After a mixed week weatherwise, 20 boats raced on Saturday in a continuation of two long championship series in medium airs. There were a couple of late starters, by people who should know better, though Steve’s excuse was that the spinnaker was rigged wrongly, but not noticeable until he gybed on the way out to the start! (Lack of sleep could be another explanation)

There were planing conditions at times, and Scumper capsized on one of his gybes while leading in the first race, but he was far enough ahead to win when the handicaps were calculated. Sailing Sec Roy must still be getting used to sailing again, as he missed out Y/Z at the end of what should have been his first lap! He was not the only one to make that mistake as Tim/Martin in a GP had to retrace their steps around the port end marker at the end of their first lap, losing two places in the process.

The Topper fleet had their first race this year with Ethan and Harry both sailing. Ethan showed Harry a clean pair of heels, and won the race.

Mik had to retire after finding that a spinnaker that would not lower can be a major disadvantage on a beat.

In the second race, the starts were much more closely contested, with Steve clearing the mayhem that left Roy floundering for a short while. With Bean in a Vareo, by the second race he was more in the groove, finishing 2nd to Steve with Scumper 3rd. Tim/Ian retired after Ian suffered a finger injury requiring hospital attention.

Andy/Toggle gave Dave/Lynn a challenge, working through to the lead for a short while, but Dave/Lynn came back and won the race.

Sunday racing looked ominous as the lake was mirror-like first thing. Light airs did fill in sufficiently for racing to start on time, though it eased considerably on the last lap.

In the GPs, the Dave/Lynn team split in two, with Dave crewing for Alan Jones, and Lynn crewing for Mike Fairlamb. Racing between the two was very close all race, but Alan was able to keep his lead to the end.

Although Steve/Ruth led the handicap fleet, Alex/Olivia in their RS200 sailed well and held Bean/Naomi at bay, but remained close enough to Steve to win the race on handicap.

Ian/Lezli-Ann had an excellent start in the F15s, but studying the clouds for the next windshift proved to be a fatal error which led them to the wrong side of the beat, and from which they could not recover, leaving Mike/Kayla to take the pole position, with Tim/Sam 2nd.

Over lunch time the likelihood of sailing the afternoon pennant seemed low, and several boats packed up. However, the OD persevered, and a race was sailed in the northern end of the lake.

Considering the low turnout you would have thought there was plenty of space for all, but just after the start it seemed that several boats were aiming for the same space and there was raised voices….. The race was led by Steve/Ruth in their Merlin, followed by Mike/Kayla in a F15, but personal handicap were used to calculate the results, and on this occasion he who is last shall be first viz. Alan/Sue in their GP which gives the lead in the Sandra’s Salver series for lady crews in pennant races.

Saturday morning started off bright with light winds. An hour before racing started, the wind filled in, potential sailors were looking upwind at white horses, and it was lashing it down! However, the squall passed through quickly, and all but one GP decided to go racing.

This weekend’s Fleet Challenge is a series of six races with results calculated on a personal handicap basis. So with three races to squeeze in, the courses were short and sharp. The swinging wind created an advantage on the beat, for those boats that were in the right place at the right time! This was noticeable in the F15 fleet as positions changed dramatically on some of the beats, though in each race the order settled down with Mike/Kayla taking the lead from Ian/Lezli-Ann the Tim/Ian.

The shorts legs frustrated some of the F15 sailors as they felt by the time they had their spinnakers set, it was time to gybe, or take them down. The gybes did prove challenging at times, but there was only one capsize, and that was on a beat by Alan Jones in his Laser.

After three races, Alistair Duncan has a strong lead with three firsts ahead of Paul Clark.

Sunday started off bright and sunny, and it stayed so all day, despite being deserately cold at times. The wind shifted at imes, as it does, and faded occasionally too. Two short races were sailed before lunch, and it was the OD’s intention to have a longer, round the lake, race in the afternoon. Kayla used her best persuasive powers, with the aid of her meringues, over lunch to disuade Mik from sending the fleet around the lake. It almost worked, as the course only took the fleet to mark 15. Alistair Duncan may feel dis-heartened that his strong overnight lead was eroded away, and then he opted to go for a walk while the last race was on, only to find that Paul Clark’s three 1sts on Sunday were sufficient to win him the Fleet Challenge A trophy.

Perhaps the greatest excitement of the day was cutting through The Bates’ anchor warp with the prop! Fortunately the floating tail made it easy to recover, and the warp has been expertly spliced back together.

There was a good turn out for the first pursuit race in the Celebrity Glass series on Saturday. Ethan sailed a Mirror with Harry Binns, and held his position very well for the first lap but he then slipped back while Mik and Alan Waugh fought it out. Stacey raced her Europe very well and was first to pass the Mirrors, but Mike/Eric in their GP were on her tail and then took the lead. The Commodore was sailing his first race of the season with Dave Lawson in a Vago, and had his first capsize too! Towards the end of the 70 min race their were five different classes of boats (GP, Merlin , RS200, F15 and Enterprise) in close contention to win the race so it seemed unfair to finish the race early, if only by a couple of mins, and the race continued to the next mark. With the five leading boats separating for clearer air up the final leg there were three potential winners. For Steve/Ruth in a Merlin and Ian/Lezi-Ann in a F15, who both went low, the wind eased enabling Mike/Eric to maintain their lead and win. Ian couldn’t quite lay the mark on the final approach and had to gybe round as Steve/Ruth were preventing them tacking. When Ian made the mark, he touched it as he finished and had to re-round dropping him back to 8th, and behind Mike/Kayla, who he had stayed ahead of all race.

In the 2nd race, Steve/Ruth led the handicap fleet, with Bean/Naomi and Ethan/Robin in RS200s chasing, pushing him back to 3rd on handicap. Scumper was late for the start (again!) and had to work his way up through the fleet but he couldn’t catch Toggle, who finished 5th behind Alex/Olivia.

Ian/Lezli-Ann had another good race, and despite various rowdy moments from other F15s, led and won the race resulting in Mike/Kayla’s first defeat in their new F15 (word is they won’t be relying on Tic-Tac for the rest of the weekend!)

Mik and Alan had some close racing in the Mirrors, with Alan winning the race.

Sunday racing was the start of the first weekend series and there another great turnout – more so in The Bates where there was four cooks to spoil the broth! An extra couple of passengers hitching a lift tto their F15 on the way out set the scene nicely….. But if you weren’t there you may never find out what went on!

Steve/Ruth led the handicap fleet again, but could not break away and Scumper passed him on the final couple of legs, and won the race, with Bean/Naomi 2nd. Ethan was again helming the RS200 with Robbie D crewing, and was a little over keen to get a good start, so was recalled.

It seemed all quiet in the F15 fleet today, with no shouting. Mike/Kayla were back on form and led the race. Keith/Stephen sailed well and made Ian/Lezli-Ann work to get past.

In the GPs, positions were steady thoughout the race, with Dave/Lynn taking 1st – this was repeated in the second race as well.

After lunch the wind freshened slightly, and there were several capsizes, including (at least) one by Scumper which made all the difference to the overall result as he finished equal 1st with Steve/Ruth, with Bean/Naomi 3rd. Two of the capsizes resulted in retirements.

Andy T took the helm in the F15, had an excellent start and held off the competition for a few legs, but Mike/Kayla took the lead again, and won, with Ian/Lezi-Ann 2nd.

Herb stressed (or was he stressed?) that, despite the distractions and hilarity from his multitude of passengers, that he remained steadfsat throughout the day and rushed ashore to buy his eggs for the egg dump!

The forecast wind and rain for Bank Holiday Monday failed to fully materialise – it persistent drizzle, and there was some wind but it was perfecvtly sailiable and there was some good racing to be had. There were a couple of capsizes, but both boats raced on to the end.

In the handicap fleet, Alex/Olivia had an excellent first beat in their RS200 and led the fleet for the rest of the race, with Bean/Naomi and Robin/Ethan battling it out for 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Paul Clark had a capsize, and lost his way on the course, losing him some crucial seconds, but teaching him the importance of persevering (and sailing the right course!).

Mike/Jenny gave they rest of the F15 fleet a start as they battled to unravel the spinnaker pole, but they worked through to first (and win the series), and left Ian/Lezli-Ann and John/Keith to play for 2nd. Ian had remembered his downfall from years ago and made sure he covered John’s tacks up the final beat to secure 2nd.

Nothing new in the GPs as Dave/Lynn had a clear lead over Mike/Eric and won the race and series.

Two Mirrors ventured out. Mik won and Alan failed to cross the finish line (perhaps he was so taken aback that it was a shore finish?) so did not finish.

After lunch it was only the four handicap series contenders that raced. Steve/Ruth led the race and won on handicap. Alex/Olivia and Bean/Naomi had some good racing, and changed places a couple of times, but Alex came out on top, came 2nd in the race, and won the series. Bean’s 3rd position pushed him down to 4th in the series behind Scumper who was also out to win the series, but finished 4th on the water and on handicap. Great to have such close results (unless you were one of those that just lost out!)

First shock of the day was the weather! The forecast rain did not appear and there was a good westerly to blow the fleet around the course.
The first race in the Asymmetric Cup, where the course is set on a windward leeward basis, had the asymmetric fleet rounding the leeward mark in the opposite direction to the other fleets. Which would be the boats to meet at that mark? None other than Robbie D and Mike – Mike, protecting his new boat from the first scratch, gave an unusually wide berth!

Sailing Sec Roy made a rare appearance on the water, and was caught out, along with Joan and Jack, by a gust that capsized both boats.

The afternoon was not without its mishaps when, just before the start, Brent did not duck quick enough in his Wayfarer and gashed his head. A quick dash ashore, and some first aid had him sorted though.

Mr and Mrs Bean led the way in the Asymmetric fleet, leaving Scumper and Robbie D to battle it out. Although the stronger winds favoured Scumper, trawling his kite was his downfall, and Robbie D broke away.

Mike and Kayla in their F15 sailed well again, managing to keep Steve and Jo in a Merlin behind them for most of the race. Ian had issues trying to stay in his boat in both races, but we are assured he wasn’t trying to escape Lezli-Ann, and they slipped behind the leading GPs on handicap. As ever, Dave and Lynn led the GPs from Mike F and Eric, though Dave and Sarah put in an excellent performance in the morning race beating Mike F.

In the Asymmetric Cup Bean is leading with Scumper 2nd and Robbie D 3rd, but it’s all to sail for as they all have the same points!

In the MJM series, Mike Moore leads, with Dave 2nd and Steve 3rd.

Two new boats were launched this weekend. First there was our new RIB, named Christopher Graham after our rescue crewman that was tragically killed in a car accident. Secondly, Mike Moore launched his new F15 and named it Highwayman in honour of his father Denis (Monty Python fans may suss out the link). Mike got off to a flying start in the first race, only to have Kayla lying on the foredeck fixing something just after clearing the start line. It did not slow them enough to let Ian and Lezli-Ann passed though, and Mike went on to win the race. Ian had the best start in the second race, but Mike got through and again won. How long will this unbeaten record last?
In the handicap fleet, Alex and Olivia led the fleet in their RS200, and despite the best efforts of Robbie D and Scumper to break through in their Vareos, they went on to win both races, with Scumper and Robbie D each securing a 2nd and 3rd each. Toggle and Jo took 4th and 5th in both races.

In the GPs, Mike and Eric’s early lead was thwarted by David and Lynn who also won both races.

After some close racing, Mik and Alan shared the honours with a 1st and 2nd each in the Mirror fleet.

Racing Underway

Spring is here, the clocks have changed to British Summer Time, the sun was shining, sailors were eager to get on the water, but there was no wind, just the glorious sight of the mirror-like lake.

Lunch came and went, and things still did not look hopeful, but just as the clock struck two, a sea breeze rapidly covered the lake enabling the first race of the season to get underway. 10 boats made it to the start on time, but there were two that lagged behind – Scumper and Toggle!

Steve and Ruth took an early lead, but with changing wind conditions there was some hot competition from Robbie D, Joan and Jack Hardie, and Dave and Lynn Lawson. Rather than curtail racing after half an hour when Ethan Dawson had completed his first lap, the OD opted to allow him to sail on for another lap. Unfortunately, towards the end of the hour, the wind eased and slowed down the pace considerably which led to 4 retirements.

Steve regained sufficient lead to win the race by  2½ mins from Dave , with Joan 3rd and Tim/Ian in a F15 4th. Scumper continued to the end, catching up much ground to finish 5th.

With light winds, and a late start, there was no further racing so the results stand for the overall series.

More of the same next week is the present forecast, but there’s plenty of time for that to change!