Long Distance Race 2001 

The lake was like glass when the 55 competitors started arriving at Bala Sailing Club on Saturday 7th July for the annual Long Distance race which covers about 25 miles in three laps of the lake. However, the weathermen had promised a breeze of 6 to 12 knots to arrive around 11:30am and so it turned out to everyone’s relief, not least the Duty Officers. The warm wind came in from the northwest and the race was started only 20 minutes late. A short beat was set to the top end of the lake near the clubhouse, to be followed thereafter by a run all the way down to the long distance mark. However, about a mile down the run, the wind shifted to the prevailing south-westerly, turning the leg into a beat and it remained in that direction for the rest of the race.

The 49er helmed by Andy Davis and crewed by D. Winston got clean away from the start and they finished an hour ahead of any other boat, after three hours. The last boat to finish came in after six hours. Boats competed with each other in small groups e.g. GPs, Merlins, Flying 15s, Fireballs and lasers and, apart from a few holes which some unfortunate boats fell into from time to time, the wind remained strong enough to keep going and with enough shifts to make it interesting.

Results