The 2024 Bala Sailing Club Long Distance Weekend was held over the weekend of June 22nd & 23rd.
This year had four Wētā entered which was fantastic. The two Steve’s who took part last year returned to enjoy fabulous Welsh hospitality, and they were to be joined by two more Wētā. One was being sailed by husband and wife duo of Dan and Emma along with the other being yet another Steve, a local sailor who only took delivery of his boat the weekend before the event. With mixed forecasts leading up to the event would we get 2 days of Great Dinghy Racing?
Saturday
As everyone assembled on Saturday morning Dan, Emma and the three Steve’s were all looking forward to getting on the water in what can only be described as good Wētā conditions. We launched out in a steady 8-10knots with gusts around 12-14. The course had us sailing around the Long Distance mark which was approximately 2.7 miles up the lake (in a straight line) before returning to sail around two bottom marks and passing through a gate in front of the Race Officers tower - repeat that for 4 hours until you get a toot to finish.
With over 50 entries the start was busy and we all had an idea of how we each wanted to tackle the start but I’m unsure if any of us had a great start, but with four hours of racing ahead of us just staying out of trouble and going for clear air wasn’t such a bad idea.
By the time Steve H (Kiwi to save confusion) reached the top mark for the first time he had clawed back a number of places on the water, but as this is a handicapped race it was hard to tell how that would equate in final placings. A good measure is pacing off the Fireballs which only have a 5 point difference in handicap. Through the first long downwind leg back to the clubhouse end of the course it was back and forth between Kiwi and a couple of those Fireballs. And by the time we reached the bottom of the course the was a bit of an increase in the breeze which enabled the Wētā to really start to show itself as playful.
Steve T was not far behind and also positioning himself well in the fleet for the next windward leg. Time for the first lap was just over an hour so a four lap race was a strong possibility.
Throughout the second lap the wind continued to increase and as those in hiking boats started to feel the burn as we all entered the 2nd hour of racing, Kiwi was getting comfortable playing the shifts up the lake while still measuring himself against the ever present Fireballs, a D-One and a couple of RS dinghies.
By the 3rd lap the wind had now increased further to a good steady 15-18 knots gusting low 20’s and the Wētā was loving it. As Kiwi headed back up the lake for the third time he spotted the other two Weta containing Steve C, along with Dan & Emma making their way back down the course in what was now testing conditions - all looked happy and were sailing well somewhere mid fleet, but by this stage it’s hard to tell as the faster boats were now starting to lap the much slower craft. As Steve C finished his second lap he decided to retire due to the conditions with his head held high at doing his first singlehanded race in a Wētā, and to be fair he did well for someone who only got the boat 6 days earlier.
Kiwi and Steve T were both flying around the course in the stronger breeze and the simple yet effective design of the Wētā certainly allowed us to sail harder for longer as the breeze got up. Kiwi was sailing upwind almost as fast as he was downwind and noticed how the pointing ability of the Wētā certainly increases when sailing over 9-10 knots upwind.
As Kiwi came down to complete his forth lap (and over 30 miles sailed) he was grinning ear to ear knowing he’d had a bit of a blinder. He had left the Fireballs behind sometime through lap 3 and hadn’t really seen the other boats that had been nearby earlier in the race. A couple of minutes ahead were Dan & Emma completing their 3rd lap and apparently having so much fun they simply went blasting after they received their finishing toot as they crossed the line.
Steve T came through on 4 laps also about 15-20 minutes behind Kiwi, but how would the finishing times work out on Handicap?
I’d like to say boats were packed away for the night quickly but everyone was looking a tad worn out. Showers were had, beer was consumed, BBQ was eaten, and then we saw the days results posted on the notice board - all the Wētā had be DSQ’d.
What had we done wrong? Was there a conspiracy against us? Were we simply having to much fun to be considered serious enough to be counted in the results?
After discussing the days sailing, the course and the results it occurred that there may have been the possibility of the gate being missed on one or more of the laps by some of us.
Sunday
Sunday morning dawned with another glorious Welsh day, after the fog lifted if you were up early enough to see it.
The club grounds were a hive of activity with people getting ready for day two of the event.
Kiwi, was still unsure about the DSQs from the day before took some time to visit the RO to discuss what had gone wrong?
Apparently, on the first lap, he had been judged to have missed the outer mark in the middle of the lake based on his approach to the last mark of each lap before the gate. The race scorers didn't realise the Weta with it's flat cut gennaker can hold much tighter angles that the assymetric boats and they had mistakingly thought I had carried the 'kite' down the lake straight to the last mark, and therefore missing one. Once this was corrected his finishing time (which was luckily taken anyway) was reinstated and the DSQ turned in to 2nd overall.
Sometimes it's worth checking results and decisions.
Steve C's result was amended to a DNF, while both Steve T along with Dan & emma scored as NSC for incorrect course after missing the gate at some stage.
Sunday on the Water
As we were starting earlier in the day the breeze had yet to build and conditions were like the 2023 race when there was light winds.
It felt like less boats on the start and the results sheets showed 16 less boats on the course so maybe the previous day took it's toll on some.
The race got under way in no more than 8 knots and while it did increase slightly throughout it never really allowed the Weta to take a breath and get going. Most competitors only managed two laps before receiving a finishing toot and this brought the weekend to a close.
Results for Sunday had Kiwi finishing 28th and Steve C completing the course in 38th.
After packing down, loading the boat and attending prize giving it was time to head back with loads a great memories of another fun trip to Bala.
Results for the weekend can be seen here -
It would really be great if we could continue the growth in Weta participation at this event - 2023 had two Weta taking part, 2024 had four, could we hope that 2025 will have six (or more) which would make us one of the biggest fleets to attend......
Once dates for 2025 are known they will posted on the AdrenawindSports calendar and circulated to all Weta Class followers - be great to see you there.
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