After an excellent day sailing from Ullswater Sailing Club to Howtown on Saturday, the OGA fleet set out to sail the full length of Ullswater in beautiful sunshine, light winds but the promise of better winds for the afternoon return.
The short drift to Howtown on Saturday made members of the OGA fleet hopeful of better weather on Sunday. After the briefing at 1000 on Sunday 24 August, 2025 it took about an hour to make ready and 14 Gaffers set out to sail to Glenridding and back. They were supported by the safety boat from Arnside Sailing Club helmed by Alastair Simpson and Crispin (Chris) Vyner-Brooks. The outward leg took just over three hours, tacking down in beautiful sunshine with some boats taking advantage of a tow from the safety boat or others with auxiliary power. On the approach to Glenridding Chris and Helen Englefield (OGA NW members) passed us in ‘Doris Maud’, their Kittiwake 16 yawl. After a short rest ashore at Glenridding, the fleet returned to the Yacht Club enjoying a gorgeous sail with the wind behind taking just two hours. This allowed skippers and crews time for a quick turnaround to catch a fleet of taxis provided by AM2PM taxis of Penrith or drive themselves the five miles to Tirril for an excellent meal at the Queens Head.
Ullswater was formed after the last Ice Age and provides a dramatic sailing area with the wooded slopes reaching the lakeside sweeping down from the high mountains of the Helvellyn Ridge. The dramatic scenery for sailing makes a significant change for East Coast OGA members joining the event. Five Ullswater Steamers ply their passage filled with tourists the full length of the lake, as they have done since 1877 and perhaps one of the most famous historic lake users is Donald Campbell, launching from Glenridding on 23 July, 1955 to set the world water speed record in ‘Bluebird K7’ with an impressive 202.32 mph.
There is a 10 mph speed limit now on the lake but dinghy sailors must look out for the swell caused by the steamers and wakeboarders. Unlike our East Coast sailing adventures, there are no tides to consider on our passage to Glenridding. However there are rocky reefs and shores (not mud), plenty of paddlers and swimmers to look out for and sailing from the Yacht Club at Thwaitehill Bay provides challenging wind shifts. These are particularly evident when passing through the Narrows before the dramatic Aira Point with its waterfall and Glencoyne Bay, opposite Norfolk Island, named after local landowner the Duke of Norfolk and also known as House Holm.
1807 Wordsworth’s famous poem is inspired by the shore of Glencoyne Bay.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Boats taking part in the event were all gaff-rigged but represented a wide range of design, rig and build: two Iain Oughtred designs, an Arctic Tern, ‘Keria’ and Willy Boat, ‘Milly, six Gaffling 4.1s, two Post Boats, a Lune Whammel, a Deben lugger, ‘Lulu’, two smacks boats, ‘Eureka’ and ‘Switha’ and a Cornish Shrimper 19 ‘Eagle Owl’. Find a report of Saturday’s sail here.
Jeremy Lambert, President of the North West OGA
I just want to say that the weather was beyond expectations for the whole weekend. This made the sail to Glenridding, which is probably one of the most exciting and challenging fresh water sails in the country, with the fast return to Ullswater Sailing Club a day to savour for a long time. The winds on Monday for the Gaffling Championship gave us good competitive racing which finished an excellent Bank Holiday weekend.
We would like to thank the following who ensured everyone enjoyed themselves on the water and ashore over the weekend:
Safety Boat helm: Alasdair Simpson, NW Area & Crispin (Chris) Vyner Brooks, boat loaned by Arnside Sailing Club
Photography: Jane Walker, Clare Thomas, Nick Costen, Steve & Beverley Yates
Hosts, providing launch, storage and campsite area: Ullswater Yacht Club
OGA Officers from the North West and East Coast Areas
Sunday evening meal: Queens Head, Tirril
Taxi service: AM2PM Taxis, Penrith
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