International Canoe Open at Ullswater Yacht Club

International Canoes at Ullswater © Christian Barnes

Another excellent turnout was welcomed for the northern gathering of International Canoes at Ullswater Yacht Club.

With the gentle breezes promised for the weekend, the Ullswater Open represented an opportunity for some of the latest IC designs to be tested. With many boats still being built or modified after last year’s Nationals and Worlds, the conventional IC fleet was to be contested between John Ellis’s own design and Steve Clarke’s new Morrison2 design. The AC fleet consisted of a collective of regular Open contenders together with some welcomed familiar faces returning to these fast challenging single-handed craft.

Race 1 commenced with both the IC and AC fleets sailing the same windward/leeward course. Robin Wood eased into an upwind advantage with the local sailors Lester Noble and John Robson in close pursuit. Downwind to the leeward mark Dave Timson was able to find some boat speed rounding the leeward mark into second place. On the windward leg Lester Noble, Dave Timson and Callum Findlay headed out into the Lake away from the shoreline following the greater wind pressure, unfortunately this decision took them away from the windward gate and upon realising the error Steve Bowen had taken advantage of the situation and was chasing Robin Wood hard upwind. In their IC’s it was apparent that the Morrison/Clarke package had a slight speed advantage upwind and took the lead from Ellis for the first time at the windward mark. Downwind it was a different story and Ellis was able to retake the lead and draw ahead. The positions between the lead five AC’s changed a number of times with close racing in the shifty conditions seeing Wood take the win from Bowen with Robson finishing 3rd.

Race 2 saw a similar pattern emerge in the AC fleet with the visiting Llandegfedd SC pairing of Robin Wood and Dave Timson battling it out with John Robson and Lester Noble of Ullswater YC. Wood took his second win of the event from Noble and Robson making the most of their local knowledge of the lake.

Saturday’s final race witnessed the coming together of Steve Bowen and Dave Timson on their downwind leg and damage sustained to both craft forced their early retirement on lap one leaving Martyn Osborne and Andy Gordon to chase the lead group of AC’s.

Day two promised sunny weather but lighter breezes and so it transpired. A mirrored water surface set off the spectacular views of Ullswater against the stunning mountain scenery but meant a morning of waiting for an adequate breeze to settle. Fortunately a northerly breeze developed but with some significant shifts between NE and NW and irregular intervals making the course setting a challenge for the OD.

Race 4 continued with some interesting shifts up the first beat and subsequent laps witnessed variations in pressure across the full width of the lake allowing for large gains but also losses throughout the fleet.

Form sailor Robin Wood led from the start but was quickly reeled in by John Robson and Steve Bowen as they found a localised pressure stream along the shoreline. Wood managed to regain the lead upwind to the finish with Robson in a close 2nd and Timson 3rd. In the IC’s Clarke got the bullet on the first beat and managed to build a lead before heading downwind. Ellis in true form came sailing straight past and managed to hold off Clarke up the second beat with a 20m lead. With the wind filling from behind, Clarke had the good fortune to be lifted straight up to Ellis who had slowed in a hole. By sitting on Ellis’s transom Clarke managed to hang on and then took his speed advantage up the next beat to lead by 30m. This was enough to hold onto the next run with Clarke taking the win.

The final race of the day was delayed when a massive shift came through during the countdown. The OD managed to re-start the race as the wind settled back to its original direction. Dave Timson led the race from start to finish with Steve Bowen and John Robson battling it out for the runners-up spot. Their positions changed numerous times and the final outcome was determined by John Robson’s right of way as he crossed the line ahead of Bowen.

In summary an excellent weekends racing for the International canoes in the beautiful surroundings of Ullswater YC.

Overall Results: