11th October 2020 Race Report

Covid-19 Autumn 4

A heavily-crewed Bosun with John Dabbs at the helm was first across the starting line. He was assisted by Robin Spiller and Adam Hilton who jointly handled the jib and kept the boat upright on a grey, cold day with plenty of north westerly wind. Two little Toppers followed, Vicky Duncalf leading Jane Anderson with Sue Murray in her Laser 4.7 coming up fast behind them. Beating past Zebra and round Home 2 bunched up the fleet, Jane Anderson tacking early and losing out, the Bosun dropping much of its lead and Sue Murray hard on the wake of Vicky Duncalf. The course then took a deviation towards the Cornwall bank and West White before returning to the Devon side of the Lake with Middle buoy needing to be rounded before the beat up to Pinky could continue. This combination of buoys proved confusing to helms throughout the day, the Bosun having to retire from this race after missing out Middle buoy. Jane Anderson’s Topper made up a lot of water in this phase of the race, passing the Bosun to take the lead, but Sue Murray had freed herself from Vicky Duncalf’s dirty wind and was in pursuit, briefly leading the Anderson Topper at the end of the long run to Dam Green but losing out at the buoy and only consolidating her lead well into lap 2. Vicky Duncalf went past the Bosun, her Topper pointing noticeably higher on the beats, but her advantage was never secure, the Bosun faster on the runs. The Topper’s handicap gave back the victory to Jane Anderson. 

Covid-19 Autumn 5

Linda Spiller swapped race-officiating for sailing her Laser 4.7 and promptly led across the line and stayed in front for two laps. The Bosun was now only two up, John Dabbs still at the helm. Geoff Floyd had changed the small sail on his Solo for the standard size. Sue Murray chased Linda Spiller up to the top of the Lake with the two Toppers following at an increasing distance. The Bosun and the Solo spent the beginning of the lap neck and neck but the Bosun overtook Vicky Duncalf’s Topper on the first lap as did the Solo on the second. Unfortunately a capsize caused Geoff Floyd to retire on lap 3. Disasters began to afflict Linda Spiller; a double penalty turn near Dam Green reduced her lead, confusion about the course lost it, so Sue Murray’s laser 4.7 took over at the front of the fleet. As in the morning the Dabbs Bosun and Vicky Duncalf’s Topper were in contention. At one point the Topper touched the buoy at Dam Green and had to do a penalty allowing the Bosun past but at the beginning of lap 3 Vicky Duncalf overtook the Bosun and was never again headed by the bigger boat even if the gap between them continued to open and close. An unusual feature of the race was that on the long run from Pinky to Dam Green the wind was dead astern so that helms had the choice of putting their booms out to port or to starboard.

Grateful thanks were given to Bob Sampson and Brian Pollard in a very cold safety boat, to Linda Spiller for running the first race and to Adam Hilton for running the second. The photos were a combined Pollard/Spiller/Hilton effort.