Bob Sampson seems to have made use of a small phalanx of paddleboarders to keep the pursuing fleet at a distance….!
Good close-up of Adam Hilton as the Solo starts the beat up the lake from Dam Green
And a similar shot of Nicky Buckett in the Laser Radial
James Pollard has stolen a lead of several boat lengths as the fleet crosses the line at the start of the afternoon race, with brother Nathan Pollard well placed in second
The two Solos neck and neck at the start, whilst Sue Murray opts to dodge across the fleet on port tack in her newly-acquired Laser 4.7
The RS200 and Roger Heasman’s Streaker have closed up with James Pollard on the beat up to West White
Adeney Pooler about to lean into a tack in his Graduate
Jane Chadney tacks away from the Graduate and Enterprise
Enterprise and Graduate again, but this time with Adam Hilton’s rarely-seen 420
Nice shot of the Adam’s 420, with crew John Dabbs behind the sail
Good action shot of Rachael Pomeroy heading the Topper upwind on a day when she became ‘top Topper’ in the midday race
Bob Sampson’s RS200 to windward of John Duncalf in the Topper
nteresting to see the range of sail colours on some race days at Tamar this season: instead of the usual preponderance of white, there’s now a broader palette, with a lot of blue
James Pollard gets away first in the midday race, with Paul Whybrow tucked in just behind
Bearing away onto a broad reach towards Inlet, many boats are getting onto the plane and the one or two heeling dinghies show the strength of the gusts
Bearing away onto a broad reach towards Inlet, many boats are getting onto the plane and the one or two heeling dinghies show the strength of the gusts
A much smaller fleet get away for the afternoon race
On the same course as the morning, Bob Sampson’s RS200 rounds Inlet White, with Roger Heasman’s Streaker not far behind
Good close-up of Roger Heasman’s Streaker heading downwind
Tight racing in the Topper contingent, with Vicki just ahead of John
Eventual winner on handicap in the afternoon race, Nathan Pollard leaning forward his Topper
Simon Veal and Brian Pollard head downwind in a quiet patch as the chasing Enterprise shows an impressive bow wave
Guarding against an accidental gybe as they run downwind, Louise Stevens keeps a firm hand on the boom in the Enterprise, with Nicky Buckett doing the same on the Bosun in the background
Bob Sampson away first in the afternoon race, too, but this time it’s Nathan Pollard heading the chasing pack
Sue Murray and John Dabbs keep their Bosun to windward as they beat up the lake after the start
James Pollard now just ahead of Bob Sampson as they run downwind
Enterprise, Bosun and Topper just about to round Zebra
A good action shot of the Bosun in mid-gybe at Dam Green, with Nicky Buckett ducking as the boom swings across, with Vicki Duncalf in the Topper just sheeting in for the beat towards the finish line
Start of the first race, with the Bosun of John Buckett, Christine Hartigan and Alan Comber away first and Stuart Mealing just behind, but James Pollard with the windward advantage
Roger Heasman on starboard tack, with everybody else on port, as the boats make the long tactical beat up the lake
Nice close-up of Jane Chadney helming the club Bosun, with Brian Pollard as crew
Brilliant action shot of Roger Heasman hiking out in the Streaker, apparently just inching past the angle of the pontoon
New member Andrew Starkey out in his Gull in the foreground, with Nathan Pollard windward boat of the quartet
Robin Spiller in his refurbished Solo, with Linda Spiller out in her newly-acquired Comet Mino, closely followed by Rachel Pomeroy in the Topper
Jane Chadney’s Bosun chasing James and Nathan up the beat
ace, with Elliot now having taken over the Topper from Rachel
Bob Sampson and Jane Anderson get the RS 200 through the fluky southerly winds over the dam to round Dam Green in the lead, a mark that had the potential to be a nightmare all day, as winds and flat calms could be mere yards apart; a point well illustrated by the gust that has Paul Anderson’s Laser heeling, whilst all around the masts of surrounding boats remain perfectly vertical
Most of the fleet have now rounded Dam Green and are running slowly up the lake and though Sue Murray’s Laser 4.7 is currently towards the back of the pack, she was soon overtaking boats to such good effect that she was the ultimate winner on handicap
Paul Anderson just ahead of James Pollard, once more at Dam Green
A trio of Toppers, with Johnahead of both Elliot Pomeroy and Rachel Pomeroy
Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial leads the fleet away in the afternoon race, with James Pollard just behind, but Jane Chadney has just squeezed past the pontoon to gain the windward advantage
A few seconds later and Bob Sampson and Louise Stevens’s RS 200 are showing in the lead, with eventual winner James Pollard now in second place
The club Bosun (its sails bearing the iconic 101 number), with Roger Heasman and Ruth Hieghton-Jackson aboard, leads the Bosun of John Buckett and Brian Pollard, whilst just behind the Toppers and Solo still grappling with Dam Green
Nathan Pollard’s Topper clearly going well to be level pegging with the two Bosuns
John Duncalf gets away first, with Paul Anderson and John Weller going for a port tack approach
John’s Topper still has the advantage, whilst in the background, Nathan Pollard and Bob Sampson head towards the Devon bank
A distant shot of a quartet of Toppers on a broad reach back down the lake, with Elliot Pomeroy’s bow wave showing that at times the gusts could be surprisingly strong
Nathan Pollard just ahead of the RS at the start of the afternoon race, whilst at the Home One buoy end, Nicky Buckett and Jane Anderson are also well up
Seconds later, and most of the fleet are in shot
The whole fleet creating a ribbon of sail down the lake (only Bob Sampson’s RS has forged ahead to miss the picture)
Sue Murray and Jane Anderson’s Laser 4.7’s were locked together for the first half of the race
All stand….! Toby and Simon head downwind in the Bosuns, whilst crews Nicola and Brian sit it out.
The light airs are at least ruffling the water at the start of the midday race but progress is pretty slow
The fleet’s at least now all lined up and heading for Dam Green
An impressively crisp long-distance shot of boats very slowly drifting up towards Pinky – note the mirror-like surface of the water in places
The three boats that pulled away from the rest of the fleet: Jane Chadney’s Laser Radial, Nicky Buckett’s Laser and the RS200 of Bob Sampson and Louise Stevens – whilst much of the rest of the fleet is still half a lake away…
Start of the afternoon race, with Sue Murray and James Pollard the first boats clear
The beat up to Pinky in a good breeze, with all the 18-strong fleet in view
Paul Whybrow’s Solo going well to be up with the Laser Radials of Sue Murray and Nicky Buckett
Excellent close-up of James Pollard rounding Dam Green, on the way to crossing the line streets ahead of the next boat
Using Start Line 2 called for difficult judgements from helms on whereabouts on the start line to be: here James Pollard’s Laser Radial is ahead (but to leeward) of Steve Axford’s Laser and Bob Sampson’s RS200
Just occasionally the breeze filled in for a few lucky boats – here Bob Sampson and Jane Anderson in the RS200 are going really rather nicely
But much of the time it was just a question of sitting and waiting: here Adam Hilton and James Pollard chat as they drift along
Start of the afternoon race, still on Start Line 2, with the breeze now little more than a whisper
Coming and going to West White: here it looks as if Adam Hilton’s Solo has crept into the lead
Looking for the wind? Bob Sampson and John Duncalf peering both sides of the mainsail, whilst in the background the same fisherman as in a previous picture stares impassively on
Paul Whybrow en-route to a win on handicap
The story of the afternoon…. As they head towards Middle, the two leading boats look to have found a nice patch of breeze and have little bow waves, whilst not far away, the other three dinghies look to be moving much more slowly
