Steve Axford gets away well at the start of the midday race on a short first beat to Dam Green, with James Pollard just behind, hidden behind Steve’s sail
John Dabbs and Sally Wills get to grips with the club Kestrel as they head downwind next to Linda Spiller in the Laser
Adam Hilton keeping a close eye on what’s going on ahead as he and Sue Murray seek to get the most out of the the fluky south-easterly breeze
Nathan Pollard starting to get up on the plane as he manages to find sufficient breeze to really get moving
James Pollard looks to be taking some of Steve Axford’s wind as they search for speed on the downwind leg
Jane Anderson gets away at the head of a group of boats searching for space very tight inshore on Start Line 2
Unusually, Home 1 was used as they mark for the first beat, with Sue Murray bearing away downwind as Jane Anderson heads back towards the Cornwall bank
The Wayfarer of Mike and Viki Herbert-Coulson are away clear iin the afternoon race, pursued by a trio of Lasers
Jane Anderson heads the first quartet of boats across the line, whilst behind the breeze died so that the rest of the fleet were left stranded some way behind the start
A watchful Bob Sampson at Dam Green, with new member David Currie as crew
James Pollard gives Roger Heasman’s speedy Topper Blaze an outing, successfully negotiating the gybe at Dam Green
Despite forecast light winds, in reality from time to time they produced some gusts that were enough to make keep helms on their toes: here Nathan Pollard heels to one of these
Nicky Buckett and Viki Herbert-Coulson take the lead in the afternoon Pursuit Race, which they held to the end; Elliot Pomeroy’s Topper and John Savage’s Solo are some little way behind in second and third place by this stage
The combination of a quick class of boat and a less favourable helm handicap than some competitors means that James Pollard’s Blaze is only just starting the race as Nicky Buckett’s Bosun comes down the lake towards the end of its first lap
And now in stereo…(though only if you’re colour-blind); Sue Murray and Bob Sampson (with the blue gennaker) just ahead of Roger Heasman and Annie Quartermain (with the pink gennaker)
John Savage beating up the lake in his Solo as the race moves into its later stages
Lots of pressure on the start line these days, with a couple over the line at the hooter having to thread their way back through 20-odd boats in order to re-start
Interesting mix of classes showing at the front of the fleet on the first beat with, from leeward: Graduate (Adeney Pooler), Laser (Steve Axford), Solo (Adam Hilton) and, almost hidden, Gull (John Dabbs)
Simon Veal and Nicola Clay managing to get the Bosun’s spinnaker pulling well, despite the fluky winds; John Savage’s Solo just behind
Good action shot as James Pollard hardens up on rounding Dam Green
Good to see Stuart Mealing out on the water, as the Laser beats up towards the Home 2 mark
Start of the Commodore’s Cup series in the afternoon: slightly fewer boats on the water, but still lots of pressure on the windward end of the line
Not much wind as Nicky Buckett’s Laser ghosts away from Zebra, with Paul Whybrow’s Solo just coming up to the buoy
Adeney Pooler’s Graduate and Nathan Pollards’s Topper, with both helms apparently concentrating on their hands
A crowd cluster around Home 1 as the fleet (15 boats, an impressive number for March) get away for the midday race, with Roger Heasman’s Streaker looking well placed
Jane Anderson’s Laser pulled out an impressive lead in the fluky breeze, which stopped, started and came from practically every direction on the compass; here she gybes at Dam Red, with only a cormorant for company
Robin’s Streaker and Linda’s Comet running slowly back down towards the Dam in close company
James Williams at the helm of Toby’s Bosun
Start of the afternoon race, with the RS200 getting away clear this time, with James Pollard at the helm whilst Bob Sampson was on safety boat duty
Looks to be a slow drift as a cluster of boats inch their way round Dam Red
The safety boat (with Bob Sampson and Sue Murray) keep an eye on the fleet as it heads to Inlet White
John Dabbs’ Gull (sail number 2269) up with nominally much faster boats on the way to a brilliant position in the afternoon race
Adam and Vicki go for an upwind start, squeezing past the the pontoon on the way to the first mark
Adam Hilton wth an early lead, just ahead of Bob Sampson and Nathan Pollard, whose Lasers were to contest the lead for much of the race
Time for a laugh, even though competition for the lead remained so close for most of the race
Very little breeze for the start of the afternoon race, judging by the sails hanging limply in the sun
Help, I’m surrounded…. Bob has to chart a careful course between encircling canoeists
Cutting things to a whisker… Nathan shaves past Dam Green as Roger and Sally look on in the Bosun
Linda Spiller leads Jane Chadney and Jane Anderson as the trio of Lasers edge slowly up towards the top end of the lake
And all of a sudden, the mirror-like surface of the water has gone and there are little wavelets on the water as Paul Whybrow finds quite a reasonable breeze as he rounds Dam Green on hs way to victory on handicap
Fierce competition at the far end of the start line for the midday Cup race, with one or two boats have to return for a re-start
Good to see John Savage out on the water in his Solo, just ahead of John Dabbs’ Gull
Mike and Viki Coulson’s Wayfarer ‘Papillon’ iin the lead, just about to set the spinnaker for the short run across from Middle to Inlet, whilst not far behind is Jane Anderson in her Laser Radial, on her way to a double of victories on handicap
Chasing downwind after the two front-runners, Adam Hilton is leader of the pack (Brmm,brmm….) as he leads the bulk of the fleet towards the gybe at Middle
A brisker breeze for the start of the afternoon race, as a strengthening sea breeze combines with the (mainly) Westerly wind to give much fresher conditions on the water, with no windless holes for unsuspecting helms to fall into, as happened in the morning race (apologies for the jib of errant Otter on the pontoon, spoiling the photo)
Both Wayfarer and the Laser Radial of Sue Murray getting up onto the plane as they reach back from Inlet White to Zebra
Brillantly captured photo of follow-my-leader as Penny Abbott leads a quartet of boats in line astern as they harden up after Dam Green
Excellent close-up of Sue Murray, who has a determined look as she heads towards a second-place finish on handicap
Roger Heasman and Sally Wills in the ‘Rob Eason’, making up for a slow start after incurring penalty turns, just behind the Enterprise of Alan Comber and John Weller
The club’s biggest fleet of the season so far takes to the water for the midday race
Heading slowly downwind towards Pinky
Bob and Sue manage to get the RS200’s gennaker flying as they find a gentle zephyr just astern of Nathan Pollard’s Laser
Attractive photo with the reflections of the sails on the smooth water – but an indication that the wind gradually died away as the race progressed
Changes in the direction of the dying wind mean that it now seems to be a beat up to Pinky
And by this point, helms were starting to seriously consider retiring from the race…
A much better breeze for the afternoon race, as the sea breeze belatedly kicked in – but sadly the fleet was by now considerably smaller, as many helms had packed up after the midday drift
Bob Sampson gets away first in a closely contested start; Jane Chadney was over the line at the gun and can be seen in them mist, dodging the other boats as she works her way back
‘Papillon’, the new Wayfarer on the lake in the foreground, with Nicky Buckett (n her frst race of the year) and Sally Wills in the ‘Bubbles’, going well in the background
Bob just ahead of Nathan as they compete for the lead on the water
A smaller fleet starts the afternoon race, into a wind that had swung somewhat more northerly
Jane Anderson seems to be pointing considerably higher than the rest of the fleet on the way to the first mark
Tight competition once again in the afternoon, with Nathan having squeezed ahead of Bob at this point
A quartet of boats illustrating the wide variety of dinghy classes that sail at Upper Tamar
No sign here of the gusts that made for some tricky sailing conditions further up the lake
The fleet negotiates the gybe at the first mark, Dam Green, just after the start
The two Toppers of Jane and Vicki, sailing in tandem just after the start
A poignant picture: Nathan braving the elements during one of the day’s sharp squalls that ripped across the lake
Heading for Dam Green again
The start of the afternoon Tamar Trophy race, with Nathan and Bob both needing lightning reactions to survive the sudden gusts that came scudding across the water, often leaving boats just a few feet away completely unaffected
Jane Anderson on her way to the second of her victories of the day
Brian Pollard and Geoff Floyd try out John White’s Bosun
Close racing between the two Laser 4.7’s of Bob and Nathan
