Windermere Waterhead 2022 at South Windermere Sailing Club
by Mark Fearnley 31 Aug 2022 18:17 UTC
28 August 2022
Rounding trhe only mark in the Windermere Waterhead Race © SWSC
Due to ongoing renovation work on South Windermere Sailing Club's clubhouse, it was a limited but select entry for this years Windemere Waterhead long distance race. And even some of the invitees were put off by the forecast of no wind, but locals were optimistic that some sort of breeze would fill in.
At the 10:30 briefing things didn't look promising, and OD David Huggett informed the fleet that the race wouldn't go the full distance, and the hope was to get to Ramp Holme and back, with a short postponement to see if the wind would fill in.
The race then started promptly at 11:30, surprising a couple of relaxed competitors still chatting on the beach.
What little wind there was (very little, from the NE) seemed to slightly stronger close to the west shore, and this allowed the Blaze's of Fearnley and Cuthbert, Keith Byers in an OK, and Bob Eastwood in a K1 to ease ahead. Eventually Fearnleys Blaze crept far enough in front to pick up a slight southerly whilst the others were practically becalmed, and gradually built up a large lead.
After 4 miles in 2 hours (for the leader), the fleet were turned around just south of Ramp Holme, and started the long beat back to the YMCA in a F1, occasionally gusting F2. However there was always the danger of the fickle breeze switching off. And it was a case of the rich get richer, with the leader finishing in a fading breeze, leaving to others creeping to the finish. Mike Deane and Eddie Wearing were second to finish in the K6, followed by Keith in the OK, Bob in the K1 and Mark in the Blaze.
The leader completed the course in 3hrs 48 minutes. The photo of the track shows some quite big tacking angles, as the most important factor was clearly to stay in breeze rather than play the shifts.
As is the case with SWSC, the hospitality is second to none, and after the racing all competitors were treated to a huge spread of food provided by club members.
The next open event at SWSC will be the Autumn frostbite starting from 23/10/22 until 4/12/22. For more information go to the South Windermere Sailing Club website.