With a good mix of visitors and local boats, the open meeting seems to have been dominated by wins to Bassenthwaite helms (and crews). Congratulations to David and Lynne Lawson on winning through consisently good sailing.

Overall results

GP14 OPEN MEETING 2001

PN    Boat  Helm          Crew           Club             1   2   3   4 Pts
 1   13176  D LAWSON      L LAWSON       BASS             3   1   1 RTD   5
 2   13482  J TELFORD     A SMITH        BASS             1   9   5   1   7
 3   13326  R DAWSON      P SMITH        BASS             2   2   7   3   7
 4    8162  C AUBREY      K LIVESEY      BOLTON           6   4   2   7  12
 5   13526  A FOULDS      O DEWHURST     BURWAIN          4   7   9   2  13
 6   13680  N BROOK       A BROOK        HOLLINGWORTH     7  11   3   4  14
 7   13218  M BRENNAN     A KNOTT        HOLLINGWORTH     5   5   4   5  14
 8   13327  M FAIRLAMB    M COWAN        BASS            11   3   8   6  17
 9   13215  G KNOX        P BRAMWELL     HOLLINGWORTH     9  16   6   8  23
10   13322  R TAYLOR      S TAYLOR       RWYC           DNS  12  10   9  31
11   13190  C MASSEY      E MCKEE        DOVESTONE       10  10  15  11  31
12     254  M GREENHALGH  D GREENHALGH   BASS            12 DNS  12  10  34
13   13115  J WADDINGTON  C WADDINGTON   BOLTON           8  13  14  15  35
14   13075  R DIN         S GREY         HOLLINGWORTH    14   6  17  17  37
15     371  J RILEY       N LEWIS        BASS           RTD   8  11 RTD  40
16   13142  A HODGKINS    J HODGKINS     BASS           RTD  14  13  14  41
17   13616  G MASSEY      C MEYER        DOVESTONE       15  15  16  12  42
18   13110  S HEYWOOD     R HEYWOOD      HOLLINGWORTH    13  17  19  13  43
19   13338  A MONK        C MONK         GLOSSOP & DIST  16  19  18  16  50
20   13013  R HODGKINS    W LEWIS        BASS            17  18  20  19  54
21    6642  J SHARP       K HANKINS      BASS            18  20  21  18  56

                                        Points for RTD = 21  21  22  22
                                        Points for DSQ = 21  21  22  22
                                        Points for DNS = 22

 3 races to count

23/24 June comprised series of fleet pursuit racing. The tradition for the series when the prizes were initially awarded was that helms, together with their crews, would sail in someone else’s boat for each race so that top helms would prove that they could do well even when sailing a shed!! However, as the investment in boats increased there was a reluctance to throw your boat into the hat for just anyone to sail. Hence the format has evolved such that the better helms have to start later than the rest. So if you see some strange results below, that’s why.

After winds faded during Saturday’s first race, leaving Commodore Miles Middleton stranded for some time, race 2 was cancelled.

In the GPs, Robin Dawson hot footed it with his new bride Rebecca from their wedding ceremony to win the first race on Sunday. I’m assured it was only the handicapping that stopped them winning the second race! However, congratulations to the happy couple. Similarly, congratulations go to Val and Ken Bell on winning their first trophy in their new boat.

Some consistent sailing by Wendy Somerville and Elaine Fairlamb, enabled them to take the Bryson Helm Trophy while son Mark Somerville took the Foxtail Trophy in the lasers.

BRYSON HELM

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4 Pts
 1    3332  W SOMERVILLE    1 DNS   2   1   2
 2    3231  M PARRY         2 DNS   3   2   4
 3   93503  J SOMERVILLE  DNS DNS   1   4   5
 4     530  K CLARK       DNS DNS DNS   3   9
 5    3385  M MIDDLETON     3 DNS DNS DNS   9

          Points for RTD =  4   0   4   5
          Points for DSQ =  4   0   4   5
          Points for DNS =  6

 2 races to count

FOXTAIL TROPHY

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4 Pts
 1  161866  M SOMERVILLE    2 DNS   1   2   3
 2  167828  I MACPHERSON    1 DNS   2   3   3
 3  137629  M FAIRLAMB      3 DNS   3   1   4
 4   66942  TBA             4 DNS DNS DNS   9

                     Points for RTD =  5   0   3   4
                     Points for DSQ =  5   0   3   4
                     Points for DNS =  5

 2 races to count

ROSSWEAR TROPHY

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4 Pts
 1   13118  V BELL        DNS DNS   2   1   3
 2   13326  R DAWSON      DNS DNS   1   2   3
 3   13142  A HODGKINS      1 DNS DNS DNS   8
 4   12682  E SMITH         2 DNS DNS DNS   9
 5    6642  J SHARP         3 DNS DNS DNS  10
 6   11679  R HODGKINS      4 DNS DNS DNS  11

          Points for RTD =  5   0   3   3
          Points for DSQ =  5   0   3   3
          Points for DNS =  7

 2 races to count

On 16/17 June the GPs were sailing for the Commodore’s Prize while the Flying 15s were sailing for the Mellor Mug.

A fresh north easterly breeze on Saturday before racing started frightened off some F15 sailors and left William Carruthers/Tim Chittenden to battle it out with Mike Moore/Ian Smith. The winds had eased by the start of the race; William was first to the windward mark and continued to increase his lead on Mike. This was helped somewhat by one of the intermittent gusts which left Mike somewhat water logged. In race 2 William again took an early lead but a windshift on the second beat allowed Mike to sail a course 20 degrees higher and take the lead which he held until the finish. On Sunday the wind was from the North with odd gusts swinging from either side. Those that stayed with the wind were on a winner. Mike Moore tussled with Ian Campbell/Tony Fisher throughout race 3 and took another first. William took the lead for race 4 but slipped into a calm patch for a minute and ended up chasing Ian all the way to the finish. So everything depended on the outcome of the final race. Mike followed the western shore, which he had favoured all weekend, and was first to the windward mark followed by William then Ian. This order continued to the finish and was, indeed, the overall result.

For the first race of the Commodore’s Prize, a strong fleet of GPs was lead by Andy Smith/Mark Somerville until the final beat when a windshift dumped them into 5th position. Mike Fairlamb/Mike Cowan took advantage of the situation, and held on to first place until the finish. David/Lynne Lawson took command of all four remaining races and won the series. As with the F15s, the top flight of competitors enjoyed some excellent racing for which the outcome was generally determined by the vagaries of the wind rather than poor sailing.

MELLOR MUG

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4   5 Pts
 1    3473  M MOORE         2   1   1   3   1   3
 2    3268  W CARRUTHERS    1   2   3   2   2   5
 3    3560  I CAMPBELL    DNS DNS   2   1   3   6
 4    3521  P BURNELL     DNS DNS   4   4   4  12
 5     530  K CLARK       DNS DNS RTD   5 DNS  17

          Points for RTD =  3   3   6   6   5
          Points for DSQ =  3   3   6   6   5
          Points for DNS =  6

 3 races to count

LASER ISEL CUP

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4   5 Pts
 1  137629  M FAIRLAMB    DNS DNS DNS   1   1   2
 2  131943  J ROWBOTHAM   DNS DNS   1   4   2   3
 3  152106  R STOREY      DNS DNS   2   2 DNS   4
 4  128898  O MASON       DNS DNS   3   5 DNS   8
 5   12324  D PRYDE       DNS DNS DNS   3 DNS  10
 6  160516  T CHITTENDEN  DNS DNS   4 DNS DNS  11

          Points for RTD =  0   0   5   6   3
          Points for DSQ =  0   0   5   6   3
          Points for DNS =  7

 2 races to count

COMMODORES PRIZE

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4   5 Pts
 1   13176  D LAWSON        3   1   1   1   1   3
 2   13327  MiFAIRLAMB      1   4   4   2   2   5
 3   13254  A GREENHALGH    5   3   2   4   5   9
 4  169106  A SMITH         2   5   5   3   6  10
 5   13326  R DAWSON        4   2   6   5   4  10
 6   13539  J CRUICKSHAN    6   6   3   6   3  12
 7   13142  A HODGKINS      7   7   8   7 DNS  21
 8   11679  R HODGKINS     10   9   7 DNS DNS  26
 9   12324  D PRYDE         8   8 DNS DNS DNS  30
10   13118  V BELL        DNS DNS   9   8 DNS  31
11    6642  J SHARP         9 RTD  10 DNS DNS  31
12   12682  E SMITH       RTD  10 DNS DNS DNS  36

          Points for RTD = 12  12  11   9   7
          Points for DSQ = 12  12  11   9   7
          Points for DNS = 13

 3 races to count

Bassenthwaite Sailing Club hosted an excellent weekend sailing for the Flying Fifteen Northern Championships on the 9th/10th June. Weather conditions varied from light winds in hot sunshine to strong winds with sudden squalls and even heavy rain for a short period. It was an event that proved to be a complete test of a well-sorted boat and efficient crew.

Officer of the day Andy Smith did an exceptional job, giving a variety of courses in the changeable winds that often characterise sailing at Bass.

A visiting fleet included former world champions Steve Goacher and Alan Bax (Northampton) along with Terry Crumpton (Derwent Reservoir), Neil Platt (Bolton), Chris Ducker (Windermere) and Tony Lee (Derwent Reservoir) so the competition was going to be fierce.

Neil Platt/A. Gerard (3729) stormed round the first race in strong conditions to notch up their first win with Goacher (3721) and Crumpton (3702) battling it out for 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Race 2 was held in even stronger conditions with some wild squalls screaming down the lake and during these squalls both Neil Platt (3729) and R Coates (3484) both lost their masts when standing rigging gave way with expensive results. Goacher won race 2 and Howard Green had just opened his birthday present from his wife and found inside a brand new fifteen (3734). He took his pal Ian Preston for a sail and ended up with second place. Lucky man Howard! Terry Crumpton was again 3rd � very consistent.

Sudden heavy rain lashed by stiff winds made race 3 rather unpleasant at times and after a good race Alan Bax posted a 3rd position to keep him in contention but with Goacher getting another win the championship was getting very difficult to win. D Douglas/A Weatherspoon (3590) separating the pair with Bass members Scott Beattie/ John Somerville (3673) in 4th. � After the days racing the B&B�s, hotels and pubs locally did some welcome business in what has been a very bad year for tourism and the visiting sailors were very pleased with the hospitality shown.

Sunday was a wonderful day, warm sunshine and good winds all day. Past Bassenthwaite member Martin Stott (3219) certainly enjoyed it, leading the fleet in race 4 for much of the time and the all female boat of Wendy Somerville/Elaine Fairlamb (3332) were right up finishing in an excellent 5th position just behind Alan Bax, Chris Ducker, Howard Green and once again, Steve Goacher. The classic boat of J Arnold/M Pearce (2663) was being sailed brilliantly and leading the classic /silver fleet easily.

The final race of the series was superb with good long beats followed by some varied spinnaker legs and places were swapping constantly. Neil Currie having sold his flying fifteen last years borrowed the ex-Goacher boat (3521) and was right up among the leaders with Paul Burnell crewing. They eventually finished 5th. Another longstanding FF stalwart Graham Kirkpatrick, having�recently sold his boat to Ireland, is considering a classic fifteen and so borrowed 2504 and managed to keep it in the top 10 until just pipped on the line. Andrew Dunning/Dave Lawson (3641) got into the groove and after battling with Terry Crumpton/John Mathie finished 3rd and 2nd respectively. � Howard Green/Ian Preston were 4th, Alan Bax 6th and William Carruthers/Alan Smith 7th. Scott Beattie was 8th after doing turns for hitting a mark and a further two turns for hitting Ian Campbell whilst doing turns! Goacher and Evans showed just how brilliant they are and this cheerful pair took line honours once again and thus retained another Northern championship in convincing style.

After the event it turned out that Terry Crumpton’s boat had not been measured and so he was disqualified from the championship.

An enjoyable event for all. The club has several other big events scheduled to take place and are hoping to increase dramatically the classic/silver classes in future events together with a much bigger prize list. Interested? Watch this space

Final results

FF NORTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP

PN Boat� Helm � � � � Crew � � � � � Club � � � � � � �1�� 2�� 3�� 4�� 5 Pts
1 �3721 S GOACHER � � �P EVANS � � � WINDERMERE � � � �2�� 1�� 1�� 1�� 1�� 4
2 �3638 H GREEN � � � �I PRESTON � � LEIGH & LOWTON � �4�� 2�� 5�� 2�� 3� 11
3 �3611 A BAX � � � � �J WYLING � � �NORTHAMPTON � � � 3�� 5�� 3�� 4�� 5� 15
4 �3673 S BEATTIE � � �J SOMERVILLE �BASS � � � � � � �7�� 3�� 4�� 6�� 7� 20
5 �3521 N CURRIE � � � P BURNELL � � BASS � � � � � � �5�� 4�� 8�� 9�� 4� 21
6 �3703 C DUCKER � � � R RIGG � � � �WINDERMERE � � � �6�� 6�� 7�� 3�� 8� 22
7 �3641 A DUNNING � � �D LAWSON � � �BASS � � � � � � 10� 10�� 6� 10�� 2� 28
8 �3590 D DOUGLASS � � A WEATHERSPOO DERWENT RESERV � 11� 14�� 2� 11�� 9� 33
9 �3268 W CARRUTHERS � A SMITH � � � BASS � � � � � � �8� 13� 11� 13�� 6� 38
10 3690 T KIRCHIN � � �D KIRCHIN � � LOCH LOMOND � � �15�� 7�� 9 DNS� 16� 47
11 3695 T LEE � � � � �G DAWSON � � �DERWENT RESERV �RTD� �8� 10� 20� 11� 49
12 3560 I CAMPBELL � � T FISHER � � �BASS � � � � � � 16�� 9� 20� 14� 12� 51
13 2663 J ARNOLD � � � M PEARCE � � �OGSTON � � � � � 12� 11� 13� 15� 24� 51
14 3595 P KITCHEN � � �D KITCHEN � � TEES & HARTLEP � 14� 19� 12� 12� 14� 52
15 3473 M MOORE � � � �I SMITH � � � BASS � � � � � � 13� 12� 16� 18� 13� 54
16 3281 M WATSON � � � D FIRTH � � � BASS � � � � � � 17� 16� 19�� 8� 21� 60
18 3219 M STOTT � � � �D BRITTON � � NOTTS COUNTY � � 18� 21� 15�� 7� 26� 61
17 3332 W SOMERVILLE � E FAIRLAMB � �BASS � � � � � � 26� 25� 18�� 5� 20� 68
19 3640 P WRIGHT � � � C CARRUTHERS �DERWENT RESERV � 19� 18� 23� 17� 17� 71
20 2504 G KIRKPATRICK �K THOMAS � � �BASS � � � � � �RTD� 24� 14� 24� 10� 72
22 3587 R DONALDSON � �N HEDLEY � � �DERWENT RESERV � �9� 17� 24� 23� 23� 72
21 3083 B GLOVER � � � N GLOVER � � �DRAYCOTE � � � �DNS� 23� 17� 16� 18� 74
23 3470 S MACLEAN � � �I MACLEAN � � ROYAL FORTH � � �22� 20� 21� 22� 15� 78
24 3385 M MIDDLETON � �P HODGKINS � �BASS � � � � � � 25� 15� 26� 21� 22� 83
25 3232 S ROBINSON � � D VASEY � � � DERWENT RESERV � 20� 26� 22� 19� 25� 86
26 3237 S THOMSON � � �C NEWMAN � � �WINDERMERE � � � 21� 27� 25� 25� 19� 90
27 3729 N PLATT � � � �A GERRARD � � BOLTON / WEST � � 1�RTD DNS DNS DNS� 97
28 2741 D DANDO � � � �P METCALFE � �TEES & HARTLEP � 24� 22� 27� 26� 28� 99
29 3484 R COATES � � � R WALKER � � �TEES & HARTLEP � 23�RTD� 28� 27� 27 105
30� 193 J ASPIN � � � �M FULLARD � � S WINDERMERE � �DNS� 28 DNS DNS DNS 124
31 3724 P BROWN � � � �C BOOTH � � � NOTTS COUNTY � �RTD DNS DNS DNS DNS�126

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �Points for RTD � 30� 32� 29� 28� 29
Points for DSQ � 30� 32� 29� 28� 29
Points for DNS � 32

4 races to count

On Saturday there were two races contributing to the Max Joule Memorial Trophy.� All classes started together, the results being calculated on boat handicap. �

In the first race, the wind was light and shifting round to the north.� The windward mark, buoy zero, often has shifts, but Saturday�s were exceptional.� As the boats neared the mark, much to the consternation of the sailors, those who had gone up the left hand side of the leg were lifted about 20 yards from the mark, as were those who had gone up the right hand side of the leg!�

Consequently, no-one could tack for the mark.� Andy Thomas (Branthwaite) somehow managed to pick the perfect line and was first round the mark in his laser.� The two flying fifteen boats had gone via Keswick and were well down the fleet.� However, by the third leg, the fifteens were back in front, followed by Andy Thomas and a couple of GP 14s sailed by Robin Dawson with Phil Graham (Wigton) and Mike Fairlamb (Deanscales) with Mike Cowan (Maryport).� First across the finish line was Tim Smith (Harrington) in a club topper � the light winds allowed him to sail a lap less than the rest of the fleet.� Dave Lancaster with Steve Hannah (both Cockermouth) were next to cross the line, but lost out on handicap to Robin and Phil.� Andy Thomas was third on handicap. �

The wind then picked up to a good blow for the start of the second race.� Mark Somerville (Carlisle) sailed an excellent first leg to take the lead ahead of the two flying fifteens sailed by Mike Moore (Preston) with Ian Smith (Harrington � but no relation to the other Smiths!) and William Carruthers (Carlisle) with Alan Smith (Harrington). William and Alans� hard work putting on new sails and adjusting the rig tension while the first race took place, paid off and they took a considerable lead.� The wind then decided to drop and shift through 180 degrees before picking up again.� Fortunately, there was still a beat in the course.� William and Alan crossed the line first, followed by Mike and Ian.� These places stood even after handicaps were calculated.� In the light winds, the lasers and GPs were trying their hardest to roll tack and make use of what little wind there was.� Unfortunately, Andy Smith tried a bit too hard and got wet! � There were lights winds again on Sunday, but they were a bit more consistent.� In the first race (part of the championship series) Dave and Steve in their fifteen took an early lead but were caught by Ian Campbell (Papcastle) with Tony Fisher (Carlisle) and also by William and Alan. Ian managed to get well in front, but William kept catching him.� However, William could not get close enough and Ian won the race.� The laser race was closely fought between Ian Macpherson (Brampton) and Hugh Godfrey (Whitehaven) with the lead changing every lap.� Ian was the eventual winner. �

The GP14 race was much closer with four boats going round the first mark together with Mike Fairlamb and Mike Cowan in the lead.� They held this lead for a couple of laps, but were overtaken by Robin and Phil who won the race.� Andy Smith and Mark Somerville had exchanged their lasers for a GP in this race, but were notable by their absence from the front of the fleet.� Apparently it was a bit warm for them and they decided to go swimming! �

The Jimmy Lancaster Memorial Trophy was the final race of the weekend. It was sailed as a pennant race and the course took all sailors around the lake.

Although there was a south westerly wind in the Northern bay, the wind curved around the corner at Scarness to allow the boats to enjoy a broad reach with spinnakers for the next part of the leg. However, some wind sneaked over Sale Fell and swooped down vertically on to the course resulting in gusts coming from various directions at the same time.

Mike Moore and Ian Smith in a Flying 15, having secured several boat lengths lead by the windward mark, hugged the East shore to lead the Flying 15s into the second mark at the bottom of the lake closely followed by William Carruthers/Alan Smith and Ian Campbell/Tony Fisher. The vertical downdraughts started to take their toll after the fleet had manoeuvered across the lake to Mark 13 and started heading back up the lake. Although Neil Garrison in a Dart18 lead the fleet most of the time, the inconsistent wind prevented him from breaking clear away. William was the first to head back into the middle of the lake and took the lead F15 position. As Mike slipped back to 3rd behind Ian the other fleets faired well in the changeable airs.

There were a couple of casualties to the sudden gusts – John Sharp and granddaughter Kitty Hankins were the first to capsize; the second casualty was Ian Campbell who took on so much water that he had to go onto a reach to pick up speed but just seemed to take on more water!

Others suffered so much to the vagaries of the wind that they took a short cut to the finish (and missed out a couple of marks) – not good practice for the sailing secretary and his assistant sailing a GP!

First across the finish line was William, followed by Neil Garrison and Dave Lancaster who had sneaked past Mike at Scarness.

When the results were calculated on a personal handicap basis, Dave Lancaster was first, William was second (by 16 secs) and Robin Dawson third (by another 23 secs). So with Dave Lancaster winning the trophy awarded in his father’s memory it will be dubbed the Old Man’s Prize this year.

Overall results

JIMMY LANCASTER MEMORIAL TROPHY

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1 Pts
 1    3503  D LANCASTER   FF           1   1
 2    3268  W CARRUTHERS  F            2   2
 3   13326  R DAWSON      GP           3   3
 4   13327  MiFAIRLAMB    GP           4   4
 5    3473  M MOORE       FF           5   5
 6    3521  P BURNELL     FF           6   6
 7  167828  I MACPHERSON  LAS          7   7
 8   12329  H GODFREY     LAS          8   8
 9    6642  J SHARP       GP         RTD  14
 9    6905  N GARRISON    D 18       RTD  14
 9  169106  A SMITH       LAS        RTD  14
 9   33434  S WATSON      MIR        RTD  14
 9    3560  I CAMPBELL    FF         RTD  14

                     Points for RTD = 14
                     Points for DSQ = 14
                     Points for DNS = 14

 1 race to count

While the cats are away…

With the GP14 Inlands being held at Derwent Reservoir there was a chance for the rest of the fleet to enjoy the sweet smell of success. Ginge and Bridget (aka Jose) Hodgkins took the opportunity by the throat and ran away with Saturday’s first race from Hugh Godfrey and Tim Knowles. With the second race heading the same way, for the first lap at least, until Hugh and Tim broke through the excitement was so much that Bridget almost wet her Gnatsy Gants!!. Congratulations to them on their successes.

The Celebrity Glass Trophy was sailed for by a fleet of 13 boats. There was a fresh breeze at times, the sun broke through the clouds many times but the rain failed to materialise. The wind picked up for Monday’s racing. William Carruthers tried his hand in Neil Garrison’s Dart and some feel he failed miserably – ok so tacking in light winds in difficult enough but going on to pass mark 0 to port and starboard at the same time (i.e. letting it pass between the hulls!!) outside was not a good move. As the wind picked up he managed to get into 2nd position on the water (but last on handicap!).

The 2nd race started in stronger winds, but when some gusts knocked over several boats at once the OD abandoned racing. Of course there were many tales to tell. Was it stopped because Miles was in the lead. Was the Dart too much for William and that’s why he capsized? (Actually the main sheet had come adrift and was being tied up when the gusts came in toppled the boat)

Overall results

CELEBRITY GLASS TROPHY

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1   2   3   4 Pts
 1  161866  M SOMERVILLE  LAS          2   1   1   2   4
 2    3521  P BURNELL     FF           3   8   3   1   7
 3    3385  M MIDDLETON   FF           5   4   2 DNS  11
 4    3231  M PARRY       FF           4   5   4  OD  11
 5    3729  N PLATT       FF           1   2 RTD DNS  15
 6   13371  J RILEY       GP           6   6 DNS   3  15
 7  167828  I MACPHERSON  LAS          6   7   5   5  16
 8  151286  P MURRAY      LAS          8   9 DNS   6  23
 9   13161  S SPENCE      GP          10  15   8   9  27
10   13118  V BELL        GP         DNS  14   7   8  29
11    6642  J SHARP       GP         RTD  12 RTD   7  31
12    6905  N GARRISON    D 18        11  13   9 DNS  33
13     530  K CLARK       FF         DNS  10   6 DNS  36
14    6372    MURRAY      LAS        DNS   3 DNS DNS  43
15  130579  A THOMAS      LAS        DNS DNS DNS   4  44
16   13013  N LEWIS       GP           9 DNS DNS DNS  49
17    3268  W CARRUTHERS  D 18       DNS DNS DNS  10  50
18   46053  L PEARSON     MIR        DNS  11 DNS DNS  51
19   12324  ?             GP         DNS DNS DNS RTD  52

                     Points for RTD = 13  16  12  12
                     Points for DSQ = 13  16  12  12
                     Points for DNS = 20

 3 races to count

You wouldn’t have thought it was the middle of May, and after a lovely spell of fine sunny weather when, on a foul Thursday evening, seven GP14 dinghies raced in rain, gloom, dark clouds and a variable wind. However, nobody capsized and all went well in the sailing department. The winner of the race was Mike Cowan (Crosby, Maryport) with Ginge Hodgkins (Brigham, Cockermouth) coming in second.

The weather was better on the following Saturday with a decent breeze for the first race, but the wind became a bit shifty and quiet during the second race. Both races were part of a series for each class of boat.

The Flying Fifteen series of 10 races is for the Dawson Trophy, and Mr and Mrs Somerville (Dalston, Carlisle) won these two races, in separate boats, John winning the first and Wendy the second.

Eight GP 14s raced on both occasions, the series of five being for the Aitken Cup. The first race was won by John Telford (Whitehaven), the second by Robin Dawson (Carlisle).

In the Mirror class series of 10 for the Bates prize, two races were held, the Smith twins of Harrington, Tim and Rob, winning both.

On Sunday there were two races, under sunshine and blue skies with light winds, for the Banana Stakes prize. The races are normally sailed around the lake but, because of the lack of wind, the first one was sailed at the north end of the lake, the second one being round the lake and taking two hours or more because of the slight wind.

The results of these two races jointly are worked out according to the Portsmouth (handicap) number for the dinghy classes, because the boats all start at the same time and are deemed to be of different speeds.

Those arriving first at the finishing line in race 1 were: GP14 – David Lawson (Kendal); Flying Fifteen – John Somerville (Dalston); Laser – Mark Somerville (Dalston).

In the second race, round the lake, the first Flying Fifteen was helmed by William Carruthers (Carlisle), the first GP14 by Robin Dawson (Carlisle), and the first Laser home was sailed by Mark Somerville (Dalston).

BUT, because the calculations seem to favour the slightly slower boats, the final results, when worked out, showed GP14s in the first four places, the winner being David Lawson (Kendal), one point ahead of Robin Dawson (Carlisle).

Overall results

BANANA STAKES

PN    Boat  Helm          Class        1   2 Pts
 1   13176  D LAWSON      GP           2   2   4
 2   13326  R DAWSON      GP           4   1   5
 3   13327  MiFAIRLAMB    GP           5   3   8
 4   13013  N LEWIS       GP           6   4  10
 5   93503  J SOMERVILLE  FF           1  11  12
 6  161866  M SOMERVILLE  LAS          7   8  15
 7    3268  W CARRUTHERS  FF          11   5  16
 8    3560  I CAMPBELL    FF          12   6  18
 9    3521  P BURNELL     FF           9  12  21
10    3503  D LANCASTER   FF          14   9  23
11   13161  S SPENCE      GP          10  15  25
12   13482  J TELFORD     GP           3 DNS  26
12   13254  A GREENHALGH  GP          OD DNS  26
14    6642  J SHARP       GP         RTD   7  28
15    3231  M PARRY       FF          18  10  28
16   13118  V BELL        GP           8 RTD  29
17    3332  W SOMERVILLE  FF          16  13  29
18     501  N CURRIE      RS400       15  14  29
19     530  K CLARK       FF          17  16  33
20  125514  R BRYCE       LAS         13 RTD  34
21  144638  J LAST        LAS         19  17  36
22   41143  LET US KNOW!  MIR        DNS RTD  44

                     Points for RTD = 21  21
                     Points for DSQ = 21  21
                     Points for DNS = 23

 2 races to count

Who cares if the South of the Country was at risk from a bit of rain? Rain what’s that? Yes sailors all enjoyed another weekend of blue skies and a bit of gloriously warm wind thown in. Ok, so the wind may have been suffering from a bit of sun stoke because it certainly struggled to make its mind up which way it should blow from! However it all lead to many changing fleet positions and some excellent racing.

Overall Results

FF EASTERLY TROPHY 

PN    Boat  Helm             1   2   3   4   5 Pts
 1    3268  W CARRUTHERS     1   2   1   3   1   3
 2    3560  I CAMPBELL       3   1   4   1   3   5
 3    3473  M MOORE          2   3   2   2   2   6
 4     530  K CLARK        DNS DNS   6   4   4  14
 5    3231  M PARRY        DNS DNS   3   6 RTD  16
 6  161866  M SOMERVILLE     4   4 DNS DNS DNS  16
 7    3385  M MIDDLETON    DNS DNS   5   5 RTD  17

           Points for RTD =  5   5   7   7   7
           Points for DSQ =  5   5   7   7   7
           Points for DNS =  8

 3 races to count

GP EASTER TROPHY

PN    Boat  Helm            1   2   3   4   5 Pts
 1   13176  D LAWSON        1   1   3   1   1   3
 2   13326  R DAWSON        2   2   6   4   2   6
 3   13482  J TELFORD       4   3   1   5   3   7
 4   13327  MiFAIRLAMB      3   5   2   6   5  10
 5   13254  A GREENHALGH    5   6   5   2   4  11
 6   13371  J RILEY         7   4   7   3 DNS  14
 7   13142  A HODGKINS      8   7   9   8   6  21
 8   13013  N LEWIS       DNS DNS   8   7   7  22
 9   13467  T KNOWLES      OD DNS   4 DNS DNS  23
10   11679  R HODGKINS      9   9  10  10 RTD  27
11   13113  JuCRUICKSHAN    6   8 DNS DNS DNS  30
12   13118  V BELL        DNS  10  11   9 DNS  30
13    6642  J SHARP       DNS DNS  OD DNS DNS  35

          Points for RTD = 10  11  12  11   9
          Points for DSQ = 10  11  12  11   9
          Points for DNS = 16

 3 races to count

Apologies to Jose for reporting verbatim the tale of her getting her knickers wet again. Now it seems she may be suffering from the Bridgette Jones syndrome as she doesn’t want mention of her Natsy Gants(?) ‘cos she now wears her cossie! Only joking (about the apologies)….

The sailing season started with a vengeance for the May Bank Holiday weekend. Clear blue skies, brisk winds (interspersed with the odd hole) and an excellent turnout.

Sunday’s Starter’s Prize racing comprised a two race series for all classes, sailed on a fleet handicap basis. In the first race the Flying 15s struggled to shake off Mark Somerville in his Laser and Robin Dawson/Phil Graham in their GP; they finished 1st and equal 2nd (with Scott Beattie in the lead F15) respectively. The second race took the fleet to the bottom end of the lake. William Carruthers/Alan Smith took an early lead but was passed by Scott Beattie and Ian Campbell after falling into the shadow of the point off Bassenthwaite Church. However, as the wind eased on the fleet that had hugged and crept up the western shoreline, William took the lead again and managed to break away from the fleet for the next 50 minutes to take first place on the water and on handicap. Robin and Mark again sailed very well to secure 2nd and 3rd on handicap. Overall positions: 1st Mark Somerville, 2nd Robin Dawson and 3rd William Carruthers.

Monday’s racing was the first club championship series. Light and variable winds in the first race were the cause of several frustrations but who cared on such a glorious day? The swinging winds continued throughout the afternoon to turn reaches into runs, runs into fetches, and reaches into beats! Indeed for the last race, the wind changed so much between laying the line and starting that the Flying 15s started on a run, but with freshening winds backed by a sea breeze, the race proved to be the most exhilarating of the weekend.

FF Results: 
FF JACK POT 2001 
PN Boat Helm         1   2   3 Pts
 1 3673 S BEATTIE    1   1   1   2
 2 3560 I CAMPBELL   2   2   2   4
 3 3268 W CARRUTHERS 4   3   3   6
 4 3473 M MOORE      3   4   4   7
 5 3332 W SOMERVILLE 5   5   5  10
 6 3385 M MIDDLETON  6   6   6  12
 7 530 K CLARK     RTD   7 RTD  15 
    Points for RTD = 8   8   8 
    Points for DSQ = 8   8   8 
    Points for DNS = 8 
2 races to count

Titbits:

• Submariner Tim Chittenden would have found a periscope (or should that be a snorkel) very useful after being tipped into the water by a wind change.
• Ginge and Jose Hodgkins suffered a similar fate after another shift, however, although swimming was not necessary this time, Jose is believed to have got her knickers wet!
• Richard and Philip Hodgkins were at risk of having their pocket money withdrawn after beating their parents in one of the races.