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The day began with strong wind, and proved a difficult
sail in places. The Priors were able to capitalise on a
good start and pull out a lead they never lost, while Richard
Thacker (Wayfarer), R Wilson and C Prior pulled away from
the fleet and fought it out for second place. Prior was
eventually able to make the best of his faster boat and
pull clear of the other two, but was unable to gain enough
ground to beat Wilson on handicap.
The Priors both got a good start to the second race, and
pulled out a good lead in changing conditions. While C Prior
briefly looked to challenge A Prior for the lead, A Prior
was better able to handle the wind shifts and took the line
by some distance. C Prior did pull out enough ground to
take second place, with R Wilson coming in third, despite
some strong performances by Neil Tack and Thacker.
The third race began chaotically and suffered from an almost
total lack of wind. A Prior was able to get an early lead
to achieve a clean sweep, while R Wilson's better handling
of the conditions saw him beat C Prior by 5 seconds, taking
second in the race and overall, leaving Prior in third.
In the rest of the fleet, Emma Flowers (Laser) was unlucky
not to gain a higher placing after two excellent starts,
and Michael Neveson and Ed Halliday (Lasers) put in some
impressive performances. The teams of Adam Wilson and Nicky
Wilson, and Martin and Victoria Cook again proved that the
battle of the Graduates will be one to watch this season
and Thacker was a threat in conditions that haven't previously
suited his boat.
Another close-fought event for WYC, in a season where big
improvements are being made across the board.
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for more pictures of Tulip Float and Regatta
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