Catapult TT success at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club

The Catapult fleet returned to Bassenthwaite SC for its annual three-day May Day Bank Holiday event, where it was always met with a warm welcome. Gareth Ede recovered from an early setback to win five of his next six races.

Due to the lack of wind on Day 1, the Race Officer and Sailing Secretary, John Reekie, opted to postpone racing. They graciously gave early starts on the next two days to accommodate the full complement of six events.

Race 1

Day 2 started with a sailable Force 1 to 2 breeze. John, Terry, Chris Upton, and Gareth Ede began near the pin end of the line and proceeded left up the beat, while Stuart Ede, at the Committee Boat end, proceeded right. Stuart was headed as they reached the windward mark and had to watch John, Chris, and Gareth round ahead of him in that sequence.

Gareth passed Chris downwind and quickly challenged John as they sailed away from the rest of the pack. Gareth temporarily led, but as they split ways atop the final beat, John’s pick of the left side gave him a 20-second advantage at the finish of the race, which had been reduced to one lap and one beat.

Meanwhile, Stuart and George Evans pursued Chris, who was third. Stuart counterattacked by broad reaching over the rhumb line after George went by him downwind. That proved to be a brilliant strategy since he had an inside berth as they battled a swarm of club boats attempting to circle the leeward mark, while George was engulfed in the throng. Stuart caught Chris on starboard up the last beat to take third, but Chris held off George by a hair at the line.

Race 2

Gareth and Stuart pursued after John, who detected a last-minute shift and won the start with a port tack flyer. Gareth went right up the last beat, while John went left, and managed to get his nose in front for the first of two circuits. They battled all the way to the end, with Gareth winning by less than a boat length.

George beat Stuart at the windward mark on the second lap by pointing higher, and he was leading by a few of boat lengths when they sailed the last downwind leg. Chris emerged out of nowhere ahead of them, much to their amazement. After reaching the final leeward mark, George passed Chris on the way to the Committee Boat end, while Stuart tacked towards the pin end. The hooters went off in fast succession, and Stuart didn’t aware he had won third place until the results were announced.

Race 3

The wind had swung about 90 degrees by this point, and it was now a Force 3 with gusts of Force 4 that could be exceedingly shifty. A collision with Damien Cooney during the pre-start period forced Chris to capsize, forcing him out of the race.

The majority of the fleet chose a port tack start, but few arrived early, so Mike sailing along the line on starboard put the cat among the pigeons. Gareth, Stuart, Mike, and George were the first to reach the windward mark, followed by John. Gareth passed John downwind, but he lost the lead after he rounded a mark incorrectly. This caused some uncertainty in the chasing group until they figured out which side to round on. Gareth, on the other hand, had to rethread his course to get back on track, dropping him to fifth place.

John was now in the lead, followed by Mike and George. Gareth, on the other hand, exploited his greater downwind speed to pass all three and retake the lead. Gareth expanded his advantage to a minute over the following several circuits, as the other three slogged it out to a tight finish. Mike was just 15 seconds behind John, who earned second place, and George was close behind in fourth position.

Race 4

This time, all boats started on port tack at the pin. John was the first to reach the windward mark, followed by Gareth and Stuart. Gareth seized the lead downwind, and George’s better pointing abilities allowed him to pass Stuart for third place on the next beat. Over the next several circuits, the fleet spread out significantly, and the only close battle was between Stuart and Mike for fourth position. Stuart counterattacked by reaching over Mike’s stern and capturing the inside berth at the turn after Mike passed on the last downwind leg. Stuart finished only 30 seconds ahead of Mike.

Race 5

As they approached the first windward mark, George was right on Gareth’s tail, with John close behind. These two were pressuring Gareth all the way around, changing positions but failing to catch Gareth, who had a one-minute advantage at the conclusion. George finished roughly 30 seconds ahead of John in second place.

Race 6

Stuart won the start with a good port tack flyer and proceeded up the right side of the course for clear air. However, his chances of racing the fleet to the windward mark were crushed when he was hit by a heavy header on the lay line. He could only watch helplessly as the remainder of the fleet on the left sailed free and fast to circle well ahead.

The race had once again devolved into a three-way duel between Gareth, John, and George, who had opened up a significant lead over the rest of the fleet, so much so that they did four circuits while the others finished after three. Gareth and John traded the lead numerous times, and as they approached the last leeward mark, John was a boat length ahead. Gareth, on the other hand, beat John to the line by less than a second. A few minutes later, George claimed third place.

Gareth Ede claimed the Blue Pennant as event winner and the Yellow Pennant as TT Series leader with five race victories out of six.

Level rating results:

Personal handicap results

The Catapult Class Association also runs a Personal Handicap Series in parallel with the level rating TT Series. George Evans performed best against his handicap rating with three wins out of six, taking the Lilac Pennant, while the other three wins were picked up by Damien Cooney, Mike Gough and Chris Upton who was a creditable second overall. George also retains the Magenta Pennant as Handicap Series leader.

Guest Writer