For the second Sunday in a row Andy Prior toasted double delight at Welland Yacht Club as he won the Tulip Regatta.
Despite wind being in limited supply, he raced to back-to-back wins to finish ahead of Tom Bell in second and the team of Will Cook and Emma Hill in third.
Prior, sailing a Laser, made the most of the start and opened up a short lead from Bell, also in a Laser, and the team of Cook and Hill – who were making a welcome return in their Scorpion.
Gerri van Haren, in his Phantom, was hot on their heels and ahead of the remaining three boats.
By the time Prior had the clubhouse in sight the wind started to fill in from the top of the course allowing Bell, Cook/Hill and van Haren all to close the gap.
However, he still managed to round the bottom mark narrowly ahead to take line and overall honours. Bell bagged second spot only 30 seconds behind, with Cook coming in a minute behind in third.
The wind increased slightly by the time race two started, allowing the fleet to make better ground up the river.
For the first 50 metres Prior, Bell and Cook/Hill were locked in a tacking duel. But, by the first bend, Prior was able to take advantage of a favourable wind shift to break clear of the chasing pack.
Once clear, he extended his lead to take first place by a comfortable margin.
Bell came in second again with Alan Cox taking third slightly ahead of the Cook/Hill combination.
Also competing on the day were Neal Tack and Rebecca Slater (Graduate) and Clive Herd.
