Jane Chadney heading downwind in her blue-decked Topper in the afternoon’s Pursuit race
Nicky, Rachel and John in the ‘Mike Ford’ club Bosun, whilst James Pollard sits just behind, surfing on the Bosun’s not-inconsiderable wake and ready to plane past on the leeward side
John Savage just getting his Solo onto the plane, on a day of sudden gusts and lengthy lulls
And Paul Whybrow’s Solo also going very well downwind
James Pollard on his way to a clearcut victory in the Pursuit
Nice panoramic shot of most of the fleet en-route to Far and back
Excellent close-up of the two Solos
James Pollard unchallenged at the front as the race moves into the closing stages
Start of Sailboat 5, with Bob Sampson away well in his Laser
Stuart Mealing’s Laser Radial going well in centre of shot, Adam Hilton’s yellow Solo just behind
Jane Chadney almost level with Vicki in their Toppers
Converging wakes throwing up some decidedly choppy looking water as the fleet bears away towards Inlet in the afternoon race
The top of the lake looking well filled with boats as they reach all the way back from Far to Dam Green, Sue Murray’s Laser 4.7 looking to have a slight advantage over Jane Anderson at this point
Toby Tobias and new member Ellie Tucker speeding across the windiest part of the course
Linda Spiller looking relaxed in her Comet as Jane Chadney has to lean out in the Topper
Lovely to see the re-launched and immaculately refurbished club Bosun, the ‘Rob Eason’, out on the lake: Annie Quartermain at the helm with Roger Heasman crewing, making the boat kick up an impressive wake
Jane Anderson leads the fleet away on a misty May Sunday
Adam Hilton and John Dabbs head this quartet searching for the Inlet buoy in the gloom
Nathan Pollard leads the Toppers round the same part of the course
Start of the afternoon’s Commodore’s Cup race, with Sue Murray looking to try a starboard start along the line, whilst the rest of the fleet go for the port tack option
A tightly grouped fleet just after the start
Jane Chadney in the foreground in her Topper
A cheerful Toby and Ellie in the Bosun
And finally, a shot from the midday race, showing just how misty it was, with only sail of James Pollard’s Laser really standing out in the murk
James Pollard and Adam Hilton get away first for the midday race in the Sailboat Trophy series; Nathan Pollard’s Topper is down to leeward in the foreground after being hit by a particularly vicious gust just before the start
Making choices on which tack to choose, just after the start
Relatively more sheltered for this trio of boats as they head to make the turn at Inlet White
Excellent close-up of Adam Hilton in his Solo on the long downwind leg back towards the Dam
Many thanks to Matt Lennox for his work on safety boat duties, assisted by Brian Pollard, on a day when capsized sailors undoubtedly found it reassuring to have someone standing by, ready to help when needed
Eventual victor James Pollard getting soaked from the spray kicked up by his Laser 4.7
Normally pictures of sailing on windy days tend to make the water look less choppy than it actually is – but in this case the long fetch for the north-westerly wind has created a confused maelstrom from the waves bouncing back off the dam wall that doesn’t look very pleasant at all
Nathan Pollard having to work very hard to try to prevent the boom of his Topper dragging in the water
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
