Barnwell 5
For the first race of the season the sun shone brightly but the brisk north-easterly winds were cold. There were two Lasers in the fleet; Bob Sampson got his over the line first with Nathan Pollard hard on his heels. Vicki Duncalf (Topper) followed closely with the jolly threesome of Dabbs/McKee/Petvin in the Club’s Bosun slightly slow to reach the start line. It was a true beat to Inlet with the wind becoming unpredictable as the trees behind the buoy disrupted it. Nathan Pollard had his bow ahead of Bob Sampson for a while but a judicious choice of tacks put Bob round the mark first and on the planing reach to West he stayed in front and remained there in the long beat to Far. These two were still close at the end of lap 1 but on the second Bob Sampson pulled out a lead which he extended as the race progressed, finishing a couple of minutes in front of Nathan. John Dabbs had managed to get past Vicki Duncalf in the beat up to Inlet and stayed in touch with the leaders for the first lap giving hope for a win on handicap. The gap had increased by the finish of the race but at six minutes behind Nathan Pollard the Bosun trio still got second place on handicap.
- Bob Sampson (Laser)
- John Dabbs, Paul McKee and Paul Petvin (Bosun)
- Nathan Pollard (Laser)
- Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
Barnwell 6
Bob Sampson generously swapped places in the safety boat with Adam Hilton, giving Adam the chance to race his new Aero 5 for the first time. The winds had freshened so that the Aero and the Pollard Laser crossed the start line at some speed and at much the same moment. Nathan soon pulled away. Vicki Duncalf again started in front of the Dabbs Bosun (now with Paul Petvin as the sole crew) but she was overtaken on the fast reach across to West. A capsize at Inlet left Adam Hilton at the back of the fleet and another during the gybe at Pinkie caused him to retire. On the second lap Vicki Duncalf was also caught out but carried on to gain second place to Nathan Pollard. The Dabbs/Petvin Bosun retired after the race; they had signed on with Paul Petvin as helm but the strength of the wind deterred him.
- Nathan Pollard (Laser)
- Â Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
Retired: Adam Hilton (Aero 5), John Dabbs and Paul Petvin (Bosun)
Grateful thanks were given to Roger Heasman and Cilla Gilbert who ran the race, to Brian Pollard, Adam Hilton and Bob Sampson for safety boat duties and to Mandy Pollard for photographs.