Interesting sidelight on the dinghy classes racing at the club these days: whereas a few years back, sometimes Lasers made up the bulk of the fleet, in this shot there’s a wide variety of classes (with just one Laser, but two more were in the race)
Still jockeying before the start
One class in the ascendant at the moment is the Solo: here three are in shot – Paul Whybrow in the foreground, with Adam Hilton and John Savage visible further back
Boats in the foreground beating across towards Middle, whilst ahead boats already round the mark have borne away onto a run and the leaders are already round the downwind mark and heading back towards the Dam
Alan Comber (sailing Christine Marshall’s Otter) approaching Middle, chasing hard after Simon Veal’s Bosun and John Savage’s Solo
The wind beginning to pick up across the middle of the lake: Mary Carter gets her Laser onto the plane, whilst behind the Bosun (with Toby Tobias and Nathan Pollard) is kicking up a bow wave
Roger Heasman heading back towards the Dam in his Streaker
John D leads Jane Anderson in their Toppers, whilst Mary Carter’s Laser heads the other way
Toppers in a Bosun sandwich: Simon Veal with crew Alex Clifton produces an impressive bow wave in the Bosun, followed by the planing Toppers of Jane Anderson and John Duncalf, with Toby Tobias and Jane Chadney making an even bigger splash behind
A mixed fleet, with a good admixture of Toppers, circling before the start
Adeney Pooler’s Graduate catches a gust, whilst John Savage stays flat; the three-up Bosun, helmed by Roger Heasman, with Alex Clifton and Elliot Pomeroy, is heading the other way towards Inlet White
Adeney Pooler’s Graduate catches a gust, whilst John Savage stays flat; the three-up Bosun, helmed by Roger Heasman, with Alex Clifton and Elliot Pomeroy, is heading the other way towards Inlet White
The two Janes (Anderson and Chadney) lead Bob Sampson’s RS200 and Alan Comber’s Enterprise as they head for Dam Red
Nice to see this unusual photo from the Devon bank, with the Watersports Centre in the background as boats get ready for the start
A brilliant shot of the entire fleet of 15 boats on the first lap of the afternoon race: Jane Anderson leads the fleet in her Laser, with Stuart Mealing close behind and both Paul Whybrow’s Solo and Sue Murray’s Topper Trez also well to the fore
Later in the race, area of flat calm are appearing on the lake as boats inch their way round West White
Sunshine glinting off the water, but with a threatening black sky in the background
Simon gives Alex Clifton and Elliot Pomeroy a taste of speed in the Bosun, with Alan Comber and John Weller also kicking up a bow wave in the Enterprise
Bob Sampson and James Pollard sitting well out in the RS200
The fleet get ready for the start from the less-often used Start Line 2
It looks as though the race is underway but in fact all the boats are just circling back in readiness for the start
The whole fleet in shot as they still prepare for the start
What happens when the whole fleet want to be on the same bit of the start line: boats squeeze past the blue Home 2 buoy and start beating towards the Dam
Some close overlaps here: the Bosun of Adam Hilton and Brian Pollard leads the Solo of John Savage and the Otter of John Buckett
