Upper Tamar Lake Sailing Club report — Sunday, October 9

AM: Frostbite Trophy Two

ON A SUNNY and cheerful October Sunday, 14 boats took to the water and started the race with a beat to the Dam Green buoy.

Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial was away first, but the RS200, with Nathan Pollard at the helm, had started towards the windward end of the start line and was able to get to the buoy without tacking and was first round and away up the lake.

It soon became clear that having to tack onto port for the last few yards to Dam Green was fraught with difficulties, as boat after boat came almost to a standstill.

John Dabbs, who was almost 100 yards behind the rest crossing the start line in his Gull, was another boat that got it right, as he swept past a half dozen or more dinghies before rounding the mark.

The shifty nature of the wind became evident as the leading boats drifted downwind from Inlet to Middle and then hardened up towards Pinkie; the first handful of boats were having to beat their way towards the mark, whereas the wind freed for dinghies only a few yards behind and they were able to head directly towards the next buoy.

One effect of the unreliable wind was that the best laid plans of the race officer were thwarted and the carefully constructed course in the end offered no tactical beat for the competitors. As so often in these cases, the first boats into the lead held onto their advantage throughout the race.

Accordingly, Nathan Pollard and Jane Anderson retained the first two positions on the water, with Linda Spiller’s Laser not far behind, followed by a long gap before the rest of the fleet, with relatively few changes in position as the laps unfolded. Although the RS200 kept its initial lead and was first across the finish line, after calculation of the handicaps, the eventual winner was John Dabbs in his Gull, even though he finished over 11 minutes after the RS200.

Linda Spiller did well to claim second place in her Laser, meaning that Nathan Pollard and Jane Chadney’s RS200 were pushed back into third. Cilla Gilbert deserves a special mention, guiding the heavy Bosun dinghy to fifth place, on a day when the light winds meant that the odds were weighted against her. The disqualifications were because helms hadn’t filled in the paperwork!

1. J Dabbs (Gull); 2. L Spiller (Laser); 3. N Pollard & J Chadney (RS200); 4. R Spiller (Streaker); 5. C Gilbert & B Pollard (Bosun); 6. J Duncalf (Topper); 7. V Duncalf (Topper); 8. P Abbott (Laser); 9. G Floyd (Solo); 10. J Weller & A Comber (Enterprise); 11. T Tobias & Bob (Bosun)

Disqualifications: J Anderson (Laser Radial), P Anderson (Laser), R Heasman (Streaker)

PM: Icicle Trophy Two

WITH a revised course, 15 boats weaved and ducked towards the start line as the seconds counted down towards the off.

Jane Anderson was right on the line as the horn sounded and was first away and still first around Dam Green.

The RS200 was close and Paul Whybrow not far behind in his Solo. Although the wind looked to be coming from the South East as the fleet followed Jane round the buoy, there was a shock in store for the helms as they passed Middle, as they suddenly found the wind had been funnelled down from the top of the lake and was now coming from the North West, so that they were faced with a true beat to get to Pinkie. Alan Comber in the Enterprise tacked immediately on to port at Middle, headed for the Devon bank and for a while made up ground on the leading boats hand over fist.

By the end of the first lap, Jane Anderson was still just holding onto the lead, but the RS200 was flying its pink gennaker and closing up behind as they started the second lap — and they subsequently overtook Jane. Paul Whybrow was only a few yards behind in his Solo in third and was still relatively close at the end of the second lap, looking to be on course for a win on handicap before he fell back on the last circuit.

In mid fleet, Toby Tobias was keeping in front of the rival Bosun, now helmed by Brian Pollard, until he left out the Zebra mark on the revised course and had to go back a long way to round it.

John Savage, out in his Otter dinghy, had even worse luck; one of the lake’s helixors suddenly started bubbling just as he passed over it and in the light winds he was held captive in its vortex and spun slowly round for a couple of revolutions before eventually being released.

The first boat to cross the finishing line was the RS200, but Jane Anderson was only 20 seconds behind and accordingly won on handicap.

John Dabbs completed a highly successful day’s sailing when he squeezed into second on handicap, with Paul Whybrow just behind in third.

1. J Anderson (Laser Radial); 2. J Dabbs (Gull); 3. P Whybrow (Solo); 4. R Spiller (Streaker); 5. N Pollard & J Chadney (RS200); 6. R Heasman (Streaker); 7. V Duncalf (Topper); 8. E Pomeroy (Topper); 9. L Spiller (Laser); 10. J Duncalf (Topper); 11. A Comber & J Weller (Enterprise); 12. B Pollard & C Gilbert (Bosun); 13. T Tobias & P Abbott (Bosun); 14. Geoff Floyd (Solo)

Retired: John Savage (Otter)

Thanks were expressed to Nicky Buckett for running the races.