Bass Week 2008

Results

First Weekend, Monday, Tuesday, Nairn Pursuit, Wednesday, Thursday, RNLI Pursuit, Friday, Ladies/Junior/60+, Final Weekend

Let Us Know Your Thoughts

Bass Week is over for another year.

We are sending out emails to most entrants that gave us their details so they can give us some feedback.

If you were there could you spare 5 minutes to complete the online questionnaire so that we can take views into account when preparing for next year’s regatta. As a bit of encouragement, there will be a £25 Bass Week voucher for the 25th, 50th and 75th completed form received. However, you are welcome to submit the form anonymously if you so wish.

Thanks for being part of this year’s event, and we hope you enjoyed it enough to tell your friends and come back next year!

Very best wishes for the rest of the sailing season.

Complete Questionnaire at www.bassenthwaite-sc.org.uk/questionnaire

Thanks for your feedback which can be viewed here. Congratulations to Sue Jones on winning a £25 for submitting the 25th response

SUNDAYThunderstorms lit the sky through the late night – perhaps it helped the revellers see what they were doing as they decorated the flagpole?!

As forecast, there were intermittent showers prior to racing, but we’re not sure what happened to the sunny spells! As the fleets ventured out for the final race of the series and the regatta, the wind and rain set in. The winds were very blustery and there was much dumping of wind from main sails and jibs – not that was enough to save all from capsizing. Many others were caught out on reaches or gybe marks

Unfortunately the wet weather means there’ll be many tents and awnings being taken home wet!

At the final prize giving of the regatta, some special trophies were awarded.

Dave Ovington Award went to Paul Allen and Jude Pryde for the best overall performance in the fast handicap fleet for the second year running

Sam Hall was awarded the Hi-Jinx Trophy for best overall performance by a Bass helm under 19

Mike Moore with Kayla Sheard and Big E won the Miners Trophy for the best performing Bass Flying 15

The Transom Trophy for a junior helm showing particular courage and character throughout the regatta was awarded to Rebecca Cox

 

Typical isn’t it! The sun came out after the prize giving and allowed those still on site the chance to take down their awnings and tents in a relatively dry condition.

But that’s it for another year and as we’re already getting requests for the date of next year’s regatta please note it will run from 1 – 9 August 2009

 

SATURDAYEveryone’s been looking forward to some wind, but now that it’s here they seem very reluctant. Perhaps not surprising due to the nature and severity of the gusts. A very depleted fleet went out, many of which capsized, and many of which completed the shortened course.

The rain doesn’t make it any more pleasant!

The wind and rain have eased – but for how long?! Well it held off for the rest of the afternoon. The wind swung to the south west as forecast, and strengthened again, but not as much as for the first race. The capsizes continued but all three races were held. There are some achy, weary sailors around – will they have the energy to dance the night away into the early hours? I guess so!

 

FRIDAYIs it really Friday? The better weather allowed an early start at 10am for the RNLI Pursuit, but the winds were not kind and there were many holes. Thursday mornings race followed, but the wind was equally cruel and it resulted in the Friday morning race being cancelled in favour of the Junior/Ladies/Over 60s race

This year the RNLI Pursuit was sponsored by Talisker whisky, and the numerous winners are all gathered below. For those that missed out, the next chance to win some whisky is not too far away – this weekend in fact!

Commodore Steve Hunt at the start of the 3rd prize giving of the weekAll the winners of the Talisker Whisky

Our resident DJ has advised that we’ve gone upmarket – last year’s regatta song was Combine Harvester, but this year it’s John Denver’s Country Roads! (though not his version). What could it be next year?!

Ever lost your car keys? Well the Commodore (or was it his son?) managed to lose his. Fortunately they retraced their steps and decided they’d been thrown into the rubbish bins – not a very nice job for someone, but they found them!

 

THURSDAYAs you may have spotted from the webcam, the lake is mirror like. The rain has passed through and will hopefully stay away! No such luck! The rain came in with a vengeance, and was monsoonal for the best part of an hour, but it has eased and the wind is starting to fill in from the forecast direction. It is likely that at least one race will be sailed as the forecast is for the breeze to strengthen as the afternoon goes on.

While the sailors are waiting they have a chance to relocate their tents to less waterlogged areas as shown above! Again, many hands make light work

The Bass ladies have opted to go to Armathwaite Hall for afternoon tea –  ooooohhh! With a bit of luck they’ll be able to sit outside and watch the racing from afar (it they’re really that interested!!!)

After many hours waiting, the attempt to start racing was abandoned at 4pm. Racing will commence at 10am on Friday

 

WEDNESDAYAn overcast and damp start to the morning, with a SW breeze much as forecast, so today’s two race series could be sailed in some reasonable (sailing) conditions!

How wrong can the forecast be?!!

A power cut delayed racing for a short while, but shortly after the race started the wind faded and started to spin (very, very lightly!), and to add insult to injury it rained/drizzled for most of the morning. Things brightened up in the afternoon and it seemed as if the wind had settled from the south when the OD sent the fleet half way down the lake. As ever, it changed its mind and made for a long race. The conditions over the two race series resulted in positions being topsy turvy, and many frayed tempers!

Heavy showers, and thunderstorms nearby set in for the rest of the evening – no barbeques tonight! But the disco tempted many of the less weary sailors out for a late night drink and dance

 

TUESDAYAnother bright day ahead but not a lot of wind forecast 🙁

The wind was sufficient to get the fleets around the courses, though a large wind shift for an hour during the afternoon pursuit race meant at one stage al the proposed beats had been lost! However, with about 20 mins to go, the wind filled in from the south again and resulted in a few capsizes, and it was to be this that wiped out Mik Chappell’s large lead in his Mirror in a matter of minutes. Andy and Emma Smith won the race in an RS200.

The evening’s entertainment comprises a car treasure hunt and Gladiators match!

The showers put an early end to the Gladiators competition, but not before Andy T had the opportunity to almost knock out girlfriend Lucy who was a bit stunned after a barrage of blows in the final round. Conscience got the better of him and he had to buy her some champagne as part of his apology….

The car treasure hunt went on somewhat longer, with 13 teams entered, organiser Claire was getting a bit concerned when her niece Emily’s team had not returned by 10pm. It was to be 10:50 before they got back, having thoroughly enjoyed the challenging questions, as did the other competitors.

Just be careful who you speak to – Just a little anecdote that amused one member.

At the weekend, a certain girl was asked by one of the red seals, “Remind me of your name?”
“It’s Thea” she replied.
“Oh yes, I knew it began with an ‘F’!”.

MONDAYWhat a glorious morning – mirror like lake with the blinding sun peering over the hills from Caldbeck reflecting on the lake into the clubhouse. With a morning off sailing many took the opportunity to do something different, whether it be walking up Sale Fell (Claire really should have taken a bigger bottle of water and a map!), or going for a mountain bike ride (was that wise for Toggle as hew was to be OD and fell off?)

The wind did fill in over the course of the morning and was topped up by a sea breeze – not really the best direction for a race around the lake, but it didn’t stop Toggle sending them round it. Shortly after the fast handicap fleet left the main bay, the effects of Sale Fell kicked in and the wind started to have fun (mainly as the wind seemed to be coming down vertically and spreading). Unfortunately the lead boat got lost and took the Musto Skiffs in the wrong direction, which proved to be their downfall because when they realised the error the wind dumped them.

The many holes in the wind proved to be challenging, but not surprisingly the same faces ended up in the lead

The glorious weather continued and the barbeques were out again, before a group played live music late into the evening

 

SUNDAYThe forecast for the day is 15mph winds gusting 26mph! Should be enough to keep the rescue crews fully occupied! Hopefully the showers will not materialise

Well the forecast was almost right – showers! The first one was particularly heavy just as the fleets were launching for the first race. The next one, again heavy just before the prize giving, but apart from that it was a bright day with sunny intervals.

The commodore was again OD, but had perhaps enjoyed a little too much punch at his reception last night – to quote Herb, ‘Shunty wasn’t all there’! (How did he spot that?!)

The wind did have some good gusts to get boats planing, but they weren’t as strong as forecast.

The evening’s entertainment was a quiz. With a potential maximum score of 65, the first claimants of 50 pts were knocked back when their answers were checked. The next claimants were all on 47 points – but as there were three on equal points, even after checking, it was to be a lucky dip that determined the winner, and it went to Bob’s team – don’t think it had anything to do with Rowan Atkinson, but stranger things have happened!

Leigh & Lowton may have done well on the water, taking 1st to 4th in the laser fleet, but clearly the quiz was not their forte – need we say more?

 

SATURDAYPhew! Bet you thought we’d forgotten about you.After the overnight rain we had a bright dry day, with some good(?) winds that provided spectacular planing condition at times. Only one general recall for the medium handicap fleet. Mayhem in the race office for the first race, but what’s new?!

At last we’ve got through day 1, two races sailed and the results are published. Time for a drink or three at the commodore’s reception followed by a disco

Remember the song ‘What’s she gonna look like with a chimney on her head’? Well just imagine Royston with a pint of beer on his head – even late at night he was able to balance it for a few seconds at least. Is that one of his many party tricks?

What do you remember of 1966? Apparently it was the last time that John Salomonson sailed at Bass Week, and he’s come back for more. There’s no truth in the rumour that it has taken him the last 42 years to recover!!!

Showers forecast for tomorrow, but at least there’ll be some wind pushing them through

 

FRIDAYHow many people are needed to erect an awning?

Visitors are starting to arrive, and are suffering the occasional shower whilst erecting their accommodation for the week, but no doubt it won’t be be long before the barbeques are lit!

The adjoining photo could be captioned all hands to the pump,  or many hands make light work  or was it a just a case of seeing how many you can get in an awning to make it really awkward to erect?!

The day did dry up but the night made up for it with some torrential rain!

Beware I was introduced to a Bass Week virgin! One that likes to take photos of people in unexpected positions too. So come on Ainsling, hand over the goods and enjoy your Bass Week indoctrination, especially as both you and helm Ray Cook are sailing an RS200 for the first time!


This page was last updated on 05 November, 2008