After heavy overnight rain had cleared, the sun came out with the wind was from an ominous south westerly direction. Alan Nicholson was first to fall foul to one of the sudden windshifts, and capsized before racing started. Roy and Michaela did a bit of larking around on the start, forcing Ian Macpherson over the start line prematurely. (Turns out that Roy didn’t even know how long to the start!). Next casualty of the day, apart from William and Lesley who were first to the windward mark only to get their downwind tactics wrong and let three RS400s through in one leg, was Nigel and Laura in a GP when they gybed and capsized at the second mark. The third casualty was to be robin and Toggle when the wing wangs jambed, leaving their pole drooping to starboard (not a pretty sight, and fairly ineffective on port tack!).
There were to be more casualties in the second race – Roy and Michaela suffered rigging problems before the race and had to beach their boat to get the jib back up. All was obviously not well, because before the race was over, their main was flogging at half mast!
Another casualty of the day was the F15 fleet, as another boat is due to leave the club with the sale of Ian Campbell’s boat.
Sunday racing was held in strengthening south westerly winds, with beats into the notorious mark 9 – never think you’re on the lay line, as the winds will only shift to prove you wrong. The tight reaches tested the asymmetrics – should they bear away and take the gust, or try to continue to fly the genniker during near close hauled conditions.
In the afternoon race Toggle stated that he and Robin were doing a demonstration sail, shame they were so far ahead that no-one could see how they did it. In fact, they were doing so well, that they lapped the tail enders, and of course won the race on handicap. Alan Nicholson finished the weekend the way he had started – with a capsize!
When the results for the weekend were calculated on a fleet basis, the overall series went to Sunday’s rescue boat driver – Steve Hunt (not that he hadn’t worked for in the races that he had sailed)
Meanwhile, the Scottish Areas at Loch Ken who knows what was happening other than David and Lynne Lawson had a couple of wins under their belt, while Telf and Andy Smith were having a better Sunday than they had Saturday – perhaps they found some Scottish lubrication overnight?
Ginge and Jose made a sharp exit from the Scottish areas and decided to ‘have a cup of tea’ in a field – they must have been frantically stirring the tea to get so stuck in the mud!
Final Results:
CELEBRITY GLASS TROPHY
PN Boat Helm Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts
1 1210 S HUNT RS400 1 1 DNS DNS 1 1 DNS OD 7
2 1049 M SOMERVILLE RS400 RTD 3 3 2 2 5 DNS 5 15
3 937 W CARRUTHERS RS400 3 4 2 RTD 5 8 4 7 17
4 2324 R BLACKBURN LARK 6 6 5 DNS 3 RTD RTD 3 23
5 164552 J WALKER LAS DNS DNS DNS DNS 4 3 3 2 41
6 1072 R DAWSON RS400 DNS DNS DNS DNS RTD 2 1 1 47
7 167828 I MACPHERSON LAS DNS DNS DNS DNS 7 7 2 4 49
8 130338 RiCRITCHLEY LAS DNS DNS DNS DNS 6 8 7 6 56
9 13176 D LAWSON GP OD DNS 1 1 DNS DNS DNS DNS 63
10 1148 N CURRIE RS400 2 2 OD DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 65
11 1125 JoHALLIDAY RS400 DNS DNS DNS DNS 8 11 8 10 66
12 1140 J CHRISTIE VORTEX 5 5 4 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 72
13 40894 S HALL TOP DNS DNS DNS DNS 12 12 9 RTD 75
14 1146 P BURNELL RS400 4 8 6 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 76
15 125514 R BRYCE LAS DNS DNS DNS DNS 9 10 6 DNS 83
16 1246 R RHODES OSPREY DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 5 9 101
17 13867 D NICHOLSON GP 7 7 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 101
18 13655 N LEWIS GP DNS DNS DNS DNS 10 6 DNS DNS 103
19 103 A NICHOLSON VARIO RTD DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS RTD DNS 111
20 6905 N GARRISON D 18 DNS DNS DNS DNS 11 13 DNS DNS 111
21 10 A BAINBRIDGE TOPPER DNS DNS DNS DNS 13 14 DNS DNS 114
22 400 T KNOWLES RS300 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 3 DNS DNS 119
23 3673 S BEATTIE FF DNS DNS DNS DNS OD DNS DNS DNS 119
24 13118 V BELL GP DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 8 124
25 160516 T CHITTENDEN LAS DNS DNS RTD DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 124
26 69960 M CHAPPEL FF RTD DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 127
27 338 R YARDLEY RS300 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS RTD 129
28 809 B SMITH RS800 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS RTD DNS 129
Points for RTD = 11 9 8 4 14 16 13 13
Points for DSQ = 11 9 8 4 14 16 13 13
Points for DNS = 29
5 races to count
Handicap Open Meeting
Excellent turnout of 33 boats, 29 in the fast handicap fleet and the rest in the slow handicap fleet. The first race started with strong winds for the first lap but eased and backed to the north east which led to some very tight reaches. 59er was the first to the windward mark, with Robin Dawson and Toggle Cowan second in their RS400 (will we ever hear the last of this one?) but they soon took the lead. John Riley had an excellent first beat in an RS300.
The first slow handicap race was dominated by the Emma Houlihan and Holly Scott from RWYC in their Mirror.
A wind shift just before the start of the second race meant several boats only just managed to cross the line on starboard tack. Robin Dawson was not so lucky, and he ended up attached to the inner port marker. Neil Currie and Phil Smith in an RS400 were first to the windward mark with a clear lead. Steve Hunt with Becky Dawson had taken the right route up the beat this time, with William Carruthers and Lesley Braddock not too far behind (at that stage!). Neil Currie benefited from a very fast reach to increase his lead. M Fearnley in his 59er started to pull back on Neil on the second lap, and D Sykes in an RS400 from Ullswater pulled through to second RS400. I Baillie in his RS300 had had a good first beat and continued to maintain his position as the race went on. Scumperjack with Joe Roberts in an RS400 made ground on several boats
The slow handicap fleet had a good start with all but Mike Chappell on port tack! The Hemmingway brothers in their RS Feva cleared a 200 yard lead on the first beat, followed by Sam Hall in his Topper. The Mirror girls closed in on the RS Feva as the wind eased, and eventually took the lead. Sam Hall did pass the RS Feva only to be overtaken again some time later.
A late night, drinking the bar dry, probably due to several people trying to keep their throats lubricated for the karaoke. Word has it that Elvis (who is known to live in the Maryport area) was in the building and gave a late night rendition of who knows what! Perhaps fortunately, the wind was slow to get up for Sunday’s early start, and it was 1pm before it had settled down to the forecast westerly direction, which gradually picked up as the afternoon’s racing continued.
Steve Hunt, with regular crew Ruth Critchley, was back on form in the lighter winds and was first to the windward mark, having taken benefit of the shifts on the port side of the beat. Neil Currie and Dave Sykes were close on Steve’s transom, but the mass of boats that followed blanketed each other from the few gusts that were passing through, leaving the leaders to break away from the fleet. The close reach along the bottom of the course favoured the single handed boats. The leaders continued to have a good race, and Dave Sykes broke through to second on the next beat. However, tricky winds around the windward mark gave Robin Dawson a chance to pick the best route and move into third position. Mark Fearnley in the 59er continued to nibble away at the leading boats and succeeded in crossing the line first. Some close racing in the RS400s resulted in Dave Sykes pipping Robin Dawson on the line, and closely followed by Neil Currie – with just six seconds between them all. Andy Downie in a Phantom had an excellent final lap taking six places. It was to be Steve Hunt that would win the race on handicap.
With the final race being held back to back, no-one knew the effects of the handicaps on everyone’s position, or who they should cover. The wind was continuing to freshen, and the Mark Fearnley in his 59er was first to the windward mark, followed by Andrew Elliott in a Blaze, and a Phantom. The run to the next mark led to some tactical gybing to pick up the gusts. The lead boat managed to lose its way on the next beat(!), but it had no detrimental effect on the leading 59er. Racing continued to be very close, and it was the next reach which helped to break the pack a little, with Mark Fearnley narrowly escaping capsizing on one of the gusts. Chris Whiteley in his Phantom held a good, threatening, position throughout the race and the adjusted results gave him first position. No one could afford to ease up on the final beat, and some gusts almost caught out the Phantoms, while the 59er was close to capsizing to windward in an unexpected hole!
Final Results
FAST HANDICAP OPEN
PN Boat Helm Crew Club 1 2 3 4 Pts
1 1186 C WHITELEY PHANTOM ROTHERHAM 4 1 5 1 6
2 2 B COKAYNE PHANTOM STAUNTON HAROL 3 7 3 2 8
3 445 I BAILLIE RS300 DALGETTIE BAY 1 5 4 4 9
4 715 A ELLIOTT BLAZE ROTHERHAM 5 4 13 3 12
5 1210 S HUNT RS400 BASS 8 8 1 7 16
6 17 C BARRIE PHANTOM REDESMERE 10 13 2 5 17
7 1173 A DOWNIE PHANTOM GLOSSOP 8 6 12 6 20
8 1148 N CURRIE RS400 BASS 11 2 8 11 21
9 1072 R DAWSON RS400 BASS 2 RTD 7 13 22
10 1 S ELLIOTT PHANTOM ROTHERHAM 12 3 9 10 22
11 1259 D SYKES RS400 UYC 6 10 6 12 22
12 108 M FEARNLEY 59ER MORECAMBE 7 9 11 9 25
13 937 W CARRUTHERS RS400 BASS 18 17 14 14 45
14 450 M HENMAN RS300 SUNDERLAND 14 16 22 17 47
15 13655 J RILEY GP14 BASS DNS DNS 10 8 48
16 338 R YARDLEY RS300 BASS 20 12 18 18 48
17 1036 G MORRIS PHANTOM ROYAL FINDHORN 19 18 16 15 49
18 174900 P HOULIHAN LASER RADIAL RWYC 15 19 20 16 50
19 143083 L FIELDING LASER DRSC 17 14 DNS 21 52
20 1049 M SOMERVILLE RS400 BASS 13 11 DNS DNS 54
21 435 M AYRE RS300 BERWICK 21 21 21 19 61
22 1069 D MORROW PHANTOM LOUGH FOYLE 22 20 23 20 62
23 1146 P BURNELL RS400 BASS 23 24 17 24 64
24 362 M DAVIES RS300 THORNTON STEWA DNS DNS 15 22 67
25 452 I DAVIES RS300 DRSC RTD 23 19 DNS 68
26 4273 C HORN LASER4000 LEIGH & LOWTON 24 22 24 23 69
27 431 G MARSHALL RS300 ST MARYS LOCH DNS 15 DNS DNS 75
28 400 J RILEY RS300 BASS 16 DNS DNS DNS 76
29 958 J CLAYTON PHANTOM BLACKPOOL & FL DNS RTD DNS DNS 87
Points for RTD = 26 27 25 25
Points for DSQ = 26 27 25 25
Points for DNS = 30
3 races to count
SLOW HANDICAP OPEN
PN Boat Helm Crew Club 1 2 3 4 Pts
1 70346 E HOULIHAN MIRROR RWYC 1 1 1 DNS 3
2 69960 M CHAPPELL MIRROR SH BASS 2 2 2 1 5
3 11 S HALL TOPPER BASS 3 3 3 2 8
4 382 G HEMMINGWAY RS FEVA BASS 4 4 DNS DNS 13
Points for RTD = 5 5 4 3
Points for DSQ = 5 5 4 3
Points for DNS = 5
3 races to count