Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so smug about the last bank holiday when those down south had a wet day as we basked in sunshine. Not only is it wet here, but the wind has been picking up as per the forecast.

There was lots of apathy in terms of getting any boats rigged initially, but the committee boat went out to set a start, and the sailors followed at their leisure

There were some takers eventually – four in all. The two series contenders – Bean and Robbie D, together with Shunty, and Toggle had to be in the frame as well (of course)

There were great expectations of some early capsizes, but it was not to be. From launching to recovery the boats were on the water an hour without mishap. Toggle did retire early, but the others all had a good race. Shunty and Ruth opted not to fly their gennaker (although it turned out to be due to it being rigged wrongly – was that planned we ask?!), not that it did them any harm. They did catch Robbie D up on the beat, and got past when Big E opted to trawl the gennaker for a while. But neither of them could shake off Mr and Mrs Bean who finished less than two minutes behind after 40 mins of racing. With three wins under his belt, Bean has won the series with Robbie D second.

That proved to be enough for one and all and there was no further racing

Bank Holiday Weekend

After Friday’s rain passed through, the multitude of campers had a great evening and the sunny weather continued into Saturday, albeit with a bit of a chill wind.

The Catapult Association are again holding an open event alongside our club racing with a fleet of nine boats competing. When added to club boats, in total there were around thirty boats racing

Winds were varied throughout the afternoon and making sure you were in the right place at the right time made a big difference to the gains and losses to be had

Although the problem with the Thursday evening results has being overcome, it appears that there is a corruption in the data file that has affected previous results so we can’t publish the latest results at the moment

Several members were competing at different open meetings over the weekend

Sam Hall finished in 2nd place on Saturday at Winsford Flash. He won a �5 voucher and a crewsaver wallet.

Well done also to Robbie D/Big E and Scumper/Zefer who went to Windermere for an RS400 event and came 1^st�and 2^nd�in the silver fleet (10^th�and 11^th�overall) in fleet of 43 boats.�Full article

Dave & Lynn Lawson won Geeps after winning a protest against race committee (at RWYC no less!). Apparently Course board said 2 which David interpreted as “Course 2” whereas it meant 2 laps. He went in after 1 lap and was deemed to have retired.

Toggle was keen for a mention (as ever!). He went to Leigh & Lowton and finished 5th out of a fleet of 9. His shroud fixing came adrift yet again (Alan’s fixed it for him now – no doubt the boat will fall apart before the fitting does!). Also, he bent his tiller extension during one capsize, but when he straightened it up it broke in two. Didn’t stop Tog finishing the race though!

And there’s more – Rich Critchley was 2nd at Winsford Flash too! – although in the Enterprise Open on 19th April!� Royston Taggart (Mr T!) was 3rd and Steve Blackburn (DJ Enterprise!) was 6th

Know any more successes? Let us know

What a Weekend!

Saturday started slightly hazy but there was a breeze – how would it turn out?

Not quite as expected is the answer! Racing got underway in a shifting breeze, but picked up as the fleet approached the windward mark. William and Elaine tacked under Steve and Ruth but were just below the lay line so had to gybe round to let Tim and Ian in a F15 through, while Steve merrily hit the mark and appeared to nose dive as Ruth went to hoist the gennaker. A quick 360 and they were off! The wind quickly picked up and on the next leg Steve capsized much to Elaine’s glee as it let William get past! The squall continued to drive through and on the next beat William was blown in. For a change the boat was quickly righted and they continued to towards YZ to hear some sound signals. Unfortunately it was the racing abandoned signal 🙁 Tim had already opted to lower his mainsail, as had Neil Garrison in a Wayfarer. Hugh Godfrey had a boom with an unusual 90^o�angle! Pam in a Mirror was rescued and taken ashore. Mark Rimmer’s return to the water was a bit of an unexpected baptism

Quote of the day – I thought I was going to die! Steve had fallen in the water and came up for air only to be pushed back down by Ruth as she fell on top of him. He came up a third time and was swamped by a wave! Having donated his burgee to Neptune, he was allowed to live to fight another day!

After an extended break three hardy sailors opted to have another race, and the wind duly picked up again! Tim had a problem with his main halyard so didn’t make it to the start line, leaving Steve and William to fight it out. With the wind easing and blue skies moving in from Keswick, William led around the windward mark, but as the two boats drifted on the next couple of legs back to the leeward mark, the wind swung and they had to beat into it! Steve had taken a good lead and the wind eased even more before William finished. There was no attempt to sail the final race as the lake turned into a mirror.

What a difference in conditions over such a short timespan!

Apparently Sunday started with rain. Not certain how much wind in the first race, but certainly the other two races had sufficient wind to make the crews work for a living, although there were few capsizes – Lewis Tyson having one of them!Results were calculated on a personal handicap basis and Tim Chittenden sailed well and consistently to secure a couple of wins, with the other one going to Lewis Tyson. Steve sailed his socks off (they’d dried from Saturday and he didn’t go for another dip!) but his personal handicap kept his position down and he was to finish third overall behind William (having come back down to earth following an early morning balloon trip!). Tim’s two wins and consistent sailing secured him the series trophy.

It looked like we could have been waiting for the wind for a while this morning. At least we had a glorious view while we’re waiting though 🙂

Unexpectedly the wind did fill in enough to get racing underway by 12 Noon, but it was never forecast to be exciting! Robbie D had extra lightweight crew Ethan and he stormed away from the rest of the handicap fleet, while Phil and Naomi kept the rest of the fleet at bay – including the RS400s! Dave and Lynn were left on their own when Mike and Sue retired in the GP fleet, and Toddy secured another win in the Mirrors.

The afternoon race was a pennant in aid of the Calvert Trust, although the wind had eased over the lunch break it came back in time for a race down to 10 and back. Steve and Ruth broke away, but William and Elaine were not so lucky and stayed entangled with the GP, F15, and Vareos, and were beaten on the water by Mike Moore with Lewis Tyson crewing. On a personal handicap basis, Jonathan Coulthard in a Topaz won the race from Mik Chappell and John Prestidge in a F15

This week the Thursday evening sailing starts – with weather like this what better way is there to wind down after a hard day at work?

Sunny Saturday

Another glorious day, but the wind was a little reluctant to settle down. As ever, it did swing to various legs more challenging. The first race was a pursuit, Neil and Judith had been vying for the lead with Steve, but the winds worked against them and William sneaked through too. David Calvert held the lead until the last beat, when Steve Hunt broke through to the lead.

The following race formed part of a long series – Steve was in a spin after rounding a mark the wrong way – he unwound (well partly!) and came back through to win from Neil. Tim Chittenden and Ian Macpherson beat Mik Chappell and John Prestidge in the F15s, Toddy beat Alan Waugh in the Mirrors – Mik may be back in contention soon as he is due to pick up his replacement Mirror

Another glorious day to brag about – especially as other parts of the country will be publicising a ‘typical wet bank holday’

The day started with a good south easterly, but it faded as on Sunday. Fortunately it sprang back and racing got underway almost on time (OD Ian Campbell had threatened to start on time all weekend). Both races had a beat to mark 7 just off Scarness Bay, and the fleets all had to endure varying wind strengths throughout. Being at the right place at the right time helped of course – but then that’s how top sailors keep winning!

Neil and Judith Currie led the first race, but lost out on some offwind legs to Robbie D who took the lead again, and won it on handicap. The Smith brothers in their RS200s again sailed well, and it was Phil and Naomi that won the final race, and snatched the series from Steve and Ruth. Toggle had further repairs to undertake after he broke each shroud fixing on two consecutive gybes!

Scott Beattie won the F15 series with three straight wins, and John took the helm for the final race, but was beaten by Mike Moore and Sally Roberts who had sailed consistently all weekend with three seconds.

The GPs was won by Mike Fairlamb after Dave Lawson opted to move to the front of Dave Nicholson’s to give some tuition. Lynn wasn’t left ashore though – she opted to crew in an Enterprise with Mark Ninnim.

Toddy secured another couple of wins to add to yesterday’s and won the series with Alan Waugh second.

All in all an excellent weekend, with some challenging sailing

Easter Sunday Update

Another glorious day started off with a gentle southerly breeze that faded away in time for the scheduled 11.30 start! Sailors had an early lunch and racing got underway at 1.30. It’s a pity several sailors weren’t quite ready!

Mik Chappell with John Prestidge in a F15 were on the line in time and took a good lead, but Scott and John made up ground and won the race. It was good to see several former F15 sailors turn out to race – could it be true that there was about 600 years of experience amongst the helms and crews of the five boats?!!

In the handicap fleet William and Elaine were on the line just in time to cross the fleet on port. They continued up the left hand side of the beat to maintain the lead until the start of the second beat 🙁 It was to be Steve and Ruth that then took the lead and the honours. In the second race, Steve again took the lead, but the wind dropped mid way through and the gaps between leading boats narrowed. Andy and Tim Smith won on handicap with Mark Ninnim and Rob Smith second. Scumper didn’t have a good day – late for the first race but didn’t manage to get back in the running, and disqualified from the second race following a protest by Andy Smith

Dave and Lynn led the GP fleet in both races from Mike Fairlamb

Alan Waugh stayed upright(!) and won both races from Toddy – well that’s what the results stated at the time! Actually they each won one.

Off the water, the kids had fun with an Easter Egg hunt, the adults got excited about the egg dump only to be beaten by Ethan for the second year running. There was then a spice evening followed by a lesson in salsa dancing. There were a few people with a couple of left feet, but they all stood the pace and enjoyed it.

Sunshine, Shorties and Smiths

What a wonderful for sailing. There was a decent breeze with sun out and, although the air temperature still nippy, more sailors opted to bear their legs in shorties. The Smith family were out on the water in force. Dad Alan was OD, Andy sailed with Tim, Rob sailed with Mark Ninnim, and recently married Bean and Naomi tried out their new RS200. Also, Alan’s brother Eric sailed with Mike Fairlamb.

The GP fleet was led by Dave and Lynn Lawson with Mike Fairlamb giving chase, however, that was not helped when he forgot to go through YZ and lost a lot of ground returning to correct his error.

Alan Waugh was showing Toddy the way for a while, but his chances were scuppered following a capsize and he subsequently retired.

Robbie D and Big E led the handicap fleet racing, though Scumper and Zephyr kept coming back to challenge. Toggle lost a shroud in the second race and had to retire

Nine members of the Youth Squad braved the very cold weather and difficult sailing conditions when Dave Woodhead from the RYA came to do a session on boat handling.

For many it turned into a day of survival and numerous capsize drills! However, there were many smiles and the more confident sailors went out again in the afternoon with much more success! They all did very well and should be proud of them selves! Dave finished off the session with a great theory session and video footage of the day. Dave will be running the Onboard Sailing Regattas which are later on in the year (May and October) and are in the Sailing Programme.

A lovely warm lunch was provided by our Social Organisers Becky and Robin Dawson which really made the day! Thank you to everyone who helped out and thank you all for coming!

Snap, Crackle and Plop

What threatened to be an extremely hectic day with the second open meeting of the season was diluted by the fact that insufficient Lasers turned up for the grand prix. There was also a youth squad session which proved extremely popular -� more to come from Emma!

Saturdays racing took place in typically variable and gusty winds. Several of the fleet tested the temperature of the water at some point – yes it was cold! Robbie D managed to capsize on the way to the start, Mik broached in his 15 at one point, and Hugh after several near misses managed to capsize his Vareo. In the GP fleet in the first race Dave and Sarah had to retire due to broken kicker which allowed Nigel and Cloe to sail gently around and take the race and as a result lead the GP14 championship ‘early doors’ -� don’t forget its a ‘marathon and not a sprint’!. Toddy invented his own course in the Mirrors but some how managed to correct it and finish in front of Alan.� In the Handicap fleet Scumper was probably the only one not to capsize during the race. Jim Christie took a leaf out of Toddy’s book and sailed the wrong course and then retired. Jo Watkins also finished in his Byte.

As the wind had remained fairly strong for the second race most of the fleet elected to go ashore. Hugh decided to stay for the second race but was forced to be towed in when his gooseneck pulled out of the mast. This left Robbie D and Scumper to battle it out. Scumper won more easily this time as Robbie and Big E had to retire -� apparently as Big E had sunstroke????

The club sailing season got underway on an unexpectedly glorious morning – clear blue skies, cold after a hard frost, and a gentle southerly breeze. Substantially better than the gales which had been forecast earlier in the week. Mike Turner arrived expecting to be sitting on shore watching the racing, but the conditions were so pleasant he went out for his first sail of the season with Sue Watson crewing. Also, just the conditions for William to be wearing shorts!

Everyone was so eager to race that the first race haled the first general recall of the season – even if no flags were at hand to fly! The breeze swung around Sale Fell (as it does) to give some shifty conditions and winds from both the south and south-west. Robbie D and Big E mastered the conditions in their RS400 which they have just bought together, but they were only 6 secs/lap ahead of Alan Nicholson in his Solo. The first race claimed the first casualties of the season – Ginge capsized his laser, and Claudie Black’s Comet came to grief when the mast step broke away inside the hull!

In the afternoon, the wind strengthened from the south-west and there were several capsizes on the first beat which immediately thinned out the fleet to just four boats. The first offwind leg was good for spinnakers initially, but the wind headed as the fleet approached the next mark. Reaching down the back straight to mark 2 seemed like a good idea but proved to be too tight and the spinnakers were dropped – disappointing in such a good wind. It was Robbie D that again too took the honours and the series, with Toggle 2nd in his Vareo. William and Elaine took third overall