Tom Bell edged to a narrow victory as Welland Yacht Club held the Lowland Trophy on Sunday – which is a regatta with a twist.
It saw three races as normal – but featured a variety of extra challenges en-route.
The racing also formed part of the club’s camping weekend and competitors were encouraged to don fancy dress in the theme of movies and TV.
Race one was contested by 15 boats and featured a downwind start closely followed by chicane which had been added to force the dinghies to gybe at each mark.
Bell made the best start managing to reach the chicane slightly ahead of the chaos as the bulk of the fleet all tried to round it together.
This in turn allowed Bell to pull out a lead which he was never to lose. Gail Follington and Mark Holland both had a harder job of negotiating the chicane but eventually worked their way through the pack to challenge for places.
Lucy Burton, in her smaller Byte, managed to avoid the confusion to finish mid fleet.
Once the results were worked out using the individual’s own personal handicaps, Bell was first ahead of Follington and Burton. Katie Follington was the first junior with an excellent sixth place.
The second race had the addition of a ‘treasure hunt’, with competitors having to spot hidden letters to spell the mystery word and avoid penalty points.
Although the chicane remained, the race commenced with a short beat allowing the field more room at the first mark, this allowing all boats to pass without incident which is turn kept the field closer together.
Bell was again at the front of the field, with Gail Follington following closely behind. Only a short distance back was a three-boat pack containing Alan Cox (Laser Radial), Holland (Laser) and
Burton doing very well in her smaller and slower Byte with the rest of the fleet a short distance behind these.
Although Bell crossed the line first, Gail Follington was close enough to win comfortably once personal handicaps were applied.
Burton was also close enough take second spot from Bell, who had to be content with third. Alan Cox was fourth, with Neil Tack and Rebecca Slator fifth.
This meant Gail Follington went into the third race with a one-point lead over Bell and a three-point advantage over Burton. To add to the excitement, the race featured a Le Mans style start with sailors having to run to their boats which had been moored up in the reverse order to how they finished the second race.
This starting procedure allowed Paul Burton to achieve a flying start, with both Bell and Gail Follington leading the chasing pack.
As the race developed a slightly stronger breeze and a long reach to the top of the course allowed the Lasers of Bell and Gail Follington to overtake and pull out a lead.
By the end of race, Bell’s lead was 90 seconds ahead of Gail Follington – which was just enough to take 1st place from Lucy Burton, who had done well to stay close enough to steal second.
That secured Bell top spot from Gail Follington overall, with Lucy Burton third.
- Fancy Dress prizes: 1st Rebecca Slator & Neal Tack (Mary Poppins & Burt); 2nd Lucy & Paul Burton (Moana & Maui); 3rd Rosey Willerton (White Rabbit).
