Tulip Regatta May 3rd 2009

Sunshine and a strong, gusty breeze greeted competitors for Welland Yacht Clubs annual Tulip trophy regatta. The wind conditions had affected the turn out with some members choosing to watch from the bank. The seven boats that were prepared to take on the challenge all eagerly took to the water for the first race.

The fleet got away cleanly and it was immediately obvious that it was going to be a highly competitive day. Andy and Charlotte Prior (national 12) instantly took to the front of the fleet and started to pull ahead. They carried on pulling away from the fleet and showed excellent boat handling in shifty conditions to win the race by 2 and a half minutes. The competition behind the leaders was a much closer fought with places changing right up until the last leg of the race. Adam Wilson (OK) was enjoying pulling into second place when he had to make an unscheduled stop to make a repair, and Ed Holliday (Laser) was proving very fast until one rather large & shifting gust got the better of him. Andy and Sean (7) Agar were showing promise despite being severely underweight for the conditions.

In race 2 Martin Cook (Solo) made an excellent start, proving that he is getting to grips with his new boat. A slightly depleted fleet of 6 stayed tightly packed for most of the race, Sam and Danni Nundy (Magno) were making excellent progress on the first lap of the course, but were unable to finish the race due to equipment failure. The Priors again took First place, followed closely by Neal Tack (Solo).

With the wind increasing slightly and the gusts becoming more violent, all the competing racers demonstrated high levels of boat handling to complete the course. The Prior's showed their dominance by taking 1st place, despite only needing a top 3 finish to win the trophy. Tack again came in 2nd, with Wilson 3rd and Cook 4th. With the racing finished the results stood as follows;

1st Crouching Tigger NATIONAL 12 3465 A Prior C Prior 1092 1.0 1.0 1.0 3.0 3.0
2nd SOLO 75 N Tack 1155 2.0 2.0 2.0 6.0 6.0
3rd OK Adam Wilson 1110 3.0 3.0 3.0 9.0 9.0
4th SOLO Martin Cook 1155 4.0 4.0 4.0 12.0 12.0
5th LASER Ed Holliday 1078 5.0 8.0 DNC 5.0 18.0 18.0
6th ENTERPRISE A Agar 1116 6.0 8.0 DNC 8.0 DNC 22.0 22.0
7th Topper Magno Sport S Nundy D Nundy 1175 7.0 8.0 DNF 8.0 DNC 23.0 23.0

All the competitors relished the opportunity to race in full planning conditions, and despite the high winds making the sailing very hard work it was a most rewarding days competition.