racing would get underway in the afternoon. The wind did fill in a little and boats were preparing for the pursuit race, but the wind faded again, and the OD cancelled racing.

Perhaps tomorrow!…

The wind had eased by the time sailors arrived to race, but was picking up again as the boats were prepared. Was this a day for Bridget to launch her laser? Probably not. Apparently, Bridget thought she was going to have to pick up her boat from Wales until Ginge told her Torpenhow was just on the way top Carlisle!

The first bit of fun was watching Steve get hold of his main halyard (well trying). Just as well he had Sam Hall crewing – seemingly several feet taller, but no joy. So how about Sam and a tiller extension? That was still a struggle, but no joy. Sam, tiller extension and a jump? Yes, success. Unfortunately, Sam fell and dropped the halyard has he collapsed in pain. So it was back to Steve and Neil Garrison (two of the smallest men in the club (well apart from Mike Fairlamb, Ginge, ….). They must have been lucky because after a couple more near grabs they got the halyard. The time for all this – 5 mins! Will they manage to stay upright for as long?

Well there were four contenders for the fleet challenge – one from each fleet (almost – FF, RS400, Laser, and GP) so does that guarantee them all a prize? The wind did ease slightly, and the boats stayed upright for longer than expected – Big E being the only casualty (several times!). The OD shortened the course for Big E, but he was determined he had to sail the same number of laps as the rest of the fleet, so he did a lap of honour, with various capsizes, for no real reason! When the finishing times were adjusted on a personal handicap basis, Mike Moore’s handicap proved to be so beneficial that Big E had to beat him on the water to even have a chance of beating him on handicap!

Could there be more takers for the next race? Yes, there was. Not sure why, since the wind seemed to be almost as strong, if not stronger – Steve and Sam were capsized before the start! That wasn’t their lot – a further capsize on a reach followed by a final won with the gennaker before they finally retired. That gave Sam the opportunity to leave early and get in the queue at casualty for his ankle! Toggle had to be part of the action and duly capsized too (several times!), had to be helped by the rescue team, and then retired. Unusually, Dave and Lynn Lawson capsized too. Chris Denwood, a former member having decided to take sailing back up and rejoin the club, ventured out in his laser only to find how many parts of his body don’t seem to work as well as they did 20 years ago! Such is life. He did stay upright until coming ashore, but reckoned a capsize then was the easiest way to slow down!

The gluttons for punishment went out for the third and final race of the series, not that they need have bothered as Mike Moore’s beneficial handicap, although adjusted after each race, had worked to his advantage and he had won the series with two straight wins. Mike Fairlamb and Mike Cowan both capsized (at a guess Big E did too, but I’m not sure)

Ian Smith was possibly robbed of the series win, but there’s always next time 🙂 He came second overall

The Laser, Mirror and Handicap open is being held next weekend – 1st race 1300hrs. Also, this week sees the start of the Night Jar series held on Thursday evenings, all topped off with supper in the clubhouse afterwards

Is the weather really against us this season? We asked the same question last Saturday!

Another windy forecast didn’t stop those hardy sailors coming down to the club (although if the webcam had been working they may have not even bothered coming down!), but the easterly wind blowing straight across the lake from Bassenthwaite was enough to make most sit down and have a cuppa.

There were two takers though, Toggle on a suicide mission in his Vareo together with T and Stephen K in their Vago. There were no takers for a bet that they’d survive longer than 10 mins without a capsize. Just as well because it would have been money down the drain – 30secs for Toggle, and 6 mins for Andy T.

T was saying how he was expecting his new boom (for the laser that Toggle broke recently) next week, and no doubt a new mast to follow. Little did he know that he was going to need a new mast for the Vago after a hairy spinnaker reach and capsize!

Would there be any takers for the following races – highly unlikely! All bets off..

Tomorrow’s another day, but the forecast is for only slightly less wind!

The OOD, Tim Chittenden was determined to start the first race on time but the punters seemed a bit reluctant to co-operate and it was 12.00 noon before the Fast Handicap fleet got away. No one can complain that they didn�t get value for money.

Most sailors were expecting a two lap race and were surprised when they were sent round a forth time in failings winds. Thankfully the wind for the last lap improved significantly.

The wind remained light and variable after lunch and the prospect of a �Round The Lake� course looked remote. However with a very light North Easterly a course was set with a beat to 3 followed by 12 and 13. The port bias on the line caused some congestion, especially when Toggle tacked on the line in front of Mike Moore. Collisions were inevitable and Mike�s FF sustained most of the damage. His boat is now back to how it was before the winter refurbishment work commenced.

By the time the fleet reached the windward mark in falling winds the prospect of sailing South seemed even more remote.

In such light winds it�s always a bit of a lottery as to which side of the Lake is favourable and the lead boats changed places a number of times on the run.

The wind gradually improved and by the time they reached 12/13 there was sufficient for a reasonable beat back to 5 where the race was finished.

Robbie D and Ethan were ahead of the fleet and Mike Fairlamb in his GP14 took the lead at 12 from Dave Lawson and lead the GP14s for the rest of the race.

After an increase in the wind in both the final stages of the first race and the round the lake race the consensus of opinion was that the OOD had inside information from above. It transpires however that he was monitoring the speed of the wind turbines in the distance and their increasing speed gave him confidence to continue the races.

Could it be that the wind turbines have some use after all? (So says the man from Sellafield!)

8 members of the Youth Squad�completed 2 races today in very light and challenging winds.� Georgina Craig and Jonathan Connor were on the water for the first time at the club this year.� Robin Crawley finished his first ever races so well done to him.

The fleet was led by Sam Hall in his laser, but Joe Watkins sailed well and was only half a minute behind Sam on corrected times.� There was a battle in the topper fleet with Jonathan Connor (who is used to slightly bigger boats these days), Lewis Tyson, William Coulthard and James Springell fighting for the mid-fleet places.

The main learning point this week was not to sail too close to the wind when there is very light wind.� Sail off the wind a little bit and get some speed up as it is essential to have speed before trying to tack.

Is the weather really against us this season?

As sailors arrived for the afternoon race, the rain was torrential with sleet in it (again!). The rain did fade, but so did the wind. The first race in the Celebrity Glass Pursuit was cancelled, but boats did go out for the second race, though the wind could not settle down to a specific direction. The rain came back, though not as heavy, but it was again cold for sailors as the committee boat had to be resited following a late 180 degree wind shift!

Racing got underway at 4.30, the first lap was reasonably steady winds, the second started to shift, and the final lap for the mirrors and leading handicap boats was horrendous! Fortunately the OD that had allowed the third lap to be started was obliged to wait while the various boats completed it! 🙂 However, the sun did shine for a while just to add to the confused weather! Shunty and Ruth found it a struggle to round 9 when they were head to wind with the gennaker up, and ended up hitting the mark, and letting William and Elaine through, as well as Scumper in his laser. He fought back, and in the dreaded final lap Shunty took the lead again only to lose it to William on the last leg but one. However, Scumper had caught up so much in the fickle winds that he won on handicap