There were wins for Tom Bell and Paul Burton as Welland Yacht Club kicked off two new race series on Sunday.
The morning’s race the first of the Sunday Points Series saw seven boats take to the start line. With a reasonable breeze and stronger gusts, the start got underway without incident.
By the close, Bell finished ahead of Paul Burton, followed by Gerri van Haren (who slipped down to fifth place after handicaps were applied).
That gave third to Alan Cox, with Richard Stedman fourth and the pairing of Niall Holland and Lucy Burton sixth.
By the afternoon the wind had increased further, with the fleet now joined by juniors Rosie, Freya and Samuel Willerton for the first two races in the Afternoon Points Series – which is run under personal handicap.
Gusty wind caused race one to be re-started, but Burton made the best start when they finally got away, followed by Phil Robinson, Bell, Alan Cox, Gail Follington, Stedman, Niall Holland and crew Lucy Burton and the Willertons.
The wind soon died away, with the slower class of boats electing to only complete one lap.
In the end, Paul Burton reached the finishing line ahead of Bell, followed by Cox. Under personal handicap Paul Burton and Bell would hold onto first and second respectively, but Follington grabbed third.
The fleet was back down the seven for the final race of the day, with the wind having reduced considerably.
Paul Burton again clinched first place ahead of Bell, with Cox third and Stedman fourth.
This time, these positions remained unchanged once handicaps applied.
