Surprising few boats turned out for this Thursday night sailing. The wind was steady and the clouds were broken. A few last minute changes to the race organisation left with Alan Jones being in charge and generously lending his boat to Dave & Lynn Lawson (their boat being out of action).
A trapezoid course was set which would hopefully cater for the various types of boat taking place. The wind was gusty before the start which unfortunately caught out Peter Winfindale who was sailing with Lottie in the Laser 2. Peter went for a swim whilst Lottie looked on! The start was clean and the FF of John Riley & Tim Knowles were just beaten to the first mark by John�s Skiff. The three GPs of Dave & Lynn, Joan & Jack, Val & Ken followed in close pursuit.The wind remained for most of the race but eventually began to fade. A shorten course was called and the slower boats finished in good time, unfortunately the boats became quite strung out due to there position on the course and large gaps developed. The final results were delayed until later so they could be processed.
A fine meal of substantial Steak pie and peas was provided by John Roberts and enjoyed by all.
First to the Birkett on Ullswater. Out of 235 entrants Simon & Jon finished 6th Overall having been 3rd after the horrendous Saturday race. Mark & Zepher finished 13th by manually holding a broken boom together and Mike & Kayla 21st despite running aground and damaging their keel. The carnage on Saturday reduced those going into the second day to 80. We lost Dave & Lynn with a bent mast while Alex & Olivia retired with undisclosed problems. Back at Bass Saturday was abandoned after a storm brought tumultuous rain and whitecaps to the Lake.
Sunday brought sailable conditions and new winners. In the morning John Riley /Nigel Lewis topped the GP�s and Peter Whipp the Handicap Fleet. Lunch was enlivened by Poppy chasing up her Kayak Challenge RNLI sponsorship money and liaising with OD Tim Chittenden to obtain publicity for presenting it.
Ten boats started the afternoon Pennant after Tim promised not to send the fleet beyond 7. Instead it would be two laps of an elongated Bay which was quite sufficient after everyone was becalmed in the 8-7 narrows. Rory and crew were first to escape in their Fifteen with Jim�s Nova and Peter Whipp�s Dzero (you may well ask!) in pursuit.
But the Main Event came on the run to the finish on the final lap. Mike & Eric were a length ahead of Ken & Val rounding 2 to starboard. The dice up the fetch to the final mark before the line was riveting with both helms continually trying to get to windward. Val went into 3 still behind but tight and with more speed. Mike�s repost was to luff her head to wind on exit! And with that He and Eric claimed the Pennant.
A rainy evening reduced the takers to ten boats. Jon Anson set a long course 0-9-A-1-2 which, yet again, had three kite legs divided by tight gybe marks.
Rounding 9 the first time caused all sorts of problems as the wind was coming in from both sides of Sale Fell. Toggle and Joan in the 200 handled it best and led the GP of Dave & Lynn for a while before both were passed by John�s Skiff. Then came Tony�s Solo and the Geeps of Val & Ken and Mike & Eric all in close company.
Peter Winfindale and Alex Wasilewski were next in their Lasers but, after they had gone through the line, it was decided to shorten John Roberts� Pico and Paul Gannon�s Radial to one lap. With the wind backing South it was getting more difficult for the 200 to fly its asymmetric kite but the crew held on to finish a mere 23 seconds adrift of Dave & Lynn.
Neil was handling the food and, it being Wimbledon fortnight, strawberries were on the menu � along with a strong curry!
FH results showed Dave & Lynn taking this week�s win from Tony and then Val & Ken. The PH win went to Peter with second and third being the same as on Fleet Handicap. At just beyond the half way point Tony leads both series, Mike & Eric being second on FH and Peter on PH.
A mid summer fun weekend was planned, it’s a shame the weather put a literal dampener on some of the proceedings, not that the rain dampened enthusiasm!
Sunday started brighter, but with the threat of more rain in the afternoon. There was a good westerly breeze for the Celebrity Glass Pursuit which was being held as a two race series.
Jim/Poppy were first to start in their Hartley and held off the rest of the fleet for most of the first lap, but were overtaken by the GPs in which Val/Ken were putting up a good fight against Dave/Lynn. Some good gusts on the reaches helped Scumper/Joe in their RS400 claw back ground and take the overall lead with a leg to spare.
The afternoon race wind was a bit more variable and eased as the race went on. There were still gusts strong enough for AJ/Sue to recall what it is like to capsize, but they were not as prolonged as in the morning. This time Tony in his Solo led for half the race before being passed by Dave/Lynn, and they held the lead to the finish, though Scumper was very close on their tail at the end. As both Dave and Scumper had a 1st and a 2nd, the tie was split on the last race in favour of Dave.
It was again fine and reasonably warm with the wind blowing in from the South prior to the start. OD Izzie reckoned a trip to 12 was in order! But, as the wind shifted SW she set a diamond course 0-9-1-B. This, again, had three kite legs which suited the GP�s.
From the start Val & Ken took the lead from Mike & Eric and Joan & Jack with Tony�s Solo and Neil�s Radial close astern. Despite the best efforts of the other GP crews Val & Ken were not to be denied. They held off the competition to become the first three lap finisher.
As the leaders completed their second lap the wind started to drop a little. The decision was made to shorten just after AJ had gone through which didn�t best please his crew Hazel! Jon Anson�s Radial was the first to finish on two laps followed by Richard Broughton�s Solo and the Radial of Simon Smith who had taken time off from crewing the L2000.
Then it was in for the meal � NOT SO! No-one had put their name down to prepare it so we had a bunch of starving sailors! This is the first time in many a moon that this had happened and it ruined the chance of the usual after-race social craic. Let�s hope we are back to normal for the remaining rounds.
I was politely reminded that the Night Jar is primarily a PH series so here are the key results. An excellent win for Simon from John Robert�s Pico with Richard third. But this is not to decry Val & Ken from their FH win. Some people tend to forget that they are past Club Champions!
As the weather is looking ok for the upcoming fun weekend, we’re overdue a rounders match, and your sociable social secretary is hoping to have another communal BBQ with our lovely and shiny new BBQ’s, followed by bingo, other games and killer pool!
Hope that sounds like fun and it tempts you to join in!!!
After a cloudy morning, the clouds started to part, the heat of the sun was felt, which was useful to combat the cooler than recent breeze, from a more typical SW. Indeed many were pleasantly surprised by the strength of the breeze that led to a few capsizes, and some good planing conditions.
Ian/LezliAnn took an early lead in the F15s in both races, but their downfall in the first race was rounding a windward mark the wrong way, which Neil/Rory took advantage of, and held 1st position through to the finish. In the second race, Neil sailed a better beat to take the lead through to the finish, though Ian remained on his tail throughout.
Robbie D/Banter in their 400, and Scumper in his 100, were the main contenders in the fast handicap fleet. Despite having the slower boat of the two, Scumper had some close battles with Robin, taking water at one mark (whether he had it or not!), only to get his comeuppance when he capsized, and struggled to right it as nimbly as he did the Vareo.
No particular changes of position in the slow handicap fleet, with Jim leading the fleet in his Hartley, followed by John in his Pico, and Mik back on the water in his Mirror.
Sunday started with the wind blowing down the eastern edge of the lake as Sale Fell shadowed the western edge. By the time racing started the wind had backed a little to the south so that OD Neil Garrison could get a beat from 1 to 8 and then zig zag the fleet back downwind again. The various gybe marks were the downfall of several helms in the stronger winds, one being Joan/Jack leaving Val/Ken to continue to the finish to take a 1st place in the GPs. The same happened in the next race, resulting in Val winning the McMillan Cup.
Neil had a fresh crew in the F15s, and the strengthening conditions suited him and Nick, securing another two 1sts with a good lead to win the Ullock Mug and let him finish early to go and watch the tennis!
With no racing in the slow handicap fleet, John Roberts results on Saturday earned him the Round Table Trophy with Mik finishing 2nd, and too shattered to race on Sunday!
With overall positions being very close, the cream of the fast handicap fleet battled it out to the end and were suitably shattered after the 5th race. It was Robbie D/Banter that secured the trophy from Scumper with Alex/Olivia 3rd.
Good luck to Izzie Hunter, Hazel Newport, Ethan Dawson and Jenny Dunn who are entering the Southport 12 hr race next Saturday…thanks to Alex Leonard lending his enterprise (or an enterbucket as Robbie D would call it!). Izzie will be crewing for the whole 12 hours to raise money for the Asha school the Hunter family are volunteering at in August.
If anyone would like to sponsor her (and thank you again all those who have and who supported the curry night) please visit her JustGiving sponsor page
We had overcast skies but a constant medium wind from the North East. Julie chose a 0-2 beat and then a near run to 9. Using B midway to 0 this gave three kite legs although the final one was tight.
There were sixteen starters although John got the Musto�s fixed rudder trapped by the Bates� anchor warp and nearly had to capsize to extract it! It was a long line and most went for the port end. Tony�s Solo had a good start as did the Geeps of Joan & Jack and Val & Ken. The Solo got ahead but Joan got through by the end of the beat, both boats remaining close throughout the race.
Josh retired his Tera although Owen persevered in his. Steve & Simon turtled their L2000 but the Safety crew was on hand to make sure they righted it and continued.
As usual when there is enough wind, the Musto rocketed ahead and completed four laps. Both Geeps, enjoying three kite legs on each lap, flew them right to 0 but this nearly caught Joan & Jack out when a gust caught them as they were dropping for the final time.
Then, it was in for an excellent meal prepared by Karen and production of results. On FH it was Tony from Joan & Jack, John, Val & Ken and Mike�s Streaker. The PH winner, putting in a superb performance, was Jon Anson in his Laser. The sister boat of Peter Winfindale was classified second.
Pumping allowed. More wind than on the water at times!
This weekend, in addition to club racing, we are holding three open meetings, so it’ll be busy, busy, busy! Fortunately the Bass micro climate beat the local forecast which was based on wall to wall rain but very little wind. A drizzly morning dried up and a light breeze filled the bay tempting the OD to get the fleets on to the water. The wind continued to seem promising until the line was set, at which stage the wind eased and swung through 45 degrees…
Race 1 got underway in very light airs and was shortened at the end of the first lap with sailing sec Joe Roberts leading, and winning, the Lasers with Toby Hubbard from Killington 2nd.
By the time the rest of the fleet had finished, the wind had filled in again but swung another 20 degrees, so the line and course was reset, and race 2 started. Hazel demonstrated one of her party tricks of getting caught on the inner distance mark anchor warp – not recommended! There was various changes of position throughout the race, including the leaders, but Joe took the honours again, securing the series. Andrew Hewell from St Mary’s Loch finished 2nd, but Toby’s 4th place resulted in him being 2nd overall.
In the Toppers, Leigh and Lowton are leading overnight with the top three places, Lorcan Knowles in the lead with a 1st and 2nd, and Brandon Banner next with a 2nd and 3rd.
With the wind fading again, racing was abandoned for the rest of the day. Time for a prize giving then rounders, but the rain put paid to that!..
Sunday was brighter, warmer, and started with an early morning southern breeze which faded to nothing. As the Solo fleet had not got to race�at Windermere on Saturday, they were keen to get on the water at any cost (almost!), so when there was a hint of a breeze from the NE, the OD took to the water, laid a line and the hint of wind promptly veered to the SE, backing to the E. The race sequence started, the wind shifted, and racing was underway, albeit starting on a fetch! With the light airs picking up to occasional planing conditions, and continuing to shift, sailors did not get the best that Bass had to offer, but it was a race, and places were there for the taking, with our Tog pulling through from last to 5th in the Solo fleet, with the race being won by Innes Armstrong from Burwain.
The course was reset for the 2nd race, and conditions were somewhat better, and slightly more consistent, with Innes taking another win and securing the series trophy.
While there was some wind, it was decided to hold the final race of the day, but the wind was in a devilish mood. swinging though 360 degrees! Commitment to progress the racing resulted in a reaching start, but it did mean there was a beat instead of a run on the third leg of the course! The wind continued to swing, and vary in strength, but sailors were generally satisfied to have been on the water, however frustrating that may have been.
In the Toppers, Lorcan mastered the conditions taking another three wins and the NW Championship. Some bunching at marks led to Toppers and Solos vying for position, and it was good to note the Toppers standing their ground and threatening to protest Solos for barging into spaces which there were not entitled to be.
Topper NW winner Lorcan KnowlesLaser winner Joe Roberts with Kirstie SomervilleSolo winner Innes Armstrong
