Prior bags annual Tulip Trophy

Unseasonably light winds again greeted competitors for the annual Tulip Trophy regatta at Welland Yacht Club.

Seven competitors decided to give the conditions a try and ended up having a pleasant day’s sailing.
For the first race the boats started on a beat up to number three buoy for what was scheduled to be a three-lap race.
Andy Prior in a full rig Laser made the most of a port end start and took an early lead.
Gerri van Haren was close behind in the Phantom followed by Alan Cox in another full rig Laser. A short distance behind was the chasing pack of Mark Holland and Eric Murray in Lasers and Helen Boyd and Martin Cook in Solos.
As the boats beat their way up the course the wind was very shifty with 90 degree changes of wind direction not being uncommon.
Prior, keeping ahead of the larger Phantom, was first round the top mark followed by Cox with Cook holding on well in the slower Solo.
After a very slow downwind leg the OOD elected to send the boats round for another lap, but fortunately the wind filled in making this a quicker one.
As Murray and Holland had dropped back quite a bit the OOD finished them after one lap and applied ‘average lap’ timings.
After 65 minutes’ racing, Prior crossed the line first, from van Haren, then Cox, Cook and Boyd.
After handicaps were applied the result was Prior, Cook, Cox, van Haren, Boyd, Holland and Murray.
With the wind shifting slightly the second race began with a reach up the course and this time it was Cox who got the best start, leading Prior for the first few hundred metres, after which Prior made the most of a favourable gust and overtook.
Cook also got a good start in the slower Solo and stayed with the leading boats to the top of the course.
Although Prior had pulled out a small lead, Cox caught up on the downwind leg and rounded the bottom mark right behind Prior and finished the race seconds behind.
Cook then finished in third, one and a half minutes later.
A little distance behind, came Cook, Boyd and the quicker Lasers of Holland and Murray. These finishing place remained the same after handicaps were applied.
The third race saw a little more wind so the OOD set a slightly longer course.
Cook was all set to make a perfect start but had to tack away to prevent being over the line, leaving Prior to take the lead.
He took advantage of this to build up a big lead from Cox and finished the race three and a half minutes clear.
Meanwhile the main fleet was enjoying some excellent racing with Cook working his way up the fleet only to ‘clip’ Holland’s boat forcing a 720-degree penalty turn.
Boyd was having an excellent race leading the main pack to the bottom mark but then an unforced error allowed the majority of the fleet to overtake.
As the fleet sailed down to the bottom mark it was still very close but Cook had moved back up to the front, shortly ahead of Holland and Boyd was just ahead of Murray and after rounding the mark and crossing the line they finished in that order.
Once handicaps were applied it was Prior, Cox, Cook, Boyd, Holland and Murray.
The Tulip Trophy is unusual at the club as there are trophies for the first three places, these went to Prior, Cox and Cook.
Boyd finished in fourth, with Holland and Murray taking fifth and six. Van Haren finished in seventh having only competed in the one race.
This Sunday is the club’s Open Day so if you would like to give sailing a try the event runs from 12noon to 4pm.
pAnyone wanting to find out more about sailing should email the club secretary@wellandyachclub.co.uk