Lake Bala Rally 15/16 June

[Tony]

I will be sailing Cavatina (Trouper 12, junk rig) solo at Bala.

Hi, Mike.
Wouldn't mind a close look at your sail. "Four Sisters" is in need of a new suit so converting to Junk rig from balanced lug is an option. (As if I didn't already have enough bits of string to play with!)

[Michael Rogers]

Go one better, Tony - HAVE a sail! See you at Bala.
Michael

[Tony]

Hi, Graham, Michael, et al.
A thunderstorm and violent shower have driven me indoors, temporarily, so I had another look at the Lake Bala web cam and the weather for the weekend.

Have decided to put the 90 kg of lead ballast back in (because of the predicted gusts) and give the top of my head another coat of Sikkens Cetol 7 (Oregon Pine) as extra waterproofing.
Will not be bringing beer as promised earlier. There's no room for it with all the bottles of NikWax, Fabsil and the silicon sealant I'm sure to need. (Have a persistent leak from the mainsheet track that drips on my face at night.)
Hmmm. Might be simpler to bring enough alcohol so that I don't care about the drips? Won't be the first time I've had to sleep in a dry suit - but that, as they say, is another story.

(Pub Warning! Google has the Bryntirion Inn in the wrong place. It's actually just past the junction of the B4401 and the B4402, not next to the holiday park, as shown on their website. This could prove to be vital information.  They also say they "welcome well behaved dogs" ....so we should be OK once we're in.)

PS  Will bring mask and snorkel to surreptitiously tie a bucket to the stern of Matt's Bc23. I still wont catch him in "Four Sisters" but it might give the BayRaiders a chance!

[Graham W]

As Tony has hinted, the weather will not be universally brilliant on Lake Bala this weekend but there should be something for everyone!

The forecast seems to be resolving itself, several forecasting sites having contradicted each other over the past few days:

Saturday - blustery, possibly strong gusts from the SW from around lunchtime; reasonably sunny, a chance of showers but not very warm

Sunday - much less windy from the SW(ish), especially towards the end of the day; not much sun but not much rain either and perhaps a bit warmer

So Saturday is probably a day for testing reefing and/or ballast tanks, while Sunday may be a day for hanging out as much sail as possible.  As the wind is from the SW or thereabouts, it will be coming in a more or less straight line from the other end of the lake and should be reasonably constant in direction.  Those that want to recreate the authentic Sail Caledonia experience should leave it as late as possible on Sunday evening before rowing, I mean sailing the length of the lake back to the club.

Those of you on the pontoon on Saturday night might be in for a bit of a windy night.  Unfortunately, work has got in the way so Matt will be unable to come after all.  That means that there is a spare pontoon space for some brave soul.

Useful weather forecast links:
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/bala
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2656615
http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/bala

And some useful links for what it is doing at the moment:
http://www.balawatersports.com/index.php/webcam
http://www.balasc.org.uk/cumulus/
http://www.balasc.org.uk/cumulus/gauges.htm

I'll be arriving at the club Friday afternoon to rig the boat and generally fiddle about ready for launch the next morning.  I'll be in a B&B but think that supper (and maybe the odd beer) at the Bryntirion Inn on Friday evening sounds like a good idea if anyone wants to join me. Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted.

[Tony]

Hi, Graham.
Mine's a pint if you're there first......which I doubt!
I'll be rolling in on a beam reach from Edwinstowe by mid afternoon if I get all my jobs done early.
Is Matt pleading pressure of work? Serves him right! Should never have designed a better boat than the CBL, should he!
(By the way, if its blowing a Hooley someone can have my spot on the pontoon, too. I'll be hauling out at night to make sure I can face the boat dead into the wind. Keeps the rain off my washboards. )
Cheers!

[Graham W]

ADVERT: I have two splendid SBA burgees left, which I shall bring with me to Bala.  If anyone wants one, they are available at a special knock-down, totally unrepeatable postage-free price of £13 each.

Get your piece of history!  These are the very burgees that started the forum's Great Kerfuffle of 2012

[Graham W]

I think I just saw Tony arriving at the club from across the lake, so five Swallow Boats are here already. Gladys and Nona Me have been out in blustery conditions, ballasted and reefed.

Time for the pub.

[Graham W]

Our first day was a mixture of heavy rain and sun, with the winds touching F7.  Ballast tanks and double reefs were essential but the five BayRaiders that made it to the other end had a spectacular sleigh ride back, which I hope I have captured on video.

Tomorrow should be a less windy and probably less rainy.

[david]

Graham,
              Looking forward to seeing the video.

[Graham W]

Day 2 was altogether less lively, with winds around F3 and no rain.

I have published the first photos of the rally to the gallery - filed under 'Events'.  The first 10 photos are of Day 1, culminating in supper at the Bryntirion Inn.  The remainder of the photos are of us wafting around in light airs and picnicking on Day 2.

Please feel free to add to them.

I will post a video from day 1 once I have worked out how to do it.

For those with time on their hands, I have also posted a series of time lapse photos (one minute intervals), which only gets interesting when other boats come into sight.  This is at https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A4GqkRUiGcKvdd

It was fun - let's do it again!

[Matthew P]

Exciting sailing, great boats and very good company.

Thank you Graham for organising this.

Matthew

[Michael Rogers]

I second that. Thank you, Graham. It was fun to meet people who hitherto, for me, had been names and (erudite) posts. Enjoyable camaraderie - and, on the second day morning, some really excellent sailing.
Bala Lake SC were very accommodating in a low key way. Annual event? - I'd be up for it.

Michael

[Graham W]

I have posted a short video to YouTube http://youtu.be/gsY0-lYaW24 of some BR's in action on Lake Bala.  It shows BRe Alice Amy chasing (but not quite catching) BR20 Ristie on the downwind leg home on Saturday afternoon, with BR20 Gladys chasing my BR20, Turaco III.  The wind was blowing F6/F7 for most of this part of the trip and we recorded SOG's of 6.5-7 knots.  Sail Caledonia veterans, we were all double reefed and our ballast tanks were full.

At the end of the video, and as if to confirm that we had made the right reefing choices, a lifeboat from the Titanic makes a ghostly appearance on the port bow.

[Jonathan Stuart]

Looks a good weekend and I'm sorry not to have able to make it. I have added the video link to our YouTube page:

http://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/?page_id=328

[garethrow]

Looks like a good rally, if a little damp. Sorry I couldn't make it myself.

If anyone has any energy left, there is still some space available on the Teifi rally - contact me direct on hp.rowlands@virgin.net

Gareth Rowlands