Some 11 boats took to the start of the Frostbite Series on Sunday – Welland Yacht Club’s final championship of the season.
Just one race will be held in the series every Sunday until the grand finale on Boxing Day.
Amid relatively light winds, the RS200 of Alan Cox and crew Mark Holland grabbed the early lead from the start and made it first around the windward mark, followed by Mark Scourfield (Solo), Gerri van Haren (Phantom), Richard Stedman (Laser Radial), Helen Boyd (Solo), Gail Follington (Comet), Richard Holland (Laser), Katie Follington (Laser Radial), Ben Parsons (Laser), Nick Bonsor (Solo) and Alister Mitchell (Laser).
As they started the run up river it was still Cox and Holland out in front, with Scourfield and van Haren fighting for second place.
Further back, Mitchell was starting to pick his way through the fleet, but Bonsor retired with rig setting issues.
Then disaster struck at the front when Cox-Holland found themselves in the water after an error, pushing them down to eighth place on the water.
With a few more places changing hand on the upwind beat to start the second lap, van Haren was in the lead with Scourfield trying to stay within handicap distance.
The wind had picked up slightly on the final lap and a few were finding it hard to keep their boats upright.
It was van Haren who made it first across the line from Scourfield and then Mitchell, with Gail Follington fourth.
With handicaps applied Scourfield took the win from Gail Follington in second and Alistair Mitchell in third, with van Haren pushed back to fourth.
