…is better than a good day in the office. That could be Shunty’s mantra for the day. The Bates just happened to be in the way when he tacked, left go of his tiller, and had the first bump with the refurbished Bates. Later�he�capsized. He couldn’t even blame his crew as he was in his Solo! Fortunately these mishaps were all in the first race, pushing him down to 5th, although finishing 11secs quicker would have landed him a 3rd.

Throughout the morning there had been a strong contingent enjoying their first training session of the season

The weather clouded over after a sunny morning, stayed cold, and rained briefly. Windwise it was mixed (nothing new there!) varying from sitting out conditions to light airs in the lee of the shore at times.

There was enough wind for Ethan to capsize his latest boat, an�RS600, and�Scumper had to capsize his boat between races to sort some rigging issues. Dave/Lynn’s racing didn’t follow their typical format of leading from the start, one bad lap and they were pursuing the rest of the fleet for the rest of the race (perhaps Lynn should have taken the helm again?). After a poor start,Mike/Eric worked their way through to the front by the finish of the first race, with Joan/Jack 2nd.

With a couple of F15s racing at Windermere, there were just two contenders at Bass. Some consistent sailing by Ian/Lezli-Ann gave them two wins over Tim/Elaine.

Scumper won both handicap races, with Banter 2nd in the first race, and Shunty 2nd in the second one.

Latest results MG etc

Clear blue skies with a 2-3 from the SE greeted sailors on Sunday morning. Though not much warmer than Saturday, the sunshine certainly made it feel hotter. The figure of eight course pleased many sailors, including Jim (wonders will never cease!). Scumper had his sister Gayle crewing for the first time in many a year, so it is, perhaps, not surprising that there was a minor episode of kite trawling. Fresh back to the water, Alastair was fully expecting to be giving his Vareo an early wash and go swimming, but the boy did good, and stayed upright all day!

Dave/Lynn took a while to find top gear, but they did get their act together to win the morning race ahead of Mike/Eric. Mike won the afternoon race, with Joan/Jack 2nd. In the F15s, Tim/Ian and Ian/Lezli-Ann each had a 1st and a 2nd.

Jim won both races in his Hartley, with John 2nd in his Pico.

Despite narrowly avoiding a collision with Ian/Lezli-Ann, Robbie D/Banter in their 400 went on to win the morning race with Alastair taking 2nd and Neil in a Laser 3rd.

The afternoon race looked promising, but the wind promptly faded after the start sequence began. Robbie D took over 30 secs to cross the line, and Hazel, in her Laser 4,7, several minutes! Consideration was given to abandoning racing, but it was a sunny afternoon! With the wind filling in, the fleet was left to sail a second lap in a better breeze which would benefit some tail enders on handicap. Shunty won on handicap, with Hazel 2nd and Ian H in a Solo 3rd.

Latest results BL etc

In the�F15 open at Windermere, Simon/Jon finished 5th and Mike/Kayla 7th

The forecast force 4/5 was not to be on Saturday which offered a light southerly for the small fleet of boats. Perhaps the drizzly conditions had dampened enthusiasm?

Shortly after the first start the breeze eased to nigh on drifting conditions with boats relying on the intermittent zephyrs that passed over the course from a variety of directions!

In the F15s, Mike/Kayla took and early lead which they strengthened over time, but lost to Ian C/Lezli-Ann as they waited for their next zephyr. By the end of the beat Mike took the lead again, with Ian M/Elaine pulling through to 2nd. Ian and Joyce were the only contenders in the Handicap fleet, and Ian took the honours despite�trying to�avoid getting embroiled in the F15 fleet.

Dave crewed for Lynn in the GPs, and she managed to give Mike/Eric some strong challenges, though Mike did secure the lead over the finish line.

With no prospect of the wind filling in again, and little enthusiasm, the 2nd race was not sailed.

Latest results

Saturday’s rain continued through the night but dried up in time for Sunday racing. There was a general recall for the Handicap fleet, but they were all clear on the second start which was held in a fresh southerly which resulted in just one capsize before easing to near drifting conditions.

Mike/Kayla and Mike/Eric again took wins in the F15s and GPs respectively. Steve/Ruth in a Merlin won the Handicap fleet ahead of Jim/Poppy in their Hartley.

Latest results

The afternoon race was the Eric Twiname Trust pennant, typically held around the lake but as marks beyond Scarness are yet to be laid it was held in the bay, perhaps fortunately as the wind again eased causing some bunching on the finish line, and throwing handicaps into disarray. �Steve/Ruth were first across the line, but on Handicap the honours went to Toggle in his Solo just 9 secs ahead of Dave/Lynn.

Lynn leads the Sandra’s Salver series.

Eric Twiname Trust pennant
Sandra’s Salver

With the sunny Good Friday blown away overnight, it became a bit of a no news day as the wind and rain put all potential contenders off (perhaps the Bass Ski team chose a better option this year by heading to France) so racing was abandoned for the day.

Easter Sunday appeared all the quicker (mainly due to the clocks going forward for British Summer Time), but looking down wind the tops of the waves were visible (not good!), and there was a dearth of sailors interested in taking to the water, so we had the second non-sailing day of the season. It turned out to be a mixed day of sunshine and showers with the occasional rainbow to boot.

Having been washed out of their tent, Pete and Karen were pleased to spend a comfortable Saturday night at home only to appear next day with a caravan!

Competition would get off the ground later in the day with the annual egg dumping competition. Would it be a child prodigy that would take the honours? Well, he may have been a child prodigy (some time ago), as the winner was Charlie’s dad, Martin!

While the South endured storm Katie on Monday, we were able to get the sailing season off the ground (well on to the water) with a�couple of�enthusiastic fleets. Ever patient Peter helped Lottie to rig her boat – she managed to make it to the line a little late, but Peter had to wait till the afternoon for his first race. The wind was blustery, and there were several capsizes (is Zefer the Sailing Sec taking on Roy’s mantle of being famed for capsizing?!), and some consequent retirements as sailors headed for a warm shower, but the rain held off during racing at least. The winds led to some exciting reaches and good racing.

Dave/Lynn took two wins from Mike/Eric in the GPs to win the Bass Tankard, while Phil/Naomi beat Hugh in his Vareo by 10 secs in the first race, and Robbie D/Banter in an RS400 by more than 70secs in the second race. The conditions enabled the RS Aeros to put in a good show with Harry sharing 3rd place with Robbie in the first race, and visitor Caitlin earning a would be 5th position in the second race. Phil/Naomi’s two 1sts won them the Easter Trophy.

Final results

Snippet of the day – Becky was entrusted by Oscar to look after some of his Easter chocolate, only for Robbie D to start tucking into it before Becky caught him!

Keith Thomas has sent a couple of shots of the Bass Ski team in France. It looks slightly cooler than Bass!�