The 2020 Trafalgar Trophy got underway with ten skippers competing in a warm westerly breeze and sunny skies. It’s great to see a healthy size fleet taking part with the prospect of more to come. You might have noticed that we have reverted to the MYA recognized HMS scoring system which can cater for up to twenty boats in each race. Although the scores today don’t seem that different to what has been normal, the advantages will become more apparent when more than ten compete. This method also reduces the chances of equal scores at the end of the competition as scores vary depending on the number of entrants.

A triangular course was set from the podium and Buoy 7 to Buoys 3 and 5, before returning to 7 for two laps. The finish was at Buoy 8 as normal.

After a strong start, Brian Hartley was overtaken by Colin Aldred who won the first race ahead of him. Colin then continued his winning ways by winning the second race ahead of Neil Thornton with Brian following up in the third place. Neil, however, then took command and won the next four races ahead of Colin in Race 3, Paul Beardshaw in Races 4 and 5 and Brian in the final race. George Younger finished third in Race 3 after suffering technical rigging problems and repeated this in the last race but was let down by poorer finishes in the others.

Maximum points for the day go the Neil Thornton with arch rival Colin Aldred in second place. Paul Beardshaw ended up in third place just one point ahead of Brian Hartley in fourth.

ROUND TWO

Neil Thornton was dominant again in the second round of this year’s Trafalgar Trophy. A triangular course was set from the starting gate between Buoys 5 and 6 to Buoy 1 then up to Buoy 3 before returning to Buoy 5 for two laps and finishing at Buoy 8.

Neil won the first four races ahead of Colin Aldred in the first and third races, George Younger in the second and Paul Beardshaw in the fourth. He was pushed into second place in Race 5 by Paul and in Race 6 by Colin.

Brian Hartley had a disastrous start to the day and never managed to recover his usual form. Roger had an unfortunate misfortune when he unknowingly switched off his rudder control in the second race.

The day finished with Neil claiming the maximum points again. Colin was second, Paul third and George a very creditable fourth.

ROUND THREE

Round 3 of the 2020 Trafalgar Trophy got under way on a bright day with a slight SW wind blowing across most of the lake, apart from the area around Buoy 3.

A triangular course was set, starting from between Buoys 5 and 6 with Buoy 1 as the windward mark. From there it went back along the side of the lake to Buoy 7 and returning to Buoy 5 for the second lap, after which the course continued to the finish at Buoy 8.

Current leader Neil Thornton got off to a strong start by winning the first two races head of George Younger in the first, and Colin Aldred in the second. Colin went on to win the third race ahead of Paul Beardshaw and Brian Hartley. Neil took the next two races well ahead of Paul in the fourth, and Colin in the fifth with Derek Frank finishing third in Race 5. Paul managed to win the final race ahead of Colin and Neil, while Stuart Axon finished his best race of the day in fourth.

Maximum points again go to Neil Thornton, maintaining his 100% record, with Colin second and Paul third.

Eleven boats turned out for Round 4 of the 2020 Trafalgar Trophy on a bright and breezy day which was surprisingly warm.

The SW breeze led to the start line being from between Buoys 5 and 6 diagonally across the lake to Buoy 1. From there, the course went to Buoy 4 and returned to Buoy 5 to commence the second lap after which the finish was at Buoy 8 as usual. After the first three races, a slight change was made to include Buoy 2 to prevent potential collisions around the windward mark at Buoy 1.

Keen to maintain his 100% record in the competition, Neil Thornton won the first race ahead of Roger Monks and Colin Aldred. Colin took his revenge in the second race by beating Neil and Roger but Neil dominated the fleet and won races 3 ,4 and 5 which secured the maximum points for the day ahead of his rival Colin. George Younger had his best round to date by claiming the third spot ahead of Roger Monks.  Peter Walkinshaw is a temporary member, who I think will join us next week.

Today’s results mean the Neil Thornton now has an unassailable lead and is the winner of the competition. Colin Aldred has also secured the runner-up spot so congratulations to them both. The all important third place has still to be decided however, so we will continue with the Series until then.

ROUND FIVE

With the wind similar to last week’s, the same course was set from between Buoys 5 and 6 around Buoys 1, 2, 4 and back to Buoy 6 finishing at Buoy 8 after two laps.

Colin Aldred had a great start by winning the first three races ahead of series winner Neil Thornton. George Younger had a great start by coming third in Races 1 and 2, whilst Brian Hartley finished third in Race 3. Neil reminded us all of his skills by winning Races 4 and 5 ahead of Colin and Paul Beardshaw in the fourth, and Phil Parsons and George in the fifth. Flat batteries forced his retirement in the final race however which allowed Colin to finish first ahead of Paul and Brian.

Maximum points for the day go to Colin who is already confirmed as the Series Runner-up. Neil finished in second place for the day, with Paul claiming third place over George after scoring equal points but easing ahead on the countback system.

With the third place still undecided, we should manage to complete the Series at the next meeting before having some fun with a new one day event "Friston’s Frolics" with a variety of courses to confuse everyone, and maybe a few handicaps given along the way.