Flying Fifteen Team Racing at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club

Flying Fifteen Team Racing at Bassenthwaite © Roy Blackburn

Flying Fifteen Team Racing at Bassenthwaite © Roy Blackburn

A goodly contingent of 8 boats from Derwent Reservoir and a lone adventurer from Scotland travelled to Bass SC to take part in the annual Flying Fifteen team racing event on the weekend of 20/21 October. Together the nine visiting boats provided three teams set to challenge the three teams from the home club. With Steve Goacher due to arrive on the Sunday it was agreed that the team lying in last position overnight would reap the benefit of having Steve as an addition to their team on day two.

The overnight forecast was amended on Saturday morning to suggest that the projected 12 mph breeze was not going to materialise - nor did it. The fleet launched in pleasant sunshine and a gentle F2. The conditions, however, were not as benign as the casual observer might have been led to believe. The wind strength was extremely variable over the race course, with bands of pressure favouring some and heaping ordure on others.

The early leaders of the first race, Neil Platt and Phil Davenport from the home club, headed the fleet for most of the first lap, only to end up in 9th place. Terry Crumpton and John Mathie from DRSC were consistently in the leading vanguard and managed, eventually, to find their way to the front and take the gun. Simon Longstaff and Jon Denwood from Bass found a few more ladders than snakes and sailed well to finish second, with John Hardisty and Dave Christie from DRSC also improving through the race to finish third.

The second race was sailed in a gradually fading breeze. Terry Crumpton and John Mathie showed great consistency in the testing conditions, taking the gun for a second time. Former FF hot shots Neil Currie and Rory Yardley, who have recently returned to the class, recovered from their eighth place in Race 1 to take second, with Dave Douglass and Steve Turley from DRSC improving to third.

Terry Crumpton and John Mathie were overnight leaders from Simon Longstaff and and Jon Denwood, with Dave Douglass and Steve Turley in third. This meant that a visiting team, 'The FFlipin' Missfits' were the leading team overnight with 'The Bass Tards' in second. 'The Better guys' were just a point behind in third.

Sunday was as perfect an Autumn day as could be wished for, with glorious sunshine and a perfect azure sky. The wind also consented to play its part, providing, if anything, rather more than the forecast 3 mph southerly.

'The Good Guys' being the last placed team overnight, were somewhat dismayed when Steve Goacher failed to appear on Sunday morning, to take the place of Mr Average in their team, particularly with Mark Somerville failing to produce the form that saw him become RS Vareo National Champion earlier in the season.

The fleet started on time with Simon Longstaff and Jon Denwood showing early pace and leading the fleet. Sadly the wind gradually evaporated and the Race Officer had no option but to shorten the course. Simon and Jon were unable to hold onto the lead and in the closing stages of the race, with the lake almost mirrored, John Hardisty and Terry Crumpton both slipped past to take first and second respectively.

After a break for lunch had failed to provide any improvement in the conditions, racing was abandoned for the day. The final finishing order was Terry Crumpton and John Mathie first; John Hardisty and Dave Christie second and Simon Longstaff and Jon Denwood in third.

The 'FFlipin' Missfits' took the team prize with 'The Better Guys' in second place.

The main highlight of a team racing prize giving is the award of the Grotty Potty. The Potty is awarded each year for a notable failure. The leading nominees for this year's award were all Bass members.

The first nominee was Ian Preston, who had volunteered to open the club and cook breakfasts, make sandwiches and generally run the galley. He actually arrived at lunch time and promptly sat down to drink a cup of coffee. Sadly his nomination had to be scratched as he wasn't a contestant.

Secondly Mark Somerville was nominated for being a current National Champion and recording results of 13,11,8.

The final and successful nomination was Neil Platt who led most of the first race only to finish 9th and whose final score line read 9,9,13.

Overall Results: