by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Frostbite 4

Nathan Pollard’s full-sailed Laser dominated the day’s racing. The very light winds from varying points in the south west dictated a start from the Home 2 line, which is always tricky for helms to know if it has been crossed or not. The Pollard Laser did not cross first – Adam Hilton’s Solo led – and it was not until they had sailed up to Dam Green and were back nearly rounding West that it slipped past. After that the lead never changed, Pollard finishing a minute in front of Linda Spiller in another full-sailed Laser who had had a lot of overtaking to do, taking the Solo on the third lap. However before that Linda, one of those lost in the featureless waters of the Home 2 start line, had had to sail past Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial and Paul Anderson’s fast-starting Laser Full. Brian Pollard, with a rare and treasured species, John Weller, as crew, started fourth, the lead Bosun, but got stuck at Dam Green and let the John Dabbs sister dinghy, Penny Abbott crewing, take over.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo)
2. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
3. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
4. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
5. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)
6. Paul Anderson (Laser Full)
7. Brian Pollard and John Weller (Bosun)

Icicle 4

The wind had moved further west making use of the more familiar and welcome Home 1 line possible. Nonetheless an over-eager Commodore caused a general recall and it was Jane Anderson who got away first at the second start with both Bosuns well up. Nathan Pollard soon took over the lead although he had to fight his way past Paul Anderson first. Linda Spiller, with the other big-sailed Laser, also overtook Paul Anderson but on the second lap. Jane Anderson, in her Laser Radial with its smaller sail, had a race long contest with Adam Hilton’s Solo; the vagaries of the very gentle winds often dictating who led. Brian Pollard’s Bosun spent most of the race in front of John Dabbs’s but was behind at the end when the wind disappeared leaving him inching home nearly half an hour after the winner, his son, crossed the line.

1. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
3. Adam Hilton (Solo)
4. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
5. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)
6. Paul Anderson (Laser Full)
7. Brian Pollard and John Weller (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Robin Spiller for running the races, to Bob Sampson for manning the safety boat and to Mandy Pollard for taking the photographs.

Buddy sailing

by Adam Hilton

There was a lot of traffic on the UTLSC Whatsap in the morning. Was anyone going to sail? Was there going to be enough wind if so? In the end four boats took to the wonderfully plentiful waters on a gorgeous afternoon with the Lake at its prettiest and a little bunch of capricious winds that kept helms on their toes. Linda Spiller’s Laser Full tacked away towards Middle and made it in one. Robin Spiller’s Streaker refused to point as high but got there fast. Adam Hilton’s Solo and Leila Farmer’s Hartley 12 followed. West was rounded in two tacks. Pinky was a reach as was most of the return to Home 1 although the wind was more northerly at the beginning of the leg than it was at the end. Linda drew away but Robin and Adam diced, the Solo ahead at the end of three laps.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
3. :Robin Spiller (Streaker)
4. Leila Farmer (Hartley 12)

Nobody ran the race or took pics. Adam pressed the start horn and made a dash to get afloat. Helms stopped their watches as they crossed the finish line.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Frostbite 3

Eating lunch on the shore of Tamar lake before the late-starting first race (delayed by a fishing competition) the more timorous members of the fleet were alarmed by the north easterlies screaming overhead, not the weather that had been forecast. Unease was increased by the absence of any Lakes Trust operative to run the safety boat but Bob Sampson nobly stepped in to fill the gap. In the event, when the starting horn blew, the winds had moderated although remaining highly variable in strength and direction. The Commodore’s Solo was away first closely followed and soon overtaken by Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial. Robin Spiller in his Streaker had a good start but Nathan Pollard in his full-sailed Laser did not. He made up for it by tacking early on the way to Inlet, losing the dirty air left by the boats ahead.  By the time the fleet was running across from Inlet to Middle, Nathan had overtaken Jane Anderson and led from then on, finishing the four laps two and a half minutes ahead of her. Linda Spiller’s Laser Radial rounded Inlet in third and retained that place until the second lap when her race faltered. John Dabbs, with John Buckett as crew, started as the lead Bosun, third at the start, with Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert’s Bosun at the rear of the fleet. But Brian soon made up the gap and led the Bosuns at the end of each lap.

1. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
3. Adam Hilton (Solo)
4. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)
5. John Dabbs and John Buckett (Bosun)
6. Linda Spiller (Laser Radial)

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker)

Icicle 3

Brian Pollard and Nathan Pollard made good starts this time, crossing the line first and second although the Pollard Bosun was well to leeward and the single-handers were all well past by the time he reached Inlet. The battle with the Dabbs/Buckett Bosun resumed with Brian Pollard generally leading but John Dabbs overtook at the start of lap 2 (of three) only to lose his advantage before they rounded Inlet. Nathan Pollard established a lead followed by Linda Spiller who had put a full-sized sail on her Laser. Jane Anderson and Adam Hilton followed but the gap to the faster Lasers was not enough to overcome the handicap advantage of the Laser Radial and the Solo which took first and second places.

1. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo)
3. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
4. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
5. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)
6. John Dabbs and John Buckett (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Vicki Duncalf and Colin and Louise Witchell for running the races, to Bob Sampson and Paul Anderson for manning the safety boat  and to Mandy Pollard for taking the photographs.

Teacake 7

Six boats took the start. Linda Spiller’s Laser Full crossed the line first, set off for West and was never headed. After three twelve minute laps she was four minutes ahead of the second starting, second finishing Solo of Adam Hilton. The winds which had appeared entirely charming and benign from the bank were a lot trickier on the water and got stronger as the race went on. In the middle of the Lake they arrived from over the western hills, making the first leg to West a high-pointing beat and the crossing to Inlet a sometimes stomach churning run. Going round Inlet was tricky – several helms got stuck in irons – and was not helped by an abusive fisherman on the bank. Going up to Pinky should have been a reach but was more like a beat; going back to Dam Green was often a glorious planing reach. Rob Spiller retired his Streaker after a lap. Ian Chatterton was sailing his Enterprise alone and did a fine job of surviving the winds’ gusts and troughs, finishing lap 1 in third but being overtaken by John Dabbs’ Bosun, Penny Abbott as crew, on lap 2. Leila Farmer, alone in her Hartley 12, made a good start and was still sailing at the end, although technically she retired somewhat earlier, having had to make an emergency stop replace the bung in her boat.

1. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo).
3. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)
4. Ian Chatterton (Enterprise)

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker), Leila Farmer (Hartley 12)

The race was rescheduled from the week before and Tom Sparkes was present to man the safety boat. Nice to see John and Ruth Savage who were just visiting but kindly agreed to run the race.

Teacake 6

Before the race it looked as though there would be no wind; one of those windless, sunny days. But a little north-westerly breeze turned up for the start and powered the fleet around a course that went as far north as Pinky at around 12 minutes a lap. Adam Hilton’s Solo was first away but Linda Spiller, her big-sailed Laser pointing high, was soon ahead, helped by the Commodore having to be reminded to go round West. West was a problem; stray too near the shore and you would go aground, as John Dabbs Bosun did. Ian Chatterton’s Enterprise started third and threatened the Solo for a couple of laps until ill-chosen tacks on the way to West allowed the Dabbs’ Bosun to get ahead; an impressive effort by Ian in the first race he’d signed on for!

1. John Dabbs (Bosun)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo).
3. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
4. Ian Chatterton (Enterprise)
5. Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

Brian Clifton and Robin Spiller were Officers of the Day. Many thanks to them.

by Adam Hilton

Brian Pollard

Frostbite 1

First away were Jane Anderson and Vicki Duncalf in Toppers, theoretically the slowest boats in this fleet of ten. Following but soon at the front were the Bob Sampson and Nathan Pollard Lasers, the fastest dinghies in both theory and practice. The northwesterlies had an autumnal strength although the sun was still out and Tamar Lake was still attracting a slew of paddle-boarders and kayakers while also hosting a fishing competition that dominated much of the water. At Middle Sampson was a little ahead of Pollard. Then came the next pair, the Laser 4.7s of Sue Murray and Linda Spiller, followed by Jane Anderson, Adam Hilton, a cut-down sail making his Solo manageable, Vicki Duncalf, Robin Spiller with a small ‘Wave’ sail on his Streaker, John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd in the first Bosun with Colin and Louise Witchell in the small-sailed second. In this four lap race of epic battles between pairs Nathan Pollard eventually got the better of Bob Sampson (al of 12 seconds better!), Sue Murray led Linda Spiller (38 seconds) and Adam Hilton’s Solo ended ahead of Jane Anderson’s Topper (20 seconds). The Dabbs/Floyd Bosun finished ahead of Vicki Duncalf’s Topper. The handicaps scrambled the order on the water; the big-sailed Lasers hadn’t got themselves far enough ahead so that the Anderson Topper took the victory with Sue Murray’s 4.7 Laser second.

1. Jane Anderson (Topper)
2. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
3. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
4. Bob Sampson (Laser Full)
5. Linda Spiller (Laser 4.7)
6. Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
7. John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd (Bosun)
8. Adam Hilton (Solo).

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker Wave), Colin and Louise Witchell (Bosun)

Icicle 1

Brian Pollard (generously volunteering to run the races) had the tricky job of designed a course to make the most of what water the rain-deprived Lake had deep enough for sailing, while keeping clear of the competing fishermen. The first half of a lap was all beating, the return half, a long run. Jane Anderson again got off on a flyer with Vicki Duncalf in the other Topper following.  Bob Sampson was next and Linda Spiller was already ahead of her pair, Sue Murray, a position she retained throughout. Nathan Pollard crossed the start line sixth but was up to second at the first mark, Middle. The two big-sailed Lasers were never far apart; Pollard slipping past coming towards the dam on lap 2 only to have Sampson retake the place. On lap 3 Pollard took the lead again on the way north to Pinky and this time made the move stick. The Dabbs/Floyd Bosun was again swapping places with the Anderson Topper, notably between Dam Green and the line on lap 1, but on lap 2 the Bosun was again in front of the Topper at the dam and finished in that position. The handicaps gave Linda Spiller the victory with Jane Anderson second and the leaders on the water in fifth and sixth.

1. Linda Spiller (Laser 4.7)
2. Jane Anderson (Topper)
3. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
4. Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
5. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
6. Bob Sampson (laser Full)
7. John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd (Bosun)

Retired: Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Brian Pollard for not only running the races but also taking the photographs. His assistant was Paul Anderson.

by Adam Hilton

Brian Pollard

Commodore 7

The final race in the personal handicap Commodore series was run under grey skies and in very light winds. The Lasers of Jane Anderson, Sue Murray and Nathan Pollard all made good starts, with Jane Anderson rounding the first mark in the lead. They were soon joined at a very congested Dam Green by a rare and welcome visitor to Tamar Lake, Steve Axford in his familiar dark-hulled Laser. As the fleet moved up the Lake towards Middle the Solo of Adam Hilton, always a good performer in light winds, caught up the Lasers. Jane Anderson had a clear lead as the fleet crossed to West, increased as she went up to a very distant-seeming Pinky and started an even longer return towards the Dam. Vicki Duncalf, running the races for the day, seeing that the circuit was taking forty minutes, shortened the race to a single lap.  Behind the leader places changed a good deal, each skipper of the single-sailed dinghies having a go at being best of the rest. John Buckett’s Otter led the Bosuns going up the Lake but in this bunch too positions changed several times, John Dabb’s Bosun finishing the race as the leader, with Roger Heasman behind him. In these very light winds no crew was needed to sail a two-sailed boat.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo).
2. John Dabbs (Bosun)
3. Roger Heasman (Bosun)
4. John Buckett (Otter)
5. Steve Axford (Laser Full)
6. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
7. Jane Anderson (Laser Full)
8. Sue Murray (Laser Full)

Spalding Cup 7

The course was changed to shorten the laps and the fleet managed three tours in around forty minutes with the wind slightly increased until the end. Sue Murray started first but was threatened by Jane Anderson and Nathan Pollard at the first mark where everyone arrived at once and those closest to the mark had priority. Sue Murray still led on the way up the Lake but Jane Anderson took over and increased her lead to some four and a half minutes at the end. Nathan Pollard also overtook Sue Murray but she had fought regained her place by the finish. The Bosuns of John Dabbs and Roger Heasman scrapped throughout with the latter in front at the end, but John Buckett’s Otter was a couple of minutes in front of them.

1. Jane Anderson (Laser Full)
2. Sue Murray (Laser Full)
3. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
4. Adam Hilton (Solo)
5. Steve Axford (Laser Full)
6. John Buckett (Otter)
7. Roger Heasman (Bosun)
8. John Dabbs (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Vicki Duncalf, for running the races and to Brian Pollard for the photographs.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Teacake 3

John Dabbs, uncrewed in his Bosun, led over the line towards the Dam. Robin Spiller (Streaker)  followed, Linda Spiller (Laser Radial) was next. These were helms who had been waiting pretty close to the line. A bunch of helms who had thought to cross the line at speed and were therefore a little further back, were caught out by a gap in the wind which left them with flapping sails. However, on the way to Inlet, the wind, more or less behind them until it bent round near the buoy, made up for it by pushing the stragglers towards the leaders. At Inlet Robin Spiller got himself inside the Dabbs Bosun and took the lead. As the little fleet crossed the middle of the Lake, making for West, the wind unexpectedly gybed Adam Hilton’s Solo. More gybes followed as he struggled to regain control. Linda Spiller capsized in sympathy. Robin Spiller, anxious about his wife, got stuck in irons. John Dabbs’s rudder, as pointed out by a gleeful competitor, was up. He lost a lot of time trying to get it down again. All of which enabled the now recovered Solo to sail away to Far in the lead. Linda Spiller was second from then on with John Dabbs a couple of minutes behind her at the finish with Robin Spiller not far off his transom. A fine race by Anna Walker and her mother in the Hartley 12 had them chasing the (reduced canvas) Heasman Bosun, overtaking it after Dam Green and gave them fifth place on handicap.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo)
2. John Dabbs (Bosun)
3. Linda Spiller (Laser Radial)
4. Robin Spiller (Streaker)
5. Anna Walker and Leila Farmer (Hartley 12)
6. Roger Heasman (Bosun)
7. Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

Roger’s Bosuns 7

John Dabbs was first over the line but he had arrived at it a little early and had had to sail parallel to it for a few meters. This enabled Louise Witchell, second away and the furthest up wind, to round Dam Green in the lead. Indeed all the other Bosuns were to windward of John Dabbs and rounded the buoy before him. The wind at noon had been strong enough to warrant small sails on the Witchell Bosun and a small mainsail on the Club Bosun that Roger Heasman was sailing. But by now such fierceness was long gone the wind blew at around force 2 from the east at the Dam end and, channelled between the hills, from the northeast at the top of the Lake.

Louise Withchell kept her lead at Home 2, the second mark, with Roger Heasman (with Linda Spiller) second and Brian and Nathan Pollard third. The Witchell Bosun still had its nose in front as they approached Inlet but had not managed to stay as far to windward as the others. A short tack was necessary but in the fluky winds so often found at Inlet the Bosun got stuck in irons and the rest of the fleet went past. Roger Heasman led across to Middle but after they had rounded Pinky the Pollard Bosun kept to the Cornwall bank, caught the wind and sailed away to an increasing lead. Roger Heasman and John Dabbs battled for second place from then on but the Heasman Bosun was never headed.

1. Brian and Nathan Pollard (Bosun)
2. Roger Heasman and Linda Spiller (Bosun)
3. John Dabbs and Adam Hilton (Bosun)
4. Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Bob Sampson, the Officer of the Day and to Mandy Pollard who took the photos on a day when she could have been sitting warmly at home.