Noble Marine Laser Inland Championships at Rutland Sailing Club

Noble Marine Laser Inland Championship winners in each class © Paul Williamson

On the weekend of 27–28 October, 119 Laser sailors in all three fleets assembled at Rutland SC for the Noble Marine Laser Inland Championships.

Standard Fleet by Ben Flower

With wind speeds making most feel like they were competing in the Arctic Circle, this year's Inlands were probably one of the coldest on record. Surely most affected was Alan Davis who last sailed in a toasty 28 degrees C. Despite the cold weather, 30 Standard sailors attended Rutland where the wind was also making life difficult for the race team.

The first race got under way, and as Youth sailor Joseph Drake pulled on his Cunningham, the head of his sail parted ways and a quick pit stop was required back on shore for a new sail. British Sailing Team's Sam Whaley led at the top mark – was this a sign of what was to come? He was closely pursued by Jake Farren-Price and Orlando Gledhill. However, there was disaster shortly afterwards for Jake as he went for a swim allowing most of the chasing pack to get past but with four laps there was certainly time for Farren-Price to make a comeback. Whaley extended his lead while it seemed everyone else was finding their feet with the challenge of the gusts and shifts. As the competitors made their way around the course navigating the fishermen and the 4.7 fleet, Sam Whaley led home the charge with a comfortable gap to Orlando Gledhill, who was also the first Master. First under-19 sailor across the line was Krishan Bhogal who finished in an impressive fifth, just fending off the resurgent Farren-Price.

Race 2 got under way with similar conditions to the first, with the majority of the fleet heading off to the left-hand side of the course which seemed to have more pressure. Coming out on the right-hand side was Ben Flower with Jake Farren-Price in hot pursuit. It was a very close race with the top six all exchanging positions throughout the race – one mistake could cost you majorly. The first of these mistakes was from Flower who forgot how many laps had been completed and was going to the finish line only to realise there was another lap to go. On that final lap, Drake, with his newly fitted sail, punched into the lead, but when he got confused with the 4.7 windward mark he gifted the lead to Whaley. However, the battle for second wasn't yet decided. Flower and Farren-Price overtook Drake on the final downwind before the jury punishing Farren-Price and dropped him behind Bhogal for fifth place. First Master, again, in race 2 was Orlando Gledhill.

The final race of the first day saw the wind jack up a touch and, with the hail starting to fall and only getting stronger, the racing saw a few breakages. Farren-Price led at the windward mark holding off Whaley. The Bristol University sailor was fending off Whaley well until Drake whipped past them both to take the lead. With Alistair Goodwin and Orlando Glenhill also in the mix, this was a very similar race to the previous two. Whaley eventually slipped past Drake with the east-coast sailor fending off Farren-Price.

Going into the second day, the wind dropped slightly but still the Arctic forces were at play. Farren-Price found his pace right out of the gates, taking an early lead in Race 4 and fending off a titanic battle with Whaley, Joe Woodley and Alan Davis. Jake was able to surpass the experience of the other three to hold off for the win and ending Whaley's train of bullets. Joe Drake fought back to fifth place and best placed youth by fending off Mark Lyttle. This race highlighted the enjoyment and the diversity of the fleet, with Master and Youth sailors competing like for like and racing other high-quality sailors they wouldn't normally race against.

The penultimate race of the weekend took place with Whaley and Williamson punching forward on the left-hand side of the course, while the majority of the fleet was on the opposite right side. This was beneficial because the pressure filled in from their side and these two led at the windward mark, just ahead of Queen Mary duo Orlando and Mark Lyttle. Alan Davis was leading the charge on the lighter pressured right track. Whaley dominated Race 5 having enough time at the finish to celebrate his second Laser Inland Championship and to become the first person since Alex Mills Barton to win both the Nationals and Inlands in the same year. Meanwhile, the battle for second was up for grabs with Williamson benefitting from his excellent windward mark rounding grabbing second. Orlando got past his fellow Queen Mary sailor Lyttle to take third.

With the final race of the weekend about to get under way, there was still a battle for the remaining podium places, with seven sailors all within a shout. It was quite fitting these seven sailors were made up of two under-19s, two under-21s and two Masters. Farren-Price held second on countback from Orlando, with both on 15pts, Flower was just two points behind with Bhogal, Drake, Goodwin and Lyttle all still in contention.

Farren-Price used his training at Chew Valley to great effect, dominating the start and leading the pack up the first beat. Whaley was in hot pursuit, along with Alan Davis, Ben Childerley, Flower and Drake. It was a closely run affair with place changes happening quickly. Farren-Price extended his lead to beat Whaley for the second time on that day and to take second overall. Childerley held off Flower and Drake, despite them both giving it their all on the final downwind, Woodley had another positive result finishing sixth. The result meant Flower finished third overall by the skin of his teeth, just ahead of first-placed Master Orlando, Drake in fifth was first Youth ahead of Bhogal.

All in all, a fantastic Inlands and, on behalf of the Standard fleet, many thanks to Ken Falcon and Dot Beadsworth for all their help and commitment over the years, next year will certainly not be the same without them.

The Standard fleet at the Noble Marine Laser Inland Championships - photo © Paul Williamson

Standard Fleet Results:

Radial Fleet by Jon Emmett

The Radial Inland Championships marked the last UKLA event of the 2018 season, as well as the last event for our esteemed Sailing Secretary Ken Falcon and Secretary Dot Beadsworth. Between them, they have contributed over 50 years to the class. There is now a much sort after Dot Beadsworth Salver for first Youth overall on the Standard ladder. You can see their interviews from Rutland on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/UKLaserClassAssociation

As the Inlands is not part of the World and European Qualification series, many of the top sailors were either having a well-earned rest (it has been an amazing season for Team GBR) or training in sunnier climates. Fortunately, the survival conditions forecast near the start of the week didn't materialize, although it certainly was a full-on event and many sailors opted to use older equipment. Sailed on the last weekend of October, most sailors were grateful for the extra hours sleep they had due to the clock change on Saturday night.

Day one and it was great to see the Youth sailors sailing so well in the breeze, which at times must have hit over 25knts. Although, undoubtably, Masters' World Champion Ben Elvin had the speed advantage all day. Elvin, who dominated in the wind in Dublin, found an extra gear which was lower and faster than most of the fleet.

Race 1 and Jon Emmett and Elvin arrived more or less at the windward mark at the same time. The only difference being Emmett was to windward and Elvin, unable to pass was to leeward, had to gybe back round, although he was still in contention pushing Emmett hard to the finish. Emmett took the bullet from Elvin, with young Arthur Farley, who has improved so much this year, even sometimes gaining on Emmet and Elvin downwind, in third.

Race 2 was much of the same, with Emmett and Elvin extending from the fleet after the start. This time it was Henry Beardsall who was leading the chasing pack. If not for a couple of inconsistent results, he would have been in the top three for the weekend, having by the end of the regatta scored four top five finishes.

Race 3 and Emmett grabbed his third bullet, although the race was led for a long time by Team racing supremo Steve Tylecote. Emmett and Elvin grabbed first and second, with Nick Welbourn, who ultimately grabbed third, showing that he could at times match the upwind speed.

For the start of Race 4, Emmett was at the pin and Elvin up the near the Committee boat. Elvin made the best decision and was off. Emmett pulled back through the fleet, but Elvin had laid down the gauntlet. James Foster, newly transitioned from the 4.7, did a great job to take third extending from the chasing pack. As Foster gains weight and fitness, he is going to be one of the rising stars of the future.

Emmett led Elvin on the left-hand side in Race 5, but Elvin judged it perfectly to get the big left shift, easily passing the whole fleet. Emmett chased Elvin hard, but on the final beat, the lead Radials rounded the leeward gate at exactly the same time as the Standard rigs, now on the first beat of their sixth race. Elvin got his head out the boat and extended his lead by choosing the best route to avoid traffic, with both him and Emmett passing Standards on the reach and final run. Beardsall, who seemed to have found his grove on day two, took third.

In the final race, Emmett decided to start near Elvin, with one boat between them. After all, the winner of the race would be the winner for the event. The boat to windward of Emmett, fearful of being over the line lifted their centreboard with 15 seconds to go. Sliding down to leeward they hit Emmett with a bang and formed a lovely Laser catamaran. Elvin was off like a shot at full speed and never looked back. Second place went to Welbourn and Beardsall, who had another great race, took third.

The mentor programme worked really well, with Lydia Barber and Jamie Mason being looked after by Jon Emmett. Both did fantastically well to complete some of the races in extremely demanding conditions, and we really hope to see them both racing on the circuit next year. The mentor programme will start again in 2019 with the Weymouth Qualifier. Thank you very much to Rutland and all those who made this event possible; the Laser class very much look forward to coming again.

The Radial fleet at the Noble Marine Laser Inland Championships - photo © Paul Williamson

Radial Fleet Results:

4.7 Fleet by Scott Forbes and Catie Warburton

In all, 36 4.7 sailors turned up for the Laser Inland Championships at Rutland Water on the last weekend of October. Coming as a bit of a shock to all the competitors after a mainly warm and light-wind summer, the conditions were forecast to be cold and brisk. Given the very cold conditions, the Race Committee aimed, and managed, to run the three scheduled races each day, while keeping the sailors out on the water for as short a time as possible.

In Race 1, the pin end had heavy bias with the wind blowing 20knts, with gusts of 25+, and big oscillating shifts lasting around 1–2 minutes each. Boat speed was key and the hardest workers came out on top. Left paid on the second, third and fourth beats; by sailing far into the beach you would be headed on starboard and lifted on the way out on port. It was a long race which was eventually won by Harvey Leigh, with Scott Forbes in second and Zach Lyttle in third.

For Race 2, starting in the middle of the line worked if you could hold your lane against the rest of the fleet. As there was a big left shift 2–3 minutes after the start, having a clear lane to tack into was important. Again, boat speed was key and keeping in phase with shifts. On most of the beats in the race, as the wind was in left phase once you rounded the mark, tacking straight away worked and because the fleet was so spread out you didn't have to worry about sailing through dirty air. Those who did best remembered to take the shifts over to the left-hand side to get the land effect gain. Scott Forbes won the race, Sam Dickinson was second and Harvey Leigh third.

The last race of the day was run in consistent conditions that were similar to the second, but with only three beats, you could go full out on the first beat and not worrying about being too tired. The start was not as important as usual because gains could be made on boat speed due to heavy squalls. Scott Forbes had his second win of the event, while Harvey Leigh was second and Theo Gumbley was third.

On Sunday while it was a little windier it was also warmer. Race 4 kicked off all clear and it soon became obvious that the day was going to be about playing the shifts and staying on the lifted tack. The outer loop showed gains could be made on both sides of the course and the gusts allowed for sailors with their heads out of the boat to shoot off downwind, compensating for frustratingly difficult waves. Those who did best were Harvey Leigh, Scott Forbes and Sam Dickinson

Race 5 started similarly, with the starboard tack bias and the land on the left of the course encouraging the fleet out to port. Gusts moving down the centre of the course balanced it out later during the outer loop, but the land on the left proved to be an important factor throughout the racing. The winner was Drew Gibbons followed by Scott Forbes and Sam Dickinson

The first beat of Race 6 saw a large group of the fleet, including most of the leaders, going out left and ending up way over the layline due to an unexpected wind shift. The outer loop played out similarly to earlier races, with the winners playing the shifts and staying in the gusts up the course. Harvey Leigh finished the event with another win, Drew Gibbons was in second and Zach Lyttle was third.

The event was characterised by strong winds and cold conditions. It was difficult to stay focused, warm and fuelled throughout the day, making this one of the hardest events this year. For the boys, Harvey Leigh was the new 4.7 Inland Champion with three firsts and a second and third to count, with Scott Forbes tied on points in second and Sam Dickinson in third. For the girls, Charlotte Rocket was the 4.7 Inland Champion with Gemma McDonnell just beating Catie Warburton to second place.

The 4.7 fleet at the Noble Marine Laser Inland Championships - photo © Paul Williamson

4.7 Fleet Results:

Prize-giving

Overall, Harvey Leigh won the 4.7 fleet and Ben Elvin the Radials. Sam Whaley regained his Standard Inland title from last year. A highlight of the prize-giving was the presentation of the Olivia Burt Trophy to Finley Dickinson of HISC for winning the 2017–18 UKLA Laser 4.7 Ladder. This new trophy, in memory of Laser sailor Olivia Burt, was presented by her parents, Nigel and Paula.

Nigel and Paula Burt with the winner of the Olivia Burt Trophy, Finley Dickinson - photo © Paul Williamson