Barnwell 2
James Pollard’s Blaze crossed the line first and stayed first all race, gloriously lapping half the fleet and finishing five minutes in front of anyone else. Not even a thoroughly disadvantageous handicap could take victory from him. The race was run under a strong sun and moderate, mostly northerly winds with not too many gusts but a powerful windchill. John Dabbs (Bosun, Adam Hilton as crew) had come up to the start line too soon, had to sail down it to leeward, and was actually the wrong side of it but sailing back at the start. There was also pushing and shoving on the line which led to Linda Spiller’s post race retirement. From then on the two Lasers in the race, Bob Sampson’s with a full sail and Linda Spiller’s with a little 4.7, were second and third and had a fairly uneventful race as did fourth place Robin Spiller in his Streaker Wave.
Behind them the story was quite different, with the two Toppers, Vicki Duncalf’s and Jane Anderson’s, competing with each other and with the two Bosuns, John Dabbs’ and Brian Pollard’s (Cilla Gilbert crewing). The order among seemed to change with every leg of the race with all four leading at different points. They were generally close together and with the multiple tacks needed to get to the top of the Lake causing conflicts, John Dabbs Bosun impeded a Topper and had to perform penalty turns. Applying the handicaps gave the little Toppers victory over (almost) everyone.
| Rank | Class | HelmName | CrewName | Rating | Elapsed | Corrected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BLAZE | James Pollard | 1033 | 0:40:01 | 0:38:44 | |
| 2 | TOPPER | Jane Anderson | 1334 | 0:54:39 | 0:40:58 | |
| 3 | TOPPER | Vicki Duncalf | 1334 | 0:55:05 | 0:41:18 | |
| 4 | LASER | Bob Sampson | 1075 | 0:45:04 | 0:41:55 | |
| 5 | STREAKER WAVE | Robin Spiller | 1217 | 0:51:03 | 0:41:57 | |
| 6 | BOSUN | John Dabbs | Adam Hilton | 1233 | 0:54:23 | 0:44:06 |
| 7 | BOSUN | Brian Pollard | Cilla Gilbert | 1233 | 0:54:48 | 0:44:27 |
| 8 | LASER 4.7 | Linda Spiller | 1188 | RET |
Sailwave Scoring Software 2.28.2
As the sailors ate their lunch the sky darkened, the wind strengthened, the cold increased and streaks appeared on the waters of the Lake. The second race was abandoned.
Grateful thanks were given to Sue Murray who ran the race, to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs and to Penny Abbott who volunteered at short notice to replace the Lakes Trust’s safety boat crew.