Europe Scottish & North of England Traveller series at South Windermere Sailing Club, 25th July 2004

For the fourth meeting of the Scottish and North of England traveller series South Windermere Sailing Club allowed the Europe Class to share the start of the regular club handicap races on 25 July. The race area at South Windermere is at the narrow south end of the lake - a long stretch of water running North-South with hills and trees lining the banks on both sides. The club race marks are laid along the banks, leaving the central channel clear for the frequent steamer service to pass through. The wind was generally Westerly or Southwesterly and very gusty and changeable in direction as it found it's way down to the surface. At each mark and on every reaching and running leg there were always Flying Fifteens blanketing the wind. This was not such a burden as it might have been as these legs were never true reaches or runs, in fact all points of sailing were frequently experienced within a couple of minutes! The Europes were envious of the Flying Fifteen's ability to shoot a mark when the wind suddenly headed the boat as it approached the mark! At least one Europe sailor found this to be an unsuccessful manoeuvre.

The first race was held in wet and misty conditions and winds that were very changeable in direction and strength, force 4-5 in some of the gusts but including some large holes with almost total calm. An almost square course was set with a biased windward start. Confusion with the club starting signals resulted in a very empty start line. Val Ludlow made the perfect start, closely followed by Pete Dowker from nearby Killington Lake and Greg Pitt from the local club. Pete only realised that the rest of the boats were going in the last few seconds and was fortunately well positioned to achieve a good start. Val rounded the windward mark ahead of the other Europes but in amongst Flying Fifteens and a GP14. Although Val's lead increased on the reaching leg, on the run the gusts now came from behind and her lead diminished to almost nothing letting the race effectively start again for Val, Greg and Pete. The next round saw all three changing places frequently but it was not until the last mark that Val crept away on a lucky puff and left Greg and Pete to drift for a while in a hole. With the wind becoming lighter the course was shortened with Val still ahead. Pete overtook Greg to finish second with Greg a close third. Liz Ashburn from South Windermere was out for the first time against other Europes in her old wooden boat finishing in fourth place after losing ground after a capsize. Brian Finnie from Loch Tummel also never recovered from the delay of capsizing in an earlier gust and trailed in last.

After lunch the weather improved and the sun came out. The wind was still gusty but the more fearsome gusts were less frequent and the direction was more Westerly. With the possibility of a more consistent wind, the Race Officer set a triangular course with an unbiased start on the lee shore. The Europes lined up for a good start despite the crowding on the line from the larger handicap fleet but Liz had a Byte capsize on the line in front of her letting the other four Europes get away. Val started to windward of Greg at the starboard end and tacked to find clear air. The clear air was successful but the shifts and gusts in the wind meant that any gains were lost especially as the boats closed on the windward mark below the trees and hills on the other side of the lake. Val, Pete and Greg rounded the windward mark in quick succession. Unfortunately the second leg stayed on the windward shore and the fetch along to the next mark was a lottery, one minute a boat caught a puff and was away and then it landed in a hole. Val and Greg changed places a lot during the race but each time on the 'reaches' Val seemed to have greater boat speed and either caught up, or increased a small lead. Again any losses or gains could be cancelled out on the shifty windward legs, where there were still some very strong gusts, This race was two rounds long and having achieved a small lead over Greg at the final mark, Val managed to play the shifts well and increased the lead slightly to take line honours in the Europes. Pete had kept up with the two leaders until he got stuck in a hole on the penultimate reach, although he nearly made up the loss on the final windward leg. Pete ended up in third place well ahead of Brian in fourth place. Liz was finding the gusts difficult to cope with and fell back after capsizing again to finish fifth.

With the wind for the final race lessening to force 1 rising only to 3 in the gusts, the fleet converged confidently on the committee boat at the starboard end of the line, resulting in Val, Greg and Pete getting blanketed by a host of Flying Fifteens. Greg and Val had tried to start at the starboard end of the line but got caught out by an OCS Flying Fifteen and then sailed into a hole in the wind on the right hand side of the course. To the left, the rest of the fleet were off like trains in a good force 3! Despite having been sandwiched between two Flying Fifteens at the start Pete still had a good first leg, rounding the windward mark well ahead of the other Europes. However, the shifty wind allowed Greg and Val to catch up lost ground and although Pete still had a good lead at the windward mark, this time the second leg took the fleet across the lake and away from the windward shore. Pete's lead was gradually eroded on this leg as the boats behind picked up some gusts. At the gybe mark Greg rounded first then Pete then Val but Val's greater boat speed meant she had the inside position by the leeward mark. On the next windward leg tacking for clear air away from Flying Fifteens and heading gusts enabled Pete and Greg to get in front again. The rest of the race was much like the first round with places changing on each leg. At one point Pete was caught out on port by Val while trying to get round the windward mark. After doing turns he was surprised to find Greg and Val only a few yards away, stuck in the next hole. However, as he entered the hole they escaped and put nearly a whole leg of the course between them and him before he could recover his speed. On the last windward leg it was Val's turn to be in the in the lead and she managed to keep her position just in front of Greg up to the windward mark, increasing her lead on the reach to the finish while Greg landed unluckily in another hole in the wind. Pete remained in third place while Brian and Liz followed some way behind, with Liz contemplating whether some rig adjustments would improve her windward performance.

The locals assured the visitors that the conditions were exceptional even for Windermere and, despite the frustrations of the wind, the day was enjoyed by all, adding to the already varied experience gained so far in the traveller series.

Needing only one more result from the remaining two meetings to qualify for the series total, Val Ludlow looks set to take the trophy with her consistent sailing and her ability to adapt to the conditions at each location.

The next meeting will be at Loch Lomond on 4/5 September, where another step up in the numbers is expected.

Report compiled by Brian Finnie GBR 348 from contributions by Val Ludlow, Pete Dowker, and Liz Ashburn.