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The Boat |
Catapult returned to Bassenthwaite as a favourite Bank Holiday event for three days of close racing. Bass remained nothing
if not challenging, and after the hard blow of last year, the event
started in light and fading breezes, but with the promise of more to
follow, delivered in force on Monday.
The courses too followed the Bass
tradition of complex patterns around the upper lake (but with careful
help from a lead safety RIB, and it was only the one simpler course
which brought a
series-changing error.) In spite of these challenges, the same sailors
rose to the top, worked hard, with Gareth Ede able to count five 1st
places, and John Terry gaining a clear second slot. Behind them, racing
was tight: four points covered the next four places, and of the
eleven-strong fleet, seven helms had second or third individual race
places.
In Race
1 in a light
NW breeze
Gareth Ede and Stuart Ede (electing a midline start) and John
Terry (at the starboard end)
gained clean air to pull away from the pack, with Stuart
leading at the windward mark, and all three were then neck and neck as
they finished the long down-wind leg.
Meanwhile, the big chasing fleet
closed up in the decreasing breeze down the run, and approaching the
port-rounding mark, six boats were in line, not predicting the
foreseeable catastrophe, each too late to give the next boat room. In
the resulting five-boat collision, Nigel Harrison (the innocent party on the
inside) was pushed to slew across the bows of the others. Only Nigel,
and George Evans (correctly taking a wide sweep around the mess) escaped
360’ turns. In front, Gareth built a lead in gentle air down the
remaining two legs of the shortened race until way out in front, while
John Terry finally caught Stuart (who had elected not to raise the
dagger-boards on the last long run, and had a top batten not popping
through) Behind, Cliff Antill had climbed out of the chaos best, to move
out to a clear third.
(Below: rigging on the
Bass ramp in front of Scafell looming above the lake.)

In the big bunch start for
Race 2,
Gareth again moved out by starting halfway down the line to get
clean air, but John T on a delayed port tack start went far right to
better breeze, getting to the windward mark first, then unable to hold
off Gareth. These two moved away from the chasing fleet, and in the
ensuing battle, John gained ground on the beats, seeming able to point
higher, but Gareth reasserted his advantage on the reaches. On the final
lap, John tried an early tack onto port but was betrayed by a wind
shift, and Gareth then gained unassailable lead of a whole leg after
picking up a final long gust on the reach back as the wind was dying.
Sunday
dawned with the lake a millpond
(photo below) until ruffles showed the returning light NW, due to be
unstable with a front coming through.

Race 3
got underway with
enough breeze to move briskly,
with Paul and Stuart leading up the first beat after good starts,
but they tacked for the mark too late, allowing Gareth and Cliff to come
through. This pack then entered the second burst of mayhem in the event,
as Gareth rounded the wrong way, having to unwind back round behind the
rest of the fleet, and then hitting the mark. His penalty and Paul’s
360’ after being helpless on port in front of Stuart were negociated in
dying breeze.
Stuart had a healthy lead on the downwind leg but was left
drifting in a wind hole, visibly moving backwards, and the fleet caught
up to create a flotilla of drifting boats. Justin Evans edged into the
lead---standing up to catch whispers of pressure, he could look back to
where the 2010 TT Champion and the 2010 Nationals Champion were becalmed
far far behind. The club saw that no more legs could be completed and
the fleet crept to the line at the next mark, John Terry picking up the
slightest breeze on the left to come in ahead of Stuart, with Nigel
taking third from Alastair Forrest by six inches of bowboard.
(Below: Gareth, Alastair and John
Peperell prepare for Monday's racing, or perhaps a polar expedition.)

Race 4
was delayed until a
light breeze came back, and Paul, seeming stung by the last race, was
well away leading up the first beat, pursued by Gareth. They took time
to locate the next mark on the complex course, and the fleet closed up
until a bit of breeze took Gareth away, building a good lead. The breeze
died again, with huge speed differences between boats inching along and
any able to get in the groove during any slight increase, with places
changing back and forth. Cliff managed
to break from the fleet on the start of the second lap, and he held on to
the gap to come second.
Monday
showed itself a very different day, wind under cloud coming straight
up the lake from SE and promising more in the dark water away from the
shelter at the club, confirmed by a hectic morning in Force 5-6 gusts
(but with only one capsize in the fleet.)
John Peperall elected a cut down Roundhead sail, almost full height but
without the high curved roach,
finding it as fast upwind and reaching but predictably slower
downwind.
In Race 5, Stuart and Cliff stormed a successful
port start across the fleet, heading to the right into strong steady
breeze which Cliff, trapezing from the off, used to build a big lead.
Cliff could dare think he had it in the bag until he missed a mark in
the series of fast reaches and the run in lap 2, gifting the lead to
Gareth, whose light
weight hadn’t held him back, coming through the fleet upwind on trapeze.
The hard race for third became a hard race for second, with places
changing hands over four demanding laps, until John Terry emerged and
held second. Alastair and Stuart alternated until Stuart sailed a tauter
race for third, with George Evans pulling up behind took fifth, again
electing to sail off trapeze.
(Below: a typical
sight at Bass Bank Holiday TT---Gareth Ede looks back at the chasing
pack)

By
Race 6,
stronger gusts were shaking the boats, although the
right tactic upwind was still to stay in the full breeze in the middle.
Downwind, control wasn’t threatened, and the club set a course
zigzagging with reaches across the lake. This time, Stuart and Cliff
as the port end starters were just caught by Alastair starting on the
button at the starboard end, so the fleet streamed away as a pack.
John
Terry just led Stuart at the windward mark, until they headed down
towards the wrong mark (from the previous race) and Gareth (taking second) and
Alastair chased them in a pack at the gybe mark. Gareth and John Terry
were neck and neck across the fast reaches, bur Gareth took the next
beat and then extended away for the win. Behind John, a battle for third
saw changing places, with Paul battered in the gusts, and Stuart not
trapezing but both fast and
comfortable downwind. Paul caught Alastair in the final reaches, but a
hesitant early tack for the line when in control let Alastair take back
third on the line with quicker final tack.
RESULTS
Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 11,
Rank
|
Sail No
|
Helm Name
|
Club
|
R1
|
R2
|
R3
|
R4
|
R5
|
R6
|
Total
|
Nett
|
1st
|
91
|
Gareth Ede
|
Filey SC
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
(6.0)
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
11.0
|
5.0
|
2nd
|
533
|
John Terry
|
Rutland
SC
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
(4.0)
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
13.0
|
9.0
|
3rd
|
531
|
Stuart Ede
|
Filey SC
|
3.0
|
(7.0)
|
2.0
|
7.0
|
3.0
|
5.0
|
27.0
|
20.0
|
4th
|
507
|
Paul Ellis
|
Marconi
SC
|
7.0
|
3.0
|
(9.0)
|
3.0
|
6.0
|
4.0
|
32.0
|
23.0
|
5th
|
17
|
Cliff Antill
|
Catapult Assoc
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
2.0
|
(12.0 DNF)
|
8.0
|
36.0
|
24.0
|
6th
|
524
|
Alastair Forrest
|
Catapult Assoc
|
(9.0)
|
8.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
33.0
|
24.0
|
7th
|
510
|
George Evans
|
Bala Catamaran Club
|
6.0
|
4.0
|
(7.0)
|
6.0
|
5.0
|
6.0
|
34.0
|
27.0
|
8th
|
522
|
Nigel Harrison
|
Catapult Assoc
|
(11.0)
|
6.0
|
3.0
|
9.0
|
7.0
|
7.0
|
43.0
|
32.0
|
9th
|
518
|
Justin Evans
|
Catapult Assoc
|
(10.0)
|
9.0
|
8.0
|
8.0
|
8.0
|
9.0
|
52.0
|
42.0
|
10th
|
540
|
John Peperell
|
Catapult Assoc
|
5.0
|
(12.0 DNC)
|
12.0 DNC
|
12.0 DNC
|
9.0
|
11.0
|
61.0
|
49.0
|
11th
|
297
|
Chris Phillips
|
Catapult Assoc
|
8.0
|
10.0
|
(12.0 DNC)
|
12.0 DNC
|
12.0 DNF
|
10.0
|
64.0
|
52.0
|
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