Laser South West Grand Prix Round 1 at Salcombe Yacht Club
by Dave Stockton 14 May 2015 14:03 BST
10 May 2015
Lasers open at Salcombe © Dave Stockton
The first event in the South West Laser Grand Prix was held at Salcombe YC on Sunday 10th May
In the first race officer Dan Bridger sent the fleet to Blackstone and then Frogmore. The procession along the Portlemouth Shore was very tight but then the whole fleet were truly 'Salcombed' and spread apart having raced through the variable winds of the bag. Robert Dyer won followed by local boys Tom Morris and Robin Hodges.
At the start of race two the fleet had to fight to keep behind the line with the tide on the turn. After the first mark Robert Dyer had a good lead but by trying to cover two groups allowed the group going on the Salcombe shore a chance to sneak through. The wind was patchy going to Mark No 3 and Robin Hodges gained a huge lead which he kept to the finish.
For the final race the wind became very patchy but Robert Dyer demonstrated he had a good eye for the shifting wind, when it came, and won the overall Open Meeting with Robin Hodges second and Ben Flower third. First Radial was Jonathan Wilson followed by Greg Bartlett.