Bosun PLUS 2
This was a race for Bosun dinghies (with interlopers permitted) and eight of them took to the water only to find little or no wind. What breaths there were seemed to be coming from somewhere over the Dam so the first post-start buoy was Dam Green where the Bosuns bunched up, all on starboard tack except for Brian Pollard (Cilla Gilbert as crew) who rounded the buoy first.  As the fleet was snail-pacing to Middle, Bob Sampson (with Robin Spiller) was to windward and coming up but it was Sue Murray (with Vicki Duncalf) who got round West first, if one discounts Nathan Pollard’s non-conforming Laser. She had a good lead over the slow-dicing pair of John Dabbs (Penny Abbott crewing) and John Buckett (with Annie Quartermaine) and then the next pair Roger Heasman (with Linda Spiller) and Brian Pollard. Adam Hilton and Geoff Floyd found their own doldrums at Middle and never made it to West, Louise and Colin Witchell having already given up the struggle to get their Bosun to sail anywhere.
At the start of the second lap there were five Bosuns within inches of each other but coming up to Dam Green Roger Heasman got water over John Buckett, Bob Sampson and John Dabbs, Sue Murray having by now an unassailable lead, if any lead could be so-described when the wind might disappear at any moment. It didn’t and the Murray/Duncalf Bosun took the victory.
Bosuns Fleet
| Rank | HelmName | CrewName | Class | Rating | Elapsed | Corrected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sue Murray | Vicky Duncalf | BOSUN | 1233 | 0:42:24 | 0:34:23 |
| 2 | Brian Pollard | Cilla Gilbert | BOSUN | 1233 | 0:44:21 | 0:35:58 |
| 3 | John Buckett | Annie Quartermain | BOSUN | 1233 | 0:44:52 | 0:36:23 |
| 4 | Roger Heasman | Linda Spiller | BOSUN | 1233 | 0:45:02 | 0:36:31 |
| 5 | Bob Sampson | Robin Spiller | BOSUN | 1233 | 0:45:32 | 0:36:56 |
| 6 | John Dabbs | Penny Abbott | BOSUN | 1233 | 0:45:45 | 0:37:06 |
| 7 | Adam Hilton | Geoff Floyd | BOSUN | 1233 | RET | |
| 7 | Louise Witchell | Colin Witchell | BOSUN | 1233 | RET |
PLUS Fleet
| Rank | HelmName | CrewName | Class | Rating | Elapsed | Corrected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan Pollard | LASER | 1075 | 0:41:41 | 0:38:47 |
Pursuit 2
In Pursuit races handicaps are applied to the boat/skipper combinations before the start so that the theoretically slowest start first and the faster boats follow at prescribed intervals. There were still five Bosuns in the fleet (although some crew changes) but others had escaped to single handers in the hope of better sailing. To everyone’s great relief there was enough wind to sail with, although the early starters were disadvantaged by light airs which were replaced by stronger breezes just as the faster boats were starting their races. As a result Vicki Duncalf (Topper), who started first, was soon overtaken as were the Bosuns and Linda Spiller (Laser Full) was leading the fleet before the end of the first lap. Adam Hilton (Solo) was attempting the same feat but was held up trying to get past John Bucket and Bob Sampson’s Bosuns but still got through to second place by the end of the first lap. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full) had even more ground to make up. He was up to sixth after the first lap, to third at the end of lap two but hadn’t quite got past the Solo in front of him by the end.
| Rank | HelmName | CrewName | Class | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linda Spiller | LASER | 1075 | |
| 2 | Adam Hilton | SOLO | 1144 | |
| 3 | Nathan Pollard | LASER | 1075 | |
| 4 | Bob Sampson | Sue Murray | BOSUN | 1233 |
| 5 | Robin Spiller | STREAKER | 1134 | |
| 6 | John Buckett | Annie Quartermain | BOSUN | 1233 |
| 7 | John Dabbs | Penny Abbott | BOSUN | 1233 |
| 8 | Brian Pollard | Cilla Gilbert | BOSUN | 1233 |
| 9 | Geoff Floyd | SOLO | 1144 | |
| 10 | Roger Heasman | Ian Chatterton | BOSUN | 1233 |
| 11 | Vicki Duncalf | TOPPER | 1334 |
Grateful thanks were given to James Pollard, Officer of the Day, and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.