Bell gets Welland Yacht Club season off to a flyer with Shield success

Welland Yacht Club’s 2017 season got under way with the Robert Creek Shield regatta on Sunday – and it was Tom Bell who took the honours.

Some nine boats took to the water for race one, hoping that the anticipated breeze would come.

As always, it was essential for the fastest boats to get away cleanly from the start to build the lead that would be taken away through handicaps.

However, the promised breeze never showed up – making for a long race.

Bell took the win in race one from Brian Cobb in second, with Ros Nickols third and Martin Cook fourth.

The course was suitably shortened for race two and adjusted to make the best of what wind there was. This time Paul Burton– in the fastest boat – positioned himself for a better start and took an early lead, with Bell following trying to keep within handicap distance.

This time there was no denying Burton the win, with Cook second ahead of Bell (third) and Nickols (fourth).

Race three saw three boats drop out. Again, Burton and Bell broke away early to stand any chance of maintaining the win. This time Bell managed to keep within handicap to take the final race and overall victory.

Second in race three was Burton, with Cobb third and Emma Agar fourth.

• Overall results: 1st Bell; 2nd Burton; 3rd Cobb; 4th Cook.