The Spring series at Rollesby started with the first Eels Foot Race of the year.
Fourteen boat set out but, as the wind died after the start, the short beat across the Broad turned into a torturous affair.
Mike McNamara in his Harrier with Ian and Sharon Ayres in their Leader came round the windward mark ahead of the rest. After a slow broad reach down the Broad the wind picked up and once through the cut, the fleet had a good sail in the bigger Broad. McNamara led the fleet home. The Leader and the Hansons in their Wayfarer were not far behind having made good use of spinnakers. Handicap results gave the Ayres a win with McNamara second and Val and Chris Hanson third.
The second race with a figure-of-eight course saw a clear win for McNamara with Ian Hanson in a solo second and the Leader third. Three Lasers and a Wayfarer stayed for the afternoon race. Keith Sykes Laser took the win, two seconds in front of Bob Sparrow and Steve in the Wayfarer.
Six Norfolk Dinghies started another downriver race at Norwich Frostbites on Sunday going against the chilly easterly breeze but with the ebb tide.
Sam Woodcock in B20 Kelpie and crewed by Geoff Coulthard made the best start closely followed by David Mackley in B6 Lucifer beyond repair, crewed by Linda Allen. Just under the flyover Mackley took the lead briefly but lost it again in the groove. Woodcock went on to win the race which finished halfway up the stretch to Bramerton. Mackley finished second, roughly 30 seconds later and third was Danny Tyrrell in B53 Twinkle, crewed by Bruce Thompson over three minutes back.
On the return, Pat Woodcock, sailing B61 Echo and crewed by Jan Hubbard, made by far the best start and sailed through the grove still in the lead until the flyover but then chose the wrong side of the river and was passed by all of the others. Tyrrell made the best of it and led the run down Whitlingham Reach improving his lead all the way and finished first at the clubhouse. Behind him in the chasing group was Linda Allen sailing B6 Lucifer beyond repair, crewed by David Mackley. She broke away from the others towards the finish to come in second behind Tyrrell by only 16 seconds. The remaining four boats finished within eight seconds of each other, led in third position by Stephen Ellingham in B30 Willa whose crew Jet fell asleep in the bottom of the boat, such was the excitement.
Story from The Lowestoft Journal
