AM: Sailboat Trophy 5

With an unusually benign wind, John Buckett crossed the line first. This 
was not to last though, as by the first mark at West Jane Anderson in her 
fully rigged Laser had established a good lead. Next came Nicky Buckett 
and Simon Veal in their fully rigged Lasers with Katie Leveridge in the 
smaller Laser Radial rig  also in close contention.

Slight confusion arose over which West mark to take, the white or red! 
Jane Anderson went white, whilst everybody else followed Nicky Buckett 
like lemmings to the red buoy. Jane's contention after the race was that if 
no specific buoy is designated by the Officer of the Day then the racer has 
the choice! Any risk of a contentious result was however quickly 
annulled, as Jane went the wrong side of the home buoy and was 
therefore disqualified. (The Officer of the Day lived to breathe another 
day!)  At the end of the first lap the fleet had become spread out with a 
gang of Lasers up front, being shadowed by John Savage. (John really is 
getting to terms with his new Solo rig.) 

As the race moved on Mike Ford and new crew Christine Marshall 
(turning to water wings, rather than aircraft wings) started to move well 
and overhauled John Savage.   John Chandler's Bosun presented a sight 
for sore eyes, as John had given over the helm to young Ben Pollard who 
must be all of 8 to 10 years old. Testimony to Ben's capability and John's 
coaching, is the fact that on handicap Simon Veal only beat them by one 
second.  John Savages gritty performance also saw him beat Roger 
Heasman in the Laser Radial by just two seconds.  Final handicap winner 
was John Buckett who thereby staked his claim to male chauvinism, by 
beating wife Nicky into second place!

Results: 

1st John Buckett (Otter)
2nd Nicky Buckett (Laser)
3rd Katie Leveridge (Laser Radial)
4th John Savage (Solo)
5th Roger Heasman (Laser Radial)
6th Simon Veal (Laser)
7th Ben Pollard and John Chandler (Bosun)
8th Adam and Nathan Pollard (Pico)
Jane Anderson (Laser) dsq
Non starter: Mike Ford and Christine Marshall Wanderer. (Not on water
                    on time.)

Lunchtime: Peter Pocock Achievement Trophy.

Since he was the only one of the nine youngsters in the series to arrive for 
the race, Fraser Martyn achieved the easiest of winning results. To 
maintain good practice, a course was set and Fraser duly completed the 
course!
Result: 1st Fraser Martyn.

PM race: Chocoholics and Ship Creek Paddle

Arranged to give light relief and for those with an especially sweet tooth, 
the racers encountered more intense wind conditions on the lake.
As if to prove that her middle name is Chocky, Jane Anderson ploughed 
across the start line on starboard, forcing Bob Sampson and Roger 
Heasman to take diversionary tactics. Not content with this, Jane then 
proceeded to act like a hungry wasp 'wanting its sugar'!  Invoking the 
'windward boat keeps clear' ruling, Jane almost forced Mike Ford into 
irons to stop him passing her. It was only when Jane realised that Katie 
Leveridge and Bob Sampson were stealing past her to windward that she 
stopped bombarding Mike.

Roger Heasman managed to hold Simon Veal at bay for a while on the 
run back from Pinkie to Dam.  Close manoeuvring by Simon then gave 
him an almost literal hair raising pass on Roger with Simon's boom 
missed Roger's head by a fraction.  John Savage, who had a rigging loss 
in the Solo, managed to ingeniously overcome it and in the process on the 
run to dam, created a huge bow wave.  John Buckett, finding the wind 
conditions rather more extreme than in the morning, decided that it was 
better to play safe and keep the Otter upright by sailing very carefully. 
Fraser Martyn having been stung on the finger by an angry wasp (not 
Jane Anderson), had a major capsize in the Pico, in the process catching 
his stung finger in a cleat.  Not surprisingly, he decided to retire. Adam 
Pollard and brother Nathan meanwhile, carefully completed their junior 
two laps and sailed home safely.

John Chandler and Ben Pollard with John at the helm this time, had a 
close encounter with Mike Ford and Christine Marshal as the boats 
rounded Dam Green buoy for the last time. With Mike trying desperately 
to squeeze ahead, John and Ben kept their nerve to finish just one second 
ahead of Mike at the line.  Having been snubbed by Jane at the start, Bob 
Sampson was determined to show who was boss and eventually Jane 
capitulated, thus allowing Bob to take both line and handicap honours.
Results: 

1st Bob Sampson (Laser)
2nd Jane Anderson (Laser)
3rd Katie Leveridge (Laser Radial)
4th John Chandler and Ben Pollard (Bosun) 
5th Roger Heasman (Laser Radial)
6th John Buckett (Otter)
7th Simon Veal (Laser)
8th Mike Ford and Christine Marshall (Wanderer)
9th John Savage (Solo)
10th Adam and Nathan Pollard (Pico)