I was sailing with Greg, Jack Lawson's racing partner, who did not want to race Lasers until he got his own boat repaired, and he helped me get the boat rigged, showing me how to put a double purchase on the halyards. After the first ten minutes getting the feel of the boat, I let Greg helm, which he did very well, inspiring confidence. After lunch we had two extra people, Richie, who had come to watch his son race, and Karen, Greg's mother. It could have been awkward but it wasn't, all credit to Greg. He sat well back in the boat, accommodating three crew much better than I managed last summer. We kept out of the way of the race, but sailed behind the starting line for the last race. Pete Lawson did not come first, but was beaten by his brother, David. We sailed close to him at one point, and admired his concentration and how level he kept the boat.
When I arrived on Sunday morning the lake was as flat as a pancake, good for the canoeists, but not for sailing so I drove up the M6 to Tebay, and to Bretherdale, parking near where the road becomes a track and forks in two.
I took the left hand fork called Breasthigh Road, which crosses the ridge and looks down at the A6 and Borrowdale. The hills the other side of Borrowdale looked inviting. I stopped at the top and looked down before retracing my steps back to the car. At the start I saw some folk on trail motorbikes, and on the ridge I met two cyclists, aiming to complete 30 miles with lost of hills in one day, but apart from that I did not meet anyone.
I drove back on the minor road on the other side of the valley from the Motorway, and got some great views of the River Lune, before crossing the river at a very narrow bridge at Beck Foot.
When I got back to Killington the wind was a little more promising, and I had a an hour or two sailing in light winds to enjoy before packing up and coming home.
