AM: Frostbite Trophy 2

After the big fleets of recent weeks encouraged out by the September sunshine, a 
dull drizzly day meant that only the hardy hard-core of a half dozen or  so 
sailors ventured out into the stiffish north-westerly wind  to battle with the 
elements.  It was certainly a morning when a moment's unwariness could lead to a 
quick dip, as Steve Axford found with a capsize even before the off, but all 
boats were the right way up to make a good getaway at the start, with the RS200 
first across the line with Bob Sampson at the helm.  By the first mark, Bob had 
established a lead, with Steve's Laser Radial chasing in second and Simon Veal 
in third, shaking the creases out of his new sails in the Laser 4.7.  The 
stronger winds had encouraged John Savage to opt for the smaller training rig in 
his Solo, but the reduced sail area meant that he struggled to stay in touch 
with the rest of the fleet and left him with a boom so low that he was forced 
into eel-like contortions to avoid being clouted whenever he tacked or gybed.  

Rounding the Far mark and starting the downwind leg, Bob Sampson was zig-zagging 
back down the lake in order to get the RS200's gennaker to pull, keeping crew 
Jane Chadney with her hands full, but it paid dividends sufficiently to stay 
ahead of Steve as they started the beat on the second lap.Thereafter, the order 
stayed mostly the same as the race progressed; Vicki Duncalf closed on Mike 
Ford's Wanderer for a time and got within striking distance before falling back 
and allowing John Duncalf in the rival Topper to close up.  As the finishing 
horn sounded for the RS200, Bob had pulled out nearly a minute's gap over 
Steve Axford in second, but on handicap it was not enough and Steve was the 
clear victor.  Calculations for the minor placings showed that despite finishing 
on the water over 10 minutes after the RS200, Vicki Duncalf had taken second on 
handicap, with Bob only holding onto third ahead of John Duncalf by two seconds.

Results: 

1st Steve Axford (Laser Radial)
2nd Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
3rd Bob Sampson and Jane Chadney (RS 200)
4th John Duncalf (Topper)
5th Simon Veal (Laser 4.7)
6th Mike Ford and John Buckett (Wanderer)
7th John Savage (Solo)

PM: Icicle Trophy 3

A further reduced fleet of five boats reappeared for the afternoon race, but 
demonstrated their hair-shirt credentials by asking the Race Officer for a four 
lap race instead of the more usual three laps.  Keen to make a clear break, 
Vicki Duncalf was in danger of being away slightly early and had to circle back, 
leaving the RS200 and Steve Axford's Laser to make the best starts at the upwind 
end of the line.  Taking different routes to the first upwind mark at Inlet, 
Steve was around first, but by the next buoy at West, Bob had taken the lead.  
On the downwind leg, Bob's zig-zag tactics to fly the gennaker didn't seem to 
pay off this time, however, and Steve's straight-line course gave him a short 
lead when they arrived art the Dam buoy, which increased when Bob touched the 
mark and had to do a 360 degree penalty turn.  Behind the leaders, both Toppers 
caught up significantly on the Wanderer at the start of the second lap on the 
beat to the Inlet mark and John Duncalf just squeezed ahead of Mike Ford as they 
rounded the buoy.

The third lap of the race demonstrated once again in that in sailing just as in 
finance, 'past performance is not necessarily a guide to future results'; Steve 
Axford still had a good lead over the RS200 when, in an eerie reversal of 
fortune, he gybed slightly too early at the downwind Dam mark and touched the 
buoy, letting Bob through to take a lead which was never to be lost.  Similarly, 
the Wanderer regained its form to overtake John Duncalf's Topper on the beat 
from West to Pinky.  Although the RS200 was safely first across the line, 
however, Steve Axford was comfortably first on handicap, to give an impressive 
double win for the day, with Bob and Jane taking second place and John Duncalf coming through into third.

Results: 

1st Steve Axford (Laser Radial)
2nd Bob Sampson and Jane Chadney (RS200)
3rd John Duncalf (Topper)
4th Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
5th Mike Ford and Adeneny Pooley (Wanderer)