Tom Bell and Alan Cox both enjoyed their first wins of the season as Welland Yacht Club once again hosted some very competitive action on Sunday.
Bell bagged wins in rounds one and two of the Munson Cup, while Cox claimed a victory in the opening race of the Afternoon Points Series.
Sunny conditions and variable winds greeted the nine boats gathering for the second weekend of racing in the calendar, with the Munson opener first up.
The course was set up river to the number three buoy and allowed a tacking start away from the clubhouse.
It was Bell (laser) who was first away, closely followed by Cox (laser), Gail Follington (comet) and Gerri van Haren in the bigger phantom.
The fleet were bunching at times due to the fickle wind strength and direction constantly changing, but at the turning mark it was the lasers of Bell and Cox who had mastered the conditions.
On the first run back to the clubhouse turn Bell had to complete a 360 degree penalty turn for hitting the turning mark, which allowed Cox through.
But he suffered a hole in the wind, which Bell took advantage of to catch and round buoy one just in front with van Haren in third.
Lap two was as frustrating as the first, with the wind dropping to nothing at times.
But the leading trio managed to maintain the gaps on their handicap and finished with Bell taking first, Cox just back in second and van Haren in third.
The second race of the six-round Munson Cup followed, with the same nine boats taking on a shorter course.
With a slightly stronger wind, Bell once again timed his start well and led fron the off, followed by Follington, Cox, van Haren and Helen Boyd (solo).
After rounding the bouy it was Bell leading from Cox and van Haren, who once again were able to pull away from the rest of the chasing pack.
This remained the same and after the shorter timed handicaps were applied it was Bell who took the honours with Cox in second, while Follington moved up to third.
Neil Tack and Rebecca Slator (graduate) made a cracking start to the final race of the day in the Afternoon Points Series, followed by Arden Follington (laser with cox) and Ben Parsons (laser) in hot pursuit.
But it was Cox who came through to the front by the turning mark and he went unchallenged for the remainder of the race.
The chasing boats did remain closely bunched behind, with the solo of Martin Cook making his way through the fleet at great speed.
However, he could not catch Follington who finished second behind clear winner Cox, with Cook settling for third place on his first outing of the season followed by Tack and Boyd in the solo.
- Anyone wanting to find out more about sailing should contact the club via email [email protected].
