Early Spring Series starts
Published 17:13 on 8 Mar 2026
Wow, one series down for 2026 and the next one comes along. Members only this one, the Early Spring Series. Simon Dolmon, fresh from his Winter break, is back and in fine writing fettle. Here is his report of the action on the lake today (Sun 8th March) for races one and two. And no spoiler, but the racing was as tight as ever.
The morning began with a foggy start, but it soon lifted to reveal pleasant sailing conditions and thankfully no swimming required. The wind was mostly light and shifty with occasional periods of moderate breeze, keeping sailors on their toes throughout the races. A great turnout saw 19 boats on the water.
It was great to hear Nick and James light-hearted humour and banter echoing across the lake, adding to the atmosphere on the water. It was also great to see Clare Cornwall racing her Laser Radial for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Mark Heaton looked to be going well in his new Mark 2 Lightning, giving Jeremy a good run for his money — even if it was only for a short period, as Mark was quick to point out. The Lightning fleet continues to grow!
Race Officer Colin Humphreys, notorious for threatening (and often delivering!) courses packed with gybes, warned us of the same today. However, in a surprise twist, he set a course with no gybes at all! Many thanks, as always, to all the duty team today — everything ran smoothly. With the old PY numbers still in the system, Matt initially took first place in both races, with Jeremy in second. However, once the new Lightning PY was applied, Jeremy took Race 1 by just three seconds, while Matt retained his win in Race 2, sharing the honours for the day.
(Note also Simon was too modest to mention that he and Julie popped their Miracle into 3rd place overall too!)
Finally, we received some wonderful feedback from our visitors following our extremely successful Open Series:
It has been a joy sailing with you guys over the winter the racing has been fantastic. We will definitely be back in November hopefully bringing a few more sailors with us. (Bala sailor)
Having spoken to many of the Shotwick sailors, I can say it has been an absolute pleasure having our visitors join us this winter. Not only have they provided great competition on the water, but they have also been excellent company ashore.
We look forward to welcoming and sailing with you all again soon!
Early Spring Series:
Race 1: 1. Jeremy Cooper (Lightning) 2. Matt Bennet (Solo) +3 sec 3. Phil Watson (Streaker) +2m 13s
Race 2: 1.Matt Bennet (Solo) 2. Jeremy Cooper (Lightning) +9 sec 3. Simon & Julie Dolman (Miracle) +18s
Overall after two races:
1. Matt Bennet (Solo) 3 pts 2. Jeremy Cooper (Lightning) 3pts 3. Simon & Julie Dolman (Miracle) 8pts
Last updated 17:13 on 8 March 2026
