Bob Sampson and Nathan Pollard at the start of a full-on few minutes; note the effect of the telephoto, bringing into view the meadow flowers in the field behind
Picture of the day: James Pollard more in the water than in the boat, ploughing through the water at high speed as a gust momentarily dies
Bosun (with John Buckett, Brian Pollard and Geoff Floyd), on a broad reach, with small flat-cut Otter sails, three up, two sitting out – and still going like a train…..
Bob Sampson not far from the Dam, at a point where there’s practically no fetch in the south-easterly wind – and already there are whitecaps showing
Bob, James and Nathan, in the windiest part of the lake
James heading back from West
James beating back towards the Dam
Nathan still holding it together as he ends the race as the only finisher
John Dabbs and Adam Hilton show ahead of the pack at the start of the midday race; Nicky Buckett goes for the minority option, with a port tack start
Well into the first lap, Nicky Buckett and Brian Pollard are going well to still be ahead of some of the Lasers, resulting in their eventual second place on handicap
Jane Anderson in the lead as she finds some breeze on the beat back up the lake on the way to her eventual victory
James Pollard and Adam Hilton still in close contention as they beat across from Dam Green as they near the start of the second lap
Annie Quartermain and Linda Spiller jostling for position in their full-rig Lasers
John Dabbs and Cilla Gilbert out in John’s Gull
Lots of pressure on the pin end of the line in the afternoon race
Moments after the start, Bob Sampson makes an early tack into clean air on port in the background, a move that gave him a substantial early lead that he retained right into the third lap
Jostling for position as the fleet starts on the beat towards West Red
The whole fleet in shot as Bob Sampson and Sue Murray lead the fleet away, whilst in the background, Adam Hilton’s Solo is the sole boat to tack away onto port
Rachael Pomeroy looks to make her next move in the Bosun, en-route to an impressive third place; Nathan Pollard and John Buckett to windward
Fabulous action shot of the RS 200 and Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial hardening up around Dam Green
Linda Spiller has her Laser Radial moving well
Good to see Roger Heasman completing both races, as he works his way back to fitness
Paul Whybrow’s distinctive red-hulled Solo in the foreground; James Pollard breaks cover onto port in the background
Alan Comber and John Weller make their first outing of the season, here seen ahead of the Streaker and Topper
A big fleet heading on the short beat to Dam Red; looks as though one of the Streakers has decided it’s gone too soon and is looping round to re-start
Vicki’s Topper leads a group of boats heading downwind; nice to see John White back on the water in his Bosun, on this occasion with Cilla Gilbert as crew
Nathan Pollard heads a trio of Toppers back through the start line on the second lap
Eventual winner of the midday Cup Race, Bob Sampson finds enough wind to require hiking out
Adeney Pooler’s Graduate, with the black inserts on his crisp new sails generating a dramatic effect (and lots of power, apparently) on the water
Elliot Pomeroy on his way to victory in the afternoon’s Pursuit race
Jane Chadney in her element, gliding downwind on a day when Lasers seemed to find the conditions just to their liking
Close boat-on-boat competition in the Laser fleet as Jane Anderson and James Pollard vie for position
Jane Anderson gets her Laser away clear as the fleet start the short beat towards Dam Green, with the Dam wall forming a windshadow from the generally south-south-easterly wind, making for a few fluky zephyrs with large flat patches
n the distance Jane Anderson has built on her good start and has already rounded Zebra and is en-route to West, with a substantial lead over the rest of the fleet
In a race which was sometimes little more than a drift, Robin Spiller has found sufficient breeze from somewhere to enable his Streaker to generate a proper wake
Brian Pollard takes over the helm on the way back to the pontoon, after the Bosun retires from the midday race
Nathan Pollard still cheerful on a day when the Topper could probably have done with more wind
n the afternoon Pursuit Race, Jane Anderson and Paul Whybrow head downwind past the fishermen lining the Devon bank
Alan Comber produces a neat rounding of Dam Green
John Savage takes out his Otter (in past years owned by former Club Secretary David Harris) on the race course, chatting to James Pollard in the Laser
Bob Sampson holds the windward spot on the line, with Jane Anderson just ahead to leeward
A trio of Lasers battling for the lead on the first beat to Middle
A difference of opinion on the tricky downwind dogleg from Dam Green to Dam Red: Elliot Pomeroy hangs on to port, whilst the other three helms have opted to gybe onto starboard at Dam Green
A warm welcome to new club member Graham Joyce, here in the foreground in his Laser
Start of the afternoon race, with Bob Sampson again in pole position by the Home 1 buoy
Nathan Pollard’s Topper still up with the faster boats on the first beat, on his way to victory on handicap
The telephoto foreshortening makes the mid-fleet group look very close together as they head back downwind from Pinky; Paul Whybrow’s red-hulled Solo looks to be going well on the plane
The afternoon race produced some unpleasantly fluky gusts at times that kept Toby on his toes in his single-handed Bosun: Elliot attempts an overtaking manoeuvre to windward
Start of the Cup 2 race, with deceptively calm conditions in the lee of the trees
Steve Axford rounds Middle and heads for West White, building an early lead over the rest of the small fleet
Despite the smooth surface of the water, Steve looks to have caught a sudden gust – something that happened time and again to most competitors during the day
On a beat back from Inlet Red to Zebra, this long shot of Steve Axford and Bob Sampson shows the deteriorating visibility that set in during the first race
Elliot and Rachael Pomeroy are well wrapped up against the driving rain as they round Dam Green
A revised course for the afternoon race, as Steve leads just four boats towards the first mark at Dam Green
Lumpier conditions as the two Lasers start the beat from Inlet Red to West White
And towards the end of the race, visibility was getting steadily worse; here Jane Anderson has got to windward of Nathan Pollard
‘Interesting times’ on the start line, as Vicki’s lone Topper, with right-of-way on starboard, stands on across the bulk of the fleet starting on port tack
Shortly afterwards, the fleet is gradually sorting itself out: Bob Sampson has got away clear, whilst in the foreground, Jane Anderson is heading towards the Cornwall bank on starboard
A nice photographic composition, with alternating Toppers and Lasers on the first leg, just after the start
Bob Sampson still at the front, but James Pollard taking closer order behind in second place
Really good to see two new additions to the club’s Laser fleet: Graham Joyce and Penny Abbot
Synchronised tacking in the afternoon Pursuit Race, as Nathan and Adam start their turns
Still enough wind across the middle of the lake in the afternoon to give James Pollard a good bow wave, in the middle of the shot
Just after the start of the re-scheduled Commodore’s cup 2 race, with the bulk of the 18-strong fleet starting on starboard, whilst Toby opts for a port tack flyer in his Bosun in the foreground
The middle of the fleet negotiates the dogleg from Pinky round to Inlet Red, which in the lee of the trees and hillside, could be a tortuous and slow business
Nicky Buckett, back in her Laser after a year’s gap, leads a group of boats back from Dam Red
Excellent close-up of Linda Spiller in her Laser
John Dabbs’ Gull chasing Vicki’s Topper in the afternoon Pursuit race
Toby Tobias and Cilla Gilbert both sitting out as the Bosun starts to harden up after Dam Green
Paul Whybrow, the eventual winner of the Pursuit race, leads John Savage, who went on to take second place
The Lasers of Bob Sampson and James Pollard catching up the Bosun, as the Pursuit race nears the end
Deceptively calm, as James Pollard, in the Laser 4.7, leads away the trio of Toppers, just after start, from Start Line 2
James Pollard at speed in the windiest section across the middle of the lake
The data from the met station at Chivenor (near Barnstaple) gave windspeeds of 23mph, gusting 31mpg for midday, so these are the sort of gusty conditions that the Toppers were probably encountering as they plane back down the lake, heading for Dam Red
All looks calm and under control in the Hilton Bosun
The three Bosuns down near the Dam; looks as though the Buckett Bosun could do with some more kicker….
A smile of enjoyment from Jane Anderson as her Topper whips up a cloud of spray – or perhaps a grimace of foreboding….
Elliot Pomeroy’s full (blue) sail Bosun made for quite a handful, even on the reach back from Pinky
Nathan Pollard rides a gust as he beats back from Dam Red
