Less than two weeks to go until the Bala Long Distance & Grand Prix
by Ken Hull 5 Jun 2018 11:42 BST
16-17 June 2018
Bala Long Distance Weekend © John Hunter
Saturday 16th June sees the ever-popular Long Distance Handicap race, then on Sunday 17 June it's the Grand Prix. Both events are Open to dinghies, catamarans, & keel boats under 25ft overall length, who have a current PYR.
You can enter for both events & make a weekend of it or just do one of them.
Long Distance Handicap Race - Saturday 16th June
The Long distance is a handicap race, with all boats starting together, quite a spectacle, then off to the far end of the lake over 3 miles away.
The fastest boats usually take about 3 hours to complete three or more laps of the course.
Grand Prix - Sunday 17th June
The Grand Prix is a new event only introduced in 2017, similar to the Formula One qualifying process, it is a handicap event, to see who can put in the fastest corrected lap time, on a 6 mile lap of Bala Lake (approximately).
The start gate at the NE end of the lake will be open for 30 minutes every hour, between 11am & 3.30pm.
Boats will sail through the start gate then down the lake around a mark 3 miles away, then back through a finish gate, near the club.
Competitors will be permitted to have as many goes as they like to improve on their lap time, & a leader board (updated through out the day) will show current corrected positions.
This is where the tactics come in, do you start as soon as possible ?, or perhaps wait a bit, until the forecast looks a bit better ?.
You can make this as strenuous an event as you want, or if you are confident your lap time can't be beaten, you can, take it easy on shore & enjoy the spectacle.
For the Notice of Race go to www.balasc.org.uk
Online Entry before 14th June and get 10% Discount. Visit webcollect.org.uk/balasc/event/bala-long-distance-and-bala-grand-prix-16th-17th-june