Ullswater Yacht Club Cruiser & Keelboat Weekend
by Sue Giles 28 Aug 15:08 BST
25-26 August 2018
Ullswater YC Cruiser and Keelboat Weekend prize winners © Sue Giles
Twenty-five boats took part in two days of racing at Ullswater Yacht Club's special Cruiser and Keelboat Weekend on August 25 and 26.
The club was very pleased with the turnout at the new event which combined racing for Tempests, Flying Fifteens and two classes of Cruiser, White Sails and Full Sails. It was also the Tempest Northern Championships and the final event of the Flying Fifteen Lakeland Grand Prix traveller series.
Racing was south of the club on the stretch of lake between Sharrow Bay and Howtown. Saturday brought sunshine and fluctuating winds from all variations of a westerly direction creating a course-setting headache for race officer Brian Moreton. The Tempests and Flying Fifteens sailed three windward/leeward races with the first mark in three different positions over the day.
The biggest fleet was the Flying Fifteens, with ten boats taking part. Race one winners were visitors Neil Currie and Howard Green from Bassenthwaite SC and Mike Moore and Kayla Sheard, also from Bassenthwaite, were second. The next two races were won by Dave and Sue Giles of UYC but with the visitors taking the second and third places it was all to sail for on Sunday. In the Tempests, Mike and Paul Adams won race one and race three with Ian Modral and Robin Higgins the winners of race two.
The Cruisers Full Sails also had three races, all three were won by Jo and Phil Laycock of UYC in their newly-bought Jenneau. The Cruisers White Sails had two races, with first places on handicap taken by Colin Brown and Derek Pierce in a Beneteau and Dave Hansford sailing single-handed in a Pegasus.
The decision by the race officer to hold three races on Saturday because of the Sunday forecast proved to be correct - an increasingly wild and gusty South-easterly greeted competitors on Sunday morning.
The course for the Tempests and Flying Fifteens involved a demanding beat in vicious gusts straight down the lake to the Howtown narrows and an exciting spinnaker leg back to the finish. The Tempests managed just one Sunday race in the strengthening winds and by winning, Modral/Higgins took the event and the Northern Championships.
Mike Moore and Kayla Sheard won race four in the Flying Fifteens, and with the Giles team taking second and Currie/Green third, it was all down to the final race. After a close spinnaker leg to the finish, Dave Giles and Neil Currie crossed the line together, but by also counting two firsts and a second, Dave and Sue Giles took the overall event with Neil Currie and Howard Green coming second and a third place in the final race for Moore/Sheard gave them third overall.
Many of the cruisers thought the winds were too extreme for racing so there was a much smaller turnout on Sunday. David Thomson and Neil Sayer of UYC won the only race of the day in the White Sails fleet and David Hansford was second. They drew overall, both on 6 points with Thomson/Sayer taking the event by winning the last race. Ray Harle and John Wales won the Cruiser Full Sails race to take second overall, Jo and Phil Laycock's three firsts from Saturday won them the event.
As well as the event prizes, the trophy for the first Flying Fifteen Lakeland Grand Prix was presented at the prize giving by Class Secretary Keith Jamieson. Three Opens were part of the new travellers' series, Windermere, Bassenthwaite and Ullswater. The overall winner was Neil Currie with various crews from Bassenthwaite SC.
Thanks to event organiser Brian Moreton and his team of volunteers.
Prize Winners:
Tempest Northerns
1. Ian Modral & Robin Higgins UYC, 6pts
2. Mike & Paul Adams, UYC, 8pts
Flying Fifteens
1. Dave & Sue Giles, UYC, 5.5pts
2. Neil Currie & Howard Green, Bassenthwaite SC, 7.5pts
3. Mike Moore & Kayla Sheard, Bassenthwaite SC, 8pts
F15 Lakeland Grand Prix (Windermere, Bassenthwaite, Ullswater)
1. Neil Currie & various crews
2. Mike Moore & Kayla Sheard
3. Christian Barnes & Denise Sykes, UYC
Cruiser White Sails
1. David Thomson & Neil Sayer, Hunter Europa, UYC, 6pts
2. Dave Hansford, Pegasus, UYC, 6pts
Cruiser Full Sails
1. Jo & Phil Laycock, Jenneau, UYC, 3pts
2. Ray Harle & John Wales, Hunter Europa, UYC, 5pts