Bass again had its own micro climate this afternoon. Blowing a gale but dry on the coast, calm inland and dry, but drizzly, changeable conditions on the lake. Sale Fell was probably the cause of most of the unsettled conditions as the wind came round each side, as well as over the top and creating some down draughts! There were numerous heavy gusts that caught different sailors out at different times.
In the Celebrity Glass Pursuit, the course was partly in the shade of Sale Fell hence approaching mark 5 the wind increased and headed as it came from the south. The OD had set the mark to be rounded to port, which meant everyone had to loop the mark before heading back towards 0, but it included a gybe in sometimes blustery conditions, and Banter Phil in his Vareo was the first capsize casualty as he gybed. Later on the beat, Alistair/Claire Duncan were flattened by a gust on the beat, which was the same fate for Emma Williams in her Laser as she approached the finish line, enabling Neil Garrison to pass her. Although Mike Fairlamb/Eric Smith led most of the race, as it was a pursuit, and faster boats were chasing, the lead was lost with two legs to go – first Steve/Elaine Hunt passed in their Merlin, and then William Carruthers/Lezli-Ann Pearson in an RS400 got through. Jo Watkins leads the series with Neil Garrison 2nd.
After a tea break, the 2nd race was a championship long series. William led, took advantage of Steve’s gear failure causing him to retire, and went on to win the race. Banter Phil was next over the line but finished 4th on handicap behind Neil Garrison and Jo Watkins. Scumper still has a strong lead in the series ahead of Jo.
Alistair/Claire had a better race and were not too far behind Mike/Eric, though neither boat opted to use spinnakers!