The fifth round of the Night Jar took place in a medium strength westerly wind. The forecast squalls went to the North and the South of Dubwath Bay but it was again chilly for late May.

The course was 0-B-A-3-4 so there were a few gybe marks to contend with.

The fourteen boats had a longer line this time and most went for a port end start. Alex & Olivia again led in their 200 followed by a gaggle of GP�s and Neil�s Radial. Val & Ken, as well as being the evenings chefs, were giving Mike with usual rival Dave as crew and then came Joan & Jack in close company with AJ & Sue. All were enjoying the planning kite reach across from A to 3 and the slightly broader leg up to 4.

Peter Winfindale pulled out on the first lap and Jack & Joan on the second when they touched a mark. Izzie spectacularly fell out of her Topper when she missed the toe strap during a tack. Meanwhile, Harry was teaching Josh Hunter the art of helming in one of the Club�s Mirrors.

The lead boats went on to complete three laps but Toppers and other boats with high PY Handicaps were finished after two. These included newcomer Sol White who is consistently sailing the Pico well above its handicap. 

A wind shift to the south gave an interesting finishing line and time was gained by strategic tacking between 4 and YZ. 

On the water, the first finisher was the 200 followed by Mike & Dave closely followed by Val & Ken who had been challenging all evening. This was the order on FH but nobody had foreseen a mega two lap performance by Hazel who took the win on PH ahead of Alex & Olivia with Sol�s Pico next up.

With thanks to Victoria Murray, here’s some photo memories of the recent open weekend encouraging everyone to Push the Boat Out!

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Sailors were greeted with more cloud and slightly less wind than Sunday for the conclusion of the weekend series. The race officer set an excellent course for the first race which included 3 beats, numerous spinnaker legs utilising most of the Northern end of the lake. Neil who had Nick Smith crewing today led the Flying Fifteens from start to finish which gave him victory in the series without needing to sail the final race. Simon & Jon finished second in both the race and series and did not take part in the final race either. The handicap race was won by Robin & Phil in a RS 400 from Phil & Naomi in their RS 200. This gave Phil & Naomi the series win. Mike and Eric won the Gp14s from Dave & Lynn whose 3 firsts on Sunday led to victory in the Spring Cup. Mik won the Slow Handicap fleet from Jim & Poppy.

With a number of winners and places already decided some sailors decided to stay on shore and enjoy the sunshine that had broken through, those that sailed had excellent conditions and exciting racing. Mike who had Ian Preston crewing easily won the Flying Fifteen race finishing 3rd in the series. The handicap race was great for spectators as Robin & Phil battled with Mark & Joe in RS 400s positions changed throughout the race with Robin & Phil just coming out on top. This gave Mark second place in the series with Robin 3rd. Normal service resumed for Dave & Lynn as they won the GP14 race from Val & Ken. Jim & Poppy won the slow handicap race from Hazel & Izzie in a Feva giving them a series win.

Overall it was a fantastic weekends sailing 40 different boats took part including 9 Flying Fifteens and 7 GP14s. The social events were well supported and appreciated by all. Oh! who won the Rounders Match? No one has the answer but it was great fun.

Final results

A large number of members took the opportunity of a decent weather forecast to bring Caravans and Tents to our wonderful Club for the long weekends sailing events. A group of our Ladies decided a trip to the nearby Lakes Distllery was a better option than taking part in racing.

Nearly 30 boats took to the water in superb sailing conditions, force 3 westerly and bright sunshine. The OD Ethan set two challenging courses with numerous beats and interesting mark roundings that were enjoyed by all. The results service has been delayed  because of a technical, Eurovision Song Contest, glitch but  will be back tomorrow. 

Not so nice an evening last Thursday with overcast sky and a cold SW medium wind. However, sixteen boats took to the water.

The OD didn�t want to risk the wind shadow at 9 so B was moved downwind of it resulting in a short triangle of B-A-3 plus an interesting offset line making it hard to judge the beat from 3 to Y/Z. The other quirk was another short line which lived up to its plan and ended with recalls for Dave & Izzie in the GP and Chris & Julie in the FF.

Alex & Olivia led the fleet in their 200 from the GP�s of Joan & Jack and Val & Ken, and the Lasers of Tony and Neil.

After two laps the wind strength increased. Hazel retired her Radial and Louise her Topper. AJ & Sue also pulled out with undisclosed problems on their GP. At the end of Lap 3 it was decided to shorten for the L2000 of Julie / Melanie. David Roger, sailing well in his Topper, and Jeff Tweddle & Mike Siddall�s 200 followed over the line on three laps.

Steve Peck & Simon Smith inverted their L2000 at the leeward mark and it took the efforts of the crew plus both safety boats to right it and tow it back to the slip. But the last act belonged to young Jos Hunter. He had only completed 2 laps in his topper and was last boat on the water, but he would not accept a tow and set out on a long and challenging beat back to the Club.

On FH Alex Leonard & Olivia Storey were winners from Joan & Jack Hardie. On PH it was, again, Tony King in the lead position with Joan & Jack also taking the runner up place in this category.

A small but select group of sailors took to the water on Sunday morning to take part in the Blencathra Trophy long series for Flying Fifteens. The wind was still strong and gusty predominately from a Westerly direction. Mike & Kayla won from Tim and Ian with Alan and Sue in 3rd. As Dave and Lynn were the only GP14 they joined Peter Whipp in his Laser and Alex and Olivia in a RS 200 in the handicap fleet, an excellent battle ensued with less than a minute separating all 3 on corrected time,  Dave and Lynn won from Alex and Olivia. The younger members did not take their Toppers out as they were assisting with training recruits from last weeks Open Weekend. 

The afternoon race was the Calvert Trust Pennant which was postponed from last week. Dave and Lynn won from Mike/Kayla followed by Tim/Ian, Alan/Sue and Jim and Poppy. This race was also the second round of Sandra’s Salver which is for the best female crew in a series of 7 pennant races. Poppy still leads the series by one point.

Calvert Trust Pennant results