Entries were disappointing for the first day of Police Nationals: just ten Lasers. The weather decided to remain bright and sunny but with very light and variable wind - all day. It was always going to be a problem for the Race Officer. Instead of using the permanent marks situated on the reservoir, he used larger moveable buoys which were a great help visually to visiting competitors throughout the event. All three races were 'Olympic courses' (triangle/sausage).

Despite the difficult conditions to set the course, Race One started on time. The wind was so light and variable that it was difficult to start 'on the B of the Bang'. However, with an evident pin end of the line being preferred, most boats were near the line at the start though Simon Hawkes managed to overshoot the pin end flag just before the start flag was lowered and had to turn away, losing valuable seconds before finally getting underway. Mason and Sivers headed for the right-hand side of the course and appeared to be well ahead of the rest until the wind filled in for those betting on the centre of the course and this allowed the main contenders to get into the mix. At the first mark, Mason rounded just ahead of Hawkes, Taverner, Glass and Moore and this bunch made its way towards the wing mark - but very, very slowly. Meanwhile Sivers had lost out and became closely followed by Osborne, Allen, Jenkins and finally Dearsley. The leaders struggled to keep the boat moving and by the second mark remained bunched with Mason just holding his lead. At the mark, the wind dropped completely and a number of Lasers were virtually stuck on the buoy. Glass ended up reversing and was unable to avoid hitting the mark. Eventually boats moved away and spread out. Time was ticking by whilst the leaders headed for Mark Three of the triangle and with this group seeking some sort of breeze - any breeze - Hawkes moved up into the wind whilst the rest remained bunched. Well behind, Sivers risked a low line, only to discover a late breeze carrying him forward to overtake. Moore also got the benefit of this late breeze. Once having rounded the third mark, the Race Officer signalled Shorten Course and Hawkes with a clear lead, headed for the finish line. Next to round Mark 3 was Sivers with Moore in close attendance. Just one triangle of the course had taken nearly 40 minutes. It had been a lottery: Whilst Jenkins had struggled all the race, the other back-marker, Dearsley came from behind to take 6th place.

Race Two after lunch and the light wind had shifted easterly. With just a light breeze blowing, the ten boats spread out along the start line and got away well with Moore, Mason and Taverner starting from the boat end whilst Jenkins decided on the pin end. Jenkins lead the way round the windward mark followed by Moore, Hawkes and Taverner and managed to keep the lead passing the leeward mark. With the light breeze still prevailing, the first triangle had taken the leaders 10 minutes. The second beat changed the order of boats and when the fleet arrived at the windward mark Hawkes had established a lead of some 20 seconds over Moore and Jenkins. By the end of the run Hawkes had hung on to his lead but only just, with Jenkins in hot pursuit.
Lap Two commenced with Hawkes arriving at the windward mark having extending his lead over Moore to over a minute. The slight breeze continued to keep boats moving along as the fleet stretched out to where Hawkes was a clear leader with Moore second and Jenkins a further minute behind. Rounding the leeward mark, the Shorten Course was sounded and Hawkes finished nearly 2 minutes ahead of Moore with Jenkins a distant third.

Race Three was held back-to-back and got away after a slight alteration to the positions of the marks. This time it was a much tighter start. With a close bunch of leaders making their way slowly to windward with intense concentration, Hawkes edged ahead slightly only to capsize! A gust of wind? - real or imaginary - we'll never know. Conditions were calm enough to recover quickly and he was soon back in the mix with Mason just heading the rest at the windward mark, closely followed by Jenkins and Glass then Hawkes. At Mark Two it was still tight with Mason just holding his lead but only just. Rounding Mark Three Glass found himself in the lead; 45 seconds covering the first 7 boats.
The second beat provided a test of patience in the lightening wind with positions changing to give Jenkins a 6 second lead over Taverner at the windward mark and Hawkes a further 21 seconds behind. Then the run to Mark Three which would decide the race winner. At the leeward buoy it was Taverner who rounded first just 5 seconds ahead of Jenkins. The short distance to the line gave Taverner the race win with Jenkins second and Hawkes another 20 seconds behind followed by Mason, Glass and Rob Allen who scored his best result of the day.

It had been a tricky day with nothing certain in such conditions, but the best man won.

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Police Sport UK
National Dinghy Sailing Championships, 2010....
Thursday/Friday, 10-11th June, 2010

Over the two days the wind varied from Force 5 to zero which, when all comes to all, provided conditions which, although not suiting all of the competitors all of the time, was bound to suit most competitors for most of the time.. The Race Officer, Keith Harris did an excellent job providing suitable courses using the four moveable large buoys from the club.

Conditions on Day One of the Handicap event were going to test the competitors with a Force 4 wind, later gusting Force 5.  The first course was a 'figure of eight' which provided a comprehensive test for all competitors. The faster rated boats also came to the front on corrected time with Simon Hawkes the winner by over a minute from Rob Jones with Pete Walters third. A number of Laser helms had decided on a Radial rig for this regatta but the full rig Lasers also coped with conditions with Andy Taverner being the highest placed in Race One.

After lunch, it was back on the water for the next two races sailed back-to-back. By now the wind had increased somewhat but the forecasted rain still held off. The second race had an inverted 'P' shape course which allowed for a good beat, a short run and two reaches. However, during the race the wind altered direction and the reaches sometimes became tight and broad respectively. Winds were strong throughout the afternoon and capsizes became increasingly in evidence. This time Jones had his revenge, beating Hawkes by over two minutes on corrected time with Walters recording another third place. Nick Mason (4th) was the first Laser with Dick Sivers (8th) the leading Radial. Most boats were coping well with the conditions with 26 out of the 29 boats scoring a finish.

The wind decided to increase in strength during Race Three and the Rescue boats were kept increasingly busy. The gybe marks were becoming difficult to negotiate but the dead run forced many to gybe at speed during the downwind leg. Few escaped capsizing at one point or another. With its huge rig, the crew of the RS800 suffered more than anyone. Despite capsizing on a gybe, Rob Jones managed to cross the finish line to beat Hawkes by 20 seconds odd with Walters scoring yet another third place. Nick Mason was again the leading Laser and Pete Muggleton in his Fireball had his best result coming eighth.  The conditions had been tough and just two-thirds of the fleet managed to record a finish.

The second day of the handicap regatta dawned bright and dry with totally different wind conditions; enough to keep boats on the move for most of the time.. Despite the lighter winds, the Race Officer got boats away at 10:00 hrs. In the main, the same boats got to the front as in the stronger conditions the previous day; this was not going to be a day for slow-rated boats. However, the conditions suited Jenkins & Gardiner in the only Enterprise and they had a successful last two races. The Merlin Rockets of Ian Ingram & Alistair Glen also found the lighter conditions more comfortable. The Phantoms were always going to go better in the lighter winds; Ken Daniels had a much better second day. The two Avon & Somerset Toppers completed all five races and ended up mid-fleet overall.

Despite the slight increase in numbers over the last two years, 29 entries was disappointing for the Organisers who put out 11 boats from their own Force. Some seven Forces were represented.

Organiser/Contact:
MCIO Bob Lowrie,
MCIU. Kenneth Steele House, PO Box 2781, Feeder Road, Bristol BS2 2AS
Tel: 0778-975-2856
robert.lowrie@avonandsomerset.police.uk