Phil and Alexander Tucker looking comfortable in their Bosun as they settle down for the morning’s Pursuit race
Solo duo:Adam Hilton’s yellow-hulled Solo getting closer to frontrunner John Savage; John Buckett’s Otter is the interloper in the Solo sandwich
A sizeable chunk of the remainder of the pursuing 21-boat fleet (the largest on the water so far this season)
In a breeze that had built considerably over lunchtime, the lead boats beat away into an unexpectedly strong northerly wind at the start of the Commodore’s Cup race
Roger working hard in his Streaker
And Jane Chadney absolutely flat out (but revelling at being back in her thoroughbred Laser for the day)
James Pollard gets away first at the start of the midday race in the Sailboat series
Jane Anderson tacks onto starboard, looking for clean air, whilst the remainder of the fleet remains on port as they start the long beat up to Far
Adeney Pooler keeps control of the Graduate in one of the strong gusts, despite being heeled right over on its side, with the rudder almost coming out of the water; in extremely tricky conditions, he persevered to avoid any capsizes and stayed upright (albeit sometimes only very approximately so) for the whole race
Linda Spiller’s Comet and Nathan Pollard’s Topper just ahead of Robin Spiller’s Solo, which was rigged with the smaller Wave sail, in deference to the windy weather
Happy-looking crew on Toby Tobias’s Bosun; not the fastest dinghy on the water on the day, but quite possibly the most enjoyable boat to be in….
Start of the afternoon Cup Race, when the conditions sometimes seemed to ease, only to then return with a vengeance
Bob Sampson in a cloud of spray at warp speed whilst on the plane, but despite this, a late capsize put an end to his chances of a win
Another damp day for the start of the midday race, with Bob Sampson away first; Bideford Canoeing Club doing training in the foreground
Another race when the gusts were so sharp and short-lived that helms and crews had to work very hard; here Bob is sitting out whilst, just behind, the gust has died for James Pollard and he is having to scramble back inboard
Both Jane Anderson and James on a high-speed plane across the mist-shrouded water; because the wind built suddenly just before the start of the race, several helms probably went out in larger rigs than were ideal for the conditions
Family team of Elliot and Rachel Pomeroy took out the RS 200 on a day that must have made for a very steep learning curve (and angle of heel), but they kept her going in extremely testing conditions
Calmer waters and brighter weather for the afternoon Pursuit race: here Jane Chadney and James Pollard are in close company
Same boat, different crew; for the Pursuit, Bob Sampson was back at the helm of the RS200, with Annie Quartermain getting the pink asymmetric spinnaker flying
John Buckett and Brian Pollard in the Bosun briefly ahead of Nathan’s Topper, with the pursuing cavalry, in the form of James’s and Jane’s Lasers, catching up rapidly
And by the end of the race, the sun was properly out to give a lovely day; here Nathan is on the beat whilst Bob and Annie are serenely gliding downwind
Paul Whybrow amd Brian Pollard out in the club Bosun on yet another Sunday of very gusty, testing conditions
Jane Anderson on a high-speed plane in her Topper, looking relaxed on the broad reach back towards the Dam
And James Pollard, in a Laser Radial, looks to be hitting another boat’s wake at high speed
On a day when many sailors were scurrying round to find smaller sails, Bob Sampson went round in both races in his full-rig Laser and so gets the award for bravest helm of the day
Congestion rounding Dam Green in the Class Cups race, as three Bosuns (all with smaller sails) are closely matched
And all four Bosuns in close company on the close reach up to Far, on an altered course for the second race.
Eventual class winners Adam Hilton and Steve Osgood in the lead
Nice close-up of Rachel Pomeroy at the helm, with James and Brian Pollard making up the crew
Start of the midday Tamar Memorial Trophy 3 race in some pretty murky conditions; James Pollard in the lead, with Bob Sampson just behind and Jane Anderson to windward in the foreground
And just what an unpleasant day it was becomes even more obvious as the small fleet heads towards the first mark in West
Jane Anderson in her Topper overtakes to leeward of Adam Hilton in the small-sailed Solo Wave
John Savage’s Solo looms out of the mist and low cloud
Start of Tamar 3, with the boats already spread out just a few seconds after the start
Three of the four Bosuns in the race in line across the lake; at this point, the breeze was still reasonably strong, but it became increasingly fickle as the day went on
Bob Sampson and Melanie Cage getting the RS200’s asymmetric spinnaker flying well
n almost the same spot, Nicky Buckett and Cilla Gilbert get the Bosun showing a good bow wave
In a delayed start to the afternoon race, Paul Whybrow’s Solo shows clear at the front of the fleet
As they beat towards West Red,James Pollard and Jane Anderson are clear to windward of this group of half a dozen dinghies
Phil and Julie Tucker in the fourth of the Bosun fleet out
The breeze looks to have died almost to a whisper as James Pollard and Sue Murray glide slowly downwind
Toby Tobias and Ellie Tucker bear away round Dam Green at the start of the midday Cup Race, whilst Elliot and Jack Pomeroy are close on their heels
The leading group of half a dozen boats on the broad reach down to Middle: James Pollard’s Laser 4.7 in the lead, with Jane Chadney’s Topper overlapped and Jane Anderson’s Laser 4.7 to windward. The Bosun of Nicky Buckett and Annie Quartermain is tucked in just ahead of Steve Axford’s Laser Radial, with Nathan Pollard’s Topper making up the final boat of the six
Almost continuous wall-to-wall sails, with the bulk of the fleet in shot as they head downwind to Pinky; it may look deceptively calm, but note the crews’ arms reaching out to the boom in several of the double handers
Not easy upwind, either: the effort showing on Nicky and Annie’s faces as club Bosun the ‘Rob Eason’ beats back towards the Dam
The start of the first in the Peter Pocock series for 2015; eventual winner James Williams in the Topper leads the fleet
Probably not much of the Bosun’s rudder left in the water as Toby Tobias and Julie Tucker also beat back, in the afternoon Pursuit race this time. And no, Toby hasn’t fitted a bowsprit – it’s a mounting for trying out his Go-Pro digital video camera
Good close-up of Paul Whybrow, as he beats back towards the race box side of the lake
Almost the sole remnants of the original 15-strong fleet that set out for the Pursuit; here James Pollard is already away clear in the lead – even from the upwind side, the whitecaps are can still be seen
Paul Whybrow gets his Solo away clear at the start of the midday Tamar race, ahead of a tightly-packed cluster of boats
Seconds later, Roger Heasman and Cilla Gilbert have suddenly appeared to windward of the fleet and shot ahead, having blanketed the boats below them
The leading boats just starting to heel to the wind as they emerge into West Bay from the sheltered water by the pontoon; Roger’s club Bosun leads from Adeney Pooler’s Graduate, who has shot through from the back of the fleet, with the Solos of Paul Whybrow and Adam Hilton just behind
Linda Spiller’s Comet at speed on a run from West to Middle in the foreground, whilst in the background, some of the fleet negotiate the sometimes-tricky gybe at Far
Jane Chadney gets her Laser 4.7 up onto the plane on the same leg of the course
Bob Sampson, on a charge that took him from one of the late starters to become eventual winner of the Pursuit Race, passes Adam Hilton to windward
Roger Heasman and Cilla Gilbert close in on Nathan Pollard’s Topper, whilst James Pollard, the final starter in the Pursuit, is still almost a lap behind, attempting to make up the huge deficit
Great picture of James Pollard, in his full-rig Laser, in a cloud of spray as he planes past Home 2 buoy on the windiest part of the lake
Heading to the first mark at Dam Green, very, very slowly…..
Just the smallest of ripples on the almost mirror-smooth water
Toby – so laid-back he’s horizontal…
Wonderfully crisp close-up of Annie Quartermain helming Roger’s RS200
The top of the lake was covered with goose feathers drifting on the calm water (and sadly, everywhere also had lots of blue-green algae that had appeared in the space of a day….)
Start of the afternoon’s Gosling Shield, Ladies Cup and Junior Helm: if anything, even less wind
