AM: Equinoctial Trophy 4 Temperatures well into double figures tempted out a striking number of Upper Tamar sailors into an early emergence from their winter hibernation, giving a fleet size also well into double figures and making an impressive spectacle as they jockeyed for position whilst waiting for the off. With the start line shielded under the lee of the hill from the westerly wind, it looked as though a gentle sail was in prospect as the fleet headed up the lake from the start. First over the line was Vicki Duncalf, followed by Jane Anderson close behind in second place, with the rest of the fleet making a fairly sedate start in the balmy breeze. As the fleet emerged out into West bay, however, the helms rapidly found that the real strength of the wind was rather more than they had expected and some Laser sailors regretted their decisions to opt for the full rig instead of one of the smaller sail options. As the race unfolded, it became clear that it was likely to be a female-dominated contest, with Jane Anderson, Katie Leveridge and Nicky Buckett occupying the first three positions, before Simon Veal appeared as first male in fourth place. The combination of an increasingly gusty wind, together with some awkward gybes at several of the marks, was found to be a rather taxing mixture for some of the sailors and Toby Tobias at the helm of the safety boat was kept busy dashing hither and thither across the lake to stand by as one boat after another capsized. Soon the effort of recovering from multiple capsizes started to take its toll on some helms and several decided to retire and head for an early lunch. Those at the head of the fleet carried on undaunted, however and Jane Anderson was first across the line, followed by Katie Leveridge, both in Laser Radials and these also took first and second places on handicap. Vicki Duncalf’s Topper found the conditions to its liking, bringing Vicki home in third place. Behind these three, Nicky Buckett and Simon Veal did the best of the full-rig Laser sailors in mastering the conditions and took fourth and fifth respectively on handicap. Completing the top half of the fleet was John Savage, who kept his Solo moving well to claim a creditable sixth place. Results: 1st Jane Anderson (Laser Radial) 2nd Katie Leveridge (Laser Radial) 3rd Vicki Duncalf (Topper) 4th Nicky Buckett (Laser) 5th Simon Veal (Laser) 6th John Savage (Solo) 7th Emily Veal (Laser Radial) 8th Mike Ford (Solo) 9th Emma Smith (Laser Radial) Roger Heasman (Streaker), Jane Chadney (Laser), Adeney Pooler (Graduate) rtd Mary Carter (Laser Radial) dns PM: Equinoctial Trophy 5 The fleet was tightly packed as the horn sounded to get the afternoon race underway on a reaching course but, as in the morning, it was a fairly gentle beginning to the race, with Paul Whybrow and John Duncalf being the first to show at the front. However, it soon became clear that there was more wind out in the middle of the lake at the downwind end of the start line, giving Adeney Pooler in the Graduate and John Savage in the Solo the impetus to overhaul the early leaders and they were still ahead as they approached the first mark. However, as they rounded West mark and bore away on a run to Inlet, the situation was transformed in an instant; the Graduate broached as Adeney made the turn and though he avoided the capsize, he touched another boat and lost many seconds doing the requisite penalty turns. Just behind, John Savage and visitor Emma Smith were baulked as Adeney tried to get out of the way and in the confusion, Paul Whybrow was able to slip into the lead, closely followed by Simon Veal. Several of the Laser sailors had downsized to smaller rigs after the excitements of the morning, but it soon became apparent that the wind had lost quite a lot of its bite and seemed to have taken on a more relaxed mood after lunch. Simon had held onto the full Laser rig, however, which gave him more horsepower under the bonnet as he closed right up behind Paul Whybrow’s transom. Paul wasn’t prepared to give up easily, though and was using all of his tactical experience from the Open racing circuits to stay in front. On the second lap, with both boats roaring down the lake on a high-speed plane, Simon eventually made his superior boat speed tell and started to move away. However, having been concentrating so hard on following Paul, once in front Simon had forgotten which way the course went and headed off to the wrong mark; he then had to make a huge detour to get back on track and threw away nearly all the lead he had worked so hard to build up, only just staying ahead of Paul. Behind, other Laser sailors were having separate 1:1 contests, with the Laser Radials of Nicky Buckett and Katie Leveridge scrapping for third place and Emily Veal and Emma Smith having a closely-contested tussle of their own. Meanwhile, despite having downsized to Laser 4.7 rigs, Jane Anderson and Jane Chadney were quietly going well in the middle of the fleet. By the end, Simon had once more pulled away and was first to cross the line but the lost time was to cost him dear and he was only 40 seconds ahead of the Laser Radial of Katie Leveridge, who moved up a couple of places on the last lap to be second at the finish. On handicap, it was a very different story, with Paul Whybrow’s skill being rewarded with a first place, just six seconds ahead of Jane Andereson in the Laser 4.7 and Jane Chadney coming through into third. Results: 1st Paul Whybrow (Solo) 2nd Jane Anderson (Laser 4.7) 3rd Jane Chadney (Laser 4.7) 4th Katie Leveridge (Laser Radial) 5th Simon Veal (Laser) 6th Nicky Buckett (Laser Radial) 7th Mike Ford (Solo) 8th John Duncalf (Topper) 9th Emma Smith (Laser Radial) 10th Emily Veal (Laser Radial) 11th John Savage (Solo) 12th Adeneny Pooler (Graduate)