Under 21 Youth Laser Radial Open at Waldringfield Sailing Club

Waldringfield Under 21 Laser Radial Open © Juliet Dearlove

Waldringfield Under 21 Laser Radial Open © Juliet Dearlove

Sun greeted competitors on Sunday 29th June for the Waldringfield Sailing Club Under 21 Laser Radial Open. After a short briefing competitors took to the water and had a short sail down river against the flood tide to the starting area.

A stiff breeze and plenty of sun made for an excellent race with a fantastic lead from Ali Goodhead off the start only to be lost due to a kit failure. Charlie Linsell later took the lead and continued to extend the gap between himself and the rest of the fleet, made even greater by a recalled Cadet start sequence medalling with the middle of the laser fleet. Positions on the water continued to change as Lasers tried to break free of the Cadets wind shadow with varying success. However Charlie Linsell took a convincing first followed by Tom Barton in second chased by Rob Keen and Pip Dearlove in third and fourth respectively.

Race 2, and the clouds started to roll in putting an end to the glorious sunshine and introducing some small squalls and wind shifts. Tactics varied but many chose to ride the tide to the windward mark. Tom Barton rounded the windward mark first followed by Will Everitt and Charlie Linsell with the rest of the fleet close behind. Charlie Linsell made the most of the reach across the tide and overtook to take the lead where he remained for the rest of the race. The two fleets had a much greater separation during the second race leading to fewer place changes but narrower gaps between competitors finishing times. Charlie finished first followed by Tom Barton narrowly ahead of Chris Gladwin in third.

With Race 2 completed by 11:30am the decision was made to have a third race before lunch just as the rain and squalls started to really set in. Competitors could be seen planing over the chop created by the wind over tide although most competitors still had a very good start despite a couple of capsizes shortly afterwards. Sailors starting from the pin end made up for their slower starts thanks to a big shift on the first leg pushing many sailors backwards into the water. The strong wind conditions led to 4 retirements but many of the heavier sailors capitalised and pulled ahead. The pattern was becoming clear Charlie Linsell took the race convincingly followed by Tom Barton and Will Everitt a short distance behind closing the gap rapidly on the final planing leg to the line.

The break for Lunch was welcomed by many of the laser sailors who had picked their clothing based on the warmth of the morning and now after multiple capsizes, strong wind and rain were deeply regretting their choice.

Racing resumed just after 2:00pm with less than half an hour of flood tide remaining. Conditions were similar to race 3 and consequently the start line consisted of 4 boats. Although with Tom Barton falling out his boat with 30 seconds to the start and seeing his boat sail off towards the Cadets without him the start line was populated with just 3 boats. A heavy chop meant that some competitors struggled to keep their boats out of irons and the heavier sailors once again managed to sneak past. Tactics varied with Charlie Linsell taking the far side of the river and Will, Tom and Rob taking the Club House side of the river. Some clever tacking from Rob Keen and Will Everitt led to some place changing at the back but overall as the rain became heavier and the wind died the pattern remained the same.

Overall Results: