The forecast rain didn’t appear in the morning. The wind swung to the S, and with a F2-3, conditions were ideal to send the faster fleets the full length of the lake for the morning race.

The RNLI Silver Salver pursuit was raced after lunch. With the southerly breeze continuing, the OD opted to have a windward/leeward course – the windward mark being 3 miles away! The wind increased through the 38 minute start sequence to F4, an ideal breeze for sailing secretary John Reekie’s Musto Skiff. He pursued the rest of the fleet for the remaining 52 minutes. As on Tuesday, Phil/Oliver Smith in their Mirror got through to lead the fleet which, despite the wind easing for the 3 mile run down to the leeward mark, they held until the last few minutes of the race when they were passed by John who carried on and won, with Phil/Oliver 2nd

A colder start to the day, and some occasional drizzle, but there was still plenty of wind for the three race series.

Numbers sailing were reduced to 90 boats due to the continued high winds, which increased as the day went on. The morning course seemed to confuse some  despite having had a lead boat for the initial lap! Many sailors recalled how powerful the seemingly innocuous gusts were (to spectators anyway), and more sailors opted to sit it out whilst watching the thrills and spills on the long offwind legs which challenged even the hardiest of sailors at times. The activity certainly kept the rescue crews busy!

Abbatastic costumes may well adorn some of those dancing the night away at the disco this evening.

After more rain overnight, the skies cleared, giving wall to wall sunshine. The F3 wind was from the SSW, swinging around Sale Fell again, and caused some head scratching for the OD when setting the morning course.

After lunch, the first pursuit of the week was held in winds freshening to F4-5. To spread the fleet out over the 40 minute start sequence, one of the beats was to mark 7 in the narrows near Scarness bay.

The first boat to start was a Tera Sport, with a clear line all to itself, and it was the only boat to be recalled out of all the starts!

All was fine until the main body of the fleet was running down through the narrows, the gusts enabled exciting planing conditions, with added jeopardy of some downdraughts causing various death rolls, Chinese gybes, and a few capsizes! One sailor had scheduled knee replacement surgery cancelled, so came sailing, only to be washed out of his boat!

Phil/Oliver Smith in a Mirror soon broke through to the front of the fleet, and maintaining better progress through the narrows enabled them to create an unassailable lead, winning the race by several minutes.

The second prize giving of the week followed racing.

Photo Gallery has additional photos from this afternoon’s racing.

High winds and rain were forecast, and that’s what appeared.

Morning racing was for youth novices, but cancelled due to wind conditions. In the afternoon, 20 of the hardiest of sailors raced in a mixed handicap fleet with a mass start, and results calculated on average lap basis. There were a few capsizes, various gusts that enabled exciting planing reaches, and unfortunately a broken mast. Finlay Watson towed his own life raft (aka rubber ring) around the course, and probably regretted the level of drag it caused!

Photo Gallery

More overnight rain has cleared, and the wind has filled in from the SW again, but the sun is hiding.

The wind backed to the SSW which meant that Sale Fell had more influence on the course, and caused challenging shifts/soft spots while trying to round mark 9, but when needs must… The rain held off, and with the wind being more blustery in the afternoon race, there were some good planing opportunities, as well as various capsizes to keep rescue crews busy.

The conclusion of the series led to the first prize giving of the regatta.

Evening entertainment in the form of quizzes will keep brains stimulated while bodies rest!

After a week of sunny weather, campers were all set up on Friday before the heavens opened! A good reason to meet up with old friends in the bar?

Racing for the weekend series started this afternoon. The sun stayed out again, perhaps boosting the turnout of 180 boats in 11 fleets. After light winds in the morning, the F3-4 breeze filled in nicely from the WSW offering great sailing conditions, and resulting in a few capsizes. As ever, there were numerous shifts for sailors to contend with!

A few boats were caught OCS by the one minute rule, and there was one general recall

The evening entertainment starts with the commodore’s reception followed by the first disco of the week.

Bass Week 2024 will run from 3rd-11th August. Note it in your diary!

After a long night on the dance floor there was a depleted fleet for the final race of the series, and regatta. There were some occasional light showers, and the wind was lighter than forecast, but brief planing opportunities remained.

The final prize giving followed, at which Commodores Ian and Andrea Preston thanked all that had contributed to prepare for and bring the week to a successful conclusion.

Following the presentation of the prizes for the Cutty Sark Challenge sponsored by The Lakes Distillery, there were some special awards for performance throughout the week

The final weekend and rain has finally moved in, hopefully just for the morning. The wind was available in abundance, so another busy day for the rescue crews!

There was a reduced turnout due to the conditions, and, of those that ventured out, several decided the gusts were of the boat bending type so retired. The changeable wind strength, and gusts, certainly proved testing, but with some great planing at times!

Three races completed, and numerous crews shattered after a challenging, exhilarating, day’s racing, sponsored by The Lakes Distillery. What more could they ask for other than a visit from the chippy, and a late night final fling disco?!

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Friday is here already! The rain has kept a low profile, and the sun been in regular attendance, but it could all be set to change for the weekend. Wind is forecast to be building up throughout the day so there could be challenging, and exciting, conditions ahead…

The windy conditions were sailable, but they ensured the rescue crews were kept busy! The morning race had one determined young sailor sailing for almost 100 minutes!

The conditions did put off many of the usual contenders for the afternoon junior/seniors race, especially as the wasn’t relenting. Although there were numerous capsizes, there weren’t too many squalls to overpower the rescue crews, but the race was kept relatively short. Surprisingly, the day passed without any rain showers! The day’s racing was sponsored by AC Yacht and Boat Surveyors.

Another prize giving followed before some live music later in the evening.

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The temperature has jumped overnight, the wind direction is perfect for sailing around the lake, but the high pressure is likely to limit the wind strength.

However, the wind direction held, and the wind strengthened sufficiently for a course around the lake for all but the two slower fleets. The race was for the Martini Challenge Trophy sponsored by Leyland Leisure Sales.

The afternoon race was the RNLI pursuit sponsored by Bassenthwaite Lakeside Lodges. It was a unique occasion in that all boats were in the same leg of the course at the same time! Well that’s what happens when the wind eases on a 2 mile beat.

The pursuit finished on the 4th leg, 2nd beat of the course, and was won by Mike Fairlamb and Jack Hardie from Bass in a Graduate, with several other boats close on their tail.

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A three race series sponsored by Ginger Boats with an early start and low winds proved challenging for the OD (and series sponsor). As the day went on the wind bedded in, though there were still plenty of shifts to gain or lose places!

The fast handicap fleet were prone to pushing the start and had two general recalls.

A late afternoon flypast from a chinook left some sailors feeling the power of its downdraught. We can’t be certain whether a subsdequent capsize was due to the downdraught or a lack of concentration due to the flypast!

The second prize giving of the week was held early evening, followed by live music till late.

The light northerly breeze was relatively steady until some of fleets had set off, and then it started to swing… Also, there were some inexplicable light patches (even though it is Bass!), but the shifts meant there were opportunities for big gains while competing for the Dubwath Cup, sponsored by Carruthers and Kent Wines.

The afternoon breeze bedded in from the west for the Nairn Pursuit sponsored by Heavenly Fish and Chips. The winds held, there were more exciting reaches and planing conditions, and some very busy mark rounding! However, the sun was in regular attendance, and everyone enjoyed their day’s racing.

Graham Vials and daughter led the pursuit finishing their 90 minute race with a very convincing 210 second lead!

Champagne style conditions were the order of the day with a westerly F3 base wind.

In the morning there was a three race mini series for novice sailors that sailed a windward leeward course in 15 min races. The wind gusts strengthened for the final race resulting in a handful of capsizes. The racing was sponsored by Luchini’s Ice Cream.

After lunch the full fleet racing for the Luffing Cup sponsored by Shake, Waffle and Roll, continued in similar conditions, so sailors were able to enjoy some good planing for the first time during the regatta. No black clouds to disrupt the wind patterns today, but there were plenty sunny intervals!

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No sign of the storms at Bassenthwaite. Sunday started with mirror like conditions, so racing was delayed by 45 minutes allowing the wind to fill in from the west.

Despite the wind bedding in, shortly after the first start it eased considerably for 5-10 minutes before returning.

The wind for the afternoon race seemed to be bolstered by a sea breeze until a black cloud moved in, and reaches turned into beats, then it continued to veer until the initial beats were runs, and the wind finally faded prolonging the race for half the fleet.

Fortunately the black cloud didn’t dump any rain…

The first prize giving of the week for the weekend series followed.

A visit from the fish and chip, and waffle, vans, should re-energise the sailors in time for the hotly contested quiz evening!

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