Easter Regatta at Tamesis Club
by John Dunkley 17 Apr 2006 09:10 BST
15-16 April 2006
Thirty eight boats enjoyed two excellent days of sailing at the Tamesis Easter Regatta on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 April.
The event was marked by the return, after an absence of nearly 50 years, of the British Moth class, with six boats competing for the British Moth Ice Bucket. The winner was Peter Cook, of Frensham Pond SC, sailing Tiger (846), with Rob Wilder, of Tamesis, second in Painted Lady (817).
The Merlin Rockets produced the biggest turnout with 17 boats on the river and the three races were keenly contested with much place changing in both Saturday's light to moderate easterly wind and Sunday's equally difficult light to moderate north westerly. Merlin class captain Joe McLaughlin, crewed by Bryn Evans in Pocket Rocket (3566), outsailed his rivals to win the Merlin Trophy, with Phil Plumtree and Sarah Warren second in Splatter (1631).
The course on Saturday took the fleet up the Thames to Hampton Wick with a double dogleg above Stevens Ait and the reversal of wind direction on a warm, sunny Sunday gave a tricky beat downstream with a port tack advantage and a run turning to a reach up river.
The Brian Evans Cup for Lasers went to Henry Defries (42169) with two convincing firsts in a seven-strong fleet, and Stewart Colley (171688) took second on a tie break, winning the last race after notching up the same points total as Carolyne Vines (135612). Doug Pope, returning to racing after a long convalescence, was rewarded with the Lobb Cup for National 18s, crewed by Eddy Simmonds in One Over the Eight (349).
Peter Versey, sailing Tin Bin (3287), led the five Fireflies home to win the Badder Cup, and the Handicap race was won by Brian Timbrell and his daughter Tamsin in Mostly Harmless (Mirror 70096).
Overall Results:
British Moths
1 Tiger (846) Peter Cook, Frensham Pond SC
2 Painted Lady (817) Rob Wilder, Tamesis
3 Ockhams Razor (856) Colin Hall, Hunts SC
Merlin Rockets
1 Pocket Rocket (3566) Joe McLaughlin & Bryn Evans, Tamesis
2 Splatter (1631) Phil Plumtree & Sarah Warren, Tamesis
3 Passing Cloud (1079) John Harris & James Warren, Tamesis
4 Aloha (3635) Mike Stephens & Cathy Gray/Shane Stephens, Tamesis
5 Andromeda (3259) David Baker & Jim Green, Tamesis
Lasers
1 (42169) Henry Defries, Tamesis
2 (171688) Stewart Colley, Tamesis
3 (135612) Carolyne Vines, Tamesis
Fireflies
1 Tin Bin (3287) Peter Versey, Tamesis
2 Outcry (2480) Sue Harris & Sally Redhead, Tamesis
3 Velvet Scoter (3357) Ken Thatcher, Tamesis
Handicap
1 Mostly Harmless (Mirror 70096) Brian & Tamsin Timbrell