Ullswater Yacht Club Twilight Series
by Jonathan Nicoll 9 Sep 2023 02:51 NZST
Ullswater YC Twilight Series © Caroline Paul
As the long balmy evenings of a (not always) glorious summer gave way to the mists and mellow fruitfulness of early autumn the ever-popular Twilight Series at Ullswater Yacht Club came to an end on 6th September.
A total of 67 boats ranging in speed and size from 49ers and Tempests to RS Tera Sports recorded results over 20 races with one of the planned 21 not sailed due to lack of wind. Many crews chopped and changed during the series according to who was working late, who was on holiday, who overslept etc. and many of the combinations only recorded a few finishes so didn't feature prominently in the overall results. There were no gales this year with the wind varying from about Force 5 to about nothing and an unusual number of easterlies which tend to be very gusty on Ullswater as they funnel down from Arthur's Pike behind the club.
Most of the races were won by either Lester Noble and Mark Simpson in a VX ONE or Graham Priestley in an ILCA7 but Graham didn't do enough races and had to count several DNCs so couldn't compete for the series win. Lester and Mark were pushed all the way by last year's winners Anne Noble and Keith Lockey, and the Flying Fifteen of John and Megan Thornley and club president John Robinson sailing a Tempest with James Watts were never far behind. 1st Junior was Grace Fleming in an RS Tera Sport.
After the last race there was a "Jacob's Join" with over 30 participants bringing and sharing food over a drink from the bar to bring the series to a fitting conclusion.
Overall Results: (top ten)
| Pos | Boat Type | Helm | Crew |
|---|
| 1st | VX ONE | Noble Lester | Simpson Mark |
| 2nd | VX ONE | Anne Noble | Keith Lockey |
| 3rd | FLYING FIFTEEN | John Thornley | Megan Thornley |
| 4th | TEMPEST | Robinson John | Watts James |
| 5th | ILCA 7 / Laser | Tim Whitehead | |
| 6th | ILCA 7 / Laser | King Steve | |
| 7th | FLYING FIFTEEN | Chris Taylor | Alison Bass |
| 8th | RS 400 | Christopher Mulholland | Harriot Pulman |
| 9th | RS TERA SPORT | Fleming Grace | |
| 10th | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | Sally Willet | |
For full results see the UYC website.
Racing, cruising and training continue at Ullswater until the end of October with the Tempest Northerns being held on the 14th/15th October. The open Winter Series ends the season with three races every Sunday from 5th November to 17th December.