Long Distance Race
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
It was overcast and threatening rain when the three Mirrors started the race. The wind veered between NW and NE and varied in strength from almost nil to gusts of Force 5. Two Gulls started six minutes after the Mirrors and almost forty minutes later three Enterprises started the chase. After two and a half hours only one Mirror, a Gull and the three Enterprises were still on the water but the wind was strengthening and the fun was just about to start.
The Gull, helm Bob Dickinson and crewed by Richard Valentine capsized near the overhead cables but the strong current and the wind forced the boat into the willows and the support boat went out to ensure all was ok. Before it could return Bob Barber was in trouble in his Enterprise. He quickly righted the boat and then Andrew Lawrence capsized. In the next half hour Bob capsized three more times and Andrew a second time.
The outboard on the support boat failed so there was the interesting sight of the support boat with an Enterprise attached being paddled across the river by Andrew, Ron and Jim who were defiantly trying to counter the current and the wind. In the meantime, James Thomlinson continued to defy the conditions in his Mirror as if it was glued to the water. Andrew, Laura and Terri Iveson and Anne Barber came to the assistance of the “three men in two boats” whilst new member Mike Wade dashed home to bring another outboard motor. By 4.10 everyone was either wet or exhausted and we haven’t a photo of any of the capsizes so you won’t know if it is truth or fiction!!
The well deserved winner of the Mirror Trophy was James Thomlinson and, bearing in mind the conditions, one of our youngest members James Proudler did brilliantly to gain second place. Ron Clark was third.
The Overall trophy was won by Andrew Iveson with Laura as crew. James Thomlinson was second and Bob Dickinson with Richard Valentine as crew came third.
