This was the first regatta the Force had held for some 20 years

An October event should have promised winds but the day arrived shrouded in fog with little or no wind. Racing was delayed until midday when the fog had lifted. In the light, fickle wind the courses were kept short. Just fourteen boats made the start line and racing commenced.

The wind proved inconsistent in both strength and direction and, despite the best efforts of the Race Officer, there was a distinct port-end bias to the start line. A 'lead boat' took the fleet up the first beat and around the course. By the end of the first lap Pete Walters with crew Alex Piggott in an RS400 had established a lead of more than two minutes over the second boat a Merlin Rocket helmed by Frances Gifford with Peter Walker. The Hampshire Osprey with Andy Welch/Rob Gillespie was never going to find the light conditions to their liking and struggled to keep ahead of Graham Cook with lightweight crew James in an RS200. After 40 odd minutes, with the fleet well spread out the shorten-course signal was hoisted giving Ken Daniels a finish in his Phantom while the faster boats ahead continued to a finish on their next lap. The wind looked to drop once more much to the frustration of the boats still continuing but it really made little difference to the eventual race result with Walters winning well ahead on correct time, Gifford second and Cook a close third.

After lunch, due to the delayed start of the regatta, Races 2 & 3 were run back to back. Hoped-for wind never really arrived, despite being forecast and racing resumed in fairly similar conditions.

With some slight changing of buoy positions, the same course - a 'figure of eight' - was used for Race Two. The wind was slightly stronger and boats covered the course in distinctly quicker times. This time it was Gifford in the Merlin Rocket that got away and lead the fleet followed by Walters then Cook. The Phantom and Len Gooch in the Albacore were also in contention on the water.  Thus race results after corrected time were rather different to Race One with Gifford 1st, the Cooks 2nd and Daniels 3rd. Gary Phillips (Flying Fifteen) had his best result of the day 4th with Walters just 10 seconds behind, 5th.

It really was all to play for in Race Three between Gifford, Walters and Cook. The overall winner would be between these three. A different course this time but the same difficult, light conditions. The slightest change in wind direction or strength could create marked gains or losses for the competing boats. Pete Walters eked out a lead on the first lap followed by Cook then Gifford. Positions among the main fleet changed constantly despite the course being somewhat processional and conditions became lighter as the race continued. This time it was Cook who won on corrected time; his first win of the day. Pete Walters was 2nd, Frances Gifford, third; Ken Daniels 4th and Andy Welch had his best result 5th in the Osprey.

Thus the day's results gave a nett 3.0 points to the first three boats and eventual positions were established according to the Sailing Instructions in the event of a series tie. It had been close with Graham & James Cook turning out the winners.

Alan Featherstone, the Assistant Chief Constable, Northamptonshire Police presented the prizes. The opportunity was also taken to present Alex Piggott with the 'Maiden Trophy' awarded to the leading competitor at the Police Sport UK National Dinghy Championships held in June, who had not previously won a national trophy.

Northamptonshire Police Open Regatta, 2006 Result (2 races to count - 1 discard)
Final Position	Helm/Crew	Force	Class	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Nett Points
1st	Graham Cook/ James Cook	Met.	RS200	3	2	1	3
2nd	Frances Gifford/ Pete Walker	Met.	Merlin Rocket	2	1	3	3
3rd	Pete Walters/ Alex Piggott	Notts	RS400	1	5	2	3
4th	Ken Daniels	Met.	Phantom	4	3	4	7
5th	Gary Phillips/ Philip Tinsley	Met.	Flying Fifteen	6	4	6	10
6th	John Coppenhall	Cambs	Comet	9	7	7	14
7th	Len Gooch/ Clive Bishop	Met..	Albacore	7	7	10	14
8th	Richard Sivers	Northants	Laser	5	10	rtd	15
9th	Steven Middleditch/ Bev Horner	Northants	Enterprise	10	6	9	15
10th	Andy Welch/ Rob Gillespie	Dorset	Osprey	12	11	5	16
11th	Paul Franklin	Leics.	Laser	8	9	8	16
12th	Phil Osborne	Northants	Laser	11	12	12	23
13th	Geoff Ford/ Tony Onions	Leics.	GP14	13	13	11	24
14th	Roger Badcock	Northants.	S/H Mirror	14	14	13	27
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