Mandy Pollard

Racing on Boxing Day has long been a Tamar Lake tradition and this Boxing Day was mild and almost sunny with gentle north-westerly winds. The charming informality of this race, as much seasonal get-together as race, was intensified when the starting horn refused to blow, a member’s car horn wouldn’t work without a key in the ignition and the start was eventually signalled by a human bellow from the shore across the water to the start line. All this controlled chaos was viewed by an amused contingent of Club members, notably Sue Murray, the Duncalfs and the Savages.

Brian Pollard set off first with Nathan Pollard crewing his yellow Bosun but it was Bob Sampson who reached Inlet first, the full-sailed Laser picking up every breath of wind. Linda Spiller, in her smaller-sailed Laser Radial, disposed of a threat from the Bosun sailed by Adam Hilton and John Dabbs, by forcing the overtaking boat to windward until it was no longer aimed at the marker buoy. She then set off across the centre of the Lake to West in pursuit of Brian Pollard but it took her a long time for her to catch him. Lap 2 – these were short laps; after West the course went to Zebra and then back towards the Dam – saw Bob Sampson increase his lead, Linda Spiller struggle to close the gap to the Bosun ahead and Adam Hilton benefit briefly from a gusty patch which gave him hope of catching up. Finally, on lap 3 Linda Spiller got past the Bosun ahead, going round Inlet in front and gradually pulling away from then on. On lap 4 the gusts were strong enough for crews to have to sit on the gunwale! The jib on Adam Hilton’s Bosun came down; the captain having apparently forgotten how a cleat works. Perhaps it was the effects of festive cheer; Brian Pollard too momentarily forgot to hold on to the tiller, without ill effect however; the handicap not only gave him back his lead over the Spiller Laser Radial but promoted him to winner!

1. Brian and Nathan Pollard (Bosun )
2. Bob Sampson (Laser Full)
3. Linda Spiller (Laser Radial)
4. Adam Hilton and John Dabbs (Bosun)

James Pollard very kindly ran the race with Robin Spiller assisting and Mandy Pollard took the photographs. Many thanks to all of them.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Frostbite 7

Strong winds caused the fleet to reduce sail. Sue Murray and Bob Sampson had 4.7s on their Lasers. Jane Anderson took to the water in her little Topper. Robin Spiller in his Streaker Wave. Linda Spiller and Adam Hilton left their single-handers on the shore and joined regular Bosun sailors Brian Pollard, with crew Cilla Gilbert, and John Dabbs, with Penny Abbott. The start was from the far side of the line (blissfully unencumbered with fishermen) and the first buoy was all the way up at Pinky. On the long beat up Sue Murray took the lead with Bob Sampson following and Jane Anderson keeping up admirably. The Hilton/Spiller Bosun had crossed the line the wrong side of the buoy and had to go back; Robin Spiller, following, was nearly enticed into doing the same thing. The Dabbs/Abbott Bosun also realising at the last moment allowed the rest of the fleet a head start. A catalogue of disasters in the Hilton Bosun – lost main sheet, lost float, untethered rudder – led eventually to retirement and Robin Spiller also withdrew. Bob Sampson took over the lead at the end of lap 2 but had to work at it. Getting round Dam Green involved a double gybe on one lap!  Brian Pollard led the Bosuns with the gap to John Dabbs fluctuating but never large. Jane Anderson’s Topper was overtaken by the Bosuns but finished less than a minute behind John Dabbs, giving her third place on handicap.

1. Bob Sampson (Laser 4.7)
2. Jane Anderson (Topper)
3. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
4. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)
5. John Dabbs and Adam Hilton (Bosun)

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker Wave), Adam Hilton and Linda Spiller (Bosun)

Icicle 7

Nathan Pollard joined the fleet and, seeing reduced wind strength, put a full-sized sail on his Laser. Linda Spiller swapped to her Laser 4.7. And Nathan crossed the line first with Brian Pollard’s Bosun close behind, if somewhat to leeward. Sue Murray’s 4.7 was close but Bob Sampson had overtaken her and everybody else by the time they rounded Pinky. However it was Nathan Pollard who led at the end of the lap and from then on. Old battles were resumed, notably between the Dabbs/Abbott Bosun and its Pollard/Gilbert sister, with Jane Anderson keeping her Topper in the mix. On lap 2 John Dabbs (and Jane Anderson) took a Devon bank course up to Pinky whereas Brian Pollard stuck closer to Cornwall; Cornwall won by a yard or two. Bob Sampson touched the buoy at West and had to do a penalty turn which let Sue Murray close and eventually overtake. From then on Bob Sampson stayed back in third place. On lap 3 Linda Spiller made up water on the two 4.7s ahead of her and Brian Pollard was catching up too, leaving a longer gap to the Dabbs Bosun behind.

1. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
2. Jane Anderson (Topper)
3. Bob Sampson (Laser 4.7)
4. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)
5. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
6. Linda Spiller (Laser 4.7)
7. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Nicky and John Buckett for running the races and to Mandy Pollard for taking the photographs.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Frostbite 5

Bob Sampson, James Pollard and Nathan Pollard ignored the dire forecasts of powerful winds and more powerful gusts, trusted the evidence of their own eyes, which were looking out onto a calm and barely ruffled Tamar Lake and put full-sized sails on their Lasers. Robin Spiller went full-size on his Streaker. But others were more cautious. Sue Murray and Linda Spiller had the smallest available sails on their Lasers. Adam Hilton retreated to the safety of crewing John Dabbs Bosun and Brian Pollard was left on the shore, wary of sailing his Bosun on his own.

In the event the start, from the Home 1 line towards the Dam, was a gentle affair with Linda Spiller getting off in the lead followed by James Pollard, Robin Spiller, Sue Murray, Bob Sampson, Nathan Pollard and John Dabbs. But then the vagaries of the south-westerly breezes pushed others ahead and the usual push-and-shove rounding Dam Green had its winners and losers too. James Pollard emerged running north to Zebra in the lead with Robin Spiller next, and, following, the other two big-sailed Lasers, Sue Murray’s 4.7, the Bosun and poor Linda Spiller’s 4.7 was pushed to the back. The leading Lasers drew away and continued to spar, Bob Sampson leading at the end of the first two laps but being overtaken in front of the pontoon by Nathan Pollard, James Pollard dropping back; three minutes back at the finish. John Dabbs kept his Bosun not too far behind the Spiller Streaker and got clear of the Laser 4.7s.The handicap gave him third place as a result.

1. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Bob Sampson (Laser Full)
3. John Dabbs and Adam Hilton (Bosun)
4. Robin Spiller (Streaker)
5. James Pollard (Laser Full)
6. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
7. Linda Spiller (Laser 4.7)

Icicle 5

There were some changes in the fleet in response to the first race light winds. Linda Spiller put a Radial sail on her Laser and Adam Hilton launched his Solo. Leila Farmer crewed for John Dabbs and Ethan Walker for Brian Pollard in his Bosun. But even before the start it was clear that the winds had become more powerful and capricious and they up-ended two helms (Adam Hilton and Robin Spiller) before the end of the first lap.

The beat from the start to Dam Green took less time with more wind but was just as congested with various helms getting the bows of their boats a little ahead. Emerging victorious from the melee rounding Dam Green and running first to Zebra was Nathan Pollard followed by James Pollard, Bob Sampson, John Dabbs, Adam Hilton, Linda Spiller, Sue Murray, Robin Spiller and Brian Pollard. After rounding Pinky the single handed dinghies were planing up the Lake like a bunch of speed boats which made the gybes at Home 2 and Inlet tricky. From lap 2 on the winds moderated somewhat. The Pollard brothers increased their lead over the rest of the fleet, Nathan leading at the end of each lap and keeping the victory when the handicaps were applied.

1. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. James Pollard (Laser Full)
3. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
4. John Dabbs and Leila Farmer (Bosun)
5. Brian Pollard and Ethan Walker (Bosun)
6. Bob Sampson (Laser Full)
7. Linda Spiller (Laser Radial)

Retired: Adam Hilton (Solo), Robin Spiller (Streaker)

Grateful thanks were given to Jane Anderson for running the races and to Mandy Pollard for taking the photographs.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Frostbite 4

Nathan Pollard’s full-sailed Laser dominated the day’s racing. The very light winds from varying points in the south west dictated a start from the Home 2 line, which is always tricky for helms to know if it has been crossed or not. The Pollard Laser did not cross first – Adam Hilton’s Solo led – and it was not until they had sailed up to Dam Green and were back nearly rounding West that it slipped past. After that the lead never changed, Pollard finishing a minute in front of Linda Spiller in another full-sailed Laser who had had a lot of overtaking to do, taking the Solo on the third lap. However before that Linda, one of those lost in the featureless waters of the Home 2 start line, had had to sail past Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial and Paul Anderson’s fast-starting Laser Full. Brian Pollard, with a rare and treasured species, John Weller, as crew, started fourth, the lead Bosun, but got stuck at Dam Green and let the John Dabbs sister dinghy, Penny Abbott crewing, take over.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo)
2. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
3. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
4. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
5. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)
6. Paul Anderson (Laser Full)
7. Brian Pollard and John Weller (Bosun)

Icicle 4

The wind had moved further west making use of the more familiar and welcome Home 1 line possible. Nonetheless an over-eager Commodore caused a general recall and it was Jane Anderson who got away first at the second start with both Bosuns well up. Nathan Pollard soon took over the lead although he had to fight his way past Paul Anderson first. Linda Spiller, with the other big-sailed Laser, also overtook Paul Anderson but on the second lap. Jane Anderson, in her Laser Radial with its smaller sail, had a race long contest with Adam Hilton’s Solo; the vagaries of the very gentle winds often dictating who led. Brian Pollard’s Bosun spent most of the race in front of John Dabbs’s but was behind at the end when the wind disappeared leaving him inching home nearly half an hour after the winner, his son, crossed the line.

1. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
3. Adam Hilton (Solo)
4. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
5. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)
6. Paul Anderson (Laser Full)
7. Brian Pollard and John Weller (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Robin Spiller for running the races, to Bob Sampson for manning the safety boat and to Mandy Pollard for taking the photographs.

Buddy sailing

by Adam Hilton

There was a lot of traffic on the UTLSC Whatsap in the morning. Was anyone going to sail? Was there going to be enough wind if so? In the end four boats took to the wonderfully plentiful waters on a gorgeous afternoon with the Lake at its prettiest and a little bunch of capricious winds that kept helms on their toes. Linda Spiller’s Laser Full tacked away towards Middle and made it in one. Robin Spiller’s Streaker refused to point as high but got there fast. Adam Hilton’s Solo and Leila Farmer’s Hartley 12 followed. West was rounded in two tacks. Pinky was a reach as was most of the return to Home 1 although the wind was more northerly at the beginning of the leg than it was at the end. Linda drew away but Robin and Adam diced, the Solo ahead at the end of three laps.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
3. :Robin Spiller (Streaker)
4. Leila Farmer (Hartley 12)

Nobody ran the race or took pics. Adam pressed the start horn and made a dash to get afloat. Helms stopped their watches as they crossed the finish line.

by Adam Hilton

Mandy Pollard

Frostbite 3

Eating lunch on the shore of Tamar lake before the late-starting first race (delayed by a fishing competition) the more timorous members of the fleet were alarmed by the north easterlies screaming overhead, not the weather that had been forecast. Unease was increased by the absence of any Lakes Trust operative to run the safety boat but Bob Sampson nobly stepped in to fill the gap. In the event, when the starting horn blew, the winds had moderated although remaining highly variable in strength and direction. The Commodore’s Solo was away first closely followed and soon overtaken by Jane Anderson’s Laser Radial. Robin Spiller in his Streaker had a good start but Nathan Pollard in his full-sailed Laser did not. He made up for it by tacking early on the way to Inlet, losing the dirty air left by the boats ahead.  By the time the fleet was running across from Inlet to Middle, Nathan had overtaken Jane Anderson and led from then on, finishing the four laps two and a half minutes ahead of her. Linda Spiller’s Laser Radial rounded Inlet in third and retained that place until the second lap when her race faltered. John Dabbs, with John Buckett as crew, started as the lead Bosun, third at the start, with Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert’s Bosun at the rear of the fleet. But Brian soon made up the gap and led the Bosuns at the end of each lap.

1. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
2. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
3. Adam Hilton (Solo)
4. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)
5. John Dabbs and John Buckett (Bosun)
6. Linda Spiller (Laser Radial)

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker)

Icicle 3

Brian Pollard and Nathan Pollard made good starts this time, crossing the line first and second although the Pollard Bosun was well to leeward and the single-handers were all well past by the time he reached Inlet. The battle with the Dabbs/Buckett Bosun resumed with Brian Pollard generally leading but John Dabbs overtook at the start of lap 2 (of three) only to lose his advantage before they rounded Inlet. Nathan Pollard established a lead followed by Linda Spiller who had put a full-sized sail on her Laser. Jane Anderson and Adam Hilton followed but the gap to the faster Lasers was not enough to overcome the handicap advantage of the Laser Radial and the Solo which took first and second places.

1. Jane Anderson (Laser Radial)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo)
3. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
4. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
5. Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert (Bosun)
6. John Dabbs and John Buckett (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Vicki Duncalf and Colin and Louise Witchell for running the races, to Bob Sampson and Paul Anderson for manning the safety boat  and to Mandy Pollard for taking the photographs.

Teacake 7

Six boats took the start. Linda Spiller’s Laser Full crossed the line first, set off for West and was never headed. After three twelve minute laps she was four minutes ahead of the second starting, second finishing Solo of Adam Hilton. The winds which had appeared entirely charming and benign from the bank were a lot trickier on the water and got stronger as the race went on. In the middle of the Lake they arrived from over the western hills, making the first leg to West a high-pointing beat and the crossing to Inlet a sometimes stomach churning run. Going round Inlet was tricky – several helms got stuck in irons – and was not helped by an abusive fisherman on the bank. Going up to Pinky should have been a reach but was more like a beat; going back to Dam Green was often a glorious planing reach. Rob Spiller retired his Streaker after a lap. Ian Chatterton was sailing his Enterprise alone and did a fine job of surviving the winds’ gusts and troughs, finishing lap 1 in third but being overtaken by John Dabbs’ Bosun, Penny Abbott as crew, on lap 2. Leila Farmer, alone in her Hartley 12, made a good start and was still sailing at the end, although technically she retired somewhat earlier, having had to make an emergency stop replace the bung in her boat.

1. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo).
3. John Dabbs and Penny Abbott (Bosun)
4. Ian Chatterton (Enterprise)

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker), Leila Farmer (Hartley 12)

The race was rescheduled from the week before and Tom Sparkes was present to man the safety boat. Nice to see John and Ruth Savage who were just visiting but kindly agreed to run the race.

Teacake 6

Before the race it looked as though there would be no wind; one of those windless, sunny days. But a little north-westerly breeze turned up for the start and powered the fleet around a course that went as far north as Pinky at around 12 minutes a lap. Adam Hilton’s Solo was first away but Linda Spiller, her big-sailed Laser pointing high, was soon ahead, helped by the Commodore having to be reminded to go round West. West was a problem; stray too near the shore and you would go aground, as John Dabbs Bosun did. Ian Chatterton’s Enterprise started third and threatened the Solo for a couple of laps until ill-chosen tacks on the way to West allowed the Dabbs’ Bosun to get ahead; an impressive effort by Ian in the first race he’d signed on for!

1. John Dabbs (Bosun)
2. Adam Hilton (Solo).
3. Linda Spiller (Laser Full)
4. Ian Chatterton (Enterprise)
5. Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

Brian Clifton and Robin Spiller were Officers of the Day. Many thanks to them.

by Adam Hilton

Brian Pollard

Frostbite 1

First away were Jane Anderson and Vicki Duncalf in Toppers, theoretically the slowest boats in this fleet of ten. Following but soon at the front were the Bob Sampson and Nathan Pollard Lasers, the fastest dinghies in both theory and practice. The northwesterlies had an autumnal strength although the sun was still out and Tamar Lake was still attracting a slew of paddle-boarders and kayakers while also hosting a fishing competition that dominated much of the water. At Middle Sampson was a little ahead of Pollard. Then came the next pair, the Laser 4.7s of Sue Murray and Linda Spiller, followed by Jane Anderson, Adam Hilton, a cut-down sail making his Solo manageable, Vicki Duncalf, Robin Spiller with a small ‘Wave’ sail on his Streaker, John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd in the first Bosun with Colin and Louise Witchell in the small-sailed second. In this four lap race of epic battles between pairs Nathan Pollard eventually got the better of Bob Sampson (al of 12 seconds better!), Sue Murray led Linda Spiller (38 seconds) and Adam Hilton’s Solo ended ahead of Jane Anderson’s Topper (20 seconds). The Dabbs/Floyd Bosun finished ahead of Vicki Duncalf’s Topper. The handicaps scrambled the order on the water; the big-sailed Lasers hadn’t got themselves far enough ahead so that the Anderson Topper took the victory with Sue Murray’s 4.7 Laser second.

1. Jane Anderson (Topper)
2. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
3. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
4. Bob Sampson (Laser Full)
5. Linda Spiller (Laser 4.7)
6. Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
7. John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd (Bosun)
8. Adam Hilton (Solo).

Retired: Robin Spiller (Streaker Wave), Colin and Louise Witchell (Bosun)

Icicle 1

Brian Pollard (generously volunteering to run the races) had the tricky job of designed a course to make the most of what water the rain-deprived Lake had deep enough for sailing, while keeping clear of the competing fishermen. The first half of a lap was all beating, the return half, a long run. Jane Anderson again got off on a flyer with Vicki Duncalf in the other Topper following.  Bob Sampson was next and Linda Spiller was already ahead of her pair, Sue Murray, a position she retained throughout. Nathan Pollard crossed the start line sixth but was up to second at the first mark, Middle. The two big-sailed Lasers were never far apart; Pollard slipping past coming towards the dam on lap 2 only to have Sampson retake the place. On lap 3 Pollard took the lead again on the way north to Pinky and this time made the move stick. The Dabbs/Floyd Bosun was again swapping places with the Anderson Topper, notably between Dam Green and the line on lap 1, but on lap 2 the Bosun was again in front of the Topper at the dam and finished in that position. The handicaps gave Linda Spiller the victory with Jane Anderson second and the leaders on the water in fifth and sixth.

1. Linda Spiller (Laser 4.7)
2. Jane Anderson (Topper)
3. Sue Murray (Laser 4.7)
4. Vicki Duncalf (Topper)
5. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
6. Bob Sampson (laser Full)
7. John Dabbs and Geoff Floyd (Bosun)

Retired: Louise and Colin Witchell (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Brian Pollard for not only running the races but also taking the photographs. His assistant was Paul Anderson.

by Adam Hilton

Brian Pollard

Commodore 7

The final race in the personal handicap Commodore series was run under grey skies and in very light winds. The Lasers of Jane Anderson, Sue Murray and Nathan Pollard all made good starts, with Jane Anderson rounding the first mark in the lead. They were soon joined at a very congested Dam Green by a rare and welcome visitor to Tamar Lake, Steve Axford in his familiar dark-hulled Laser. As the fleet moved up the Lake towards Middle the Solo of Adam Hilton, always a good performer in light winds, caught up the Lasers. Jane Anderson had a clear lead as the fleet crossed to West, increased as she went up to a very distant-seeming Pinky and started an even longer return towards the Dam. Vicki Duncalf, running the races for the day, seeing that the circuit was taking forty minutes, shortened the race to a single lap.  Behind the leader places changed a good deal, each skipper of the single-sailed dinghies having a go at being best of the rest. John Buckett’s Otter led the Bosuns going up the Lake but in this bunch too positions changed several times, John Dabb’s Bosun finishing the race as the leader, with Roger Heasman behind him. In these very light winds no crew was needed to sail a two-sailed boat.

1. Adam Hilton (Solo).
2. John Dabbs (Bosun)
3. Roger Heasman (Bosun)
4. John Buckett (Otter)
5. Steve Axford (Laser Full)
6. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
7. Jane Anderson (Laser Full)
8. Sue Murray (Laser Full)

Spalding Cup 7

The course was changed to shorten the laps and the fleet managed three tours in around forty minutes with the wind slightly increased until the end. Sue Murray started first but was threatened by Jane Anderson and Nathan Pollard at the first mark where everyone arrived at once and those closest to the mark had priority. Sue Murray still led on the way up the Lake but Jane Anderson took over and increased her lead to some four and a half minutes at the end. Nathan Pollard also overtook Sue Murray but she had fought regained her place by the finish. The Bosuns of John Dabbs and Roger Heasman scrapped throughout with the latter in front at the end, but John Buckett’s Otter was a couple of minutes in front of them.

1. Jane Anderson (Laser Full)
2. Sue Murray (Laser Full)
3. Nathan Pollard (Laser Full)
4. Adam Hilton (Solo)
5. Steve Axford (Laser Full)
6. John Buckett (Otter)
7. Roger Heasman (Bosun)
8. John Dabbs (Bosun)

Grateful thanks were given to Vicki Duncalf, for running the races and to Brian Pollard for the photographs.