The bank holiday weekend was busy on and off the water, with the club hosting an open meeting for Catapults, and the Mirror Northerns alongside club racing. Though the forecast was for relatively light winds, it freshened to F3-4 in time for afternoon racing, and, as usual, oscillating in direction, generally from the SW.
The total of 50 boats across three fleets was a magnificant sight. All starts for the day were clear, and there was some close racing, with various position changes for those that took advantage of, or missed, the swinging shifts. Several legs offered great planing conditions, and there were a few capsizes, and a couple of gear failures.
Paul/Jude Allen were trialling a Melges 15, securing a 1st and 2nd on handicap to win the Paul Carruthers Memorial Trophy, with Dave Lawson/Mike Fairlamb in a GP 2nd, and Val/Ken Bell in a GP 3rd.
Paul Carruthers Memorial Trophy final results
Will/Isabelle Crocker from Welton SC had a 1st and 2nd to take overnight lead in the Mirror Northerns, ahead of Angus/Isla Armstrong from West Kirkby, and Phil/Lucy Smith from Bassenthwaite.
Sunday morning was dry after a wet night for the campers. The wind was light but started to fill in from the forecast SW direction, however, when the OD was setting the line/course the wind direction was coming from all directions! It did settle down from the SW again, so a line was set and racing started only for the wind to back to the S as a dark cloud moved in. Just before the Mirror start the races were abandoned until the wind had settled again. Next start got underway, but the first beat was light for a short while.
After lunch the wind had veered more to the W, then later through the race backed to the WSW which cast a shadow over part of the beat, slowing the final lap for some boats which took up to 80 minutes to finish.
The wind came back, and the last race held, though many boats had opted to call it a day.
In the F15s, Ian/Lezliann took three wins, though Angus Corry/Mike Hunter had led one race for a while only to miss out the gate after the first lap. Ian/Lezliann are overnight leaders with Cliff English 2nd.
Val/Ken won the first GP race, but AJ/Sue won the next two to take the overnight lead.
In the handicap fleet, Robin sailed Tog’s Solo winning the first two races to take overnight lead, with Guy/Elaine in a Graduate securing two 2nds, to lie 2nd.
The Mirror results counted for the club championship as well as the Northerns, so Phil/Lucy lead with three wins ahead of Naomi/Scarlet.
In the Mirror Northerns, after five races, Phil/Lucy Smith lead ahead of Matthew/Albie McGovern, and Angus/Isla Armstrong.
Monday started with a mirror like lake, but zephyrs appeared just after noon, and most of the bay was soon filled with a light breeze, so the OD took to the water, and racing was underway just after 1pm. By the time the Mirrors were nearing the leeward mark at the end of the first lap the F1-2 breeze had eased. With more wind filling in at the top of the next beat, the race continued, but it didn’t last for long so the race was shortened at the top of the beat.
Ian/Lezliann took another win and won the Jak Pot trophy for F15s. The GPs did not race, so AJ/Sue kept their lead position and won the Lyne Tankard. Chris/Evie in their RS200 won on handicap, with Phil/Rory 2nd, but a 4th for Robin was sufficient to win the May Holiday trophy, with Chris/Evie 2nd, and Dave/Lynn 3rd. Phil/Lucy had another win in the Mirrors/Teras and won the Peel Pot.
Jak Pot etc final results
In the Mirror Northerns, Phil/Lucy Smith had led to the leeward mark, but was passsed by Will/Isobelle Crocker. Matthew/Albie McGovern opted for the left side of the final beat, and took advantage of the zephyr that filled in as the wind backed more to the west, being sufficient to take them through to the lead and win the championship, with Phil/Lucy 2nd.
In the Catapults, positions were very consistent, with Gareth Ede taking two 1sts, George Evans two 2nds, and Stuart Ede two 3rds. Sunday’s results were much more varied, but Gareth maintained his overall lead ahead of Stuart moving forward to 2nd, then George. With a lack of promise for a decent breeze on Monday, the Catapults opted to call it a day with no further racing, so the Sunday evening results stood.
