An exciting opportunity to sail on a coast to coast 260 mile passage on James Cook in July from Inverness through the Caledonian Canal and down the West coast to Whitehaven.
There are only 8 places so if you are interested then don�t delay and contact us on either�[email protected]�or�0191 257 1212
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Just to let you all know what the plan is for the next bank holiday!
Saturday 23rd�May – Wild West BBQ, we will be providing the food (some meat, breads and salads – veggie option too) for �7 per head. If you fancy joining in please let Claire know via Facebook, email or phone so I can get an idea of numbers. Come dressed in your checked shirts and Stetsons!
Sunday 24th�May – rounders (by popular demand!) followed by an Irish raffle.
Hope to see you all over the weekend.
The Calvert Trust Pennant & second event in Sandra’s Salver were abandoned last weekend due to strong winds, we have rescheduled them to this Sunday 17th May in place of BL4 etc.
This weekend was the start of the RYA’s week long Push The Boat Out campaign to get more people on the water. Despite the damp start on Saturday there have been more than 100 visitors taking up the opportunity to get on to the water on wide ranging ways including rowing boats, kayaks, coracle, dinghies and catamaran.
Some enjoyed it so much they’ll be back tomorrow with their friends!
Club racing continued to demonstrate what we’re all about, not that the weather conditions were particularly appropriate. The wind was light, and shifting, but with the risk of it fading altogether the OD opted to try and get at least one race in. The race started in light conditions and soon shifted making the beat very one sided, but the next leg became a beat! After 15 mins the wind began to fill in from the west, enabling a second lap to be sailed.
The course was altered for the 2nd race to suit the strengthening westerly, and the fleets enjoyed some good racing for the best part of an hour. Zefer sailed with Stephen in Scumper’s 400, but they went for a brief swim so struggled to pull away from Joan/Jack who sailed in the handicap fleet as other GPs were away at the Inlands. A collision between Neil and Tim resulted in a hole in Tim’s transom. Jonathan Anson practiced his capsize skills three times before retiring.
Neil/Toggle took two wins in the F15s, while Jim/James did the same in the slow handicap fleet. Ian Hall and Joan/Jack each had a win in the fast handicap fleet.
Sunday started with white horses across the bay, but the wind eased, and then gustspassed through from time to time. There was a lack of takers for club racing so it was postponed just in case anyone was interested in the afternoon pennant.
Meanwhile, visitors interested in the Push the Boat Out campaign continued to turn up and take to the water. Conditions deteriorated so some visitors endured unplanned capsizes (no, Alastair wasn’t helming!) – hopefully it didn’t mar�their experience too much!
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With the wind increasing, the sailing boats were brought ashore and fun continued in rowing boats kayaks, etc., and club racing was abandoned for the day, though the pennant race will be sailed in the near future.
Thank you to everyone that helped tirelessly throughout the weekend to let over�180�visitors feel welcome and experience our sport.
What a superb evening to be on the Lake! Night Jar 2 was held on a glorious evening with a constant Force 2 wind from the South West. Seventeen boats from all fleets took to the water. The Race Officer selected a course of 0-9-A with the line slightly up wind of the last mark and it worked well.
Toggle & Joan encountered kite problems on their 200 prior to the race and they were some 5 minutes late when they eventually crossed the starting line.
Mike & Eric in the GP had an excellent start as did Olivia & Alex in their 200. But the latter crew�s race was a short one as they had a dispute over mark room at 9 with Val & Ken which led to their retirement and also dropped the Bell�s GP back some boat lengths.
Shenanigans amongst the opposition allowed Mike & Eric to build up an early lead which they progressively increased throughout the race. Next on the water were Gary & Kayla in the FF in close company with the GP of AJ & Sue. Not far astern Hazel�s in her Radial was duelling with the 2000 of Julie Tomkinson & Joe O�Donnell. Then came Mike Hunter and Jon Anson in Lasers in close company with Richard Broughton in his Solo.
Lap times were around 11 to 15 minutes and virtually all competitors completed 4 laps. On the final one Val & Ken caught and passed AJ & Sue and they finished third on the water behind the FF. As if on cue, the wind died completely as Lottie Winfindale completed the race and she was towed home by a safety boat to link up with her family who were the evening�s chefs.
Results showed that Mike & Eric had taken a resounding win on Fleet handicap with Val & Ken in second place. On PH Gary and Kayla took a superb first place and what is believed to be Gary�s first ever win.
A busy bank holiday weekend with the Tera Northerns and Catapult Open running alongside club racing �On Saturday the weather was blustery, cold, and drizzly but it didn’t put off many of the visiting Teras or Catapults from venturing out.
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There were various capsizes throughout the afternoon in Teras and club boats, because not many opted to continue on after getting upright.
Sunday started with the tail end of a wet stormy night,�and despite the stronger, gustier winds, the Teras were back on the water for their 4th race. Numerous capsizes later, they came ashore for lunch before returning to the water for the final two races, by which time the rain had stopped and the wind abated.
At the end of the championship it was the Rastrick brothers from Ripon that took the honours in both fleets – Henry winning the Pro fleet, and Jamie the Sport fleet.
After a problematic and aborted start in the morning, club and Catapult racing followed in the afternoon. The wind continued to ease, and swing around Sale Fell, which cast various shadows on the course for the 1st race. For the 2nd race, the wind had swung to the SW, but there were major shifts for the sailors to contend with affecting leads dramatically.
After some close, competitive racing the overnight leaders are Simon/Jon in the F15s, Phil/Naomi in the fast handicap, Dave/Lynn in the GPs, and Hazel in the slow handicap fleet.
Bank Holiday Monday was pleasantly bright, dry and milder, but there was still a good wind to offer thrills and spills to competitors and spectators alike.
The Catapults had one final race which determined the overall winner as John Terry from Gareth Ede from Yorkshire Dales after splitting the tie on points by the position in the final race.
In club racing there were a couple of notable capsizes in the Mirrors – Rob Smith leapt to save niece Lily from falling out of the boat causing them to�capsize, whereas Mik’s capsize and subsequent retirement was enough to win him the Peel Pot series.
In the F15s, Simon/Jon successfully held Neil/Rory at bay in the last race to win the Jak Pot. Phil/Naomi continued to master the fast handicap fleet, with three 1sts and a 2nd to Scumper in the last race, winning the May Holiday Trophy. Dave/Lynn took all four�1sts in the GPs to win the Lyne Tankard with Mike/Eric 2nd
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Club results -�Saturday series� � �Weekend series
They may seem like a distant memory at present, but the Thursday evening Night Jar series started last night.�
It was forecast to be light�and mainly�northerly. �Well,�the forecasters�were right on the first count but, for an hour or more before the 1915 hour start time, the wind was swinging through all points of the compass. �At least there were clear skies.
The Race Officer decided to go out and try and set a line. �And yes, it was a northerly beat. �By bringing A�south�of, and near to�B and�by�laying the start line between them, B-3-A seemed to be the best bet. �But then�the wind went west and the nine competing boats had a beam reach followed by a run.�
Mike Fairlamb led the fleet in his Streaker with Alan Jones second in the GP. �It was flat at 3�but most boats struggled round onto another reach as the wind went back to the north . The exception was Louise Roger in her Topper who had dropped behind after a slow first leg. �Julie Tomkinson�/ Melanie Clapham�in the Laser�4000 also struggled with the rounding. � With the wind holding �at that point it was decided to send most boats around for a second lap, the exceptions being Tasha Todhunter in her Laser and visitor Nathan Pickles in his Tera.
With the wind dropping and gradually veering south, the fleet approached the final mark. �Mike thought it had gone completely when he came to a complete halt but he soon realised that he had fouled the Bates� anchor warp and he continued after raising his board. �This allowed AJ and Sue to catch up but they were still astern�crossing the line.��
As it was becoming chilly and the dusk�was setting in, all returned to the Club and tucked in to a meal�previously�prepared by Sue and AJ. �Results showed �that Mike Fairlamb had beaten the chefs on FH but that AJ / Sue were the winners on PH with the Laser of Peter Winfindale second. �
We tamed the wind, and the rain eased too! As the clouds lifted off Skiddaw, a snow covering was exposed! The competitors were signed up, but the wind wasn’t playing ball. An early morning breeze faded, shifted, swung, faded, and finally reappeared, though its direction would prove to be variable throughout the afternoon.
The lack of wind was the cause of an hours postponement, but racing eventually got underway. The first couple of (if not all) races had a steady general northerly direction but there were some major shifts that caught various sailors, including leaders out, causing the occasional capsize to windward. Even the commodore fell out of his boat at one stage!
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In the 3rd race a major wind shift started to affect the course, so the race was curtailed early. What was to be the final race of the day was held in a reasonable, but variable, westerly.
Some great racing in some testing conditions. Hopefully the wind will be better behaved in the morning.
A curry night on Saturday�may have had an�affect on Sunday’s wind, which although it started light, it finally came in with a vengeance by the end of the day’s racing.
As with Saturday, the direction was all over the place, varying from minute to minute adding to the challenge of setting the beat and a reasonable start line. The fleet were given the benefit of the doubt for the first two starts which resulted in general recalls, but the introduction of the black flag resulted in third time lucky for the start of race 5.
The shifting winds necessitated moving the start line a couple more�times for subsequent races. Sailors endured sun, rain and hail, together with strengthening winds�with the final race being the most spectacular with numerous capsizes.
The battle�for the winners trophy was hard fought, with only a single point pushing overnight leaders Paul and Jude Allen from Leigh & Lowton into 2nd place behind Chris Pickles and Matt from Delph.
Commodore Mark Somerville and Joe Roberts were best Bass boat at 6th, with Vice Commodore Robin Dawson and Phil Davenport 7th.
Previously run as a long series, this has been compacted into a weekend series of 5 races. Sun and blue skies were the order of the day, while the wind struggled to settle down.
A forecast easterly did come in, but the strength was variable throughout the afternoon. Feedback from the sailors suggested the wind direction was equally variable! Simon was keen to suggest to the OD (every time he passed the Bates) that the course was in the shadow of Sale Fell.
Before the start, Gary queried AJ as to how Chris/Julie managed to stop dead still. He discovered a second later when, he too stopped dead in his tracks when ran aground! AJ opted to strip to his shorts before jumping overboard to get them underway again.
Scumper/Zefer had a flying start in the 2nd race, only to be recalled. Later in the 2nd race Simon/Jon were reluctant to give up their lead on Mike/Kayla and invoked some mega luging tactics. Although they won that war, Mike went on to win the battle…
Sunday was cloudier and cooler with slightly stronger winds which were to be useful to get the three scheduled races in (even if tiring for some sailors).
While Sue was recovering from her daughter’s wedding, AJ recruited Karen, the flagpole dancing decorator, as a temporary stand in. Tim was keen to push Simon over the start line in the first race, but failing to realise he too was over, and not returning after being recalled, led to him being awarded OCS.
As ever, Mik was enthralled by the tweets and webcam images, and decided to pop down to sail. Actual conditions put him off, so he returned home to watch the Grand Prix.
Tim was later involved in an incident with training officer Neil who collided with Tim, capsized, and realised his leg was caught in the mainsheet!
Banter was in the groove today, being more confident that he was finding how to tune his RS100, he was able to have some close racing with Scumper/Zefer, securing a 1st in the 2nd race of the day, to add to his bullet from Saturday. Scumper won the final race of the day and the Asymmetric Cup.
Simon/Jon had a better day leading all three races, but rear commodore Andy and Ginger Phil in a GP put in three good races as well taking a 2nd and two 1sts to win the MJM Trophy.
If you want to see how Andy/Ginger Phil worked the shifts check out this link that shows what was recorded on his GPS during the afternoon racing. It shows his 11miles of sailing!
Next weekend we are hosting the Great North Asymmetric Challenge, to benefit from the �10 early bird discount make sure your entry is submitted by midnight tonight (Sunday)
Now that the sailing season is underway, and the clubhouse is being used again, it is important to keep it clean, tidy, and in good repair, so that it is inviting to members and visitors alike. Whilst everyone can do their bit by leaving it tidy when leaving, we are in need of a House committee chair to coordinate the tasks, and maintenance issues.
So please form an orderly queue to speak to Commodore Mark Somerville about the role.
Thanks