On Sunday afternoon there was a pennant race in aid of the RNLI which is usually sailed around the lake. As the sun shone, the wind picked up over the lunch hour (60mph gust according to the new weather station in the Clubhouse!), but with the wind blowing from the West the competitors were liable to suffer from some interesting downdraughts as the wind passed over Sale Fell.
It seems that drifting boats being passed by boats with helm and crew hanging out were the least of the problems during the race. Mark 10 was stated to be so far out of position that some helms never spotted it at all! Paul Burnell took advantage of its position and sailed up the middle of the lake to pass Mike Moore and Ian Campbell while they sat in a hole. Steve Hunt secured a massive lead only to find a calm patch at 13. However, he must have made good time on the way back, because when the results were calculated on a fleet handicap basis, his 6 minute lead was sufficient to win him the race.
Ian Campbell ‘enjoyed’ the experience so much he vowed to cherish it and never sail down the lake again!
Final results
RNLI PENNANT
PN Boat Helm Class 1 Pts
1 1210 S HUNT RS400 1 1
2 3521 P BURNELL FF 2 2
3 3473 M MOORE FF 3 3
4 3560 I CAMPBELL FF 4 4
5 167828 I MACPHERSON LAS 5 5
6 69960 M CHAPPEL MS 6 6
7 13118 V BELL GP 7 7
8 13176 D LAWSON GP 8 8
9 13013 J SEDGWICK GP 9 9
10 1125 JoHALLIDAY RS400 10 10
11 1 TBA TOP 11 11
12 2324 R BLACKBURN LARK RTD 13
Points for RTD = 13
Points for DSQ = 13
Points for DNS = 13
1 races to count