Wildwind Laser Masters National Championships at Paignton Sailing Club
by Glyn Purnell 10 Jul 2012 09:45 BST
6-8 July 2012
The event, sponsored by Wildwind Sailing Holidays, was held at Paignton SC, Devon over the extended weekend of 6 – 8 July and attracted an entry of 91 Lasers. The fleets were split almost equally between standards and radials, 43 and 47 respectively. The forecast for the event indicated light winds at first, increasing on Saturday and then decreasing on Sunday with a fair amount of rain.
Friday followed the forecast with little wind, rain, torrential at times, and the prospect of no sailing. At the briefing much relief was displayed that Neil Peters from Pevensey Bay had not damaged his foils when he came off his bicycle, and there was no understanding why his six broken ribs were stopping him from sailing! The race officer suggested that at his age he should not be riding a bike! Seriously everyone wished Neil a swift recovery.
The fleets remained on shore while the Race Officer, Ken Falcon, went afloat to assess the conditions on the racecourse. Conditions did not improve anything like until around 3pm when it looked possible to set a course in an 8 knot southerly wind. The fleets made their way to the course area but the signs did not look good as the wind strength started to decrease. A start was made by the standard fleet but the port end congestion produced a general recall. The second start was under way when the wind direction changed significantly and the strength dropped further. A postponement was signalled but with time running out and no sign of any improvement in the conditions, the fleets returned to shore.
The weather forecast given on Friday night for Saturday was ominous with the Met Office giving a RED rain alert with strong winds for south west England. Fortunately the torrential rain and strong winds came through overnight producing a Glastonbury appearance to the boat park on Saturday morning. Racing started in a southerly Force 3 wind increasing to Force 4 at times and then vanishing altogether late afternoon. Rain also appeared, heavy at first and then patchy later on.
The standard fleet got away on their first start but the radial fleet was subject to a general recall. This resulted in the appearance of the black flag for subsequent starts for both fleets in order to attempt to recover the lost Friday races. The recovery was also helped by the very slick race turn round by the race team with minimal waiting between races. Each fleet would be started at a convenient point when there would be minimal interference to the other fleet on the course rather than waiting for the other fleet to finish. The radial recall resulted in the radial fleet suffering the vanishing wind late afternoon as they wallowed in the waves on the last two legs of their last race. The standard fleet had finished well ahead and so escaped the pain.
At the end of Saturday, Orlando Gledhill was leading the standard fleet on 5 points, having scored three 1sts and one 2nd, from Terry Scutcher (Shotley) on 13 points and Paul Procter on 18 points. In the radial fleet Ian Jones had posted identical results, but in different order, to Gledhill to lead on 5 points from Steve Cockerill on 8 and Rob Cage on 20 points.
In the evening the sailors and their guests adjourned to the club house for the championship dinner and the raffle for a one week sailing holiday at Vassiliki, Greece provided by Wildwind Sailing Holidays. The winner of the holiday turned out to be Gary Pilgrim from Brightlingsea SC. Gary's holiday, which includes flights, accommodation, transfers and all the sailing Gary can pack in, will be at Wildwind's sailing destination in windy Vassiliki on the beautiful Greek
island of Lefkas. Gary can choose any date for his holiday to be taken either later this year or next year - perhaps he'd like to join British Head Coach Chris Gowers (who took Paul Goodison to Gold in 2008) at his specialised Laser Training week in May 2013.
The other holiday available will be won by a qualifying helm from the ten regional Grand Prix series currently running across the UK and will be drawn at the UKLA Inland championships at the end of the season.
Sunday morning saw the arrival of the sun and some blue skies. Much appreciated after two dismal days of rain and there was even some reasonable wind. The fleets went afloat on schedule but with the intention of recovering the lost races from Friday. Unfortunately the northerly wind did not cooperate, shifting around and dropping in strength. The first race of the day was started for both fleets but as the radial fleet traversed the first reaching leg near the shore, the wind dropped and what little there was shifted directly behind the fleet. The radial race was stopped but the standard race was finished at the windward mark on their second lap.
The Race Officer moved the course out to sea in the search for stronger consistent wind but to no avail until around 1pm when the wind started to fill in from the north and remain reasonably steady. This produced the best conditions of the event as the blue skies had remained, the temperature increased and it did not rain! Two races were sailed in the northerly Force 2 – 3 wind by each fleet before the last race dead line. This left the radial fleet one race down compared to the standard fleet.
Gledhill scored two 2nds and one 1st, giving a total of 8 points overall to take first place while Alan Davis moved up in to second on 22 points and Procter maintained third position on 23 points. In the radial fleet Jones maintained his first place with two 1sts to finish the event on 5 points from Cockerill on 10 and Gregory on 24 points.
The prizes were presented by Amy Giles, representing the club. Thanks go to Wildwind for sponsoring the event, Paignton SC for putting on the event and especially John Maynard and his race team/galley volunteers for doing all the work.