Laser South Coast Grand Prix at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

Even though light winds were forecasted 53 Lasers gathered Stokes Bay Sailing Club for the penultimate event in the Laser South Coast Grand Prix series.

The WSW wind steadily built through-out the day to a force 4, with the warm sunshine it produced a near perfect days sailing conditions. The strong flood tide didn't cause the expected general recall when the 27 standard rigs lined up for the start. The first race went to Ben Cornish (Exe), followed by Alex Mills-Barton (Newhaven and Seaford), and Elliot Hanson. In the 23 strong Radial fleet Jon Emmett (Weirwood) won the first race from local sailors John Booth and Ben Elwin (Stokes Bay). The three 4.7 started with Radials, Alexander Lee (Pagham) won the first race, from Sam Tweedle (Emsworth) and Ted Blowers (Gunard).

The second race was soon underway with RO starting the standards start sequence as the last few Radials were finishing. The standards once again got away relatively cleanly with just a bit of a pile up on the pin end rib (penalty turns anyone). Elliot Hanson won this race, from Jack Wetherill (Beaver) and Ben Cornish third. The Radials forgot the tide was still taking them over the line and had a general recall, the RO produced the black flag to get them underway, this meant they had a shorter race than the standards. The locals John Booth and Ben Elvin came in first and second with Max Hunt (Whitstable) third. Sam Tweedle in the 4.7 won from Alexander Lee and Ted Blowers.

The third race was once again quickly started even though the course needed shifting slightly. James Gray (Stokes Bay) won the standards last race, with Elliot Hanson second and Matt Reid (Spinnaker) third. Jon Emmett in the Radial fleet won, from John Booth, and Harry Blowers. In the 4.7s Sam Tweedle won again, but Ted Blowers was second and Alexander Lee third.

With no discards consistency was the key. In the standards Elliot Hanson took the victory from Ben Cornish and Alex Mills-Barton. The Radials was won by John Booth, followed by Ben Elvin and John Emmett was third, because of his bad second race. The 4.7's Sam Tweedle won from Alexander Lee and third was Ted Blowers.

The Spinnaker Laser open on the 29th September is the last in the South Coast Grand Prix series and will also host the end of series prize giving. The prizes from the Rooster Sailing range from an Aqua Fleece Pro, a tiller extension down to a pair of sailing socks. There also some nice trophies supplied by the UKLA. If you have done five or more grand prix events this year you qualify for a prize, please come along to collect your prize and enjoy the last south coast grand prix of the year. You will also be entered into the prize draw for a sailing holiday with Wildwind Holidays, to be drawn at Inlands.

The overall standings in the South Coast Grand Prix can be found on the Rooster Sailing website, in the results section.

If your club would like to host a Laser South Coast Grand Prix event in 2013 please email Ian Payne at .

Standard Rig Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1	201853	Elliot Hanson	Homeless SC	3	1	2	6
2	200887	Ben Cornish	Exe SC	1	3	7	11
3	200490	Alex Mills‑Barton	Newhaven & Seaford SC	2	4	6	12
4	201695	James Gray	Stokes Bay SC	5	8	1	14
5	202430	Matt Reid	Spinnaker SC	6	5	3	14
6	200889	Jack Wetherell	Beaver SC	4	2	9	15
7	189671	Nick Harrison	Stokes Bay SC	8	7	5	20
8	182979	Tim Pearse	Stokes Bay SC	9	6	8	23
9	176568	Jim Fifield	Queen Mary SC	11	12	10	33
10	194660	Tobias Hamer	Langstone SC	7	9	19	35
11	162806	Nicholas Forster	Spinnaker SC	15	17	4	36
12	198960	Valentin Nedyalkov	London Corrinthian SC	12	13	13	38
13	203085	Alex Benbow	Stokes Bay SC	10	11	21	42
14	197921	Roger O'Gorman	Queen Mary SC	13	10	20	43
15	179554	Christopher Spencer	Chichester YC	17	14	12	43
16	173385	Nick Martin	Lee‑on‑Solent SC	22	15	11	48
17	166550	Ian Payne	Chichester YC	23	16	16	55
18	183467	Larry Lawrence	Stokes Bay SC	14	20	23	57
19	159451	Adrian Lynham	Stokes Bay SC	16	19	22	57
20	163514	Paul Broadway	Spinnaker SC	20	21	17	58
21	123680	Peter May	Spinnaker SC	18	22	18	58
22	196690	Simon Radford	Bosham SC	21	24	15	60
23	133365	Ian Ross	Stokes Bay SC	25	23	14	62
24	201918	Nick Ireland	Stokes Bay SC	19	18	26	63
25	201717	Phil Beed	Stokes Bay SC	26	25	24	75
26	185608	Mike Shepherd	Stokes Bay SC	24	26	25	75
27	176319	Nick Eales	Royal Lymington YC	27	27	27	81

Radial Rig Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1	193455	John Booth	Stokes Bay SC	2	1	2	5
2	199861	Ben Elvin	Stokes Bay SC	3	2	4	9
3	201509	Jon Emmett	Weir Wood SC	1	12	1	14
4	204007	Harry Blowers	Gurnard SC	7	4	3	14
5	200520	Max Hunt	Whitstable YC	10	3	6	19
6	202176	Daniel Wigmore	Middle Nene	5	9	5	19
7	159460	Tom Sully	Stokes Bay SC	4	6	11	21
8	201827	Nik Froud	Royal Lymington YC	9	5	7	21
9	200510	Ian Gregory	Frensham Pond SC	8	11	8	27
10	171989	Alex Geal	Pevensey Bay SC	16	8	10	34
11	192463	Niall Peelo	Island SC	12	10	12	34
12	201020	Adam Stone	Burghfield SC	13	7	15	35
13	173742	Michael Calvert	Salcombe YC	11	18	14	43
14	183201	Matthew Hall	Warsash SC	6	17	22	45
15	199436	Ross Mackley	Royal Lymington YC	14	22	9	45
16	184298	David Paul	Hill Head SC	15	13	19	47
17	197494	Ellie Hitchings	Chew Valley Lake SC	17	15	18	50
18	198515	Sam Smith	Royal Hospital School	19	21	13	53
19	196559	Kerry Morgan	Hill Head SC	18	14	DNC	56
20	186213	Krzysztof Bonicki	NHEBSC	22	19	16	57
21	176839	Lottie Harland	Burghfield SC	21	16	21	58
22	202471	Cameron Tweedle	Oxford SC	23	20	17	60
23	178684	Cameron Allen	Emsworth SC	20	23	20	63