Two wins from three races was enough to earn Tom Bell overall glory in Welland Yacht Club’s Carl Bilbie personal handicap pursuit regatta on Sunday.
Still revelling from last week’s Cadet Trophy, several of the new juniors stayed to take part in the first race.
A pursuit race is where the different boat handicaps are applied at the start of the race to give staggered start times – which are further adjusted for ability. The theory being that, after the 50-minute race duration, all boats have an equal chance of being in the lead and taking the win.
With strong gusts and an ever-increasing wind forecast for the day, nine boats took part. First off were newcomers Rosie and Freya Willerton and Christopher Seaborn, each in a Topper.
Then Emma Agar (Topper), Shelley Woolridge and Conor Clarke (RS Feva), Flo and Eliza Rudd (Topper Magno), Mark Holland (Laser Radial), Bell (Laser Radial), Gerri van Haren (Phantom) and Andy Prior (Laser full rig).
With constant coaching from the safety boat crews, the juniors made their way up the course and, by the halfway mark Agar, Holland, Bell, van Haren and Prior were the lead boats. On the run back down to the club house Prior had passed van Haren and was making gains on Bell, with Agar still out in front from Holland.
As they started the second lap, the upwind leg allowed Holland to gain slightly on Agar, with Prior closing in on both of them. This would be the case until the end of the 50 minutes, with Agar taking the win from Holland (second) and Prior (third).
Among the juniors, Seaborn took the lead from Freya Willerton, with the Rudd sisters third.
Five boats contested race two in strong wind.With a few capsizes from Holland, Prior and Agar, the fleet closed up.
On the run downwind, van Haren positioned his boat perfectly to block the wind from Holland and took fourth. Meanwhile at the front, Bell was close on the back of Agar with ten seconds to go and took the win by half a boat’s length.
Racer three was contested in even stronger winds. In the end it was Bell who took the win from Prior, with Agar third.
