The weekend started off with a gloriously sunny, but cold, day and a light, variable wind. There was another excellent turnout of cadets and juniors for the morning training, many of which gave the afternoon racing a go too.
The light NE wind looked promising for racing, but it faded, delaying the start, then came back in from the east, swinging quickly to the SE though the start sequence. However, wind wise, it was to be an afternoon of no consistency, as it swung, dropped, filled in briefly from the NE, dropped, swung to the north, dropped again, etc, etc.
The fleet of 33 boats seemed content to put up with the conditions, and even stayed out for the second race. Andy/Phil launched their new F15, certainly not the best conditions to test it in, and raced against the formidable duo Graham/Alan. Andy secured a good start port on port, with Graham at the starboard end crossing a few seconds later, however, the changing wind left Andy in a hole as Graham slipped into the lead from which Andy didn’t recover. Things can only get better Andy!…
John/Jack took another two wins in the GPs from AJ/Sue, while Robbie D had two wins from Neil, both in Solos, in the handicap fleet. Stephen in a Mirror had two wins in the slow handicap fleet from Mik in a Mirror in the first race, and Poppy in her Topper in the 2nd. All the winners presently lead their series overall.
Sunday was more overcast, with a wind that bedded in as the morning progressed, although yet again it continued to swing throughout the day, with some challenging backers for the sailors to contend with.
For the two day weekend series there was a Fleet Challenge with just a single start for all 27 boats, not that they got away in a single start as there was two general recalls, with the threat of a black flag coming into play (which it did for the second race!). There were several capsizes, including one for AJ/Sue when they got their mast stuck in the mud. Graham/Alan in a F15 were leading the fleet until the leeward mark when they struggled to drop their spinnaker and dropped down the fleet as a result. Andy/Phil struggled to find second gear again, this time due to a failed kicker. Meanwhile, daughter Katia, led the Teras all round the course until the final beat when she was pipped at the post by Matty.
Robbie D in a Solo won the first two races, with John/Jack in their GP 2nd. After a lunch break, the fleet thinned out to just 13 starters. This time Dave L in a Laser beat Robbie D into 2nd place.
Sunday morning was glorious, and even the wind looked much lighter on the webcam than forecast. However, the forecast did prove to be correct with a gusty SSE, and persistent rain. It was the enthusiasm of Katia and Hannah that eventually got racing underway. The official starter chose to use a shore based start (best decision of the day!), with a beat from 0 to 8. The downside of having to clear away thousands of dead flies in the race office, was far outweighed by the ability to be sheltered from the cold wind and rain.
When the wind veered towards the SSW, the beat was more in shadow, making the beat more challenging, but with large shifts and lighter patches, however, there were some good gusts on the reaches to make up for it. 40 minutes of challenging conditions did not dampen the enthusiasm of Banter, Ethan, and Zefer, all of whom were keener than the OD to have another race. So they had a running start for course 0-1-5. Despite being further away from the shadow of Sale Fell, the winds were not much kinder, especially rounding 0!
Considering the gusts, there were only a few capsizes. Two more wins for Zefer earned him the trophy on fleet handicap while Katia won the trophy on personal handicap