Winder Boats 2024 Mirror Northern Area Championship at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club

Juniors during the Mirror Northerns at Bass © Bass Press

Mirror Northern Championship winners Matthew and Albie McGovern © Bass Press

Bassenthwaite Sailing Club welcomed visitors from as far as Reading for the 2024 Mirror Northern Area Championship, sponsored by Winder Boats.

Whilst spring finally arrived for 80% of the country, our little corner of Cumbria was still full of grey clouds and occasional drizzle but never as much as forecast, thankfully, The wind forecast was looking light and shifty, with south westerly breezes blowing over Sale Fell. A leisurely start time of 14:30 saw 21 Mirrors launch into a building breeze which swung to the preferred westerly direction and offered some planning on the reaches whilst catching some of the younger sailors off guard. After 2 back to back races, Angus and Isla Armstrong from West Kirby were top of the pile counting a 1st and a 4th. On equal five points was the local team of Phil and Lucy Smith with a 3rd and a 2nd. All was set for an exciting second day. On Saturday evening Social Sec Emma organised a fab bring and eat followed by an overly competitive and rowdy bingo!

Sunday kicked off with light winds and the first start was abandoned after a sizable wind shift. The breeze eventually settled down to the forecast south westerly direction and racing got under way. The shifty and puffy force 1 to 2 offered big pot holes on the course, particularly on the upwind legs. Sailing consistently, Phil and Lucy counted an almost perfect 1st, 2nd and a 1st to lead going into the final day. Very close behind was Matthew and Abbie McGovern from South Staffs SC who added a 1st and a 2nd to their race win from Saturday. All was set for a finale final race on Sunday.

Going into the final day, it was looking sketchy at 11:30am with a small postponement was hoisted. The breeze did arrive (briefly) and a final 6th race started in a very light westerly force 1 with occasional gusts of force 1.5. Racing was seriously close, with Phil and Lucy sailing almost perfectly right till the final beat when one of those pot holes offered an opportunity for a split which Matthew and Abbie took full advantage of and won the final race and with it the 2024 Winder Boats Northern Champs. Overall, Phil and Lucy were just a point behind in 2nd with Angus and Isla in 3rd place.

It was wonderful to see so many young sailors on the water. The only all junior team was Oliver Smith and Reuben Allen in 18th place, who at sub 10st didn't need their spinnaker (good job as it was tied on upside down) to be often found giving the much older and more experienced sailors a run for their money. Youngest crew was Phoebe Leonard who stayed awake for almost all of the races until race 6 when the light conditions helped her snooze on the foredeck! Next up is the Solo and GP14 Northern Championships hosted by Bassenthwaite SC on the 18/19 May.

Overall Results: