The ONE Bassenthwaite Lake Sailing Week - Days 6-9
by Mik Chappell 10 Aug 2015 21:28 BST
1-9 August 2015
By way of a contrast to the 'hoolie' experienced earlier in the week Thursday was placid for the morning's Martini Challenge Trophy. A very light westerly wind ensured the course, and those following later in the day, would remain in sight of the club grounds. It was good to see Roger Errington from Derwent Reservoir SC back in action, and being the winning Flying Fifteen's crew after illness cut short his previous visit to the Regatta.
The most amusing incident was when the crew of the leading Enterprise fell out several boat lengths from the line. He hung on to the mainsheet and eventually crossed in third. Not sure how legal it was but the result stood!
The Lifeboat Silver Salver, the second pursuit race in two days followed, this time with even more entries than on the previous day. The Mirrors again held off the rest of the fleet until the final minutes but two boats got through at the death, the Bass boat of and Andy & Rob Smith beating the Leigh & Lowton Phantom of Paul Allen by a short forestay fitting. The Royal Windermere Mirror of Robert Richardson & Sandy Simpson finished third on this occasion.
With bright sunshine and a steady wind, an Evening Race was inserted into proceedings for the first time. The caterers agreed to serve full meals from the Galley at a later than normal hour. The event was highly successful and was enjoyed by all. Matt Lulam Robinson from TCSC sailing his D-Zero took the win calculated on boat PY. Steve Hunt sailing for Pilkington SC was second in a Solo.
The John Peel Tankard on Friday morning saw glorious sunshine but a 60 minute delay before wind filled in from the North. There were many holes and boats in a number of classes were marooned for minutes on end. This allowed others who had not hit the front of their Fleets before to do so and produced some different results.
Friday afternoon saw the Ladies, Juniors and Sixty Plus event being held. It produced an interesting overall result with a Senior first, a Lady second and a Junior third out of the 50 starters! Mike Fairlamb & Eric Smith from Bass took the Senior Award in their GP14, Karen Bretherton & Lisa Woods from Etherow were first Ladies and Robert Richardson & Sandy Simpson from Royal Windermere were the leading Juniors.
Unfortunately the race was marred by a collision which left a competitor with a fractured arm. But it did show up the competence of the Safety Crews and on shore support in getting him transferred to hospital with the minimum of delay.
The final weekend's racing consisted of a 4 race series with each of the 9 classes competing for their own trophy. 3 races were held on Saturday with the final one on Sunday morning.
Both days had light to medium south westerly winds and, on Saturday in particular, it was sunny and warm. There were 135 entrants, the largest number in any series or race in the Regatta. Several had arrived just for the final weekend and these included Royal Windermere's Steve Goacher / Andy Weatherspoon who took three bullets on Saturday in the Flying Fifteen fleet and Pilkington's Royston Taggart / Steve Blackburn who did likewise in their Enterprise.
These final days of the Regatta are not called The Whisky Weekend for nothing and the final prizegiving was dominated by products from lead sponsor Lakes Distillery. There were several special awards, the main one going to Paul & Jude Allen from Leigh & Lowton for their overall performance throughout the Event. It ended with a heartfelt speech of thanks to the host club by Nigel O'Donnell from Swarkestone who had also taken three wins over the weekend.
But Bassenthwaite's Regatta is not solely about competition sailing having a very strong social and family emphasis. This year two notable additional events took place. The Club's Official Starter and his wife celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary and were congratulated by many of the helms and crews he had flagged off the line as well as their receiving a card from the Queen.
Towards the other end of the age spectrum, Thursday's OD took his girlfriend out on the Committee Boat between races ostensibly to check on the wind. But he had arranged for a boat to sail close by. And when the kite was raised is was emblazoned with the Words Marry Me? She was thrilled by the Proposal and the Club has yet another couple brought together through sailing!
Results: