Teatime Tankard 5

On an afternoon that had been quite windy, by the time the delayed Teatime 
Tankard got under way, the westerly breeze had moderated somewhat, but the 
gusts were still sufficient for John Dabbs to go out under a reefed mainsail in his 
Gull.  On a start on the far side of the line, Nathan Pollard got his approach just right 
and squeezed past Home 1 at the windward end of the line.  Just behind him, Bob 
Sampson had downsized for the afternoon and was trying out the thrills of a Topper 
for the first time.  The beat to West White gave the six-boat fleet time to sort 
themselves out, before they bore away for a broad reach across to Inlet White; in 
some winds, this can be a torment for helms, as the windshadow of the conifer-clad 
cliff causes a Doldrums effect, but on this occasion, there was sufficient southerly 
aspect to the wind for everyone to get round without much delay and the fleet was 
quickly away, heading towards the tack round Pinky.  By the end of the first lap, 
Nathan Pollard had pulled out a very considerable lead in his Laser Radial, though 
Graham Joyce briefly appeared to make inroads into this as his full-rig Laser picked 
up a beneficial gust across the middle of the lake.  

After a start when the Tasar was caught at the downwind end of the line, Brian 
Pollard slowly made up some ground and by the end of the first lap had overtaken 
John Dabbs's Gull.  Bob Sampson seemed to have little problem adapting to his 
smaller boat and for the first lap was almost keeping pace with Adam Hilton in the 
Solo, but as the wind continued to ease slightly, Adam found another gear and 
moved well clear.  Thereafter, there was little change in the placings on the water 
and Nathan Pollard was first to hear the horn at the end of the allotted three laps, by 
a substantial margin.  On handicap, however, Bob Sampson was a comfortable 
winner by well over a minute, with Nathan demoted to second place.  Although they 
did not race, after a long run of woefully windy Wednesdays, it was particularly 
pleasing to see a number of other club sailors out on the water, including Penny 
Abbott, Annie Quartermain, Sue Murray and new member Emma Hawkins.

The usual thanks to John and Nicky Buckett for race officer duties and as always to 
Mandy Pollard, who was photographing the race with a brand-new camera, from 
which we look forward to seeing the results.

Results:

1.	Bob Sampson (Topper) 
2.	Nathan Pollard (Laser Radial) 
3.	Adam Hilton (Solo)
4.	Graham Joyce (Laser)  
5.	John Dabbs (Gull) 
6.	Brian Pollard and Cilla Gilbert