Clear blue sky and a stiff north-easterly wind greeted the 17 Scorpions that came to Chew Valley Lake for the first open meeting of 2002 on Sunday 7 April.

In the first race, John Mursell and Ian Cadwallader took an early lead from Barry and Linda Wolfenden and Peter and John Rose. There was a close battle for second place with the Roses getting the best of the shifts on the upwind legs and the Wolfendens making the most of their spinnaker on the closer reaches. Mursell pulled away throughout the race to win comfortably with the Roses second and Jock Fellows and Christian Flux slipping through to take third when the Wolfendens capsized on the final beat.

In race two, Mursell again took an early lead and extended it to the finish. The Roses relished the broader spinnaker reaches to pull away in second with Carol and Jon Haines taking third. Paul Priestly and Chris Rainford showed good speed in their new boat but found it quite challenging using spinnaker bags for the first time.

Only five boats went out for the final race, which was won by Dave and Mike Hannan from the Wolfendens. It was good to see seven young sailors taking part and they did well in the testing conditions with prizes going to John Rose (second), Christian Flux (fifth) and Paddy Adams (eighth).

Overall Results

1st John Mursell and Ian Cadwallader (2 pts)

2nd Peter and John Rose (4 pts)

3rd Dave and Mike Hannan (6 pts)

4th Barry and Linda Wolfenden (6 pts)

5th Jock Fellows and Christian Flux (7 pts)

6th Carol and Jon Haines (7pts)