Radial Qualifier at Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club

Saturday

There were nearly seventy radials that made a show for the last qualifier of the series and included many of the sail for gold competitors. The wind was fairly steady in an Easterly direction and combined with the superb autumn sunshine promised a good weekend sailing. I was just about the last competitor to arrive at the event, having spent too long getting through the Worthing traffic, but was pleased to find the race organisation and beach crews were willing to help me get things sorted and on the water in time for the first start – many thanks to Hasting and St Leonards for having a well trained shore team. The waves had started to develop as the wind increased steadily throughout the day to a tasty 10-15 knots.

The first race was a tussle for positions by Charlotte Dobson, Laura Baldwin, Martin Evans and Lizzie Vickers and was down to some cunning manoeuvres on the end of the beat and reach. The second reach proving tricky to get low and maintain clear air and wave riding was definitely key to success here. Race one was won by Laura with Charlotte in second and Martin third.

The second race followed a similar story with big gains being made by boats taking a long tack to the shore from the pin end of the line and two-tacking it to the windward mark. Leading boats at mark one were Laura and Bob Cudmore with a small gap to the chasing pack. Downwind technique was critical once again in the marginal planing and good surfing conditions and staying on a wave for long periods gave the biggest gains. Being a bit lighter might also help here – so other heavyweight radial sailors be warned … downhill is not easy in the marginal stuff! Race two saw a similar finishing order to race one for the top three.

Race three got underway in a slightly stronger breeze and again the pin end of the line was favoured with boats heading to the shore to avoid the tide making the most gains. Personally, I found footing off gave the boat much more speed and more ability to manoeuvre around tricky waves as you could either point higher over them or lower to let the wave pass whilst still keeping the speed across the foils giving you good lift. My race was abruptly ended at the windward mark where I was the casualty of a port starboard incident so I retired from the rest of the series for fear of turning into a submarine – fear not, I’ll be back for the Inlands! Positions at the front of the fleet changed with some tactical covering on the reaches. Race three finished with Laura dropping to fourth having been covered by Charlotte on the reach. Lizzie finished first, Charlotte second and Andrea third, with the girls taking the top 5 places showing the lads their mettle.

Sunday

The day started early for the sailors which is a trait of the qualifiers – those early Sunday mornings – no long lie-ins! A thick fog was hugging the land and started clearing near the shore but delayed boats getting afloat because the committee boat was fog bound at nearby Eastbourne. After about 45 minute delay, boats were launched and in the flatter and calmer conditions a tactical battle was sure to ensue. The wind had veered slightly more southerly and a flatter sea with short chop provided good conditions for the tactician. There was still the tide to contend with and, sailing further offshore, direction to the windward mark was again key to a successful position at the first mark.

Race four saw a similar tactic to Saturday with boats trying to avoid getting into deep water too early. However, a wind shift caused a change in positions and the pack that intuitively went left to dodge the tide lost out to the new wind from the right. New faces were seen at the front and race four was won by Martin Evans with Suzy Russell getting into second place – a triumph for her from the previous day’s port-starboard faux pas.

Race five got underway after a short course alteration. A black flag held up the proceedings as competitors started to push the line to try and get that all important pole position. Race five was won by Andrea Brewster with James Spencer second.

All-in-all, a great weekend's sailing hosted by a friendly and helpful club. Shore support was excellent and the prices at the clubhouse leave some clubs something to aim for, well done Hasting and St Leonards; I, for one, look forward to returning again. Don’t forget the last national event of the year is the Inland Championships at Rutland – see the laser website for entry details.

Overall results are posted on the UKLA website.