Tamar 5

Robin Spiller (Streaker) and Adam Hilton (Solo) started neck and neck on a grey, damp day with light and highly variable airs coming from points east to south. But it was Nathan Pollard (Laser Full), always a keen competitor – lying second before this race – in the Tamar race series, who came up fast and rounded the first buoy, Zebra, in the lead, a lead he never lost. He was still being closely tracked by Robin Spiller, but his Streaker was ill-adapted to the very light winds, refusing to point as high as the other dinghies, and his frequent rival, Adam Hilton, was able to overtake before the end of the first lap. Bob Sampson (Laser Full) had a frustrating start. Arriving at the line slightly too early, he thought to do a gybe turn but Roger Heasman’s Bosun (Linda Spiller crewing) was using the water needed for the gybe and Bob had to go the long way round resulting in his starting last. But at the end of lap 1 he was up to third and he overtook Adam Hilton on lap 2 to take second at the finish. The Bosuns spent both races in close company. Roger Heasman started in front but it was John Dabbs (with a visitor as crew) who finished the race in that position. Applying the handicaps gave Adam Hilton and his Solo, which finished a couple of minutes behind the winner on the water, the victory.

Tamar 6

The winds had moved a little eastwards and the top of the Lake, blanketed by the hills, was looking alarmingly glassy. Brian Pollard, running the races for the day, cut out the northernmost buoy, Pinky, and added in Dam Green in the south in the hope of supplying competitors with some wind. Robin Spiller again started first from the Home 2 start line, with Nathan Pollard and Bob Sampson following. The wind had picked up a little but the mist and the rain had descended, leaving competitors wet and chilly. Robin Spiller kept his lead on the way to West White but the Pollard and Sampson Lasers soon swept past with the Solo also getting ahead on lap 2. An added indignity was going aground in the shallow waters of a Tamar Lake already dropping in height; the Streaker retired. Roger Heasman led the close-running Bosuns at the end of lap1 but John Dabbs got ahead on lap 2 and finished each lap ahead, all of twenty five seconds ahead at the finish!

Grateful thanks were given to Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert, Officers of the Day, and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs

by Adam Hilton

Bosun Plus 3

Roger Heasman (Bosun, with Linda Spiller) was the first to cross the starting line but Sue Murray and Jane Anderson’s fast Club Bosun was the first to round Middle, the first buoy, with John Buckett, Adam Hilton as crew, following and then the first non-Bosun interloper, Nathan Pollard in his Laser (Full). This was a late afternoon race, delayed by a fishing competition. It was a beautiful day, hot, and with more wind than had been forecast and coming from the northwest, which wasn’t what had been forecast either. It was variable in strength and direction and sometimes, blanketed by the hill, disappeared altogether at Inlet. Nathan was leading by the end of the lap and Paul Anderson’s Laser (Full) toured in forth until he overtook the second Bosun, John Buckett’s on lap 3. The main conflict was between three Bosuns; John Dabbs’ (with Geoff Floyd), Brian and James Pollard’s and Roger Heasman’s. They were never more than a length or two apart with the order changing every lap. It was the Dabbs boat leading the trio at the end.

1. Sue Murray and Jane Anderson (Bosun)
2. John Buckett and Adam Hilton (Bosun)
3. John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd (Bosun)
4. Brian and James Pollard (Bosun)
5. Roger Heasman and Linda Spiller (Bosun)

Retired: Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

With handicaps applied, Nathan Pollard (Laser Full) led Robin Spiller (Streaker) and Paul Anderson (Laser Full)

Grateful thanks were given to Bob Sampson, Officer of the Day, and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.

Midweek Mug 7

The day was grey, dismal, occasionally damp. The winds were fitful, undecided as to strength or direction. As for direction, Penny Abbott, the day’s OOD, started the first race towards the Dam and the second towards West White. And in the case of strength, the wind abandoned the leader, Linda Spiller (Laser Full) on a piece of glass in the first race so that her competitors caught up and sent down a gust vicious enough to flip her over in the second, achieving the same effect.

The theoretical double-handers consisted of John Dabbs, not double-handed at all, but alone in his Bosun and doing very well in it, Louise and Colin Witchell with Bob Sampson aboard telling them to point higher and not treat the next buoy as an unexploded mine and Ian Chatterton alone in his Enterprise and not really racing yet. The other Laser, flying a Radial, had Mel Sampson in it, increasing in confidence by the minute. Adam Hilton was there in his anaemic white Solo with the high-tec sail and Robin Spiller had his Streaker on the water; he wanted more wind but that didn’t stop him getting over the line first even if it was Linda Spiller who got round Dam Green in the lead, a lead she never relinquished. The Solo spent the race in second, with the Streaker in third and John Dabbs in fourth until Mel Sampson overtook him. The handicaps made Linda and John swap places but left everyone else where they’d finished on the water.

Not starting: Ian Chatterton

Teatime Plate 3

Linda Spiller was again first away and first all the way but the afore-mentioned capsize reduced her lead at the end to fifty seconds over Mel Sampson who had disposed of the Bosun and the Solo just after West White. That made Adam Hilton, who hadn’t realised that the course had changed until the last minute, last. However he was able to catch and gradually overtake John Dabbs Bosun on the long reach back from Pinky; no chance of catching Mel Sampson, planing across the middle of the Lake like a good’un. Corrected results show only 34 seconds between first and last!

Grateful thanks were given to Penny Abbott, Officer of the Day.

Bosun PLUS 2

This was a race for Bosun dinghies (with interlopers permitted) and eight of them took to the water only to find little or no wind. What breaths there were seemed to be coming from somewhere over the Dam so the first post-start buoy was Dam Green where the Bosuns bunched up, all on starboard tack except for Brian Pollard (Cilla Gilbert as crew) who rounded the buoy first.  As the fleet was snail-pacing to Middle, Bob Sampson (with Robin Spiller) was to windward and coming up but it was Sue Murray (with Vicki Duncalf) who got round West first, if one discounts Nathan Pollard’s non-conforming Laser. She had a good lead over the slow-dicing pair of John Dabbs (Penny Abbott crewing) and John Buckett (with Annie Quartermaine) and then the next pair Roger Heasman (with Linda Spiller) and Brian Pollard. Adam Hilton and Geoff Floyd found their own doldrums at Middle and never made it to West, Louise and Colin Witchell having already given up the struggle to get their Bosun to sail anywhere.

At the start of the second lap there were five Bosuns within inches of each other but coming up to Dam Green Roger Heasman got water over John Buckett, Bob Sampson and John Dabbs, Sue Murray having by now an unassailable lead, if any lead could be so-described when the wind might disappear at any moment. It didn’t and the Murray/Duncalf Bosun took the victory.

Bosuns Fleet

PLUS Fleet

Pursuit 2

In Pursuit races handicaps are applied to the boat/skipper combinations before the start so that the theoretically slowest start first and the faster boats follow at prescribed intervals. There were still five Bosuns in the fleet (although some crew changes) but others had escaped to single handers in the hope of better sailing. To everyone’s great relief there was enough wind to sail with, although the early starters were disadvantaged by light airs which were replaced by stronger breezes just as the faster boats were starting their races. As a result Vicki Duncalf (Topper), who started first, was soon overtaken as were the Bosuns and Linda Spiller (Laser Full) was leading the fleet before the end of the first lap. Adam Hilton (Solo) was attempting the same feat but was held up trying to get past John Bucket and Bob Sampson’s Bosuns but still got through to second place by the end of the first lap. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full) had even more ground to make up. He was up to sixth after the first lap, to third at the end of lap two but hadn’t quite got past the Solo in front of him by the end.

Grateful thanks were given to James Pollard, Officer of the Day, and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.

Midweek Mug 6

It being half term, the Lake and its shore were littered with families and children together with a large contingent of sea-cadets. The winds were from the south and brought unaccustomed warmth to the Lake, despite it being an overcast day with occasional ominous dark clouds. Robin Spiller, Officer of the Day, wisely responded to these conditions by choosing a Home 2 start, thus avoiding the melée around the pontoon and setting up a demanding beat to reach Dam Green. From there the course went to Middle, crossed to West and ran to Far, making for a long and demanding beat back to the Dam.

The fleet unusually had more double-handers – three Bosuns – than single and it was Sue Murray’s Club Bosun (Bob Sampson crewing) that got over the line first. Adam Hilton’s Solo was however well to windward, setting off from the corner of the pontoon. Once out of the lee of the land, he was able to reach Dam Green first in one tack. The Solo was never again headed.

Linda Spiller (Laser Radial) had started fourth, too far towards the Home 2 end of the line, and took a couple of laps to overtake John Dabbs and Penny Abbott in their Bosun and then Sue Murray in hers. She finished nearly two minutes behind the Solo. The Murray/Sampson Bosun, at about three minutes behind, was given the victory by the handicaps.

Teatime Plate 2

There was a good shakeup of the double-hander partners of the fleet. Sue Murray separated from Bob Sampson and joined up with Ethan Walker. Bob went off to tutor Anna Walker in helming the family Hartley 12.2. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott swapped who wore the trousers. Roger Heasman’s Bosun joined in with Leila Farmer helming.

The Solo again got away well from its preferred corner of the pontoon. Linda Spiller’s Laser Radial didn’t get away as well as she would have liked but was soon chasing the Solo. On lap 3 she was ahead for a tack or two beating back from Far and on the final lap she had the Laser a boat’s length in front of the Solo as they crossed the line. Penny Abbott and John Dabbs eventually got past Sue Murray and Ethan Walker on the last lap only to loose their advantage shortly before the finish line. The Bosuns this time finished five minutes behind the single-handers, leaving the Solo to take victory. Anna Walker successfully finished her first race.

Grateful thanks were given to Robin Spiller, Officer of the Day.

Wed 26 May 2021 Race Photos

(I have no idea why embedding the photos doesn’t work this week! So please click on the link above to see the photos)

Midweek Mug 5

A beautiful blue sky, fluffy white clouds topping the hills and a decent north-westerly breeze with not too frightening gusts; what more could the Midweek Mugs ask for?

A starboard start was the consensus, easily leaving  Zebra to starboard and hoping to reach Inlet on the second tack; not often achieved. John Dabbs’ Bosun with Adam Hilton as crew was away first but Sue Murray’s 4.7 was soon both in front and further to windward; she led well before Inlet and ended the four laps with a four minute lead over Robin Spiller (Streaker) who had overtaken the Dabbs Bosun on the way to Far on the first lap. This left Geoff Floyd as the filling in a Bosun sandwich, Roger Heasman’s Bosun (with Leila Farmer) making up the bottom slice. Geoff Floyd looked like escaping several times but never quite made it. Louise Witchell’s Bosun, disadvantaged by flying small sails, circulated at the rear.

Teatime Plate 1

John Dabbs, now with Robin Spiller as crew, was again away first, with Sue Murray again second and again pulling away soon. Stephanie Clarke, returning to Tamar racing after many years and with Bob Sampson as crew to remind her of anything she’d forgotten, was helming the Club’s Bosun. She started third but was second at Inlet and was only forty seconds behind Sue Murray at the finish of this two lap race, giving her the victory on handicap. The battle between Bosuns and Solo resumed. John Dabbs was just ahead at Inlet but Geoff Floyd was pulling ahead on the beat to West with Roger Heasman only just behind. Unfortunately Geoff’s Solo was nearly overwhelmed by a gust, took in a lot of Lake and sailed back to retire. On lap 2 Roger Heasman found himself in front of Dabbs/Spiller Bosun, the result of one misjudged tack by Quebec, and remained in third to the end.

Grateful thanks were given to Linda Spiller, Officer of the Day and for taking photos

Midweek Mug 3

Bob Sampson had been doing a bit of teaching and so had small sails on the Club Bosun, the fast one, with Robin Spiller as crew. The weather, although gusty and only intermittently sunny, didn’t really demand small sails on Bosuns so Roger Heasman’s – he had Adam Hilton as crew – and John Dabbs’s – Penny Abbott crewing – both flew full size canvas. Linda Spiller was in her Laser with a 4.7 lofted. The wind was mostly westerly and the start was on the pontoon side with Zebra the first buoy and a beat  to West White next. Roger Heasman started on port from the end of the pontoon and got to Zebra first and was still just ahead of Linda Spiller at West. But after rounding Middle Linda took the lead and never relinquished it. She finished the four laps four minutes ahead of the Bosuns of which the Dabbs/Abbott boat was only half a minute behind the Heasman/Hilton craft, with the small sail Bosun another four minutes further back.

Midweek Mug 4

Penny Abbott took over the helm of the Dabbs Bosun but was only third over the start line. Roger Heasman couldn’t replicate his neat start off the end of the pontoon and was fourth. Bob Sampson was second away but Linda Spiller made a good start and led this cut-down two lap race throughout. Roger Heasman, who is still learning how best to set the sails on his new Bosun, had twitched the main and got the boat pointing somewhat higher with the result that he made up for his tardy start overtook the other Bosuns  and was up to second on the run back from Pinky. On the second lap Penny Abbott designed an elegant beat from Zebra to West which was instrumental in getting her back to second where she finished, a minute in front of Roger. Bob Sampson had put in some nifty tacks too and had kept the deficit down to less than a minute this time.

1. Rank	HelmName	CrewName	Class	Rating	Elapsed	Corrected
   1	Linda Spiller		Laser 4.7	1188	0:29:47	0:25:04
   2	Penny Abbott	John Dabbs	BOSUN	1233	0:31:55	0:25:53
   3	Roger Heasman	Adam Hilton	BOSUN	1233	0:32:59	0:26:45
   4	Bob Sampson	Robin Spiller	BOSUN	1233	0:33:47	0:27:24

Grateful thanks were given to John Buckett, Officer of the Day, who also recorded the race on his dashcam!