21st April 2019 Race Report

Ladies/Gents/Junior/Gosling 1

Fifteen sailors in thirteen boats took to the water for the noon race on a glorious day which lacked nothing except wind. They milled about, pointing in every different direction, waiting for the start, but there were wily skippers who got away right on the gun – Paul Whybrow (Solo) at the clubhouse end of the line and Jane Anderson (Laser Radial) at the other end. Sally Wills’ Bosun (Roger Heasman  crewing) was on the wrong side of the line at that moment and had to go back; it took them, Linda Spiller (Laser), who mistakenly thought it was her who had started too soon, Toby Tobias in his beautifully refurbished Bosun and the Commodore in his new and underperforming Aero 7  a minute or five to cross the line when finally the horn blew. Another five minutes into the front runners’ race and an easterly zephyr picked them up and drove them towards Pinky with the Whybrow Solo sailing up the Devon bank and the rest in the middle, Robin Spiller in his Streaker going well amongst the Lasers. As the fleet crawled back towards the Dam the minutes clicked by and John Buckett, the Officer of the Day with John Savage, decided that at fifty plus minutes per lap, one lap would be enough. There were multiple changes of order even between Dam Green and the finish line and six boats crossed the line within a minute. First was Jane Anderson with Robin Spiller and Paul Whybrow impossible to separate in second. Meanwhile the vagaries of the wind had pushed the back of the fleet towards the front which brought slower boats with advantageous handicaps to the front of the order.

  1. Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
  2. Toby Tobias (Bosun)
  3. Sally Wills and Roger Heasman (Bosun)
  4. Paul Whybrow (Solo)
  5. Cilla Gilbert and Brian Pollard (Bosun)
  6. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
  7. Robin Spiller (Streaker)
  8. Penny Abbott (Laser)
  9. Linda Spiller (Laser)
  10. Nathan Pollard (Laser)
  11. Bob Sampson (Laser)

Retired Adam Hilton (Aero 7), John Dabbs (Gull)

 

Tamar 2

There was a little more wind and the fleet started towards Pinky on a starboard tack, Jane Anderson (Laser Radial) just leading. But by the end of the lap it was Penny Abbott (Laser) who led with Bob Sampson (Laser) second. Roger Heasman with Sally Wills led the Bosun race at the end of each lap with Brian Pollard (with Cilla Gilbert) and Toby Tobias swapping places behind him. Nathan Pollard (Laser) had a successful second lap, going from fifth at the end of lap 1 to first at the end of lap 2, a position he retained at the finish and it was only Jane Anderson’s smaller sail that deposed him in the adjusted results.

  1. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
  2. Nathan Pollard (Laser )
  3. Bob Sampson (Laser)
  4. Penny Abbott (Laser)
  5. Linda Spiller (Laser)
  6. Sally Wills and Roger Heasman (Bosun)
  7. Robin Spiller (Streaker)
  8. John Dabbs (Gull)
  9. Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
  10. Toby Tobias (Bosun)
  11. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)

Retired Adam Hilton (Aero 7)

Grateful thanks were given to John Buckett and John Savage who ran the races and to Mandy and James Pollard for photography.