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
Start of the midday Tamar Memorial Trophy race: Bob Sampson and Jane Anderson get away first, with Robin Spiller’s Streaker making a good start to leeward on the way to an impressive third place
The whole fleet of 16 boats in view as they head for Pinky on a close reach
A tightly-bunched fleet at the start of the afternoon’s Cup Race, this time making for the Home 2 buoy before starting the tactical beat to West Red
As the photo indicates, some pretty choppy water for helms to contend with at times: as so often with a (mainly) westerly wind, the breeze was really quite brisk across the middle of the lake between West and Inlet, whilst there were rather more placid conditions at both the top and bottom of the lake
Bob on the plane, heron on the wing – a stunning photo that captures a special moment: unlike albatrosses, herons clearly aren’t birds of ill omen for mariners, as Bob went on to complete a double of first places
Adam Hilton’s distinctive yellow-hulled Solo in the foreground, hotly pursued by a disparate group of dinghy classes – all competing via the (sometimes abstruse) alchemy of Portsmouth Yardstick handicap racing
James Pollard right on the heels of Jane Anderson as they harden up round Dam Green
A crisp close-up of Roger Heasman and Jane Chadney heading in opposite directions
Three boats start the race (just enough to make it quorate); the well-defined edge of the windy part of the lake can just be seen as a distant line of foam in the background, behind the Topper sail
Hardening up past Middle for a beat to West Red, with Adam Hilton’s Bosun (three up and on Otter sails) to windward of Nathan Pollard’s Topper during the second lap
The agility of youth: Nathan demonstrating just how quickly it’s possible to recover from a capsize
Nathan up on the plane on the run back from West Red to Home 1
A tight group of four, seconds after the horn for Race 8 in the Tamar Memorial Trophy series, in a wind that at the last minute had swung through over 90 degrees to give almost a running start
All clear ahead? Toby Tobias, peering under the boom, with Geoff Floyd as crew
Despite fears of a windless drift that dissuaded some potential sailors from venturing out, after a couple of short laps the wind had built to quite a substantial south-easterly; John Dabbs is looking comfortable heading downwind in the Gull, whilst Alan Comber in the Enterprise appears to be trying for an overtaking manoeuvre to windward of Robin Spiller’s Streaker
Nicky Buckett and Brian Pollard in club boat the ‘Rob Eason’, on their way to a rare win on handicap for a Bosun dinghy at Upper Tamar
Start of the afternoon Cup Race 5; Jane Anderson makes one of her trademark good starts in her Laser Radial, though almost out of sight behind her, Roger Heasman has got a flyer to windward in his Streaker
Although the telephoto compresses distances, this bunch is still pretty tightly packed as they beat away from the start in a wind that had swung round to a wobbly north-easterly
Definitely enjoying their racing; Toby Tobias in the Bosun again, this time with Cilla Gilbert taking over as crew for the afternoon race
James Pollard going overboard in his efforts to get the pink gennaker flying, as Rachel Pomeroy brings Roger’s RS200 ghosting down the lake
