Barnwell 5

After an initial General Recall due to over enthusiasm on the line at the start, the morning race set off again with the Lasers of Sue Murray, Linda Spiller and Jane Anderson leading the way in a light breeze. There were 8 competitors and they all settled into their own rhythm as the laps progressed.  The full length and width of the lake was used which produced an excellent course which everyone much enjoyed!

Sailboat 5

The breeze was much stronger in the afternoon which provided more of a challenge for helmsmen and women! Roger Heasman had an unfortunate capsize in his Bosun and he was forced to retire with a boat full of water to empty when he reached the Pontoon.  Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet once again enjoyed an excellent course with only the upwind legs being quite challenging in the gusty puffs!  Everyone enjoyed a great bank holiday racing day – even though the sunshine proved elusive!

by Colin Witchell

April Bonus 4

Due to insufficient numbers, Louise and Colin Witchell gave up OOD duties to participate in the race and Cameron kindly started the horn for us.  John Dabbs and Linda Spiller were away first in the Bosun, closely followed by Geoff Floyd in his Solo, then Louise and Colin with their first outing this season.  Having borrowed a Club Boson as theirs had squatters in the form of a robin’s nest full of chicks!  Very cute!  The moderate breeze was from the south east and consistent.  John and Linda remained in the lead but Geoff was hard on their heels throughout the race, successfully taking the lead before the finish.

by Adam Hilton

Geoff Floyd

Tamar 1

Sue Murray in her Laser Radial crossed the start line first, rounded Zebra first and reached Inlet first but it all happened in very slow motion. There was very little wind, it was raining and not at all warm. Adam Hilton’s Solo started second but was soon overtaken by Bob Sampson’s Laser Full and a little later by Nathan Pollard’s Laser. The wind abandoned Sue Murray at Inlet; she seemed glued to the buoy, allowing all the following single-handers to catch up and the two Lasers to overtake. Nathan Pollard took over the lead in the drift back down the Lake and arrived at the end of a single lap in just under an hour.

The conditions were even more difficult for the three double-handers which were less able to respond to each tiny zephyr. Roger Heasman, Dave Perrett crewing, retired gracefully (but slowly). Brian Pollard (with Cilla Gilbert), who had started as the lead Bosun, was overtaken by John Dabbs (with Linda Spiller).

The Solo’s superior handicap promoted Adam Hilton above Sue Murray.

Tamar 2

Sue Murray again got away first but this time made it stick and still led even when the familiar three leading Lasers entered the doldrums at the top of the Lake. Somehow she got through them and made a stately progress to the finish line. Nathan Pollard and then Bob Sampson followed her home.

Adam Hilton, up with the Lasers, was abandoned by the wind at West and retired, eventually being towed home by a passing paddle-boarder! The Bosuns gave up too. The safety boat did a good deal of towing. But as boats were hauled up the slipway and sails taken down the wind returned and the Lake ceased to be glassy; laps would have taken their usual fifteen minutes!

Many thanks were given to Geoff Floyd who ran the race and took the photographs.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Barnwell 4

Vicki Duncalf’s Topper was the first to cross the start line, but following her and moving faster, was Adam Hilton’s Solo, which overtook and made the short beat to Dam Green in the lead. The gentle winds were coming over the dam from the southwest and helms needed to start close up to the windward buoy if they were to make Game Green in one tack. Roger Heasman’s Bosun, with Dave Perrett as crew, started only moments later than the leaders but further to leeward and had had to tack before reaching Dam Green allowing others, notably Geoff Floyd’s Solo, to round the buoy before it. The run to Home 2 saw Nathan Pollard in his familiar full-sailed Laser, begin to assert himself, taking over second place from Geoff Floyd. Jane Anderson too, sailing her Laser with a little 4.7 sail, got free of the increasingly quarrelsome Bosuns, two of which, the Heasman and Dabbs boats, ending up doing penalty turns after Home 2. This enabled Brian Pollard, Cilla Gilbert crewing, to establish himself as lead Bosun.

Nathan Pollard continued to chase Adam Hilton who had benefitted from the clean air away from the squabbling fleet and had a substantial lead. The Pollard Laser finally took over that lead on the way to Pinkie on the second lap, Adam Hilton retaining second place until he capsized near the end of the third and final lap! The other Solo, Geoff Floyd’s, faired better; scrapping with Paul Anderson’s Laser (Full) which finished in third place on the water. The main beneficiaries of the handicaps were Brian Pollard’s Bosun, up to 3^rd from 6^th on the water, and Jane Anderson’s Laser 4.7 which was given the victory after crossing the finish line in fourth.

Sailboat 4

Paul Anderson got away well and rounded Dam Green first. He benefitted from the wind having moved a little further west, reducing the need to start up against the windward buoy if dinghies were to reach Dam Green in one tack. Vicky Duncalf made her usual fine start and Robin Spiller would have done too if he hadn’t decided he was going to cross the line too early and turned back. From the shore it looked as though he could have carried on. He started from the back of the field. However the Streaker was going well and he had overtaken one Bosun by the time he rounded Dam Green, another before going round Home 2 and was up to third on the way back down the Lake, behind the two big Lasers of Paul Anderson (still leading) and Nathan Pollard. Robin Spiller retained that position for the rest of the race but Nathan Pollard overtook Paul Anderson just after the first buoy of lap 2 to lead the fleet for the rest of the way.

The Bosuns swapped places a good deal; Roger Heasman starting well at second around Dam Green and leading the other Bosuns at 4^th in the fleet at the end of lap 1 but down to 5^th on lap 2 and 7^th at the finish. John Dabbs’ boat did better; finishing the race only five minutes behind the leading Laser caused the handicap to give him the victory.

Many thanks were given to Bob Sampson who ran the race and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Barnwell 3

Nathan Pollard’s Laser was only the fourth boat to cross the start line but he had overtaken the rest before the first buoy and led every other inch of the race, finishing seven minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet. That was not enough to convince the handicapping system that he should be regarded as the winner however; it demoted him to third. The winds were from the south with increasing touches of west as the day went on. The gusts were frequent, powerful and variable in direction, but mercifully brief. These conditions led some sailors to make cautious choices as to the boat they went out in. Jane Anderson was in her Topper, the two Solo skippers present retreated to crewing rather more stable Bosuns.

Jane Anderson was the first to start but had dropped to fourth by the first buoy. Vicki Duncalf in another Topper was second at the first buoy and on the way up to Inlet, these two little Toppers scrapping with the lumbering Bosuns. The Bosuns began in the order John Dabbs, Brian Pollard, Roger Heasman but by Inlet the Pollard/Gilbert boat had overtaken the Dabbs/ Hilton one. Jane Anderson was a continuing threat to Brian Pollard’s second place, the two boats converging at Dam Green on lap 3 with Jane Anderson emerging and finishing the race in second place, whereas Brian Pollard had to do a penalty turn for hitting the buoy.

Sailboat 3

The Toppers started first, Jane Anderson in the lead.  By Dam Green Vicki Duncalf headed her but they both had been overtaken by Nathan Pollard. His race followed a similar pattern to the last – leading throughout, despite a brief capsize on lap 2, but being demoted by the handicap.

The Toppers were under threat from the Heasman Bosun which had overtaken Vicki Duncalf before Pinkie and Jane Anderson before the end of the lap. However on lap 2 it was the Pollard/Gilbert Bosun which posed a threat to the Anderson Topper, finishing that lap and the rest of the race in second place. At the end the Heasman/Perrett Bosun also headed both Toppers but the Dabbs/ Hilton Bosun managed to touch a couple of buoys in the course of the race and remained firmly at the back of the field.

Many thanks (and some chocolate eggs) were given to James Pollard who volunteered to run the safety boat in the absence of any Lakes Trust operative. Thanks were also given to Linda Spiller who ran the race and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.

by Adam Hilton

April Bonus 1

The Officers of the Day, Roger Heasman and Dave Perrett, were persuaded to take to the water and the safety boat operative, Dan, agreed to start the horn sequence at five to two. Putting these measures in place created a fleet consisting of John Dabbs’ Bosun crewed by Roger H and the three Soloists: Dave Perrett, Geoff Floyd and Adam Hilton.

The day was vile. A thick, wet, grey blanket lay over everything and when standing on the shore there appeared to be no wind at all. However, once launched and beyond the lee of the hill, it became clear to helms that there was quite enough south westerly wind to power a race.

The start was from the Far Side to Dam Green and it was just possible to make that first buoy in one tack if one crossed the line close to the weather buoy and had a boat willing to point reasonably high. Then the course took the fleet on a run to Home 2 where helms hardened up to cross  to West before running to Pinkie. The beat to the Dam, via Inlet, could be achieved without tacking if the boat was willing and the helm made the most of every favourable lift. Even if these favourable conditions pertained, relations with the Devon bank were liable to be more intimate than helms would have chosen. It was possible, for example, to discover that the water off the point before Inlet was shallower than it looked.

Adam Hilton led the three laps with the Dabbs Bosun second, Geoff Floyd third and Dave Perrett bringing up the rear. Each helm was supposed to record his time as he crossed the finish line. Some were more reliable about this than others but there was little overt dissension when it was declared that applying the handicaps had not changed the on-water finishing order. Adam Hilton went home with a very welcome winner’s chocolate orange.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo)
2. John Dabbs and Roger Heasman (Bosun)
3. Geoff Floyd (Solo)
4. Dave Perrett (Solo)

Thanks to all for making an enjoyable race possible.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Barnwell 2

For many sailors this was still their first race of the season. Sue Murray took out her Laser 4.7 when, after months off the water, she had reminded herself how to rig it. Brian Pollard had a new set of sails for his Bosun and Cilla Gilbert as crew. Vicki Duncalf was out for the first time in her Topper as was John Buckett in his little two-sailed Otter which he piloted in his signature sideways/backwards position and with his usual skill. The wind gods were still encamped somewhere west of Bradworthy and sending down fairly gentle Northerlies which meant that there was no need to change the course from the previous week. It went to West via Inlet and up to Pinkie with a long run back to the Dam.

John Dabbs (Adam Hilton crewing) took his Bosun over the line first, closely followed by Sue Murray who soon took over the lead while pointing a lot higher than the Bosun. She then tacked early for Inlet, a manoeuvre which paid off handsomely. Brian Pollard’s Bosun was also pointing higher enabling him to round Inlet and reach West in front of the Dabbs Bosun. The tussle between these two skippers was a continuing feature of the race with Brian Pollard leading at the end of the first and last laps but with John Dabbs in front at the end of the second. They finished ten seconds apart. Behind them the two Solos of Geoff Floyd and Dave Perrett battled with Floyd eventually emerging in front.

Inlet, in the lee of the hills, continued to test skippers with its feeble winds from uncertain directions. Sue Murray lost much of her lead there on the second lap and she finished only ten seconds in front of the lead Bosun which explains the handicap demoting her.

Sailboat 2

Sue Murray led over the line with Vicki Duncalf following. Next came the yellow Pollard/Gilbert Bosun chased by John Bucket’s Otter. The winds were lighter than for the first race and slightly further to the east. Laps took longer to complete and Jane Anderson as Officer of the Day shortened the race to two laps from the intended three.

Inlet again proved difficult, Brian Pollard’s fine start being ruined by getting stuck windless at Inlet. Sue Murray, on the other hand, was able to consolidate her lead, which was up to a good four minutes at the end. John Buckett’s Otter several times headed the lead Bosun (now John Dabbs’) but ended the race third on the water. At only twenty seconds behind the Bosun at the finish, however, he was promoted by the handicap.

Many thanks were given to Jane Anderson who ran the race and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.

Jane Anderson, sailing her Topper, was first across the start line and led every tack, reach and run of this four lap race, this despite her craft being, according to the handicaps, the slowest boat on the water. The wind was blowing at highly variable strengths and from highly variable points around East North East. It made a grey Tamar Lake feel distinctly cold.

The course took the fleet around Zebra and to Inlet, a couple of tacks. Then it was a run to West before more tacks to Pinky and a run back to Dam Green. Roger Heasman and Dave Perrett in the Bosun were second around Inlet. Adam Hilton and Leila Farmer in another Bosun were next, although soon to be overtaken by John Dabbs and Linda Spiller in the third of the Bosun fleet. Geoff Floyd followed, the Solo hard to handle in the gusts even with a small sail.

The order remained the same at the end of lap 1 but at the end of lap 2 the Dabbs/Spiller Bosun had overtaken its Heasman/Spiller sister.  The third Bosun was losing a lot of ground with the Solo still further back. The Solo retired after a capsize on lap 2 and the lagging Bosun lost broke its tiller and was obliged to beach on lap 3. The leading trio remained close; Heasman and Dabbs swapping places from time to time. All three crossed the finish line within twenty seconds of each other.

Many thanks were given to Paul Anderson who ran the race.

Sailwave Scoring Software 2.28.2
www.sailwave.com

by Adam Hilton

For the first race of the season, the first for the Barnwell Cup, a hazy sun was out, the winds were from West North West and blowing a little more strongly than the 7mph forecast. A very full Tamar Lake had blessedly few other users.

John Dabbs took out his Bosun with Karl Moss, a welcome newcomer from Bradworthy as crew. Jane and Paul Anderson, after a 2022 of barely setting foot in a boat, took out their Lasers, hers with a Radial sail, his with a full size. Finally, Dave Perrett and Adam Hilton had their Solos on the water. There would have been more if half the Club had not been suffering from one bug or another.

Bob Sampson set a course that entailed a beat up to West, a gybe and a short run across to Middle, then more beating up to Pinky. Coming back south meant reaching to the point before the Inlet, then a tricky little passage of sailing by the lee or coping with an unpredictable gybe before rounding Inlet buoy. Crossing to Zebra was an invigorating passage, the lighter boats on the edge of planning, after which the run to Dam Green was relaxing until another gybe around that buoy before competitors re-crossed the start line.

Jane Anderson was the first to cross the start line, on starboard tack. Most of the rest of the field chose to start on port tack, with John Dabbs second over the line and Adam Hilton third. Dave Perrett started on the near side of the startline when the course stated that he should have crossed on the far side. He lost time going back. Paul Anderson’s rudder was unwilling to remain properly attached to his boat. He lost time too. Jane Anderson was the first to round the first buoy with Adam Hilton second and John Dabbs third. Paul Anderson was catching up the Perrett Solo but didn’t get past until after Inlet. Thereafter the order remained the same but there was still plenty of racing going on. The Dabbs Bosun was close enough to the leaders at the end of the first lap for the handicap to have given him victory if the race had ended then. Equally Adam Hilton would have won on handicap if the race had ended after two laps. But it didn’t and after three laps Jane Anderson’s lead was a secure one minute and seventeen seconds

1. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo)
3. John Dabbs and Karl Moss (Bosun)
4. Paul Anderson (Laser Full)
5. Dave Perrett (Solo)

Bob Sampson kindly ran the race.

by Adam Hilton

Bob Sampson

Sailing on Boxing Day has long been a tradition of the Tamar Lake club and this Boxing Day was no exception. However the still present virus, family commitments and like impediments reduced the numbers of members attending to about a dozen. These few however were rewarded by a sparkling Lake, full of water with the excess cascading over the dam; such a pleasure to see after the miserable puddle of the drought-ridden summer which had meant that the racing season had to be cut short. Moreover the weather turned out sunny, not too cold and with sharp little north-westerly winds, perfect for propelling sailing dinghies up and down.

Two Bosun dinghies went out. John Dabbs took one of the Club’s Bosuns with Ethan Walker as crew. Adam Hilton’s Bosun had Anna Walker at the helm with her mother and the owner as crew. The little fleet took two tacks to get up to Far buoy, then reached back towards the Dam, turned and repeated the exercise. The Club’s always fast, pale blue Rob Eason Bosun easily out-paced the Hilton boat. The crews came off the water beaming; so grateful to have been back on the water  at Tamar Lake. Roll on the spring and the new racing season!