Inaugural Mirror Spring Championship at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club

Inaugural Mirror Spring Championship at Bassenthwaite © Nick Smith

Bassenthwaite's inaugural Mirror Spring Championship, sponsored by Ginger Boats, opened in dramatic fashion as Storm Dave forced racing to be brought forward on Saturday.

Strong winds caused major retirements, though James and Meris Date took the first win ahead of Will and Izzy Crocker, with Phil and Lucy Smith third. Andy and Olivia Tunicliffe won race two before conditions became too severe to continue. It was encouraging to see so many juniors braving the weather, including several all-junior helm-and-crew teams who handled the conditions impressively.

With Sunday blown off entirely, the fleet swapped sailing boots for walking boots and headed up Sale Fell. From the summit they could see the gale tearing across the lake, possibly even spotting the shifting patterns from above (unlikely at Bass!).

By Monday the transformation was complete, sunshine, a steady southerly and long, tactical upwind legs welcomed the full fleet back onto the water. Phil and Lucy Smith dominated with two wins to secure the championship, followed by James and Meris in second, Andy and Olivia in third, and Will and Izzy in fourth.

Bassenthwaite Sailing Club's famous social programme, organised by Ellie, kept spirits high despite the storm, with crafting sessions, live music and disco bingo entertaining both adults and juniors.

Inaugural Mirror Spring Championship at Bassenthwaite - photo © Nick Smith

Overall a blast on and off the water, and useful preparation ahead of this year's Mirror Nationals, also being held in the North and on a lake, giving sea sailors a chance to practise shifty inland sailing.

Overall Results: