RC Laser TT at Eastbourne & District Model Yacht Club
by John Arundell 4 Sep 2013 13:20 BST
1 September 2013
I would like to say on behalf of all skippers, special thanks to Eastbourne & District MYC. As always they put on a really professional show with PRO John Henderson putting together a Race team par excellence, having Club members as observers and start and finish line judges throughout the day. Input on course setting from Ken Binks who was sailing for the first time for some months was much appreciated. Only 2 significant changes were needed to account for the wind change and they were a fair test of tactics and skill for everyone. Special mention and thanks must go to the Trolley Dollies who as always put on a feast of their culinary skills.
Although the entry was a little disappointing, the important thing is to say well done to the skippers that travelled far and wide. Sun and wind, particularly after lunch and 21 races made for a great day's racing with friends old and new.
The race team decided to delay the 10 am start time to allow the wind to settle and around 10.30 am we got going in Top rigs with the light breeze shifting from NW to WNW constantly. A clean start, usually at the port end of the line was favoured for the first few races and the eventual winners of the early races usually favoured that end and if you could get a clean run and clear air you could stand a good chance of being in the lead group.
There was a mini drama after the first race as the race winner was relegated to 9th place. The reason for this, and I make no apology for spending a few words on this for future reference, was for sailing back onto the course and re-crossing the line where he was recorded again in 9th. The Line judges quite correctly assumed the reason for this skipper re-crossing was to complete a penalty before re-finishing. So in future keep off the course and away from finishing boats after finishing correctly!! Another skipper shall we say "Fouled" up in the same way later in the day and it probably cost him the overall win or 2nd place at least.
After 4 races, all in shifty winds in top rig, RC Lasers relative newcomer Neil Coleman was putting on a good show but the Finish Line foul set him back, whilst Adrian Tomlinson got 2 wins from the first 4 races and at this point the gross points standings were:
Sail No. 30, Adrian Tomlinson, 10pts
Sail No. 840, Dave Fowler, 14pts
Sail No. 102, Neil Coleman, 16pts
Sail No. 27, John Arundell, 16pts
Sail No. 59, Ken Binks, 18pts
After 8 races, mostly in Top rig and later in B rig as the breeze grew: Adrian Tomlinson was on a hot streak sailing imperiously winning 4 of the first 8 races and finishing well up in the others. Ken Binks, despite his dicky eyesight, was knocking the rust off with 2 wins in the next 4 races and National Champ Dave Fowler was starting to close the gap. The wind shifts were quite tricky and often where there should have been wind there wasn't, in particular at the middle and bottom of the course so picking the shifts became crucial and Adrian did this better than anyone at this point!
After 16 races: by now the wind was settling more westerly and B rig was used by everyone as some big gusts were coming down the course. It was still shifty though and the windward mark approach was becoming trickier as the final tack in on port seemed to pay best but there were a few too many collisions and as a result, many missed the windward mark and had to reround, including yours truly, more than once! At this stage Adrian seemed to come off the boil and Ken Binks and Dave Fowler were constantly slugging it out for the first 3 places, with Dave Fowler starting to put a few bullets in his score line but spoiling the sequence with the "fouling" of the line judge ruling in Race 12. But John Arundell was matching his race win tally and it became a race for the podium for these three as Adrian T and Neil Coleman fell off the pace in the last 5 races to the end.
Sail No. 27, John Arundell, 44pts
Sail No. 59, Ken Binks, 46pts
Sail No. 30, Adrian Tomlinson, 48pts
Sail No. 840, Dave Fowler, 53pts
For the next 5 races from Race 17 to Race 21 the event was effectively sewn up by John Arundell, scoring 3 wins a 3rd and 4th. The fleet were still in B rig although at times at certain points A rig would have been possible but the correct decision was B rig. As throughout the afternoon the wind was up and down and there were big shifts that often only lasted for a few seconds, so it paid to be patient and to be sure the shifts were good before tacking. I'm sure that everyone was getting tired towards the end and concentration, which is crucial for these boats, was flagging.
In closing this report I cannot forget to make special mention of two Eastbourne stalwart members, Joe Binks who is in his 80's who scored a 4th, 5th and 7th during the day and Arthur Jackman who I believe is also in his 80's who scored a 2nd (I bet he was thrilled about that!) and 2 6th' places. Unfortunately Arthur broke his boom late in the day which for me is a RC Laser first!
Overall Results: (top three, 21 races, 3 discards)
1st John Arundell, 37pts
2nd Ken Binks, 44pts
3rd Dave Fowler, 46pts
John Henderson graciously presented prizes to the podium finishers and the UK RC Laser Association provided a lovely trophy for the winner to add to his collection!
More pictures of the day can be found on Eastbourne District MBC website. Please remember to enter the next TT event by email: which is Medway on Saturday 14 September, for full details go to RC Laser website.
I am told it is an excellent sailing venue. If not we can blame Adrian Tomlinson! Bye for now!