All hands on deck

Published 21:27 on 2 Nov 2021

It was 'all hands on deck' at Ullswater Yacht Club last week when heavy rain led to flood warnings around the lake. Storm force winds and rain on the night on Wednesday October 27 saw the lake level rise and by Thursday morning it had reached the first row of boats in the club dinghy park.
Periods of prolonged rain always prompt memories of Storm Desmond in December 2015 at UYC when record rising lake levels caused devastating damage to the clubhouse and site.
On Thursday a team of volunteer members led by facilities manager Mark Humphries spent the day in torrential rain moving boats out of the flood area and putting in place mitigation measures to restrict any flood damage. Overnight with the lake level still rising, an appeal on the club's social media brought more willing volunteers who spent Friday moving everything to higher ground. During Friday the lake level reached its highest point with water lapping over the front step of the clubhouse stairs and the front lawn completely under water.
Mark said: "Fortunately we did not see a repeat of Desmond and the huge effort put in by our volunteers ensured that any damage was kept to a minimum."
The club was due to hold its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, October 30. With the clubhouse out of action, the AGM was postponed until Saturday, November 13 and will be held in Stainton Village Hall. Racing on Sunday, October 31, the final club event of the main 2021 sailing programme, the Autumn Nip, was cancelled.
The club is planning to be back on the water this weekend with a Sunday-only Open Winter Series due to start on November 7.

Last updated 19:16 on 15 April 2024