It is with sadness we have learnt of the sudden passing of Aileen Telford. Aileen is a long standing active member of the club, widow of Herb, a past commodore and official starter.
Funeral arrangements (now confirmed)
1pm 28th May at St James Church, High St, Whitehaven CA28 7PY and afterwards at Whitehaven golf club
Our thoughts are with daughter Lezliann, son John, and their families at this sad time.
Weekend sailors enjoyed the best conditions of the season so far, with warm, sunny weather, and light-medium southerly winds.
Not exactly capsizing conditions, though John Reekie seemed to upturned several times. There was sufficient wind for Neil to suffer from aching muscles on Sunday as he got used to sailing a Laser while Archie waits for his hand to recover�
AJ/Sue had some close racing with Val/Ken with a fair share of wins between them.
The Sunday afternoon pennant race in aid of the Jubilee Sailing Trust raised interest as to whether the course would be around the lake. With the wind having been lighter than forecast for the morning race, the OD opted to use 10 as the windward mark, however, the wind had freshened and bedded in. Before the fleet had reached 7, several sailors decided discretion was the better part of valour, and headed ashore. Toggle was one of them planning to retire but capsized beforehand!
Those that continued had a hard slog up to the windward mark but enjoyed some good planing conditions on the route down to mark 2. Reekie continued his capsize routines, and had Phil/Oscar in a RS400 chasing hard. It�s a shame they both went around the next leeward mark the wrong way�
Neil Campbell almost made the same error on the final mark but recovered to beat Val/Ken on the line, and win the race on handicap.
MG etc latest results
BL etc latest results
Jubilee Sailing Trust pennant results
The bank holiday weekend was busy on and off the water, with the club hosting an open meeting for Catapults, and the Mirror Northerns alongside club racing. Though the forecast was for relatively light winds, it freshened to F3-4 in time for afternoon racing, and, as usual, oscillating in direction, generally from the SW.
The total of 50 boats across three fleets was a magnificant sight. All starts for the day were clear, and there was some close racing, with various position changes for those that took advantage of, or missed, the swinging shifts. Several legs offered great planing conditions, and there were a few capsizes, and a couple of gear failures.
Paul/Jude Allen were trialling a Melges 15, securing a 1st and 2nd on handicap to win the Paul Carruthers Memorial Trophy, with Dave Lawson/Mike Fairlamb in a GP 2nd, and Val/Ken Bell in a GP 3rd.
Paul Carruthers Memorial Trophy final results
Will/Isabelle Crocker from Welton SC had a 1st and 2nd to take overnight lead in the Mirror Northerns, ahead of Angus/Isla Armstrong from West Kirkby, and Phil/Lucy Smith from Bassenthwaite.
Sunday morning was dry after a wet night for the campers. The wind was light but started to fill in from the forecast SW direction, however, when the OD was setting the line/course the wind direction was coming from all directions! It did settle down from the SW again, so a line was set and racing started only for the wind to back to the S as a dark cloud moved in. Just before the Mirror start the races were abandoned until the wind had settled again. Next start got underway, but the first beat was light for a short while.
After lunch the wind had veered more to the W, then later through the race backed to the WSW which cast a shadow over part of the beat, slowing the final lap for some boats which took up to 80 minutes to finish.
The wind came back, and the last race held, though many boats had opted to call it a day.
In the F15s, Ian/Lezliann took three wins, though Angus Corry/Mike Hunter had led one race for a while only to miss out the gate after the first lap. Ian/Lezliann are overnight leaders with Cliff English 2nd.
Val/Ken won the first GP race, but AJ/Sue won the next two to take the overnight lead.
In the handicap fleet, Robin sailed Tog’s Solo winning the first two races to take overnight lead, with Guy/Elaine in a Graduate securing two 2nds, to lie 2nd.
The Mirror results counted for the club championship as well as the Northerns, so Phil/Lucy lead with three wins ahead of Naomi/Scarlet.
In the Mirror Northerns, after five races, Phil/Lucy Smith lead ahead of Matthew/Albie McGovern, and Angus/Isla Armstrong.
Monday started with a mirror like lake, but zephyrs appeared just after noon, and most of the bay was soon filled with a light breeze, so the OD took to the water, and racing was underway just after 1pm. By the time the Mirrors were nearing the leeward mark at the end of the first lap the F1-2 breeze had eased. With more wind filling in at the top of the next beat, the race continued, but it didn’t last for long so the race was shortened at the top of the beat.
Ian/Lezliann took another win and won the Jak Pot trophy for F15s. The GPs did not race, so AJ/Sue kept their lead position and won the Lyne Tankard. Chris/Evie in their RS200 won on handicap, with Phil/Rory 2nd, but a 4th for Robin was sufficient to win the May Holiday trophy, with Chris/Evie 2nd, and Dave/Lynn 3rd. Phil/Lucy had another win in the Mirrors/Teras and won the Peel Pot.
Jak Pot etc final results
In the Mirror Northerns, Phil/Lucy Smith had led to the leeward mark, but was passsed by Will/Isobelle Crocker. Matthew/Albie McGovern opted for the left side of the final beat, and took advantage of the zephyr that filled in as the wind backed more to the west, being sufficient to take them through to the lead and win the championship, with Phil/Lucy 2nd.
In the Catapults, positions were very consistent, with Gareth Ede taking two 1sts, George Evans two 2nds, and Stuart Ede two 3rds. Sunday’s results were much more varied, but Gareth maintained his overall lead ahead of Stuart moving forward to 2nd, then George. With a lack of promise for a decent breeze on Monday, the Catapults opted to call it a day with no further racing, so the Sunday evening results stood.
We have learned of the death earlier this week of Pat DeRedder, wife of former sailing secretary Max DeRedder.
Max and Pat were club members for over 30 years.
Pat was a former magistrate, and supported Max in various activities including sailing in GPs and Flying 15s, and racing/driving/maintaining vintage cars, for which many longer standing members will have known them.
Saturday started off with clear blue skies, but by the afternoon the clouds had moved in and removed any benefit of the sunshine in the cold NE breeze which filled in just in time for racing.
There being just one asymmetric boat sailed by Neil/Archie, it raced in the MJ� series, and led the fleet in both races ahead of Dave/Lynn in their GP. Val/Ken launched their GP in time for the second race, and had some good racing with Dave/Lynn, finishing just a few seconds behind.
On handicap, Dave/Lynn won both races to lead the series, with Rory taking two 3rds, lying 2nd overall.
Sunday’s conditions were similar, cold, overcast, and a light F2 from the north. The fleet of five boats stayed relatively close together with less than two minutes between 1st and last. Paul in a Laser led the fleet across the finish line, but on handicap the honours went to Dave L in a Radial. with Mike F in a Streaker 2nd.
After lunch break the wind freshened, Chris in a RS300, despite numerous capsizes, persevered to finish the course. Dave L was 1st across the line, with Toggle in his Solo 2nd, and Mike F 3rd, with corrected times reaffirming the finish order. Dave L leads the series
Saturday greeted sailors with sunshine and patches of wind that filled in from the NNW in time for scheduled afternoon racing, though, after the first lap, the wind came and went, backed to the W before filling back in again from the NNW in cycles. Consequently some boats took 80mins to finish the first race.
The wind faded shortly after the start of the next race which was soon shortened to avoid another drifting finish, much to the relief of many, as well as Shunty who had advised the OD he had a table booked for 7.30!
There was close racing at times, and mixed fortunes, with various positions being swapped. AJ/Sue were on the better side of the mixed fortunes, taking two wins in the GPs from James/Jenny. Andrew Reekie secured two wins in the Teras from Rory Davenport.
MG etc latest results
Sunday was more overcast, with a forecast of a lighter wind. Again the wind swung, and varied in strength. There was a brief period at the end of the first lap when the fleet bunched up as the wind dropped, but it filled in again to continue the race for another lap. Phil/Rory in a RS200 led the fleet across the finish line, but on handicap John Reekie in a Solo won, with Dave Lawson in a Laser Radial 2nd.
BL etc latest results
The next race was the Albert Bates Retirement Trophy; although the wind was light on the first beat, it freshended for the rest of the race. Banter/Rory were on top form, pulling out a strong lead from Neil/Archie in a RS200, then Mike/Sally in a F15. On handicap Banter won, with Neil/Archie and Dave Lawson tying for 2nd place.
Albert Bates Trophy final results
Saturday racing was cancelled due to high prevailing winds, and a lack of sailors.
A sunny Sunday still had a gusty forecast but much more sailable, with a handful of boats keen to race.
The RS200s of Banter/Rory and Neil/Archie had some good competitive racing, with exciting reaches. Banter gained a strong lead and won the first race. He led the next race too, but lost the lead at the end of the final reach after bearing away more than Neil. Banter made up ground on the final beat, but Neil beat him by a couple of seconds.
Alex/Saskia/Phoebe in a Mirror survived the chilly conditions for one race, beating Oscar in his Tera
The arrival of storm Kathleen has caused some spectacular spindrift across many parts of the lake.
The OD soon raised AP over A postponing racing for the day, but with the storm potentailly intensifying, and no positive interest from anyone wishing to sail, the decision has been made to postpone Sunday’s racing as well.
The winds are testing how well boats are tied down, and some members have been checking/retying some that are moving, but it may be worth a visit to the club to make sure your property is safe and secure.
The forecast for Sunday is dreadful. Will the Bass micro-climate win over?
Let us know if you intend to come down so we can manage racing/rescue cover as necessary.
The first camping weekend of the season benefitted from drier and sunnier weather than expected in the recent longer term forecast. The wind generally came in from the south, though it occasionally veered to the SW as it swung around Sale fell, creating a shadow on the course area, and easing the wind.
There were 32 boats on the water, and it was some consistent sailing by Dave/Lynn in their GP that won them the Celebrity Glass trophy with 3 points, ahead of Matt/Oliver in a RS200, and Rob in his Phantom.
Grace hosted a quiz on Saturday evening in aid of her World Challenge trip
Despite a mirror like lake at 9am on Sunday, the wind quickly filled in from the SE again to create some exciting racing conditions. The rain stayed away, and there was plenty of sunshine, but the temperature remained cold.
There were many powerful reaches which resulted in various boats practicing their capsizing skills, emphasising the need for good drysuits! As ever, the wind veered to the ESE, and eased for a while giving some relief to the sailors, but overall the conditions were testing for those just starting their racing season.
Monday’s forecast wasn’t very palitable, with predicted winds of force 4 gusting 6, no sun, and the risk of rain, so many campers opted to pack up and return home early. However, the wind didn’t generally rise above force 3, and the weather fortunately stayed dry, though, with no sun, it was bitterly cold!
In the F15s, there was some close racing between new members Dave/Jackie Gebhard and Pete Kassell, with Dave winning both races and the Easterly Trophy overall.
Dave Lawson in a Laser had more consistent racing to win the handicap Easter Trophy with Steve/Ruth in their Enterprise 2nd, and Rob Cook in a Phantom 3rd. Due to the weather conditions, Pix/Matt joined forces in a B14, but a capsize scuppered their chances, so they went for a play.
Phil/Oliver Smith had three straight wins in their Mirror, winning the MT Image Trophy, with Alex/Phoebe Leonard 2nd, and Andy/Isabelle Tunicliffe 3rd