RC Laser Open at Keighley Model Boat Club

A snowy backdrop for the RC Lasers at Keighley © UK RC Laser Association

A snowy backdrop for the RC Lasers at Keighley © UK RC Laser Association

A snowy backdrop for the RC Lasers at Keighley © UK RC Laser Association

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny with a steady NW breeze, perfect conditions for Round 3 of the Marine Modelling International, RC Laser TT series, but by the time the competitors had made their way north to the high and exposed Keighley venue the dark clouds were gathering.

A light flurry of snow accompanied the briefing, but quickly passed through as racing got underway, local sailor John Tushingham got away to a good start for the day taking race one from, no suprise, John Arundell, Andy Kissick in third spot from a delighted Liz Tushingham in fourth.

John Arundell then got into his stride taking convincing wins in the next two races, John T posted a couple of seconds from Andy and Chris Spalding who each bagged a third place.

It was Andy Kissick who then got away after another good start in race four and never looked back, until a rather nervous last leg, to win race 4 from Johns A and T with Adam Kissick a consistent fourth. Race 5 had John Arundell back on top this time from Adam and John T and a very happy John Trimmer putting in an appearance at the sharp end of the fleet, he could so easily have made it over the line in second but for a collision with Adam on the final beat.

The wind during the morning session had swung slightly north and slowly died away accompanied by the occasional shower of sleet or hail, not the perfect spring day but no real hinderence to good quality racing. After a warming lunch things started to get really strange, the wind dissapeared and as each mass of dark, threatening cloud rolled by it reappeared from every imaginable direction, including up and downwards! So a good sense of humour was a requirement for the afternoon, especially so when being covered by an inch of hail and snow - nice!

After much head-scratching by the RO a course was decided upon and racing resumed. Graham Allen was the only skipper to make the switch to A rig and reaped the benefits with a straighforward win from local boy Chris Spalding, John A and John T. John Arundell then got back into gear taking the next three races from John Tushingham with third places being shared out by Chris Spalding, Adam Kissick and David Edwards in his first season of RC Laser racing. John T then managed to salvage something from the day by turning the tables on John A in the last pair of races, Adam again posting a third in race 10, but having to settle for fourth in the last race behind the jubilant Liz Tushingham.

Sympathies to our race officers Norman Rowley and Brian Warburton who stood no chance in the afternoon, the wind died, came back and went round the clock about three times, but they kept things moving and managed to get 11 races completed in what must have been one of the strangest days racing in the classes history. The class would like to thank all the members of Keighley for their hospitality on the day.

The class now looks forward to a trip west to the popular venue of Woodspring, near Bristol, for the fourth round of this twelve event nationwide series, surely the weather will be back to normal by May 13th, however, only one thing can be guaranteed - the racing is sure to be as tight and friendly as ever. For more details visit www.rclaser.org.uk

Overall Results: