Race two of Welland Yacht Club’s Frostbite Series got under way on Sunday with seven participants braving the wet and windy elements.
The scorpion of Andy Prior and Tom Bell took the lead from the line, closely followed by the enterprise of Ian Thompson and Andy Stopper, RS200 of Alan Cox and Roger Ackroyd and the phantom of Gerri Van Haren.
Then, in a sudden gust of wind, Tom Bell fell over the side of the scorpion when his toe strap broke. But, in a textbook man overboard recovery, he was soon back in the boat – but the time taken had dropped them down the field.
The course had been set to give a challenging jibe around the marks. The first three boats rounded the top mark successfully, only to see Mark Holland capsize on the jibe, dropping him down to sixth.
Despite only being fourth on the water, Andy Agar remained close enough to be in contention once the times got adjusted for handicap.
The conditions didn’t ease for the second leg and the fleet managed to keep formation without further incident, the lead four boats all hoping they had kept their respective positions at the finish.
It was Agar who took the win from Cox and Ackroyd (2nd) and Van Haren (3rd).
