Autumn sailing on Windermere, England

"The Last Chance" is how the calendar labels this gathering and it seemed that with the weather forecast promising a reasonable weekend many people wanted to take this final opportunity of the season to get together and get out on the water.

The recent unsettled spell gave way to a two-day respite; just in time to coincide with the planned social and cruising event. Saturday was sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy but with a nice breeze from various points West touching Force 3 around lunchtime and dying right off as dusk approached.

I decided to sail from Bowness, as that was where my canoe was stored. I didn’t get round to setting off until 12.30 on Saturday and enjoyed a fast passage of just an hour to cover the five miles to Waterhead where experience suggested that the crowd would be lunching at one of the cafés. Sure enough there were about a dozen canoes beached with some packed-lunching nearby and others in the favourite teashop. Kevin and Jenny Leahy (who were due to have been organising the event before Kevin suffered a back injury) had driven up and joined the chatting bunch.

Once refreshed, enthusiasm to be back on the water took hold and a speculative course was set for Bowness in the often-fitful breeze. Many of us got nearly all the way there but only four determined boats (Martin Owen, John Shuttleworth, Penny and Peter Oakley and myself) went on to land at the public jetty for further warming victuals at the adjacent café. During the return to the campsite at Low Wray the wind was initially from a perfect following direction, albeit rather light, but it soon dropped off and we had to put our efforts into paddling the last couple of miles arriving back at 5.30 as the light failed.

Most of the rest had already adjourned to Hawkshead for pre-dinner drinks. I had to partake of a "wee dram" with Bernard and John Bull, just to be sociable, where I also took the opportunity to talk through the very drafty 2002 calendar with them, before repairing to Hawkshead with John S and Martin. In ignorance of where the rest were ensconced we were forced to visit all the pubs in the village before finding them in the last one we tried! (But there’s only three!)

Much amiable discussion was under way to which we hopefully added; also discussing event plans for next year.

Sunday’s forecast was for a bright and pleasant day with only light winds. At ten o’clock it was still largely glassy (but very autumnally scenic) so a fair few of us set out under paddle to go somewhere for something to do. We are canoeists after all and paddle when we must! There were bits of wind ever now and again, so we soon put up sails and sort-of-consensually headed across, then down the lake, eventually ending up at Brockhole, the National Park Visitor Centre (which funnily enough has a café!) for lunch. From there I headed back to Bowness where I had left my car, paddling to start with for half a mile, then under sail, enjoying a really good close reach on one tack all the way back to my launch beach. I imagine the others must have also had a good afternoon’s sail if the way the trees were moving in the breeze, as I packed my gear away, was anything to go by. But I suppose we may have to wait till the Winter Meet in January (12 &13 at Lakeside) to hear all the details.

Fifteen canoes were involved over the weekend and it was great to see so many make the effort, especially after last year’s horrible weather at the equivalent event. Our noble Commodore seemed in good fettle, sailing a Little Pete with outriggers, which he finds easier (ie possible) to lift and move by himself than the trimaran. Neville and Odell were in their new campervan, which Odell seemed to find particularly comfortable: she was still in bed at ten o’clock on Sunday morning; and that was with an extra hour due to Summer Time finishing! Lis and Pete suggest that a subgroup of campervanners could be formed but I’m not sure for what purpose, not to gloat I hope. Some discussion on Saturday night centred on whether we could get away with having a race on Sunday. The consensus view was that we might have a "comparative cruise" but apathy got the better of us and we just went sailing in the end!

Keith Morris

Not much wind

A misty morning

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