Yacht Delivery – Inverness to Whitehaven – Sunday 12th July � Friday 17th July 2015

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Ocean Youth Trust are now able to offer the last few remaining places on this adult voyage at an amazing reduced cost of �100.

This would count as a RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualifying passage from Inverness to Whitehaven, through the Caledonian Canal and down the Scottish and English West Coast.

The cost is inclusive of:
� All food and refreshments whilst on board
� Provision of foul weather kit and personal safety equipment
� Personal insurance whilst taking part

If you want to experience for yourself the thrill of steering a 70ft ocean going yacht, whilst receiving instruction and practical experience then don�t miss out on this fantastic opportunity and contact [email protected] or call our office on 0191 2571212 now.

Ann Arkle
Ocean Youth Trust North
Royal Quays Community Centre
9 Prince Consort Way
North Shields
NE29 6XB

www.sailjamescook.com

Registered No: 3898088 England Registered Charity No: 1079955

All the best laid plans…

Championship Racing No Comments

After a drizzly start, the weather cleared and the day got brighter as the afternoon went on.

Graham, the rostered OD, passed the baton on to William so that he could sail the whole weekend championship series. However, with a couple of mishaps along the way in each race it wasn’t to be his best day’s racing. A good second place was lost when there was a spinnaker malfunction when taking it down at mark 2. The next race he had a poor start which he was unable to recover from.

Simon/Jon were a little too eager at the start of the first race and opted to return even before a signal was sounded. They were also part of what seemed as if it was to be a three way protest when a bank of F15s looked set for a collision course with other fleets. Although Steve and AJ didn’t finalise their protest, Val has submitted one which will be heard on Sunday.

Mike, who was going to assist William (did he forget?), took advantage of the better weather to get back at the tiller of his Laser. However, due to some necessary adjustment of his clew tie down, he started several minutes after son Josh whose start was six mins after Mike’s scheduled start! Peter W went astray when he missed out a mark of the course and retired.

Although it was not too windy, there were a few capsizes to keep the rescue crews awake.

The overnight leaders are Neil/Nick in the F15s, Steve/Ruth in the fast handicap, and Jim in the slow handicap, each with two 1sts, The position in the GPs is much closer with John and Mike/Eric each with four points.

Sunday was windy (you know it’s windy when you can see the tops of the waves looking downwind!), but there was still a good contingent that took to the water. Ian’s race didn’t start off well when his start was delayed trying to sort his furling gear. He made up the 90 secs delay only to forget that he needed to take down his spinnaker at the end of the first run…. Ethan was out with Izzie in the RS200 again, practising capsizing techniques, as was Hugh in his Vareo.
Val/Ken were caught out at the gybe mark, and Ken seemed to be resting on the centreboard while Val swam around a bit… The F15s didn’t capsize, but a couple were flattened in some of the gusts. Jim/Poppy didn’t have any competition in the slow handicap fleet so raced with the bigger boys and, as they didn’t capsize, managed to beat Hugh over the finish line.  The stand in OD’s plan to have two races before lunch was snookered when finishers just headed straight for the shore after finishing (they usually ask what’s planned!).

After lunch the wind seemed to have abated a little, but there were more capsizes, and a feast of protests, interestingly between the same F15s. Decisions as to whether to fly spinnakers proved to be key, especially if they didn’t fill quickly after hoisting, as places were quickly gained or lost depending on whether it was done well. The heavy conditions started to take its toll on the fleet, and only six boats started the final race of the series, of which the two GPs opted to retire at the end of the first beat. Neil/Rory misjudged the start sequence and didn’t notice the rest of the fleet had started for well over 30 secs! Mike/Kayla had taken an early lead, with Simon on his tail. Another lap on, and AJ retired leaving just three F15s to fight it out. The finish proved to be very close with only about a boat length between each boat. Simon finished 1st, with Neil 2nd but Neil touched the mark and rerounded, losing a place to Mike in the process.

After racing a couple of the protests were heard, resulting in Simon being disqualified from race 4. As time was getting on, and various people were going out for dinner, the third protest remains in abeyance to be heard at a later date. (Hopefully no-one noticed one of the protesters, and one of the protest committee, dining at the same venue on Sunday evening!)

Numerous sailors were wilting before the end of the day, and are certain to sleep well tonight.

The overall winners for the weekend were Jim in the Slow handicap, Mike/Eric in the GPs, Steve/Ruth in the Fast handicap, and Neil/Nick/Rory in the F15s (subject to protest).

Final results

Almost Mid Summer – No evidence at Bass – Night Jar 8

News Racing No Comments

Thursday evening was, yet again, unseasonal with grey skies and a chilly westerly force 3 breeze. Is it really the Summer Solstice this weekend? The OD decided on a figure of eight course for a change. 0-9-B-A was the order of the day for the twelve competing boats.

Alex and Olivia took an early lead in their 200 with Joan and Jack leading the pursuit from the fellow GP�s of Val & Ken and AJ and Sue. Mike�s Streaker was also in the mix. Into the second lap and gaps were extending between most of the boats. The exception being the Toppers of David Roger and Rosie Hogg which were in close company throughout although David eventually got the upper hand.

It was decided to finish the second half of the fleet after 2 laps and Harry in the Aero was first to receive the horn ahead of Jon Anson�s Radial and the 200 of Jeff Tweddle / Mike Siddall. Josh Hunter who had started late in his Topper was finished on one lap.

On lap 3 Alex / Olivia extended their lead with a plane on the broad kite leg into B and they finished ahead of the GP fleet�s lady helms. That plane had swung it their way and they were just classified first on FH ahead of Joan / Jack.

AJ / Sue took the win on PH ahead of Joan /Jack and they move into the series lead. However, Mike retains his prime place in the FH series.

Back ashore, there were appetising smells from the Galley. Also, a number of Bass� potential Swallows & Amazons film stars recounting their experiences from the selection get-together earlier in the day. We wait to hear the final outcome of which of them will be playing the sailing roles.

Latest results – FH PH

Topper NW Areas & Laser Open

Opens Racing No Comments

While other parts of the country were hiding from torrential rain showers, 41 entries in this weekend’s open meeting were praying for some wind, on an overcast Saturday afternoon.

Racing did get underway a little late though the winds were light. As the afternoon went on the wind swung, and faded from time to time. Despite the light winds, Isabel Wallwork hardened up at the start of race 2 and broke her mast! – she clearly doesn’t know her own strength…

With the risk of it disappearing altogether, the OD opted to do try and have three races back to back, but by the time the tailenders had finished race 2 the wind had gone. After a short break, the wind seemed to fill in sufficiently for a final race of the day. The wind was light but enabled the fleets to drift over the line. Within a few minutes the wind started to fill in from the SW and propelled the fleet around the course for an extra lap.

Team Bass mastered the Laser fleet taking the first six places overall. After problems with his outhaul in the first race, Dave Lawson made a great comeback winning the second race, and taking the lead in the final race at the penultimate mark, snatching the trophy from Tony King who had won the first race.

 

Winner Dave Lawson receiving trophy from Claire Duncan
 
In the Toppers, West Lancs’ Samuel Cooper held Molly Nixon at bay all afternoon to become overnight leader. The light winds prompted some protests for pumping, and one protest against Joe Baker was upheld removing one of his three first positions.

Laser Open results

Club racing was playing second fiddle, and had to make do with whatever was thrown at them. First of all they started from the opposite side of the Bates, and then they had to sail a course that kept them outside the Laser/Topper racing area – it just happened to hug the shore in the area of least wind. The second race looked very ominous – could they get across the lake to 5 and back to 0 in very light conditions? Reminiscent of Thursday evening sailing perhaps? Six boats were prepared to try, and must have been relieved when the wind filled in from the SW….

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On Sunday the wind swung to the NE and freshened to allow some great sailing conditions. Three further races were sailed in the TopperNW areas and Joe Baker continued to out perform the competition, even after returning, being one of two premature starters, he still worked his way back to 2nd. He won the series with four 1sts and a 2nd.

Topper NW Areas final results

Topper NW Area
NW Area Champion Joe Baker receiving trophy from Kirstie Somerville
The club racing was, well, different to say the least. Starting on time was unusual in itself but compounded by catching numerous sailors out. Then when they glanced at the unusually phrased course, it was funny to watch their second glance of disbelief! (For the uninitiated, the black space is read as the word ‘Then’)

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How appropriate are OD Simon’s horns?!
Graham/Elaine’s excuse was that they couldn’t get a lift out to their mooring, they did reach the line on time but spent too much time laughing at Mike/Eric not realising they should have started.. Peter Winfindale was out in plenty of time but had a poor start some 90 secs late. Others just didn’t realise that no boats and no flags meant the race was underway! The OD happily left the sailors to determine whether they’d sailed the correct number of laps and course in general

The afternoon race was back to normality (of sorts). The fleet had the lake to themselves, along with a good breeze, and a more usual course.

Joan/Jack Hardie mastered the variety of conditions and challenges (well it was a fleet challenge!) to take the series trophy clear ahead of 2nd placed Ian Hall in his Solo.

Fleet Challenge A Overall results

Resuscitation Course

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A basic resuscitation course for adults is being held in the clubhouse next Saturday 20 June from 10-12am. If you’re interested please let Mike Hunter know so that we have an idea on numbers. 

A similar course for juniors will be held later in the season. 

A beautiful Summers Evening for drifting around the Lake – Night Jar 7

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 The seventh round of the Night Jar was similar in many ways to last week. There was a cloudless sky, warm sun but little wind. Only 16 boats were competing this week as some of the Topper and Radial helms were in exam prep mode.

At launching time the wind was a westerly and a course of 9-3-A was selected. But, just before the 6 minute signal, it swung through 90 degrees to the North. So the outer end of the line was moved round in the direction of A and the first mark was changed to 1. The inner mark was left slightly downwind of the Bates.

David with Lottie crewing in the GP went for a port end start but were over the line and signalled to return. The rest of the fleet continued on starboard with the exception of Peter Whipp who tacked off in the Laser soon after the start.

Robin, making a guest appearance in the 100, was first to round the windward mark and pulled out a lead from Alex and Olivia in their 200. The GPs tried to fly their kites on the next leg but without much success and by the time they, and the body of the fleet, reached 3 what little wind there now was had shifted North East resulting in a drifting log jam.

The first two boats were through well before this and heading for A where the shortened course flag was raised. They finished in 26 minutes and 32 minutes respectively. Ethan with his school mate crewing the second 200 was next up on the run to 3. 

Then came the GPs of Val & Ken, AJ & Sue and a recovering Dave & Lottie. Val was through first. AJ had water on Dave at A and headed for the line between the distance marks, but Dave took the opportunity of squeezing between the inner mark and the Bates to cross the line a minute ahead. 

All boats maintained momentum on the run up to A but the finishing time of the last finisher was three times that of the leader. Robin took the win from Alex & Olivia and Peter Whipp in both FH and PH categories

Food, glorious food

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We know how much everyone enjoys the Thursday evening catering, so this weekend, to coincide with the Laser and Topper open meetings, Lucy’s team will be preparing some lasagne for evening supper. Of course this is available to visitors, campers and members alike.

Come along and enjoy!

Celebrity Glass Pursuit

Racing No Comments

High winds caused racing to be cancelled on Saturday.

Rather than have a two race series on Sunday it has been decided to sail the Celebrity Glass Pursuit as a one off race in the morning and then resail last Sunday’s cancelled pennant race in the afternoon

Though there wasn’t much happening at the club on Saturday, however it was slightly different in the Davenport household where our latest addition to the membership was brought into the world by Phil’s helm’s wife Becky! Nothing like keeping it in the Bass family. Congratulations to Phil and Emma on the birth of Rory, a brother for Oscar. All doing well.

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Rory did finally make it to hospital after being born at home
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Perhaps Jim’s bad hair day affected his ability to sail the correct course?

Sunday’s weather was much more amenable, with strong, though sailable, winds and the sun nosing through the clouds from time to time. The Toppers were first to start in the pursuit race, but it wasn’t too long before Dave/Lynn took the lead. The strength of the wind was deceptive and resulted in various capsizes, subsequent retirements, and cleaning of mud stained sails… Capsizing wasn’t Jim/Poppy’s reason for retiring, it was Jim’s confusion as to where he should have been heading! Scumper/Zefer in their RS400 were last to start, but first to finish ahead of Bean/Naomi, having taken the lead in the final 15 mins of the race.

The afternoon race was the Albert Bates Retirement Trophy, postponed from last Sunday. As is usual, the course took the fleet down the lake, though only to 10. The SW wind was certain to enable Sale Fell to do its worst in terms of creating shadowy, shifting winds, and it did! After passing Scarness there were holes, shifts, down draughts, all intermingled with some good gusts. Scumper took an early lead which he held through to the end, but it was the battling GPs of Dave/Lynn and Val/Ken that would secure 1st and 2nd on handicap. Scumper was 3rd and Jim/Poppy 4th.

Final Results:
Celebrity Glass Pursuit
Albert Bates Retirement Trophy
Sandra’s Salver�(Latest)

Night Jar 6 , Summer eventually arrived and the Wind disappeared.

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Not much to say about this one except At least we got a race in! With 21 boats on the water on a pleasant sunny evening it seemed a shame to abandon.

When the Bates went out there was a glimmer of hope. Start around A and then 0-B-A maybe? After asking a number of competitors where the wind was coming from it was decided to start at 0 and go A-B-O. But then B was removed and an asymmetric course was posted – but with the run first and a beat back!

 After twenty minutes the postponement flag was lowered and all duly headed down wind. What wind?! Most of the boats with kites managed to get them – sort of – flying for a while. Most headed directly towards A but a few had noticed some disturbed water between B and A so headed left. It turned out to be a good move and a small group of Geeps and Lasers plus Toggle / Joan in their 200 gained from it.

 Mike Fairlamb & Eric Smith rounded first and pulled out a lead on the water from Tony King. Eric Guillois / Chris Brookes were sailing their FF really well in the light airs and were pulling the lead boats in up the beat. The Solos of David Haselden and Richard Broughton were also in contention. Mike & Eric finished first on the water and took the FH win from David, Eric & Chris and Richard.

 On PH Richard was classified first ahead of Mike & Eric, Tony King, David and then Eric & Chris. That meant that there were four different types of boat in the top five positions.

 After six rounds we have had no less than forty helms entering the Night Jar series. What that number will be after the sixteenth and final round is anyone�s guess!

  

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