Lady Bull's Bowl
Lady Bull's Bowl is a magnificent trophy presented by Lady Bull, Sir George Bull's mother, in 1926. She was quite a character, and could be seen walking around Chiswick with a big red bandage around her gouty foot. Her trophy is raced for in an all-in handicap race.
Sunday 7th November 2010
Thirteen dinghies launched in the hope that the wind would increase, six Lasers, four Enterprises, Hugh and Miranda Kemlo in their Firefly and Martin Dixon and Chris W-I on Chris's X1.
The wind initially blew (if that is quite the word) from the North-East 1-2 knots . Almost all the dinghies managed to stay on the right side of the starting line which was no mean achievement as the tide was very strong. Martin Dixon and Chris W-I in Chris' boat and Robin Johnson in his Laser achieved a good start and battled hard on the beat down to No 6, across to No 5 and then a run down past the island, a reach across the river, and anything from a broad reach to a beat to get down to No 2. Northerly winds produce sudden gusts and irritating holes. The key tactical decision was how quickly to come over from No. 5 to the south bank and then tack up the bank avoiding the numerous rowing boats who were also out and using that stretch.
Sailing back from No 5 to No 2 Chris and Martin and Robin established a huge lead, followed by a clutch of lasers and Hugh and Miranda Kemlo in their Firefly. The rest of the fleet struggled to get past the Eyot. Chris and Martin sailed off into the distance having no trouble at all in the very light winds with Robin behind. Both maintained their distance from the rest of the fleet and lapped most of the fleet later.
The Race Officer, Mark Pearson optimistically expected five laps, in the event the fleet only made two, but the wind picked up a little on the second lap but created a nasty hole around No 5 into which a few of the dinghies fell and took a considerable time to break free. Fortunately the wind shifted a bit more to a Westerly so that coming back from No 5 became more of a reach.
The tail enders in the fleet had the interesting experience of 'losing' No 2 buoy. The Safety Boat had laid the buoy well out into the tide because of the huge numbers of rowers who were heading home before the start of our race. As a result, as the water rose the buoy sank lower and lower in the water. As the crews speculated whether a v-shaped wash, in the middle of the river, could possibly indicate the position of the buoy, it only became apparent when the crews came within a couple of boat lengths. It made for interesting discussions and speculation beforehand that the Safety Boat had perhaps taken it up!
As the crews returned they were treated to a lovely sunset, albeit a trifle chilly.
Results
| Position |
Helm and Crew |
Boat |
Class |
| 1st |
Martin Dixon and Chris W-I |
X1 |
X1 |
| 2nd |
Robin Johnson |
Mollie |
Laser |
| 3rd |
Miranda Kemlo and Hugh Kemlo |
Pansy |
Firefly |
| 4th |
Peter Hallett |
Chi |
Laser |
| 5th |
Clive Kitson |
Illigitimus |
Laser |
| 6th |
Jeremy Clarke and Marie Colvin |
Times |
Enterprise |
| 7th |
Andy Oliver |
|
Laser |
| 8th |
Beverley Beech and Francesca Lubenko |
Maveric |
Enterprise |
| 9th |
Phil Robin |
D'Oh |
Laser |
| 10th |
Simon Ashenden |
Cottontail |
Laser |
| 11th |
Vian Dixon and Malcolm Dancy |
Orthisone |
Enterprise |
| DNF |
Kerstin Exner and Michael Fink |
Canary |
Enterprise |
| DNF |
Jacques Picon |
Sunday Sport |
Laser |
Race Officer: Mark Pearson
Deputy Race Officer: Vicky Cable
Safety boat: Guy Bessant
Deputy Safety Boat: Ian Taylor
by Beverley Beech and Kerstin Exner
Photos by Ian Taylor
Copyright © London Corinthian Sailing Club, 2010
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