Seven National Twelves braved the big freeze to sail for the Royal Thames YC Trophy at Ranelagh SC, on the Thames at Putney on the 5th December.  Uniquely, this was the second time that the Trophy had been sailed for in 2010 and was actually the first event in the 2011 Thames Area Aggregate Trophy!

A number of foolhardy well wishers helped the brave sailors to launch in a chilly breeze.  Early leader was The Electric Prune and who rounded the first mark near Hammersmith first.  There was still a strong flood tide and this meant that progress down the run back to Putney was slow.  The Full Monty searched for wind towards the middle of the stream and took up the lead ahead of New Isabelle.  Creeping along the bank could be found Lars Porsena of Cluseum and The Queen of Puddings, with Blue Kangaroo and Catatonic bringing up the rear.

 

At the leeward mark The Full Monty still held a small lead over New Isabelle with a good gap established on the boats behind.  With the tide under them again and despite the wind dropping, the fleet flew back up to Hammersmith.  This time at the bear away it was all change with the New Isabelle taking the lead as they again chose to stay away from the bank.  Lars Porsena of Cluseum followed by The Queen of Puddings again stuck religiously to the Fulham bank, avoiding the tidal stream as much as possible and creeping past the football club. 

At the leeward mark New Isabelle had a good lead, with Lars Porsena of Cluseum now second, The Queen of Puddings next and The Full Monty floundering in fourth ahead of Blue Kangaroo.  Blue Kangaroo  then hit the go button and by the final windward mark had got up to second place and closed up on New Isabelle, whilst The Full Monty had become embroiled in a fight for 5th/6th place with The Electric Prune.

Whilst the race team were cold they knew that the competitors would enjoy a third lap so they resisted the option to shorten the course and elected to turn up the heating in the clubhouse.  On the final run, with light winds, slacker water and the faintest hint of an ebb tide starting to flow, there were a variety of strategies employed by competitors.  Blue Kangaroo attacked New Isabelle and they both sailed into the middle of the river chasing zephyrs, whilst on the other hand The Queen of Puddings and Lars Porsena of Cluseum steadfastly refused to leave the Fulham bank that had served them well on previous laps.  The Full Monty just pointed the boat towards the finish line and by the time they had past Craven Cottage were back in contention. 

 

With the shorten course bell rung, The Full Monty proceeded to hang on to their lead for the final few moments and take the Royal Thames YC Trophy with Blue Kangaroo second, and Lars Porsena of Cluseum third.Once back in the warmth of the Ranelagh SC clubhouse the fleet were joined by many other 12 sailors to enjoy the Thames Area annual lunch and prize giving, with John, Mandy & Rebecca Thornton awarded the 2010 Thames Area Aggregate Trophy for their efforts earlier in the year. Report:- John Meadowcroft

 Overall results

1	N3443	The Full Monty	John Thornton & Katy Meadowcroft	Henley SC
2	N3528	Blue Kangaroo	Jon Ibbotson & Charlotte Stewart	Ox & Cam SS
3	N3471	Lars Porsena...	Chris Edwards & Sarah Riches	Ranelagh SC
4	N3418	New Isabelle	Will & Mary Henderson	Salcombe YC
5	N3362	Queen of Puddings	Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne	Burghfield SC
6	N3491	The Electric Prune	Mike & Alex Storey	Island Barn SC
7	N3143	Catatonic	Alistair Edwards & Amy McElroy	Twickenham YC