.. keen! Well they must be to be camping down at the club, and then even contemplating sailing while the snow and hailstones come down in between some wild squalls! Until a couple of hours before the start the weather was putting many off, but it seemed to blow itself out just in time to tempt numerous boats on to the water for the Starter’s Prize – the first race of the 2008 season.

There were capsizes, but it was an exciting start to the season. The committee boat moored head to wind at the starboard end of the line took some getting used to – not only for the competitors but also Herb and the team. They were some over eager starters – Steve Hunt to name but one! Toggle was keen as mustard at one mark claiming no water on William – shame Tog had been coming wide into the mark for the previous 30m! He reckoned God loves a trier…. Well that’s one version!

Toggle been on Ebay again. Having sold his caravan (and upgraded to a newer one), he obviously found a bargain sailing suit – we suspect Eddie the Eagle must have been selling it as a memento from his ski jumping exploits!

The second race was sailed in a shifty but steadier breeze which faded as the race went on. Although it only lasted half an hour, it would have taken a considerable time to sail an extra lap. Andy Smith (with Emma in the 1st race and Phil Hodgkins in the 2nd) won the second race and took the series from Steve and Ruth

The showers were a must for many to thaw out various parts of their body after one of the chilliest starts to many a season.

The winds were somewhat more moderate for the final race of the season. There were 10 takers, although the competition was only between the Commodore and Barry Lancaster. Steve and Ruth had to get 4th or better to beat Barry, but the handicap system jumbled up all the names, and spit out the winners in a random like order!

With Steve getting a 7th, Barry’s 4th was sufficient for him to win the Winter Trophy and be first on the prize list for next year’s prize giving! Following racing, the remaining marks were taken off the water and the rescue boats packed away for the winter maintenance.

It’s worth taking your boat off site or moving it to higher ground as we regularly get floods at this time of year

Yes, it’s November. Sunday only racing on a personal handicap basis. For the first weekend, Steve Hunt and Ruth Critchley mastered the light winds, and despite having their handicap amended for the 2nd race (well doctored!), they secured two wins from Wendy Lewis in her RS200.

The November series continued last Sunday. As a result of being on a personal handicap basis it tends to be a bit of a lottery as to what the results will be! The day started with light winds which seemed as if they were freshening. The odd gust passed through, but not very often. The morning race was led by William and Lesley, but the handicap system resulted in it being won by Barry Lancaster with Martin Wright crewing.

The wind was lighter for the second race, and most of the fleet were finished after one lap, but the RS400 and RS200 had to completed two laps. With the wind filling in slightly, their average lap time improved and the race was won by Joan and Jack Hardie.

It may have been cold in and on the water, but William continued to sail in a shortie. Some traditions die hard

The final championship series of the year is being sailed this weekend. At a thank you dinner for Council members there was an opportunity for some dirty tactics between the key helms in the Mirror fleet to try and make sure their opponents were unfit for sailing. Only time will tell whether the tactics were implemented or worked!

Bridget managed to embarrass a waitress with a spoonerism of sticky toffee (pudding)!

Plenty of sun, glorious views of the lake, somewhat obscured bye a wandering spider (on the webcam), but no wind was what greeted sailors on Saturday.

Ah well, you can’t have everything!

Surprisingly the a light breeze did fill in across the lake very quickly, and racing got underway only slightly late (though Scumper was later than most!). The wind eased towards the end of the first race to slow proceedings down, so some boats went ashore for a comfort break. However, the OD took no prisoners and started the sequence as soon as all the boats had finished, leaving Shunty and William several minutes late for the start. Fortunately the breeze did hold for the rest of the race.

The first race, which should have been a pursuit, was canned due to it not complying with the series rules

Sunday’s misty start lingered all day, and although there was some ripples on the water for a while, there was never enough to get racing started. There was more movement by the spider clambering over the webcam!

Cancelling the racing meant that series positions in the final long series of the season would stand as previously, with only one weekend series left count towards the championship.

and don’t get caught if you do, which is what happened to Andy T. Having just bought a Laser Vago the instructions were out to determine how to rig it. Stephen Kirkpatrick and T took it out for their 1st sail, and suffered their first capsize having caught their downhaul on the bowsprit.

Another casualty was Neil Garrison who capsized the Dart – not sure why because there wasn’t much wind!

The series comprised six races over the weekend based on personal handicap.

Shunty and Ruth seemed to be in a bit of a spin all day on Saturday – hitting the windward mark in one race resulted in them having to do a penalty turn, and in the next race an incident with Roy led to him doing another couple of turns. It didn’t stop him from making a comeback and winning the race from William and Elaine on the water at least!

The light winds eased as the afternoon went on, and many seemed to be noticing the cold – what a difference from last Saturday. A beautiful evening with mirror like conditions followed.

Shunty’s grappling iron impressively located and retrieved the missing anchor on the second sweep. Phew! (Don’t think Ruth was looking forward to spending more time on the water with the temperatures dropping!)

As for Sunday, well you can’t have everything, especially not sun and wind. As with Saturday, the breeze was generally light, and sufficient to keep the boats moving, but during the 2nd race the wind started to swing from the north leaving the fleet struggling to reach the finish line wherever that was going to be! The OD thought he would be kind and finish Big E at the top of the beat, but as he was a lap behind that wasn’t possible without Big E sailing another lap. This led to confusion and frustration with Shunty and Ruth who thought they had only a few hundred yards to sail until the committee boat left its station, so he opted for a tow ashore. Similarly, Robbie D and Ethan decided to retire. However, the committee boat returned to its station and finished the rest of the boats drifting around the course before they too opted to retire.

With things not looking too promising there were only three takers for the final race, but by the time they finished the lake was mirror like yet again

Saturday – What a glorious day for sailing – T-shirt, shorts and sun cream (well for William at least), though there seemed to be a multitude of capsizes including the Commodore.

With the wind coming in a SSW direction over Sale Fell, the shifts were challenging as the down draughts hit the water. In the mirrors, Mik may have secured two wins, but the OD said there was only a coat of paint between them when they finished the 2nd race. Scumper didn’t have good day – First race spent pulling Zefer’s car off precipice; in rush for 2nd race realised that kite not rigged and ended up late for start. Roy wished he’d carried out his planned maintenance because the toe straps that he’s had since before Bass Week now need fitted! Robbie D, with Ginger Phil crewing, was in overnight lead for the handicap series from William and Lesley, each having a 1st & 2nd to count

The OD complained that there were no instructions on how to lay an anchor! Oh how Herb is missed on his days off!

Many had been forecasting force 8 gales for Sunday – but remember Bass has its own micro climate, and though windy it was sailable. With the wind coming over Sale Fell again, the OD took pity on the sailors and thought he’d let them have a breather as they drifted in its shadow working their way from 0 to 8!

Kayla was back on the water after many months recuperating from a back injury. But jumping into a F15 with Mike was challenging for her – spinnaker poles, finding sheets, gybing poles all left her somewhat confussled!

A spectacular reach by William and Ruth before the start almost ended in disaster when they had to avoid Mike Moore (Mike effect #1), but luffing up led to an equally spectacular high speed capsize and the loss of another burgee!

The afternoon course was set in the wind! Hard beats but some excellent runs/reaches down (5mins up, 3mins down). On the startline it seemed as if there’d been a massacre (well small one!) with Toggle and Big E capsizing on the start signal. For some reason Big E thought Robbie D (with Sam Hall) was to blame. Toggle had caught his pole on Mike’s horse (Mike effect #2). Scumper and Zefer took the lead and kept on going, William and Ruth struggled to shake off Robbie and Mike, but did eventually get some good offwind legs in to pull away somewhat. Following one gybe trying to avoid giving Mike water at a mark, Robbie went for a spectacular capsize (Mike effect #3 – hatrick!!!) marginally less impressive than William’s (according to Mike). Despite going turtle, Robbie recovered, sailed on and finished 3rd on handicap. This made no difference to his overall position of 1st having won the series with 2 1sts and a 2nd.