by Adam Hilton
Mandy Pollard
Barnwell 4
Vicki Duncalf’s Topper was the first to cross the start line, but following her and moving faster, was Adam Hilton’s Solo, which overtook and made the short beat to Dam Green in the lead. The gentle winds were coming over the dam from the southwest and helms needed to start close up to the windward buoy if they were to make Game Green in one tack. Roger Heasman’s Bosun, with Dave Perrett as crew, started only moments later than the leaders but further to leeward and had had to tack before reaching Dam Green allowing others, notably Geoff Floyd’s Solo, to round the buoy before it. The run to Home 2 saw Nathan Pollard in his familiar full-sailed Laser, begin to assert himself, taking over second place from Geoff Floyd. Jane Anderson too, sailing her Laser with a little 4.7 sail, got free of the increasingly quarrelsome Bosuns, two of which, the Heasman and Dabbs boats, ending up doing penalty turns after Home 2. This enabled Brian Pollard, Cilla Gilbert crewing, to establish himself as lead Bosun.
Nathan Pollard continued to chase Adam Hilton who had benefitted from the clean air away from the squabbling fleet and had a substantial lead. The Pollard Laser finally took over that lead on the way to Pinkie on the second lap, Adam Hilton retaining second place until he capsized near the end of the third and final lap! The other Solo, Geoff Floyd’s, faired better; scrapping with Paul Anderson’s Laser (Full) which finished in third place on the water. The main beneficiaries of the handicaps were Brian Pollard’s Bosun, up to 3rd from 6th on the water, and Jane Anderson’s Laser 4.7 which was given the victory after crossing the finish line in fourth.
| Rank | HelmName | CrewName | Class | Rating | Elapsed | Corrected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jane Anderson | LASER 4.7 | 1186 | 0.47.57 | 0.40.26 | |
| 2 | Nathan Pollard | LASER | 1076 | 0.44.19 | 0.41.11 | |
| 3 | Brian Pollard | Cilla Gilbert | BOSUN | 1228 | 0.50.50 | 0.41.24 |
| 4 | Geoff Floyd | SOLO | 1143 | 0.47.28 | 0.41.32 | |
| 5 | Vicki Duncalf | TOPPER | 1335 | 0.55.48 | 0.41.48 | |
| 6 | Paul Anderson | LASER | 1076 | 0.46.50 | 0.43.32 | |
| 7 | John Dabbs | Linda Spiller | BOSUN | 1228 | 0.53.47 | 0.43.48 |
| 7 | Robin Spiller | STREAKER | 1135 | 0.49.43 | 0.43.48 | |
| 9 | Roger Heasman | Dave Perrett | BOSUN | 1228 | 0.54.50 | 0.44.39 |
| 10 | Adam Hilton | SOLO | 1143 | DNF |
Sailboat 4
Paul Anderson got away well and rounded Dam Green first. He benefitted from the wind having moved a little further west, reducing the need to start up against the windward buoy if dinghies were to reach Dam Green in one tack. Vicky Duncalf made her usual fine start and Robin Spiller would have done too if he hadn’t decided he was going to cross the line too early and turned back. From the shore it looked as though he could have carried on. He started from the back of the field. However the Streaker was going well and he had overtaken one Bosun by the time he rounded Dam Green, another before going round Home 2 and was up to third on the way back down the Lake, behind the two big Lasers of Paul Anderson (still leading) and Nathan Pollard. Robin Spiller retained that position for the rest of the race but Nathan Pollard overtook Paul Anderson just after the first buoy of lap 2 to lead the fleet for the rest of the way.
The Bosuns swapped places a good deal; Roger Heasman starting well at second around Dam Green and leading the other Bosuns at 4th in the fleet at the end of lap 1 but down to 5th on lap 2 and 7th at the finish. John Dabbs’ boat did better; finishing the race only five minutes behind the leading Laser caused the handicap to give him the victory.
| Rank | HelmName | CrewName | Class | Rating | Elapsed | Corrected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Dabbs | Linda Spiller | BOSUN | 1228 | 0.49.17 | 0.40.08 |
| 2 | Robin Spiller | STREAKER | 1135 | 0.46.13 | 0.40.43 | |
| 3 | Vicki Duncalf | TOPPER | 1335 | 0.54.25 | 0.40.46 | |
| 4 | Nathan Pollard | LASER | 1076 | 0.44.06 | 0.40.59 | |
| 5 | Brian Pollard | Cilla Gilbert | BOSUN | 1228 | 0.50.41 | 0.41.16 |
| 6 | Paul Anderson | LASER | 1076 | 0.44.54 | 0.41.44 | |
| 7 | Jane Anderson | LASER 4.7 | 1186 | 0.50.08 | 0.42.16 | |
| 8 | Roger Heasman | Dave Perrett | BOSUN | 1228 | 0.52.53 | 0.43.04 |
| 9 | Geoff Floyd | SOLO | 1143 | RET |
Many thanks were given to Bob Sampson who ran the race and to Mandy Pollard who took the photographs.