Killington & Windermere

Last Saturday was very windy, force 3-4 with stronger gusts.  So I went out in an RS Feva, one of the club craft at Killington, rather than risk capsizing the Wayfarer, which is easy enough to recover, but a pain to empty of water afterwards.  I nearly went in the Pico, as there were two lads preparing to take the Feva out, but in the time it took me to get changed, they had launched, capsized, floundered, been recovered, and were packing up.  They were just about to take it back to the berth when I asked them to leave it there for me.
It was a while before I got out on the water, as I wanted to have the mainsail only, and there was no forestay, and it was only the jib acting as the third stay.   Thanks got to Miles and Paul for sorting this out for me. Killington is indeed a very friendly and supportive sailing club.
Pete was there as well, but he was OOD (Officer of the day) for a series of Miracle Dinghy races.  Miracles are a little like Mirrors, but bigger, and they seem to have most of the advantages of a Wayfarer, except for cruising, where there was less storage space, but lighter and with transom flaps, making for easier emptying after a capsize.  All of them were timber, or at least timber decked, but I am told there are GRP ones as well.  There were a couple of boats still on trolleys in the car park, as the owners had looked at the wind conditions and decided not to go out in them.  During the day I met Ian & Geraldine for the first time, Ian is the membership secretary, and Lydia another committee member (I think) who was helping Pete.  I missed being sociable when the racers were having their lunch break, as I had only just got out on the water by then
The sailing was great.  The wind had probably dropped a little, but it was still quite strong and very gusty, providing quite a bit of excitement. For all the Feva feels more tippy than the wayfarer, it felt very secure in the gusts, with time to sheet out or turn to the wind to control the heeling, with no sense of being out of control.  I have yet to discover how easy it is to right a capsize.  What I did struggle with twice was being late straightening the boat after a turn, and continue to pivot round. I certainly got knocked on the head at one stage after going about, when it continued turning and the boat jibed.
After lunch the wind eased and I went out with the Jib as well.  More thanks to Miles and Paul again. Altogether a great day.

Sunday was much more relaxed, and Rod who had sailed with me in May joined me again. When we got to Killington, it was a pleasant surprise to see Dave waiting for me, as I had not been on facebook on Saturday to see his message. We decided to go to Bowness, to sail in his Wildfire on Windermere, which was a very different experience.  Windermere is a beautiful lake, and was at its best in the bright sunshine we enjoyed on Sunday.
The boat took a bit of time to set up, and when the mainsail would not reach the top of the mast we decided to put a reef in rather than spend further time trying to right the problem.  Dave kindly let me helm to start with, and we made our way upwind to the South getting past Storrs Hotel before turning back, and then eating our lunch while sailing downwind.

The Windfire has a good turn of speed, which was especially evident every time we got some slightly stronger wind, and even with the reef in we kept up credibly well with the handful of yaughts that were out and about and under sail.  Rod, who was sat at the front, did find that the water was splashing over the bows when the wind grew stronger and we were sailing upwind.
One feature of the Wildfire is that it would be very easy to sail single handed. The jib sheets run along way back, and are in easy reach of the helm.  Dave did a much better job of keeping out of my way than I managed to do when he took over the helm, and after a while I joined Rod sitting in the front.
By Sunday afternoon we were by no means the only dinghy on the water as we seemed to be in the morning.  There was a whole fleet of dinghies from nearby club out enjoying Windermere at its best. What a great way to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Thanks Dave, for a great day.

Kendal

We went up on Friday afternoon and spent the early evening at Grange over Sands, where we saw the Ornamental Park with the duck collection, the community orchard, and the promenade, looking out over the Kent Eastuary towards Arnside Silverdale and Morecambe bay.
The Crooklands Hotel was very comfortable did a great meal and served both Black Sheep beer, which was good, and Radical Beer, which was even better. Crooklands has that wonderful arrangement with mobile phones, so that you can phone out if you want, by going out top the car park, but the signal is too weak for people to phone you from inside the hotel.
In Kendal we parked in Kirkland, where the church and Abbott Hall are,  and walked up towards the town centre visiting shops as they caught our eye. We had a nice up of tea at Farrer's, and then later had another cup of tea at 1657 Chocolate House together with a sandwich.  They have an interesting selection of hot chocolate and gateaux to look forward to another time.  In between we bought some Lancashire cheese from a very market stall, from a stall-holder who was very enthusiastic about good cheese.
We walked back along the the riverside to Abbot Hall but we decided the leave that for another (more rainy) day. Instead we drove out to Troutbeck where we enjoyed the later afternoon sun first at the Queen's Head which we often pass on the way up to Kirkstone Pass, and then at The Mortal Man with great views looking down the valley.  We drove the length of Troutbeck village from the Queen's Head at Townhead to the Townend and from there on the road toward Ambleside, which had some spectacular views of Lake Windermere, in the early evening sunshine.  Then we drove past Bowness and back through Crook back the Kendal bypass and home.

Sailing on Windermere with Dave

On Sunday of last week I went sailing on Windermere with Dave, the guy who did the RYA level 2 course with us.
His boat is a WildFire, an Ian Proctor designed boat, nearer 20 ft than 15 fit in length, and with a removable keel rather than a centreboard.  The keel is lowered in place, and the weighted down by 6 pairs of bags containing weights, that drape over a central divider, so that they can be lifted out again.
It is berthed just south of Bowness, near the Hawkeshead chain ferry, very close to the footpath that runs along the lakeside, so that you are in view of the passers by as you are floundering around / coping expertly with the cover and rigging etc.
Unlike Glenridding, where it is all sailing and canoes, here there are motor boats and yaughts, and sailing dinghies are very much in the minority.  There is a ramp with space for two boats to be launched at any one time, and a jetty to tie the boat to after launching and parking the car.  There are toilets, and a snack bar, with some tables, and some picnic tables overlooking the slip way and the extended jetty area, where there were many fine yaughts to be admired.
We wore our wetsuits, which was totally unnecessary, as the wind was barely noticeable as we set up. But because I had left my car at Dave's house, I had a choice between the wetsuit and a rather unsuitable pair of trousers I was wearing, and Dave gallantly joined me in wearing a wetsuit.
When we got out to the middle of the lake the wind was reasonably OK, and we had a gentle sail upwind to the south, before we started getting a slightly stronger wind which made it nice sailing.
This was Dave's first time in the boat for several weeks, and after he felt he had got the hang of it, he let me take the helm, and it felt very nice.  After a while we turned back to get some lunch, and it certainly seemed to have a good turn of speed travelling with the wind.
Windermere is very beautiful, and there are some very admirable properties along the banks.  It was certainly a very nice experience, and a little more like going on a public highway, with lots of crafts of various types parading along the same stretch of thoroughfare. All the boats have a permit number in white letters on black background on their side, a bit like number plates on a car.
We ate our lunch back on the side where we launched from, and several folk Dave had met before came over and had very pleasant and encouraging conversations.  I had thought Windermere was all to do with yaughts and quite snooty, so I was quite encouraged.
What I was a bit taken aback with was how long it took to set up and pack away. I was hoping for a further afternoon session, but I had to be back to meet Ann by four, so we called it a day.  It was frustrating that the wind was quite a bit stronger by then, but it was a good sail, and we can always do it again another day.

Thanks for a good day, Dave