THERE was a powerful north wind with even more powerful gusts while the promised sunshine was slow to arrive.

A lot of club members stood on the bank but only three boats took to the water. Nathan Pollard had equipped his Laser with a little 4.7 sail, Vicki Duncalf had wrapped a bit of her sail around the mast of the Topper and the Bosun of Adam Hilton, Cilla Gilbert and John Dabbs flew small Otter sails.

Duncalf got herself over the far side line first but by the time she reached Zebra, Pollard had slipped past. The Bosun also managed to get past the Topper at the next mark, Inlet White.

Pollard pulled out a substantial and lonely lead, his only problem coping with the gusts, but the Topper and the jolly party in the Bosun were never separated by very much. The gap fluctuating each lap as they tacked against the north wind up to Far.

Hilton touched the buoy at Inlet on lap three and Duncalf went by as the Bosun did a penalty turn.

The Topper’s second place was cemented when the Bosun lost control at the gybe around West, and applying the handicap made no change to the order over the finish line.

The sun had come out and the wind moderated a little for the afternoon race, which was comprehensively won by Nathan Pollard.

Another three competitors took to the water — two more Toppers for Elliot Pomeroy and John Duncalf as well as the club Bosun with Roger Heasman at the helm and Sally Wills and Geoff Floyd as crew.

John Dabbs had taken over the helm of the red Bosun. None of this affected Nathan Pollard who got away first and stayed there, doing 17 minute laps compared to the other boats who took 20 minutes or more.

The two Bosuns were next over the start line with the pale blue club boat showing its accustomed turn of speed and never being threatened by the red privateer.

But Vicki Duncalf, now with all her sail, went better than either of them; by Inlet she was in front of the Dabbs Bosun and at the end of lap one she was leading the Heasman boat by half a minute.

Pomeroy also got past the red Bosun and the handicap took him past the blue one in the final results.

Thanks were expressed to Paul Anderson for running the races and to Mandy Pollard for braving the cold to get the pictures.