Sunday saw sailors from Welland Yacht Club take part in three races for the annual Tulip Trophy Regatta.
The event was held in glorious sunshine but some very tricky wind conditions varying in strength and also many directions around the course often on the same leg of sailing .
An excellent turnout of 12 boats made it to the start line of Race 1 and with the wind in the north again it meant a short beat to number 1 buoy and with the amount of boats, there were going to be some close quarter sailing.
At the start it was Andy Prior, sailing with grandson Harry Jackson in the newly aquired Lark dinghy, who were away in a tight bunch with Mark Scourfield in the Solo and Keiron Powell in his Laser.
With places lost on right of way, there were a number of place changes in the chasing boats and when Scourfield became becalmed near the buoy this only added to the confusion and Alastair Mitchell, in the Laser, tried to sneak through on the inside, resulting in him having to do penalty turns, it was a bit chaotic.
Finally, everyone was round, and with the wind behind them, those that were at the back were able to make inroads on those that had made the better start and by Shellys Bush Corner the boats were spread across the river chasing the Lark of Prior and Jackson.
There was a hole in the wind just on Chilvers Corner caused by bushes on the bank shielding what wind there was, and luck played its part on whether you got through without too much ground being lost .
Once round the corner it was a tight reach to number 4 buoy and Scourfield rounded second, followed by Gerri Van Haren in the larger sail of the Phantom, then Lasers of Alan Chapman, Alan Cox, and Powell, Andy Agar in the OK, solos of Helen Boyd, who was showing good boat speed, Martin Cook, Geoff Tibbs, and the Comet of Richard Stedman.
The second lap started and Prior and Jackson had stretched their lead and were away from the rest, who in turn were starting to spread out except the Lasers, where Cox was leading this bunch who were to finish within the same minute over the line.
It was Prior and Jackson who crossed first, followed by Scourfield and Van Haren, just ahead of Cox.
After the handicaps applied, it was Prior and Jackson first, Scourfield second and Cox third, with good performances from the Solos of Boyd in fourth and Cook in fifth, ahead of the Lasers.
Race two saw a course change to reduce the lottery that can be on Chilvers Corner with the hole in the wind. It was to utilise the mile buoy straight where the best sail was to be had.
With Van Haren choosing not to sail, there were 11 boats on the start line and it was Chapman who braved a port end start, just managing to clear the right of way boats and he rounded number 1 first, just ahead of Prior and Jackson, Powell, Boyd and Mitchell following close behind.
The Laser of Cox quickly caught the others on the run down and bunched up at the hole in the wind on Chilvers Corner.
Once around the corner, Prior and Jackson made good use of the clear wind and were away, and with a tight reach on the straight to number 5, which inexplicably turned into a beat near the buoy for everyone, it was back to three and up the straight again, but it gave some of the best sailing of the day as the wind had increased but still variable.
The Lasers were having their own private battle and Powell was able to overtake Chapman on Chilvers on the sail to the finish line, crossing second behind Prior and Jackson, with Chapman third and these were the positions after the handicap applied.
Fewer boats lined up for Race Three with nine starting, and once again Prior and Jackson started well with Cox in pursuit as the wind held up.
These two were followed by Mitchell, who was having a good day with consistent sailing, and with the course remaining the same, gave those that stayed some of the day’s best planing reaches.
Prior and Jackson had stretched out quite a lead, followed by Cox, who was giving chase but not able to reduce the gap after just under an hour’s sailing, and with the only swimmer of the day Stedman, who managed to fall out of his Comet just before the finish line.
He may have finished a few places higher as the results, after handicaps applied, were close further down the field with three boats finishing within a minute.
Prior and super crew Harry Jackson, just about to celebrate his eighth birthday, were first, Alan Cox second, equal on points with Mark Scourfield in third but gaining second on countback.
Special mention to Tibbs who completed in his first races in his Solo and stayed dry.
The club holds its annual open day on Sunday, June 8 from 12pm-4pm. Visitors can experience sailing but are encouraged to book in advance on the club’s website www.wellandyachtclub.co.uk
